In this game Mario shows the importance of persevering when you make a mistake. In the end he has a choice of queen sacrifices to crown his attack and deliver mate; can you spot the other one?
[Event "2017-2018 Chester & District League"]
[Site "The Town Crier, Chester"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mario Scarpa"]
[Black "Frank McGuigan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "104"]
[BlackElo "75"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2017.01.23"]
[WhiteTeam "Chester G"]
[BlackTeam "Frodsham"]
[TimeControl "35/4500:900"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. a3 a6 7. b4 Ba7 8. Bb2
Qe7 9. d3 Nd4 10. h3 c6 11. Ne2 $4 {I thought to force NxNe2 and completely
miscalculate what black actually did} Nxf3+ 12. gxf3 {Now to keep even in
material I had to break my position… things started to look bad} d6 $2 {
However, this made me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was fearing 12.
… d5 threating both Bishop and pawn in h3, which would have caused me
serious troubles because 13. exd5 Bxh3 14. Re1 cxd5} 13. Kh2 Qd7 14. Rh1 Bxf2
15. Qf1 Bh4 16. f4 {I was hoping for a pawn exchange in order to advance with
the Knight} Qe7 17. f5 {This blocked the Bishop’s diagonal, decreasing
pressure on h3} Nh5 18. Rg1 Kh8 19. Qf3 Nf6 20. Ng3 g6 21. Rg2 Bxg3+ 22. Rxg3
Nh5 23. Rg4 Nf4 $4 {This blunder cost Black a lot!} 24. Qxf4 f6 25. Qh6
g5 26. d4 b5 27. Bb3 Bb7 28. Rag1 d5 29. dxe5 fxe5 30. Rxg5 Rg8 31. f6 $3 Qe6
32. f7 $3 {Whatever the Black could move, the end was nigh because of the
pressure on g8} Qxh6 33. Rxg8+ {Black resigns. Taking the Queen allowed me to
checkmate in two moves. Not taking the queen would have not made a big
difference anyway} 1-0
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In the next game a 2500 Grandmaster looks very ordinary against Chester 2 regular Chris Doran.
[Event "EU Union-ch 4th"]
[Site "Liverpool"] [Date "2008.09.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Meijers, Viesturs"]
[Black "Doran, Chris"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. Bb3 Ne5 11. g4 Rc8 12. h4 b5 13. h5 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. hxg6 fxg6 16. Ndxb5 Bxb5 17. Nxb5 Qb8 18. a4 a6 19. g5 axb5 20. gxf6 Rxf6 21. Bh6 Bxh6 22. Qxh6 Rf7 23. axb5 Rxc2 24. b4 Qc8 25. Kd1 Rc4 26. Rh2 Rd4+ 27. Rd2 Rxf3 28. Ke2 Rxe4+ 29. Kxf3 Qf5+ 30. Kg2 Rg4+ 31. Kh1 Qe4+ 32. Kh2 Qe5+ 0-1
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In the final round of the English Rapidplay championships, Steve Lloyd took on an alternative opponent, rather than accept the free point! His young opponent had nothing to play for, but Lloyd needed a win to secure second place! Here are most of the moves!
[Event "English Rapidplay Championships - Intermediate"]
[Site "Liverpool"]
[Date "2017.09.24"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Harman, George"]
[Black "Lloyd, Steve"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. Nf3
{White keeps his options open with this move!}
1... c5
{As do I! This could lead to a Sicilian or a Kings Indian or an Symmetrical English or Benko or a…}
2. d4 cxd4 3. Nxd4 g6 4. e4
{Now it’s a Hyper-Accelerated Dragon, something I’m familiar with.}
4... Bg7 5. Be3 Nc6
{And now we’re into a “normal” Accelerated Dragon}
6. Nc3 Nf6 7. f3 O-O 8. Bc4 a5
{Here I get my variations a bit mixed up. My book recommends Qb6 here}
(8...Qb6 9.Qd2 (9.Bb3 Ng4 10.fxg4 Bxd4 11.Bxd4 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.Nd5 Nc6) 9...Nxe4 10.fxe4 Bxd4 11.Bxd4 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.O-O-O Nc6)
9. Qd2 d5 10. exd5 Nb4 11. a3
{This seems unnecessary. I’m going to play Nbxd5 anyway}
11... Nbxd5
(11...Nfxd5 {I considered this but couldn’t see a way
of making it work.} 12.axb4 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Bxd4 14.Qd2 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Qxd2+
16.Kxd2 {May have been ok})
12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bh6
{Here I see his bishop on c4 is en prise and the knight on d4 would be if it wasn’t defended by the Queen. So…}
13... Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Nb6
{I’m surely winning a piece here?}
15. O-O-O
{This was a good find. Now Ne6 or Nf5 threats mate or the Queen if I was to ignore it and play Nxc4}
15... Nxc4
{Which I do anyway! Figured losing a Queen for a Bishop, Knight and Rook was more than a fair
swap. There’s nothing else for me anyway, I don’t think.}
16. Ne6 Bxe6 17. Rxd8 Rfxd8 18. h4 Rd2
{I don’t mind if he plays Qxd2 Nxd2 because I’m still a piece up. However this move may have been premature because of his next move.}
19. b3
{Going to have to give up one of my extra pieces. May as well get some pawns.}
19... Rxg2 20. bxc4 Bf5
{Was going to immediately chop c4, but this is better.}
21. h5
{He may be trying to crack open h file and score a cheapo, but I’ve got it covered.}
21... Rxc2+ 22. Kd1 Rd8+
{Activate Queenside Rook!}
23. Ke1
{The immediate Rc1?? now was tempting. Fortunately I saw his Queen was covering it!}
23... Ra2 24. Qc1 Rc2 25. Qa1 Rdd2 26. h6
{One last try. I think I can just play Rb2 now but I wanted to try a quicker win. As long as I don’t stop checking, I’m ok.}
26... Re2+ 27. Kf1
(27.Kd1 Rcd2+ 28.Kc1 e5 29.Qxe5 Rxe5 30.Kxd2)
27... Rf2+ 28. Kg1 Rg2+ 29. Kf1 Bd3+
{This bishop is a beast!}
30. Ke1 Rb2
{Finally I do something to block his mate threat.}
31. Qd1 Rb1 32. Qxb1 Bxb1
{We played on from here but I forget how it went!}
{#R} 0-1
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Next Mario Scarpa shows how a quick victory is possible by applying early pressure
[Event "2017-2018 Division"]
[Site "The Town Crier, Chester"]
[Date "2017.09.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mario Scarpa"]
[Black "Sandi Medagedara"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C57"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Chester 7"]
[BlackTeam "Holywell"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Ne7 6. d6 Ned5 7. Nc3 Qxd6 8.Nxd5 Nxd5 9. Qf3 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Qb3 Qc6 $4 12. Bb5 {Black resigns} 1-0
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Here Scottish Grandmaster Colin McNab suffers an upset in round one of the Edinburgh Open against another Chester 2 player Phil Crocker
[Event "Edinburgh Open"]
[Site "Edinburgh"]
[Date "1993"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Crocker, Phil"]
[Black "McNab, Colin"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 e5 4. Bg2 Ne7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nge2 d6 7. O-O c6 8. d4 Qc7 9. b3 a5 10. Bb2 Na6 11. Rc1 f5 12. Qd2 Be6 13. Rfd1 Rad8 14. Nd5 Qd7 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. Bxe5 dxe5 18. Qxa5 Bf7 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Qxa6 Qc5 21. Qb7 Rb8 22. Qd7 Qa5 23. Qd2 Qa3 24. Nc3 Rfd8 25. Qc2 e4 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Nxd1 g5 29. Nc3 Bh5 30. Qd2 Bf3 31. Ne2 Bxe2 32. Qxe2 Qc1+ 33. Kg2 g4 34. b4 Qa3 35. b5 cxb5 36. cxb5 Qb4 37. Qd1 Qc5 38. b6 Qxb6 39. Qb3+ Qxb3 40. axb3 Kf7 41. Kf1 Ke6 42. Ke2 Kd5 43. Kd2 Kc5 44. Kc3 h5 45. b4+ Kb5 46. Kb3 1-0
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Here Mike McDonagh neatly combines strategy and tactics in a win against a leading North West tournament player and former British Senior Champion:
[Event "Manchester OPEN"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Surtees, Michael"]
[Black "McDonagh, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C00"]
[Annotator "McDonagh,Michael"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
1. e4 e6 2. f4
{I still haven’t really worked out what to play against this move although the game continuation turns out ok.}
d5 3. e5 Nh6
{I didn’t want to play the against the wing gambit which may arise after …c5 so I avoided pushing the c-pawn for now.}
4. Nf3 Be7 5. a3
{A useful move in many lines of the french advance. But is it just a waste of time here?}
a5
{Stopping any idea of b4 once and for all.}
6. g3 c5 7. d3
{A lot of the time I really don’t understand what Mike is trying to achieve but here I suspect here the idea behind d3 is to support a c4 pawn advance.}
b5
{So I stop that idea.}
8. Bg2 Bb7
{Placing my bishop opposite his.}
9. O-O Nc6
{Which is the best square for the knight? I wasn’t sure but c6 felt better than d7.}
10. Qe2 Nf5
{Thus far I have avoided castling and hence any KIA style play against my king. This move brings the knight closer to the centre and to d4. It is often an ideal square for the knight in the French advance and so a similar logic held here.}
11. c3
{Covering d4.}
h5
{Making use of the Rook on h8 and trying to secure my knight on f5. The downside is that the white knight gains access to g5.}
12. Nbd2
{Developing the knight}
Qb6
{Developing my Queen opposite whites king.}
13. Rf2
{Blocking any potential checks and freeing the f1 aquare for the knight.}
g6
{Preparing castling by hand so as to connect the rooks.}
14. Ng5
{The knight jumps into g5 but I can’t see any imminent threats so continue to castle by hand.}
Kf8 15. Nf1
{Rerouting the knight to e3?}
c4 16. d4 Ncxd4
{A nice combination taking advantage of the rook being pinned against the king.}
17. cxd4 Nxd4 18.Qd1 Nf5
{The rook isn’t running away.}
19. Bd2 Bc5 20. Be1
{Although the computer evaluates this position as only slightly better for black I believe that it is hard for a human to defend correctly here as white.}
Kg7
{Finishing castling by hand.}
21. Qd2 b4
{Expanding further upon the queenside, no rush to cash in.}
22. Rd1 Rad8 23. h3
{White is running out of moves}
h4
{The computer likes the pawn on a3 here. I prefer further constriction on the kingside.}
24. g4 Ng3 25. Kh2 Ne4 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Qe2 Rxd1 28. Qxd1
{And Mike resigned. There is no Nxe6+ perpetual.}
0-1
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What can Black do against FM Bjerke’s 19.Ba7 threatening to win a pawn?
[Event "Gausdal Int"]
[Site "Gausdal"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Bjerke, Richard"]
[Black "Crocker, Philip J"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O a6 8. h3
Rb8 9. Be3 b5 10. Nd2 Bd7 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Rc1 Qe8 13. d5 Na5 14. b4 Nc4 15.
Bd4 e5 16. dxe6 Bxe6 17. Nde4 Qe7 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Ba7
{[#]}
Bxc3 20. Rxc3 Ra8 21.
Bxa8 Rxa8 22. Qd4 c5 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. bxc5 Rxa2 25. Rb1 Rd2 26. Rd3 Rxd3 27.
exd3 Nd2 28. Qf4 Nxb1 29. Qb8+ Qf8 30. Qxb5 Nc3 0-1
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Here to show we are only human, we reveal some brilliant moves which we could have played, but, well, didn’t..
[Event "Malpas v Chester Bd 2 KO"]
[Date "2017.03.14"]
[White "Whyte, Brian"]
[Black "Crocker, Phil"]
[SetUp "1"] [FEN "r2qkb1r/pp1n1ppp/3p4/P2Ppb2/1nP2P2/NQ6/1P4PP/R1B1KBNR b KQkq - 0 11"]
{[#]}
11... Nd3+ {Instead 11..Na6 was played} 12. Bxd3 Nc5 13. Qc3 Nxd3+ {And Black
is much more active} 0-1
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