Some fairly gentle pleasure and mild to medium irritation

by Jonathan Speelman
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

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

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. 

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. 

4NCL Chess

The crosstable | 4NCL website

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. 

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
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.Nf3 c5 2.c4 e6 Unusual but perfectly playable of course. 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.0-0 dxc4?! 5...Nf6 is normal when White can choose between 6.cxd5 and d4, with a main line Catalan when 6.d4 dxc4 7.dxc5 is topical nowadays 7.Qa4 is the old main line, and Wesly So won a nice game v Jan-Krzysztof Duda yesterday as I'm recording this. 6...exd5 or 6...Nxd5 7.d4 with a semi-Tarrasch. 7.d4 with a Tarrasch or and 5...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.Na3 Be7 6...e5 was much more challenging. 7.Nxc4 e4 7...f6 8.d3 Again, 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: Nge7 9.Be3 Nd5 10.Qb3 Rb8?! 11.Ncxe5! fxe5 12.Ng5 Nce7 13.Rac1 h6 14.Ne4 b6 15.Nxc5 8.Ne1 8.Nfe5?? Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Qd4 8...Nf6 9.d3 White should be able to get at least some advantage due to the lead in development. 7.Nxc4 Nf6 8.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...Nd5 8...0-0 9.Bb2 Qc7 10.Nce5 10.d4 Rd8 11.Rc1 b6 12.Qc2 Bb7 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Ng5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 14.a3 Rac8 15.b4 Nd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4 17.Bxb7 Bxb2 18.Qxb2 Qxb7 19.Ne5 14...Bd4 15.Ba3 10.Rc1 b6 11.d4 Rd8 12.Qc2 transposes. 10...Bd7 10...Rd8 11.Rc1 Bd7 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.Nxd7 Nxd7 12.d4 with a pleasant edge. 9.Bb2 Bf6? This simply loses too much time, but 0-0 was already quite difficult. 9...0-0 10.d4 Qc7 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Rc1 Rd8 13.Qc2 and if b6 14.a3 a5 15.Ng5 g6 16.Ne4 10.Bxf6! I looked at e4 but it was unclear to me, and Bxf6 was obviously very pleasant indeed. 10.e4 Bxb2 11.exd5 Bxa1 12.Qxa1 12.dxc6 Bf6 13.Nfe5 b5 14.c7 Qxc7 12...Nd4 13.Nxd4 cxd4 14.Qxd4 0-0 15.d6 10...Nxf6 10...Qxf6 11.e4 This is a bit complicated, though unsurprisingly White's lead in development "ought to" be the decisive factor. My first thought was 11.Nd6+ Kf8 which is obviously very unpleasant for Black too. 11...Ndb4 12.e5 Qe7 13.Nd6+ Kf8 14.d4 cxd4 15.Rc1 Bd7 15...Nxa2 16.Rxc6 bxc6 17.Qd2 Nc3 18.Nxd4 Nd5 19.Nxc6 Qc7 20.Bxd5 exd5 21.Qb4 Kg8 22.Nxc8 16.Qd2 10...gxf6 11.Rc1 at least ± 11.Rc1 0-0 11...Rb8 12.Qc2 b6 13.d4 cxd4 14.Nce5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bd7 12.Nce5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Black's development is so bad tht the c5 pawn is now in deep trouble. Qa5 13...Qd6 14.Nd3 Nd7 15.Qc2 Rb8 16.Nxc5 Nxc5 17.Qxc5 Qxd2 18.Qxa7 18.Qc7 Ra8 19.Rfd1 Qxa2 18...Bd7 19.Rcd1 14.Qc2 Nd5
15.Rfd1! Simply defending the d pawn. b6?! 15...Rd8 I'd seen that Qxc5 wins a pawn and would have looked for more. 16.Qxc5 16.Nc4 Qa6 17.d4 cxd4 17...b5 18.dxc5 bxc4 19.bxc4 17...b6 18.dxc5 18.Rxd4± 16...Qxa2 17.Ra1 Qb2 17...Qxb3 18.Rdb1 18.Nd3 Actually Nc4 looks even strogner if a bit complicated: 18.Nc4 Qc2 19.Rdc1 Qxb3 20.Rcb1 Qc2 21.Rb2 Qg6 22.e4 18...Qf6 19.Rxa7 b6 20.Qa3 Rxa7 21.Qxa7 e5 22.Qb8? 22.Qa1! Bg4 23.Kf1 22...Bg4 22...Bf5 23.Qxe5 15...Nb4 16.Qxc5 Qxc5 17.Rxc5 Nxa2 18.Nd3! Rd8 19.Ra1 Rxd3 20.exd3 Nb4 21.Rxa7 Rb8 22.Bxb7 15...f6 16.Nc4 Qa6 17.Ne3 Rd8 18.Nxd5 18.Qxc5 Qxe2 19.Re1 18...exd5 19.Qxc5 Qxe2 20.Re1 Qg4 20...Qh5 21.Re7 Bg4 22.Qb4 16.Nc6 Qb5 17.Ne7+ Kh8 17...Nxe7 18.Bxa8 Qxe2 18...e5 19.d3 19.d4 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.Bxd5 Rb8 20.d4 cxd4 21.Rxd4
21...Qd7 I did notice that if Bh3 I had Rh4. 21...Bh3 22.Rh4 h6 23.Qd2 Rfc8 23...Rfd8 24.Rxh6+ gxh6 25.Qxh6+ Kg8 26.Qg6+ Kh8 27.Qh5+ Kg7 28.Qxf7+ 22.Qc7 Here 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 tried 22.Qc7 Qxc7 23.Rxc7 Rd8 But obviously White is winning with a modicum of care. 24.e3 24.Rxa7 is perhaps what I'd have played. Bh3 24...Be6 25.e4 f5 26.Rc4 Bxd5 27.exd5 Rxd5 28.Rb7 Rbd8 29.Rcc7 f4 30.Rxg7 f3 31.Rxh7+ Kg8 32.h4 25.f3 24...Bh3 25.Bg2 25.Bxf7 Rdc8 26.Rxc8+ Rxc8 27.Bc4 g6 28.f3 28.a4 a6 29.Rd1 Kg7 30.f3 b5 31.axb5 axb5 32.Bxb5 Rc2 33.Bf1 Be6 28...b5 29.Bxb5 Rc2 30.Rh4 25...Rxd4 26.exd4 Rc8! and the bishop ending is presumably winning, but it feels a little disappointing to end up just a single pawn up. 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.Bc6! Bf5 29.f3 Kg8 30.d5 Kf8 31.d6
1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Speelman,J2493Delaney,K23341–02023A304NCL Division 1 2022-20235.41
Murphy,C2425Speelman,J24931–02023B104NCL Division 1 2022-20236.41
 

Select an entry from the list to switch between games



On this DVD you will be taken on a journey through what is arguably the sharpest opening line known to men.


Links


Jonathan 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.

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.