Stevenage U1825 - A Happy Easter Weekend!

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Black "Fisher, Neal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1660"] [BlackElo "1473"] [PlyCount "47"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 {Philidor defence} 3. Bc4 c6 {? Hindering development, also if Black wants to play d5 then this is a slow way to go about it after 2.d6} 4. d4 exd4 5. Qxd4 f6 {?? Surprising, this pawn structure can never be good with all pieces still undeveloped} 6. Bf4 Nd7 7. Bxg8 {? I wanted to play Bxd6 immediately but felt Nb6 would be an issue, so I made this capture to simplify and make sure of the pawn} Rxg8 8. Bxd6 Bxd6 9. Qxd6 Kf7 10. Nc3 Re8 11. O-O-O {Better to castle long in these cases, the Rook is already playing a role} Re6 12. Qd3 Qe7 13. Rhe1 g6 {? Not necessary, Ne5 was a better way to start untangling} 14. Nd4 Rd6 15. Qg3 Ne5 16. f4 Nc4 17. e5 Rxd4 {? Effectively given up, fxe5 before retreating the Rook back was better, albeit White would still have an advantage} 18. Rxd4 Qb4 19. Rxc4 {Reading Greenpawn's blogs has taught me that if you find yourself up in material, you must give it back whenever possible!.. perhaps I'm paraphrasing.} Qxc4 20. exf6 {Black cannot take this pawn, so this is now just crushing} Be6 21. Qh4 h5 22. Qg5 Rh8 23. Qe5 Rd8 24. b3 {1-0} 1-0

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Neil, Graham"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "1540"] [BlackElo "1660"] [PlyCount "132"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. h3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 {Quite standard in this opening so far} Qb6 8. Qc2 Qc6 {Looks odd, but my idea is to unblock the b-pawn whilst simultaneously stopping castles, as Bxh3 would win a pawn} 9. Nbd2 {This natural developing move defends the Knight on f3, so castles is now enabled} Nbd7 10. O-O b5 11. a4 {Probably the best response} bxa4 12. Qxa4 Qxa4 13. Rxa4 Nb6 {This useful tempo gainer to improve the poor Knight was my reason for exchanging Queens} 14. Ra3 cxd4 15. exd4 Bb7 16. Rfa1 {I was expecting Re1, so somehow didn't see this coming} Nc8 {I saw no beneficial way of giving up the pawn, so played this sad move} 17. Ba6 {White didn't see a lot of options so went for a trade, I didn't mind} Bxa6 18. Rxa6 Nd5 19. Bg3 Rb8 {Now my plan is to take control of the queenside} 20. R6a2 Rd8 21. Nc4 Rd7 22. Na5 {? Ra5 was better, improving the piece whilst hitting the undefended Knight, then Ra1-a2 can be played} Rc7 {Now Black has achieved equality} 23. Nd2 Bh6 24. Nac4 Rcb7 {This threatens Bxd2} 25. Nf1 Bf4 {This Bishop has barely played all game, might as well trade it off} 26. Rd1 Bxg3 27. Nxg3 Nf4 {Now d5 is a threat} 28. Rd2 f6 29. Ne2 Nxe2+ 30. Rxe2 d5 31. Ne3 e6 32. Ng4 Kf7 {My engine evaluates the game at 0.00 here, however there's plenty of game left to play} 33. f3 h5 34. Ne3 Nd6 35. Kf2 f5 36. Nd1 f4 {Just gaining more squares, however White can go on the offensive a little here} 37. Ra6 Ke7 38. b4 {? c4 instead was a better play, looking to push d5 if taken by the pawn} Rc8 39. Re5 Rcc7 {This was to allow Rb6} 40. Ke2 {? My opponent actually offered a draw with this move, however his Rook on e5 is now nearly trapped and so White loses tempo} Rb6 {Interestingly, one line offered by the engine here is 41.Ra5 Nf7 42.Ra5xd5 Nxe5 43.Rxe5 where White has given the exchange for a pawn} 41. Rxb6 {This avoids giving the exchange...} axb6 42. Kd3 Ra7 {...however, it is now Black that dominates the a-file and invade White's territory} 43. Re1 Nf5 44. Re2 Ra1 45. Rd2 Nh4 {White does have a couple ways out of this, either c4 or Kc2 are playable} 46. Nb2 {? This drops a pawn} Rg1 47. c4 dxc4+ {? I felt like I couldn't let this pawn advance, however Nxc4 would spark a tense race to see who can create the better passed pawn} 48. Kxc4 {? Kxc4 was less effective} Rxg2 49. Rxg2 Nxg2 50. Nd3 {White stops Black from taking f3, so now Black needs to defend the b-pawn} Ne3+ 51. Kb5 Nd5 {And simultaneously defend the f-pawn which was also attacked... Black is still slightly better and White's pawns are all broken up} 52. Ne5 g5 53. Kc4 {White can't really make progress here, this move also loses the b5 square} Nc7 54. Nc6+ Kd6 55. Ne5 b5+ 56. Kb3 Ke7 57. Nc6+ Kf6 58. Ne5 Kf5 59. Nd3 {White was almost in zugzwang, this move allows a strong passed pawn by force} g4 60. hxg4+ hxg4 61. fxg4+ Kxg4 62. Ne5+ {White played on for a little longer before resigning} Kg3 63. Kc3 f3 64. Nd3 f2 65. Nxf2 Kxf2 66. Kd3 Kf3 {0-1} 0-1

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Bishop, Geoffrey"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "1740"] [BlackElo "1660"] [PlyCount "130"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Ruy Lopez... I have played this plenty of times as both Black and White} a6 {I have dabbled with the Berlin (Nf6) as well as the more passive Cozio (Ne7) but I have recently played a6 most commonly} 4. Ba4 Nf6 {Sometimes I play this and think "greenpawn would play Bxc6 now", but I've still never had to face it} 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 h6 7. c3 Bc5 {? d4 gives White a strong centre with tempo, Be7 was better} 8. O-O {? For now, White misses the opportunity} d6 9. h3 O-O 10. Re1 Be6 {A thematic offer, Black is willing to have doubled pawns in order to strengthen hold on the centre and open the f-file} 11. Nbd2 Qd7 12. Bc2 Bb6 13. Nf1 Rfe8 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 Ne7 {? With the idea of pushing the c and d-pawns, however d5 immediately was better} 16. d4 {White gets in first} exd4 17. cxd4 d5 {? Stops the d5 threat, however c7-c6 instead keeps Black's pieces more mobile} 18. e5 Ne4 {? This drops a pawn to a tactic, Nh5 or even Nh7 avoided this} 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bxe4 Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Rad8 {Now Black's mission is to try and get the pawn back to gain equality } 22. Rc1 Qd5 {Hits an undefended Rook and an undefended pawn} 23. Re2 {But if now Qxa2, White simply has Rxc7 and maintains a good advantage} c5 {This seems a good try, the pawn cannot be taken} 24. Rxc5 {?? An unforced error, Rd2 instead was good for White... my opponent afterwards said he was in "Simplifying mode" and didn't consider the fact his Queen was weak} Qxc5 25. dxc5 Rxd1+ {This is now simply winning for Black, but the game continued on... feel free to fast forward from here} 26. Kh2 Rd5 27. e6 f6 {I did not want to give his Rook a sniff of action, so advanced} 28. b4 Nc6 29. Re4 a5 30. bxa5 Nxa5 31. Nd4 Rxc5 32. g4 Re5 33. Rf4 R8xe6 {No harm in giving material back to get a simple winning endgame} 34. Nxe6 Rxe6 35. Rb4 Re5 36. a4 bxa4 37. Rxa4 Nc6 38. Kg3 Kf7 39. Rc4 Ne7 40. Rc7 Ke6 41. h4 Rb5 42. Rc3 Nd5 43. Rc6+ Ke5 44. Rc8 Rb3+ 45. f3 Rb7 46. f4+ {? Black can just take this, White missed that the Knight can block the check on either d5 or e6} Nxf4 47. Rc5+ Nd5 48. g5 hxg5 49. hxg5 Rb3+ 50. Kg4 Rb4+ 51. Kh5 Kd6 52. Rc8 Nf4+ 53. Kg4 Ne6+ 54. Kf5 Rb5+ 55. Kg6 Rxg5+ 56. Kf7 f5 57. Re8 Nd4 58. Rd8+ Ke5 59. Re8+ Kf4 60. Re1 Rg3 61. Rf1+ Rf3 62. Rg1 g5 63. Kf6 g4 64. Rd1 Ke4 65. Kg5 g3 {White finally resigned} 0-1

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.21"] [Round "4"] [White "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Black "Dunkley, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1660"] [BlackElo "1777"] [PlyCount "87"] 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 {I still prefer to play the Exchanged variation of the French defence as White, as it avoids locking the center down, but I've been warned by higher rated colleagues that this would not score well in stronger sections. } d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 {RHP Games Explorer tells me I've played this 9 times on the site, winning 6 of them} Nc6 {The explorer also tells me I've never encountered 4...Nc6, which is surprising, as it seems reasonable} 5. Bb5 Bd6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4 {Perhaps tempting the weakening g5} O-O 9. a3 {? This wasn't really necessary, instead castles} Bf5 10. Bd3 Bg4 11. Be2 {This was to maintain support of d4 should Black play Bxf3} a6 12. h3 Be6 13. g4 {? Again castles was best, but I decide to be aggressive with the intention of castling long, but this was a mistake due to the following continuation} Ng6 14. Bg3 Bxg3 15. fxg3 Qd6 16. Kf2 {? Rg1 instead would have maintained White's ability to castle long} Rae8 {Now Black has completed an ideal development, whereas White still has work to do} 17. Qd2 Re7 18. Kg2 {Now the computer suggests a peculiar pawn pushing line, with 18... f5 19.g5 f4 20.g4, which my opponent mentioned he considered in analysis, but ruled it was too positionally unclear} Rfe8 19. Rae1 Nd8 {This move looked odd, I asked him if he was prepping c5 but he said that he just wanted to bring his Knight over somewhere, but I'm unsure where} 20. Bd3 Bf7 21. Re2 {Looking to double Rooks, but also if Rxe2 then I can capture with Knight to try improve the piece} Rxe2+ {This happens} 22. Nxe2 Qe7 23. Re1 Qe3 {This came with a draw offer, but the move just looks wrong as the Queen is already close to being trapped} 24. Qa5 { After this move, in many lines we discussed it does seem that White wins a pawn by force} Qe7 25. Bxg6 {? I played this first, as I figured my Knight wanted to jump to f4, but Nc3 did the job} hxg6 26. Nf4 Qd7 27. Rxe8+ Qxe8 28. Qxc7 {Nxd5? would have allowed Qe2+ and wins a piece} g5 29. Nd3 Qe2+ 30. Nf2 Qe8 {It was either this or Ne6, giving up another pawn} 31. c3 Bg6 32. Qd6 Be4 33. Nxe4 dxe4 34. Qd5+ {Nf7 is the best move here} Kh8 {? Now with correct play, White can pick up the e-pawn for free} 35. Nd2 e3 36. Qe4 {? Ne4 was best, with the idea to simply let the King take the pawn} Qb5 {Now things remain a little tricky, although White's passed d-pawn is certainly valuable} 37. Qxe3 Qxb2 38. Kf3 Nc6 39. Nc4 Qh2 {Now if White wants a forced perpetual there is Qe8+ then Qh5+} 40. Nd6 {A double attack, aiming at b7 as well as delivering a scary check, the latter of which my opponent revealed he didn't even consider} Qxh3 41. Nf7+ Kh7 {Here I wanted to play Qe8 to prepare Qh8+... luckily realising that Qf1+ followed by Qe1+ would have won the Queen} 42. Qe4+ g6 43. Kf2 {I felt this was very neat, forcing the Queens off and I figured I'd have good chances to win the endgame with my passed d-pawn} f5 {?? This move instead simply throws the game away... White can simply win a piece with Qxc6 here, as Nxg5 wins the Queen back, or if Qh2+ then White's Queen can come back to block on g2} 44. Nxg5+ {? I missed Qxc6, but this is still winning and Black acknowledged the error by resigning here} 1-0

[Event "Stevanage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.21"] [Round "5"] [White "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Black "Usharovsky, Ron"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "1660"] [BlackElo "1609"] [PlyCount "94"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Caro-Kann Advanced Variation is my usual choice with White} Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bd3 Bg6 {Saying "please take me and give me an open Rook file"} 6. a3 Nd7 7. Nc3 c5 {Now this is almost looking like a French Advanced, the very opening I usually try to avoid... I have never enjoyed these types of games, it is a weakness I will have to work on} 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Bxg6 {Now I do this, thinking his King will be weakened no matter which side he castles} hxg6 10. b4 Bb6 11. Qd3 {? I personally liked Qd3 but computer suggests Nb5 immediately, as now Black could play a6 and stop it} Ne7 {However Black doesn't and opts to develop instead} 12. Nb5 O-O {This is technically OK, but my first thought was that Black has castled into danger} 13. Ng5 {This move made Ron pause for a while, actually spending time looking at his own game rather than others (mumble grumble)} Nf5 {He finds the best response} 14. Qh3 Nh6 {White's Knights are both causing problems, plus the Queen is active, but now the weak pawn on e5 needs to be addressed.} 15. Bb2 {?? In a moment of blindness, White protects the pawn with the Bishop on b2, forgetting that the Bishop was protecting the Knight on g5.... f4 was the move} Qxg5 {Black hesitated before taking the free piece... I didn't even realise my blunder until he had done so} 16. O-O {The game is probably resignable, but I'm stubborn and annoyed so we played on a while... feel free to skip the rest of this game.} Qg4 17. Qd3 Qc4 18. Qxc4 dxc4 19. Nd6 Ng4 20. Nxc4 Rac8 21. Nxb6 Nxb6 22. h3 Rxc2 23. Bd4 Nh6 24. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Rc8 26. Rxc8+ Nxc8 27. f4 Nf5 28. Bf2 Kf8 29. Kf1 Ke8 30. Ke2 Kd7 31. Kd3 Kc6 32. a4 Kd5 33. b5 g5 34. g4 Nfe7 35. fxg5 Ng6 36. Ke3 Nxe5 37. Be1 Nb6 38. Bb4 Nxa4 39. Bf8 g6 40. Kf4 Nd7 41. Bg7 e5+ 42. Ke3 Ke6 43. h4 f6 44. h5 gxh5 45. gxh5 fxg5 46. h6 Kf7 47. Kd3 Kg6 {I resigned here. To give him credit, he played very well.} 0-1

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.22"] [Round "6"] [White "Sloan, Cecil"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1654"] [BlackElo "1660"] [PlyCount "130"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {Scotch Opening, this is another one where I tend to get worse positions out of the opening} exd4 4. Bc4 h6 {Played to prevent Ng5, however it wasn't strcitly necessary. Nf6 or Bc5 were better} 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 {Scotch Gambit, though it's not strictly a Gambit as White does get the pawn back} dxc3 7. Bxf7+ {I had expected Qd5, which I was to meet with Qe7, but this is even better} Kxf7 8. Qd5+ Kf8 9. Qxc5+ Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Ngxe7 11. Nxc3 { White is slightly better, although there was a case for Qf5+ instead of trading Queens, which helped Black develop} a6 12. Bf4 {? Nd5 would have forced the sequence 12...Nxd5 13.exd5 Ne7 14.d6 and Black's pawn structure is damaged} d6 13. Rac1 Bg4 14. Nd5 Rc8 15. Nxe7 {This trade has again helped Black untangle, the game is now equal} Kxe7 16. e5 {? The computer suggests getting the Bishop off the f-file was better, acknowledging Rh8-f8 is coming} Bxf3 17. exd6+ cxd6 18. gxf3 Rhf8 {Now Black wins a pawn} 19. Rfe1+ Kd7 20. Bg3 Nd4 {Taking on f3 immediately would also have been fine} 21. Kg2 Nxf3 22. Red1 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Ng5 24. Rc4 d5 {? Black missed Rc7+ was now made possible by this move... Bishop short-sightedness has got me again} 25. Rc7+ {White now gets back the pawn, with a threat to win even more, so the game is once again equal} Ke6 26. Rxb7 d4 {This passed pawn is the only hope I have of not letting the game slip away} 27. Rb6+ Kf5 {I was therefore willing to give up another pawn in my bid to push this pawn} 28. f3 {? This was played to stop Ke4 or Ne4, however now my Rook can support the d-pawn, Rd6 was better} Rd8 29. Rd6 {I thought this was a mistake at first, but with correct play the Bishop can hold this endgame to a draw} Rxd6 30. Bxd6 a5 31. Bc5 {A waste of a move as Ne6 was natural anyway, Kf2 or b4 instead} Ne6 32. Bb6 a4 33. Kf2 Ke5 34. Ba5 Kd5 35. Ke2 g6 {Basic endgame principle... Get the pawns on squares opposite coloured to the enemy Bishop} 36. Bd2 h5 37. b3 {? This decision drops a pawn, h4 was better, limiting Black's options} axb3 38. axb3 Nc5 39. b4 Nb3 {Threatening to trade pieces and then Kc4 wins a full pawn} 40. Bg5 Kc4 41. Be7 {White can't defend the pawn forever, as the Knight will always find a route} d3+ {Notice all Black's material is now on light squares?} 42. Kd1 Nd4 43. f4 Nc6 44. Bd6 Nxb4 45. Be5 Kd5 {The King and Knight are going to work together to pick off White's remaining pawns, this is simply winning} 46. Kd2 Ke4 47. Bd6 Nd5 48. h4 Nxf4 49. Be7 Ne6 50. Bf6 Nd4 51. Be7 Nf3+ 52. Kd1 Kf4 53. Bf6 Kg4 54. Be7 Nxh4 55. Kd2 Nf3+ 56. Kxd3 Kg3 57. Ke3 g5 58. Bd6+ Kg2 59. Be7 h4 60. Ke2 h3 61. Bd6 h2 62. Bxh2 Nxh2 63. Ke3 Kf1 64. Ke4 Kf2 65. Kf5 g4 { White resigns} 0-1

[Event "Stevenage U1825"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.22"] [Round "7"] [White "Gill, Gursharanjit"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A23"] [WhiteElo "1520"] [BlackElo "1660"] [PlyCount "70"] 1. c4 e5 {I have favoured e5 vs the English as it seems to be the most principled in contesting the center} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 {This is known as the Carls' Bremen System... I'd never heard of it until writing this.} Bc5 4. Bg2 c6 {Now after c6 it's called a Bremen System, Keres Variation... at least I've heard of Keres} 5. e4 {? The idea with this move is to stop Black's d5 push, however permanently weakens the dark squares... e3 is most commonly played in this line} a5 {This was a multi-purpose move, it quells any Queenside expansion for White but also grants a retreat square for my valuable dark-squared Bishop} 6. d3 d6 7. h3 Be6 8. Nf3 Nbd7 9. O-O O-O {That's the opening bit done, both sides have begun the game in similar styles} 10. Bg5 { ? A slight waste of tempo as it can be kicked back} h6 11. Bd2 Ba7 {Makes c5 available for the Knight} 12. Nh4 Nc5 13. Be3 Qd7 {My last couple moves have been with threats, this last move also prevents Nf5} 14. Kh2 b5 {Seems right, let's perhaps open some files to then put my Rooks on} 15. b3 {I paused here, eventually deciding that if bxc4 is played then White can play dxc4 and open up the file to attack my weak d-pawn} b4 {Also, advancing the pawn kicks the Knight away from defending e4, so this would discourage any d-pawn push} 16. Ne2 {Now another pause here, acknowledging f4 was coming I spent a while to come up with a useful waiting move, at least 20 minutes} Rfd8 {g5 had been tempting, but felt unsafe and reckless, so I opted for this instead to maybe one day support a d5 push} 17. f4 exf4 {Taking this pawn with either Knight or Bishop walks into a fork with g5} 18. Rxf4 {Now there isn't g5 as the Knight on f6 would fall} Nh7 19. Nf5 Bxf5 {This was a bad Bishop anyway, so don't mind the trade} 20. Rxf5 g6 {? I noticed the Bishop on e3 was undefended, so was looking for sac ideas and found Nxb3 hitting the Rook, however after axb3 he would have both Rooks hitting a5, which is why I played this...} 21. Rf1 Nxb3 {? So then I played the sacrifice, only it doesn't truly work as White can play Bxa7 here and pick up 2 minor pieces for a Rook and a pawn, which generally is favourable for the side with the two extra minor pieces} 22. axb3 {? White didn't go for this, so really has just accepted losing a pawn} Bxe3 23. d4 {White cannot trap the Bishop} Bg5 24. h4 Bf6 25. Nf4 Bg7 {Gets out of the Knight's way} 26. Ra2 Nf6 27. Bh3 Qe7 28. Re2 g5 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Ng2 {?? Nd3 had to be played, this traps the Bishop} g4 31. e5 {White attempts to stall captures, but Black has tactics similiar to those we saw in the game vs Geoffrey Bishop} dxe5 32. Rxe5 Qxe5 33. dxe5 Rxd1 34. Rxd1 Ne4 {! A move I was happy to see, it is forced winning} 35. Bxg4 Nf2 {At the very least, White is going to be an exchange and a pawn down... 0-1} 0-1