2/19/2023 – It was in May 2016 that I launched this column, initially as an Agony Column in which readers could showcase their triumphs and disasters, and today I’m returning to the roots with a couple of my own games. Of course, I care very much when I’m playing, but ‘agony’ and ‘ecstasy’ are too strong for the emotions that chess normally engenders in me nowadays, and I’ve gone for ‘fairly gentle pleasure’ at victory and ‘mild to medium irritation’ at defeat. | Photo: David Llada
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My battles
[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
It was in May 2016 that I launched this column, initially as an Agony Column in which readers could showcase their triumphs and disasters.
Four years later it was rebooted as a freestyle vehicle for anything interesting that came up — but today I’m returning to the roots with a couple of my own games. Of course, I care very much when I’m playing, but agony and ecstasy are too strong for the emotions that chess normally engenders in me nowadays, and I’ve gone for fairly gentle pleasure at victory and mild to medium irritation at defeat.
Most players prefer to attack rather than defend. But what is the correct way to do it? GM Dr Karsten Müller has compiled many rules and motifs to guide you, along with sharpening your intuition for the exceptions.
The games in question are from the 4NCL which met last weekend near Warwick. Post pandemic, we’ve finally returned to a normal all-play-all (after the extended experiment in which we used a model briefly introduced by the French before they discarded it, which enabled 16 teams to do battle over 11 rounds). But the all-play-all has been engineered so that the top seeds meet over the final two weekends, so that at the moment my team Wood Green, Chessable White Rose and the defending champions Chess.com Manx Liberty all have 12/12 match points.
Last weekend, I played two Irish players, Killian Delaney and Connor Murphy. Delaney had beaten me as white last season in a very impressive game, and I was hoping at least as white to play decently. As it was, I had one of the cleanest wins I’ve had for ages, and we were both able to go and watch Ireland play France at Rugby within an hour or so of the round’s start!
On Sunday, I played the very talented Connor Murphy and slightly pushed my luck in the opening. I got a reasonable middlegame, but he then totally outplayed me before erring in the run-up to the time control. We then reached a fascinating endgame and exchanged errors near the end. I’m never particularly surprised by my own sporadic incompetence, but was (mildly to mediumly) irritated by the hopeless 45...Bxe2??, when if I'd taken my time — and I had oodles of it — then I would have realized that 45...Bd6 sets White enormous problems.
I hope you enjoy the games.
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Last season Killian Delaney won a very impressive game against my Caro Kann
in which he completely outplayed me. Playing as White I wanted at least to
have a decent game, but certainly wasn't expecting what occurred. To be fair he
and his teammates were pretty distracted by the Rugby between Ireland and
France, which was on a screen in the bar just metres away form our board.1.Nf3c52.c4e6Unusual but perfectly playable of course.3.g3d54.Bg2Nc65.0-0dxc4?!5...Nf6is normal when White can choose between6.cxd5
and d4, with a main line Catalan when6.d4dxc47.dxc5is topical nowadays7.Qa4is the old main line, and Wesly So won a nice game v Jan-Krzysztof
Duda yesterday as I'm recording this.6...exd5or6...Nxd57.d4
with a semi-Tarrasch.7.d4with a Tarrasch orand5...d4!?which
is rather pushing things when White hasn't played b3 and Black will soon have
to lose a tempo with e6-e5.6.Na3Be76...e5was much more challenging.7.Nxc4e47...f68.d3Again, given that Black has a lost a tempo with the
e pawn, I imagine that White has some way to get at least an edge and I wasn't
especially surprised when Stockfish came up with this line:Nge79.Be3Nd510.Qb3Rb8?!11.Ncxe5!fxe512.Ng5Nce713.Rac1h614.Ne4b615.Nxc58.Ne18.Nfe5??Nxe59.Nxe5Qd48...Nf69.d3White should be able to get
at least some advantage due to the lead in development.7.Nxc4Nf68.b3
I rather optimistically thought that I already had a significant advantage
(maybe even a serious one), since in the main lines of the Catalan, White
normally has to lose several tempi regaining the c4 pawn with the queen,
whereas here everything has happended really ergonomically and I have a lead in
development. Of course engines still find a way to limit the damage, but it
was already difficult for a human being.8...Nd58...0-09.Bb2Qc710.Nce510.d4Rd811.Rc1b612.Qc2Bb713.dxc5Bxc514.Ng514.Bxf6gxf614.a3Rac815.b4Nd416.Nxd4Bxd417.Bxb7Bxb218.Qxb2Qxb719.Ne514...Bd415.Ba310.Rc1b611.d4Rd812.Qc2transposes.10...Bd710...Rd811.Rc1Bd712.Nxd7Qxd711.Nxd7Nxd712.d4with a pleasant edge.9.Bb2Bf6?This simply loses too much time, but 0-0 was already quite difficult.9...0-010.d4Qc711.dxc5Bxc512.Rc1Rd813.Qc2and ifb614.a3a515.Ng5g616.Ne410.Bxf6!I looked at e4 but it was unclear to me, and
Bxf6 was obviously very pleasant indeed.10.e4Bxb211.exd5Bxa112.Qxa112.dxc6Bf613.Nfe5b514.c7Qxc712...Nd413.Nxd4cxd414.Qxd40-015.d610...Nxf610...Qxf611.e4This is a bit complicated, though
unsurprisingly White's lead in development "ought to" be the decisive factor.
My first thought was11.Nd6+Kf8which is obviously very unpleasant for
Black too.11...Ndb412.e5Qe713.Nd6+Kf814.d4cxd415.Rc1Bd715...Nxa216.Rxc6bxc617.Qd2Nc318.Nxd4Nd519.Nxc6Qc720.Bxd5exd521.Qb4Kg822.Nxc816.Qd210...gxf611.Rc1at least ±11.Rc10-011...Rb812.Qc2b613.d4cxd414.Nce5Nxe515.Nxe5Bd712.Nce5Nxe513.Nxe5
Black's development is so bad tht the c5 pawn is now in deep trouble.Qa513...Qd614.Nd3Nd715.Qc2Rb816.Nxc5Nxc517.Qxc5Qxd218.Qxa718.Qc7Ra819.Rfd1Qxa218...Bd719.Rcd114.Qc2Nd5
15.Rfd1!Simply
defending the d pawn.b6?!15...Rd8I'd seen that Qxc5 wins a pawn and
would have looked for more.16.Qxc516.Nc4Qa617.d4cxd417...b518.dxc5bxc419.bxc417...b618.dxc518.Rxd4±16...Qxa217.Ra1Qb217...Qxb318.Rdb118.Nd3Actually Nc4 looks even strogner if a bit
complicated:18.Nc4Qc219.Rdc1Qxb320.Rcb1Qc221.Rb2Qg622.e418...Qf619.Rxa7b620.Qa3Rxa721.Qxa7e522.Qb8?22.Qa1!Bg423.Kf122...Bg422...Bf523.Qxe515...Nb416.Qxc5Qxc517.Rxc5Nxa218.Nd3!Rd819.Ra1Rxd320.exd3Nb421.Rxa7Rb822.Bxb715...f616.Nc4Qa617.Ne3Rd818.Nxd518.Qxc5Qxe219.Re118...exd519.Qxc5Qxe220.Re1Qg420...Qh521.Re7Bg422.Qb416.Nc6Qb517.Ne7+Kh817...Nxe718.Bxa8Qxe218...e519.d319.d418.Nxd5exd519.Bxd5Rb820.d4cxd421.Rxd4
21...Qd7I did notice that if Bh3 I had Rh4.21...Bh322.Rh4h623.Qd2Rfc823...Rfd824.Rxh6+gxh625.Qxh6+Kg826.Qg6+Kh827.Qh5+Kg728.Qxf7+22.Qc7Here he resigned and we both went to watch the rugby. A
horrible game for Black and one of the easiest I've had for ages, though much
good it did me on the Sunday.He might have tried22.Qc7Qxc723.Rxc7Rd8But obviously White is winning with a modicum of care.24.e324.Rxa7
is perhaps what I'd have played.Bh324...Be625.e4f526.Rc4Bxd527.exd5Rxd528.Rb7Rbd829.Rcc7f430.Rxg7f331.Rxh7+Kg832.h425.f324...Bh325.Bg225.Bxf7Rdc826.Rxc8+Rxc827.Bc4g628.f328.a4a629.Rd1Kg730.f3b531.axb5axb532.Bxb5Rc233.Bf1Be628...b529.Bxb5Rc230.Rh425...Rxd426.exd4Rc8!and the bishop ending is presumably winning,
but it feels a little disappointing to end up just a single pawn up.27.Rxc8+Bxc828.Bc6!Bf529.f3Kg830.d5Kf831.d61–0
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
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