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Wiseman-Hurley Open - Round 4 report

Details: Written by Sanjoy Banerjee; Category: Atticus Open Championship 2021; Published: 01 September 2021

Things are hotting up after four rounds. Steve Kee won the big clash on top board against Luke and Colin kept his hopes of retaining his title still very much alive with a good win over Brian. Elsewhere Sanjoy and Brendan picked up wins, while the games between Mike Coffey and Steve Burge and Peter Jenner and Steve Winstanley ended peacefully.

We were lucky to have FM David J James analyse some of the games from this round, which are presented below.

...

Results from Round 4:

Luke Boumphrey 0-1 Steve Kee
Brian Ewart 0-1 Colin Horton
Mike Coffey ½-½ Steve Burge
Tom Webb 0-1 Sanjoy Banerjee
Ben Ellington 0-1 Brendan Kane
Peter Jenner ½-½ Steve Winstanley

...

Draw for Round 5 (ties to be played Monday 6th September)

1. Steve Kee (3.5) v Colin Horton (3)
2. Sanjoy Banerjee (2.5) v Luke Boumphrey (2.5)
3. Brendan Kane (2.5) v Mike Coffey (2)
4. Steve Burge (2) v Brian Ewart (2)
5. Tom Webb (1.5) v Peter Jenner (1.5)
6. Steve Winstanley (0.5) v Ben Ellington (1)

[Event "Jim Wiseman and Dave Hurley Open 2021"] 
[Site "Cross Keys, Liverpool"] 
[Date "2021.08.23"] 
[Round "4"] 
[White "Luke Boumphrey"] 
[Black "Steve Kee"] 
[Result "0-1"] 
[Annotator "FM David J James"] 
[Termination "Normal"] 
[Mode "OTB"]

{This was an anti Sicilian game where Luke played the infrequently tried 6 Nd5 line.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 e5 5. d3 Bg7 6. Nd5 d6 7. Ne2 Be6 8. Nec3 Qd7 9. O-O O-O-O {Queenside castling invites a very complex game. I don’t think this move has been tried before in that exact position.  As a Sicilian player myself I am generally reluctant to castle queenside unless I am faced with a massive attack on the kingside.  It is difficult to assess in this game as only a few moves have been played.} 10. Nb5 {My ’gut feeling’ is that Luke could have attacked slightly more quickly with 10 Rb1 and 11 b4. } Kb8 11. c3 Bxd5 12. exd5 Nce7 13. a4 {Again here Luke might have attacked quicker with 13 c4 with Rb1 and b4 as follow up moves.} h5 14. b4 cxb4 15. cxb4 Nf5 {Black has now equalised.} 16. Bb2 Nge7 17. Qd2 h4 18. Rfc1? {This is a blunder.  Instead of 13..Rc8 Steve could have played 18..hxg3 19 hxg3 a6 20 Na3 Bh6.} Rc8 19. g4? {19.Rxc8 is better} h3 20. gxf5 {By now Luke is worse but it becomes even more difficult after 20 gxf5 even though he is still worse after the better 20 Rxc8 Rxc8 21 Bf3.} hxg2 {Luke's king is now far too exposed} 21. Qe3 b6 22. f6 Nf5 23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. Qg5 Bh6 25. Qxg2 Rc2 26. Rb1 Be3 27. Kh1 Rxf2 28. Qh3 Bf4 29. Qh8+ Kb7 30. Qf8 Rxh2+ 31. Kg1 Rc2 32. a5 Bh2+ 33. Kf1 Ne3+ 34. Ke1 Bg3# {An impressive finish from Steve} 0-1

[Event "Jim Wiseman and Dave Hurley Open 2021"] 
[Site "Cross Keys, Liverpool"] 
[Date "2021.08.23"] 
[Round "4"] 
[White "Mike Coffey"] 
[Black "Steve Burge"] 
[Result "1/2-1/2"] 
[Annotator "FM David J James"] 
[Termination "Normal"] 
[Mode "OTB"]

{My first thought on sitting down to write this article occurred when Steve Burge sent me his game with analysis from the Chess24 website. How can I add anything to the machine analysis?} 
1. d4 e6 2. Nc3  f5  3. e4 {The Chess24 engine gives this an assessment +1.71 to White! So I switched on my oldish copy of Chessbase14 and the ‘live assessments’ of various engines gave it as +0.7 to White. In summary this tends to confirm that some of these programs cannot be trusted in the early stages of a game. Speaking generally I would suggest that White is very slightly better as he can play e4 safely and that is usually a good move to be able to play against the Dutch. Possibly, given that Steve plays the French, he could have played 2..d5 and if Mike doesn’t play 3.e4 he can switch to a Stonewall Dutch structure with 3..f5.}  Bb4 4. exf5  Nf6  5. Nf3 {Steve offers a pawn sac which could have been taken safely by Mike thus obtaining the better position.} O-O  6. Bd3  d6  7. O-O Bxc3  8. bxc3  exf5  9. Bg5  Qe8 {This is a mistake. White could have improved his position with 9 Bxf6  Rxf6 10 Bc4+ Kh8 11 Re1.}  10. Re1  Qf7  11. Bxf6  Qxf6  12. Bc4+ Kh8  13. Qd2  f4  14. Re2 {14 h3 would have been a useful precaution before continuing the e file play.}  Nc6  15. Rae1  Bg4  16. Bd5  Qg6  17. Be4  Qf7  18. Ng5 {The position is still fairly complex. Mike had to find a few good moves. 
I thought a safer way of playing it was 18 Qd3 h6 19 Bxc6 bxc6 20 Re7}  Qh5  19. Nxh7  Rfe8  20. f3  Rxe4  21. Rxe4  Bf5  22. Rxf4  Bxh7  23. Rg4 {23. Re6 is better, keeping better control of the position after 20..Rg8 30 Qe1 with the idea of of stopping Re8 and using the h4 square in some lines.}  Re8  24. h3  d5  25. Rxe8+  Qxe8  26. Qg5  Qd7 {Chess24 appears to overstate how much better it is for White at +1.92(CB has it as 0.56).}  27. Rh4 Qe7 {27..Qe7 28 Rh5 was a better defensive try but still worse for Steve.} 28. Qh5  g6  29. Qh6  Qg7  30. Qg5  Qe7  31. Qg4  Na5  32. Kh2  Nc4  33. Qc8+  Kg7  34. Rg4 Ne3 {I assume there was a time scramble at the end because Mike’s position went downhill rapidly and when they agreed a draw Steve was slightly better.  A good fightback by Steve from a dubious defensive line.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Jim Wiseman and Dave Hurley Open 2021"] 
[Site "Cross Keys, Liverpool"] 
[Date "2021.08.23"] 
[Round "4"] 
[White "Tom Webb"] 
[Black "Sanjoy Banerjee"] 
[Result "0-1"] 
[Annotator "FM David J James"] 
[Termination "Normal"] 
[Mode "OTB"]

1. b3 d5 2. Bb2  Nf6  3. e3  g6 4. Nf3  Bg4  5. Be2  Bg7  6. h3  Bxf3 {Sanjoy’s early plan of Bg4 and the exchange for a knight on f3 hasn’t been played at such an early stage in this opening by any strong players. Sometimes in more developed QP games this strategy can be OK for a drawish position but in this very early position I think it is a mistake. White obtains the advantage of the two bishops v bishop and knight and has more options to take advantage of that. There a few positions where Tom could have played d4, c4 or e4(or all three together!) to good effect.}  7. Bxf3  c6  8. d3 {8 d4 to stop e5(or weakening his centre if he tries it).}  Nbd7  9. Nd2  a5  10. c4  O-O 11. O-O  Re8  12. cxd5  Nxd5  13. Bxg7  Kxg7 {The position is fairly equal} 14. Qc2  e6  15. Rfc1  N7f6 16. g4?! {16.a3 is better.} Nb4 {the position becomes difficult for Tom although there might be a saving line after16..Nb4 17 Qc3 Qxd3 with 18 Qb2 followed by a3 and Nc4 and chasing the queen with Rd1 etc.} 17. Qc3 Qxd3  18. Qxd3  Nxd3 19. Rc3  Red8  20. Nc4  Nb4 21. a3  Rd3  22. Rxd3  Nxd3  23. Rd1  Nc5  24. b4  axb4  25. axb4  Nce4  26. g5  {It is all over} Nxg5  27. Nd6 Nxf3+ {A big lesson in this game is that a quiet move like 1 b3 needs to be followed  up with some attempt to fight for some central control(unless you just want to play it as a defence).} 0-1

Summer Nights- Monday August 23rd

Details: Written by sjb; Category: Club News; Published: 30 August 2021

The wonderful Monday Summer Nights of Chess continued at the Cross Keys. With the Hurley -Wiseman Tournament still in full swing. It has been good to see so many old and new faces attending the Club in recent weeks. Although now away in Prague, over the early Summer, Andrej Stancak provided some great analysis of some Classic GM World Chamionship Games and David Lawson has always been around to provide some excellent comments and advice to some of our new players and Tournament participants.A few presentations were made on the night with Colin Horton receiving The Trophy for being the 2020 Atticus Open Champion. Azalea May was presented with some exciting Chess Literaure to enjoy on her year abroad( as part of her University Language Course). In the very late hours Steve Burge was presented with yet another European Youtube Song Contest Award!

4NCL Online Round 1

Details: Written by John Redmond; Category: Atticus@4NCL; Published: 25 August 2021

Atticus ½-3½ Guildford Young Guns

2294	John Redmond	0	1	GM Mark Hebden	2480
2079	Steve Kee	½	½	IM Matthew Wadsworth	2466
1857	James Rothwell	0	1	FM Harry Grieve	2299
1701	Steve Burge	0	1	Viktor Stoyanov	2330
		½	3½

Atticus had a tough opening match in the fourth season of the 4NCL Online which began on Monday. Steve Kee had a tremendous battle with IM Wadsworth and was winning for most of the time before - presumably in time-pressure - he repeated moves in a winning position. I had a good opening against GM Hebden but got ground down in a position where I just needed to 'do nothing' (and do it well). Steve Burge had some attack whilst a pawn down in a Fantasy Caro-Kann but missed some equalising shots in the middlegame. James Rothwell also had chances and was better in a double-rook endgame before time-pressure got the better of him. So - a creditable start to the new season despite the lop-sided look of the score!

Wiseman-Hurley Open - Round 3 report

Details: Written by Sanjoy Banerjee; Category: Atticus Open Championship 2021; Published: 17 August 2021

Results from Round 3:

Colin Horton ½-½ Luke Boumphrey
Steve Kee 1-0 Mike Coffey
Brian Ewart 1-0 Ben Ellington
Brendan Kane ½-½ Tom Webb
Sanjoy Banerjee 1-0 Peter Jenner
Steve Winstanley 0-1 Steve Burge

...

Board 1: Colin Horton v Luke Boumphrey

The first to finish after both players entered a supposedly drawish line in the Dragon. However, later analysis showed there was considerable bite below the surface, where either combatant could have prospered or been sunk. A share of the spoils a fair result.

Board 2: Steve Kee v Mike Coffey

Mike's opening preparation led to a very reasonable position against the English, however, his position became quite passive, his play restricted by Steve's advancing kingside pawns, and this in turn led to a winning attack from Steve.

Board 3: Brian Ewart v Ben Ellington

The players somehow played this game with colours reversed from the published draw, with Ben taking the white pieces. In a game that showed the considerable skill of both players, Brian's experience and nous was ultimately telling, as he deployed a strong defensive set-up in the Rauser, where the latent power of the bishop pair proved irresistible in the long term.

Board 4: Brendan Kane v Tom Webb

A Smith-Morra - it ended all square with an agreed draw on move 37. Black kept hold of the gambited pawn but the pawn structure was blocked with no way through.

Board 5: Sanjoy Banerjee v Peter Jenner

In an exchange Caro, black dropped a central pawn in the opening, but found an energetic plan by keeping the king in the centre and thrusting forward on the kingside. White had to tread with care to keep the game under wraps, but ultimately found a way to trade into a winning endgame.

Board 6: Steve Winstanley v Steve Burge

In a really open game both sides fought to advance on opposite sides of board. As the game progressed black had a good advantage but Steve Winstanley managed to turn things around but used up too much time to keep on top, and things had turned again as his flag fell.

...

Standings after Round 3

2.5/3.0 Luke Boumphrey, Steve Kee
2.0/3.0 Colin Horton, Brian Ewart
1.5/3.0 Mike Coffey, Brendan Kane, Tom Webb, Sanjoy Banerjee, Steve Burge
1.0/3.0 Ben Ellington, Peter Jenner
0.0/3.0 Steve Winstanley

...

Draw for Round 4

Luke Boumphrey (2.5) v Steve Kee (2.5)
Brian Ewart (2) v Colin Horton (2)
Mike Coffey (1.5) v Steve Burge (1.5)
Tom Webb (1.5) v Sanjoy Banerjee (1.5)
Ben Ellington (1.0) v Brendan Kane (1.5)
Peter Jenner (1.0) v Steve Winstanley (0.0)

Wiseman-Hurley Open - Round 3

Details: Written by Sanjoy Banerjee; Category: Atticus Open Championship 2021; Published: 16 August 2021

Results from Round 2:

Luke Boumphrey 1-0 Brian Ewart
Mike Coffey ½-½ Colin Horton
Steve Burge 0-1 Steve Kee
Peter Jenner ½-½ Brendan Kane
Sanjoy Banerjee 0-1 Ben Ellington
Steve Winstanley 0-1 Tom Webb

...

Draw for Round 3

Colin Horton (1.5) v Luke Boumphrey (2)
Steve Kee (1.5) v Mike Coffey (1.5)
Brian Ewart (1) v Ben Ellington (1)
Brendan Kane (1) ½-½ Tom Webb (1)
Sanjoy Banerjee (0.5) v Peter Jenner (1)
Steve Winstanley (0) v Steve Burge (0.5)

Wiseman-Hurley Open 2021 - Round 3 postponed to 16th August

Details: Written by Sanjoy Banerjee; Category: Atticus Open Championship 2021; Published: 09 August 2021

We have been advised at short notice that due to staff illness The Cross Keys will close at 9.30pm tonight. As such round 3 of the Atticus Open has been postponed until next week (16th August). The club night will still take place tonight as usual, the early closing notwithstanding.

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