Well, joint top.
In a statement of intent worthy of Keanu Reeves, we went to Hammersmith last night. Seven of those who conquered Metropolitan were present in the Muswell Hill side, with the silent but deadly efficient Yaro Orishko replacing the travel-shy Dennis Bergkamp.
The elder Kraken was kept on Board 5 as he'd been partying in Coventry the night before. I suppose when you've spent the previous week in a Highbury attic, you can't afford to be too fussy about where you socialise.
Philip J. Makepeace (185) - (150) Sheikh A. Mabud
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. g3!? Qc7 6. Bg2 b5 7. O-O Bb7 8. Be3 Nf6
I've probably misplayed this, but my ninth merely gives another dimension to a fairly standard position. Though the immediate 9. a4 does give black a chance to allow Gladys to pip up to c3.
9. Nd2 Nc6 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Re1 Be7 12. Bf4 d6
A pragmatic choice. I preferred 12...e5 13. Bg5 0-0 for him - I now get to pile on pressure immediately.
13. c4 e5 14. Bg5 O-O 15. Rc1 Rac8?! 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Bh3
Irksome. 17...Nd7?? 18. Bxe7 is the point. White gains some tempi and big pressure against the weak bishop on c6.
17... Ra8 18. Qc2 Ra6 19. Re3 b4?
Losing a pawn by force.
20. Bf1! Rb6 21. Nc4 Rbb8
A sad concession. 21...Rb5? 22. Nxd6 is bigger than McDonald's.
22. Nxe5 dxe5 23. Qxc6 Qxc6 24. Rxc6 Rfc8 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8
Time to take stock. Having the bishop pair is important for shepherding any passed pawns, while black's control of the 'c' file is potentially awkward.
26. Rb3 h6 27. Bd2?!
Inconsistent with my last. Following the flow with 27. Bxf6 gxf6 28. Bd3 Ra8 29. Bb1 must be better.
27... Nxe4 28. Bxb4 Bg5 29. h4
29... Bd8
Avoiding the losing complications that arise after 29...Nd2 30. Rc3 Rb8 (30...Rxc3 31. Bxc3 Nxf1 32. hxg5 snares the knight) 31. Bd6 Rd8 32. Bc7 and black drops material.
30. Bd3 Nf6 31. Bc3 e4 32. Bc2 Kf8 33. Bxf6 Bxf6 34. Bxe4 Rd8
Should be pretty straightforward from here, right? Just 35. Rb7 followed by 36. h5 - restricting the king - and Alfie can begin to roll, with the queening square covered.
35. a4?!
Oh.
35... Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Rd2 37. Rb8+ Ke7 38. b4 Bd4 39. Rb7+ Ke6 40. a5 Rxf2+
Alright, fair enough, a consolation prize for you, my man.
41. Kh3 f5 42. Bc6 Ra2
Again, just 43. h5 Bg1 44. Bg2 and black's counterplay is sat on.
43. Rb5 Kf6 44. Bd5 Rb2 45. g4? f4 46. Bc4 g5 47. hxg5+? hxg5
Whoops. The threat of Bg1 and Rh2 mate is very real. White is busted. Instead, 47. Rf5+ Kg6 48. h5+ Kh7 49. Rf7+ Kh8 50. Rf8+ Kh7 51. Re8 hits e2 and the mate would be defended against.
48. Rf5+ Kg6 49. Bf7+ Kg7 50. Bd5 Kg6 51. Bf7+
Black's reluctance to play the winning 51... Kh6 led me to believe that he simply didn't realise how good his position was, so I chucked in the draw offer on the second repetition.
1/2-1/2
Lucky boy, eh?
While I'd been doing my chups, Tom, Chris and Dan had got up for the point. Given all had drawn last time out, this was particularly pleasing. Alecos, on the other hand, was on the end of a mauling from fellow Drunken Knight and CAMRA idol Carsten Pedersen. He'll be back though.
Yaro impressed the most with a steady grind on the black side of a Catalan while Oliver and Dick reached 2/2 with comfortable victories. A fantastic result, especially given what Hammersmith had done to Hackney in their opening fixture.
HAMMERSMITH | ECF | Result | ECF | MUSWELL HILL | |
1 | Carsten Pedersen | 191 | 1 - 0 | 186 | Alecos Ethelontis |
2 | Bajrush Kelmendi | 184 | 0 - 1 | 188 | Dan Hall |
3 | John H. Woolley | 156 | 0 - 1 | 178 | Yaro Orishko |
4 | Sheikh A. Mabud | 150 | ½ - ½ | 185 | Phil Makepeace |
5 | Amel Collard | 149 | 0 - 1 | 187 | Chris Russell |
6 | Michael C. Price | 145 | 0 - 1 | 170 | Oliver Butt |
7 | Frank J. Lukey | 130 | 0 - 1 | 162 | Dick House |
8 | Des Byrne | 110 | 0 - 1 | 160 | Tom Villiers |
Average 151.9 | 1½ - 6½ | Average 177.0 |
Hi Phil
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. As you intimated, I did make a come-back the following night for Barnet Elizabethans against Watford in one of the heavy weight matches of Herts Div 1. Amazingly, I was on board 4 (out of 5) against Jerry Rudge (188) and actually played some good chess to win rather than handing my opponent the game on a plate as I always seem to do against Carsten. Tryf also beat Andrew Stone on board 3 and Barnet won the match 3.5/1.5 sending a clear message of intent to win the division for a change this season.
Anyway, I'm still on 3 out of 4 so far, so don't write me off just yet! :)