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British
Championships 2000
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John Henderson's Round 11 Report on Friday 11th August
I’VE STARTED SO I’LL FINISH
Yip, no doubt about it - the greatest comeback since Lazarus! Defending champion and top seed Julian Hodgson defied the odds to retain his title and the £10,000 first prize (minus £50, of course, paid out for the Mastermind-like chair) in the Smith & Williamson British Championships at Millfield School in Somerset.
Champion: Julian Hodgson
Hodgson, 37, from London, forged into a clear one-point lead after defeating nearest rival Chris Ward in the penultimate round before a final round draw with Mark Hebden clinched him the title for the fourth time. It proved to be a surprise outcome for the champion after a disastrous start to the defence of his title.
When Hodgson brought his own executive chair a la Bobby Fischer to the tournament and began with 0.5/2, he was, if you pardon the pun, the butt of many jokes. However, laughing it all off, Hodgson rolled up his sleeves and made sure the castors on the chair were well oiled, as he made up for his bad start with seven wins and two draws in the next nine rounds, to take the title with his lowest score (he holds the record-winning score for the title of 10/11 achieved at Plymouth 1992).
Women's Champion, 13 year old Humpy Koneru
A little bit of history was also made in the tournament when 13-year-old Humpy Koneru, from Vijayawada in India, with a score of 6.5/11, broke the 61-year record of Elaine Saunders to become the youngest winner of the British Ladies title. Her title win included a victory over former world under 18 champion IM Nick Pert, a draw with England international GM John Emms, and loses to GMs Peter Wells and Keith Arkell and to IM Danny Gormally to finish with a creditable 1.5/5 against titled opposition, to just lose out on a WGM norm
Koneru just edged out England's number one woman WGM Harriet Hunt who finished on 6/11. However, to be fair, this was a great injustice to Hunt who played a very strong field and performed with distinction. Hunt's performance was the best I have ever seen from a British woman at the championship, which alone was deserving of the title.
Hunt played six GMs and two IMs in her eleven games, defeating GM Keith Arkell and drawing with GM Bogdan Lalic, GM Tony Miles and GM Aaron Summerscale. She lost only to GMs Chris Ward and Murray Chandler who finished second and joint third respectively all within striking distance of a men's GM result at one stage.
Hunt was among the leaders for the first week of the championship but lost her last two games. The destination of the title was decided by the final game of the tournament. Because Koneru was half a point behind Hunt at start of play, the pairings were kinder to her. Koneru faced the English junior Matthew Broomfield and won with black while Hunt took on IM Nick Pert – who needed to win to take the British Under-21 title - and lost a difficult rook and pawn endgame in the seventh hour.
But nevertheless all credit to both Julian Hodgson and Humpy Konery, both worthy winners, who were both presented with their titles by the big cheese (or should that be chess?) of Smith & Williamson, Managing Director Gareth Pearce (who himself is no slouch at the game as he qualified to play in the Championship in the early 1980s).
So that’s it for another year. Next year, instead of the fitness regime of Millfield, a school of sporting excellence, the whole shebang now moves to the land of donkey’s on the beach, Kiss-Me-Quick hats, candyfloss and fish ‘n’ chips as we return to the Yorkshire seaside resort of Scarbourgh.
Chris Ward and Luke McShane
Ward,C (2508) - McShane,L (2480) [A42]
1 d4 g6 A highly unusual move for Luke, who throughout his chess career has been a confirmed King's Indian player. Perhaps he wanted to avoid Ward playing another Trompowsky? 2 e4 Bg7 3 c4 d6 4 Nc3 Nd7
One of the better lines of the Averbakh Variation in the Modern Defence, where Black more or less plays a normal King's Indian with ..f5 - the big difference being that the g8-knight goes to e7 or even h6. 5 Be3 e5 6 d5 Ne7 7 g4 f5 8 f3 Ward transposes into something similar to his favourite Saemisch Variation against the King's Indian. Taking the pawn just helps Black to develop his pieces: 8 gxf5 gxf5 9 Qh5+ Ng6 10 exf5 Qh4! 11 Qg5 Bf6 12 Qg3 Nf4 13 Nb5 Kd8 14 Qxh4 Bxh4 15 Nf3 Bf6 16 0–0–0 Nc5 17 Bxf4 exf4 18 Bh3 Nd7 19 Rhg1 Ne5 20 Ng5 a6 21 Nd4 Ke7 22 b3 Rg8 23 Ngf3 Rxg1 24 Nxg1 c5 25 dxc6 bxc6 26 Nge2 f3 27 Nc3 Bd7 28 Ne4 Rg8 29 Nc2 Nf7 30 Nxf6 Kxf6 31 Ne1 Bxf5 32 Bxf5 Kxf5 33 Nxf3 Kf4 34 Ne1 Rg6 35 Rd4+ Kf5 36 Nd3 Rh6 37 Rf4+ Ke6 38 h4 Ne5 39 Kd2 Rxh4 40 Rxh4 Nf3+ 41 Ke3 Nxh4 42 Nb4 Nf5+ 43 Kf4 Nd4 44 Nxa6 Ne2+ 45 Kg5 Nc1 46 f4 Nxa2 47 f5+ Kf7 48 b4 Nc3 49 Nb8 Ne4+ 50 Kf4 Nd2 51 Nxc6 Nxc4 52 b5 Kf6 53 Nb4 Nb6 54 Ke4 Kg5 55 Nd5 Nd7 56 Ne3 Nb6 57 Nd5 Nd7 58 Ne3 Nb6 59 f6 Kg6 60 Nd5 Nd7 61 Kf4 h6 62 b6 Nxb6 63 Nxb6 1/2–1/2 Huebner,R-Mohr,S/Germany 1990/GER-chT (63) 8 ..h5?!
McShane would have been better now treating the position as a King's Indian: 8 ..Nf6 9 h3 c6 10 Qd2 cxd5 11 cxd5 0–0 12 Bd3 a6 13 a4 b6 14 Nge2 Nd7 15 Nc1 Nc5 16 b4 Nd7 17 Nb3 Bb7 18 Rc1 Kh8 19 a5 b5 20 Rc2 Nf6 21 0–0 Qd7 22 Rfc1 Rac8 23 Bb6 Ba8 24 Nd1 Rxc2 25 Rxc2 Nfxd5 26 exd5 Bxd5 27 Rc7 Qe6 28 Bc2 Bxf3 29 Nf2 Nd5 30 Ra7 fxg4 31 hxg4 Nf6 32 Qg5 Nxg4 33 Nxg4 Bxg4 1/2–1/2 Muender,M-Padevsky,N/Hamburg 1977/MCL (33). However, now, with the combination of the weak h-pawn, open g-file and some clever play from Ward, proves decisive 9 gxf5 gxf5 10 Qd2 Bf6 11 0–0–0 f4 12 Bf2 Ng6 13 Bh3 Bh4 14 Bf5! Rg8 15 Nh3 Nb6 16 Rhg1 Kf8 16 ..Bxf5?! 17 exf5 Bxf2 18 Qxf2 Ne7 19 Ne4! 17 Bxb6
17 c5!? was also worthy of consideration, too. 17 ..Bxf2 (17 ..dxc5? 18 Bxc5+ Be7 19 Bxb6 axb6 20 Qg2!) 18 Nxf2 Nc4 19 Qe2 Ne3 20 Bxg6 Nxd1 21 Qxd1 with a big advantage. 17 ..axb6 18 Bxg6 Bxh3 19 Bxh5 Rg5 Running with the king may have been better: 19 ..Ke7!? 20 Bg4 Bxg4 21 Rxg4 Rxg4 22 fxg4 Qd7 23 Rg1 Rg8 24 Qg2 , but White's extra pawn and passed h and g-pawn should be enough. 20 Rxg5 Qxg5 21 Bg4!
21 ..Bxg4 22 Rg1 Kf7 No better is the speculative 22 ..Bxf3 23 Rxg5 Bxg5 24 Qf2 Bh5 25 Qg2 Bd8 26 Qh3 Bf7 27 Nb5 Ke7 (27 ..Rxa2 28 Qd7 Ra8 29 Nxc7) 28 a3 and Black's all tied-up. 23 Rxg4 Qh5 24 Qg2 Bf6 25 h4! Curtailing the activity of the Black pieces. 25 ..Ke7 25 ..Rh8 26 Nb5 Bxh4 27 Rg7+ Kf8 28 Rxc7! 26 Nb5 c6 26 ..Rxa2 27 Nxc7 Ra4 28 b3 Ra1+ 29 Kb2 Rd1 30 Nb5 Rd3 31 Qh3 and the white-square weakness will prove deadly for Black. 27 Nc3 Kd7 28 Rg7+! Bxg7 29 Qxg7+ Kc8 30 Qf8+ Kc7 31 Qxa8 Qxf3 32 dxc6 Qe3+ 33 Kc2 bxc6 34 b4 f3 35 b5 f2 36 bxc6 1–0
ANDY’S BIT’S ‘N’ PIECES
Andy Martin
What’s the easiest way to become a GM? While most players work hard at the game to reach the Holy Grail of chess as they first of all work their way up the grease-pole by slogging through the many tournaments they need to play to first of all become an IM and then, if their really, really lucky, one, then two and...at long-last their third and final GM norm, our guest annotator at this rented spot for the past two week’s, IM Andrew Martin, found a shortcut – just allow Mig (remember him when he was funny?) to sign you up as a coach for Club Kasparov! Once signed up, Andy found that the boys at Kasparovchess.com thought so highly of him, they decided to just award the GM title to our Andy. Congratulations, Andy! Not for one minute did I ever doubt your abilities!
Well, while it’s beyond our means to do likewise (if it was, Crowther and yours truly would be first on the list!), I would just like to take this opportunity to thank the resident Millfield chess coach (and hero of the cricket match!) for all his work over the past fortnight.
Daniel Gormally and Colin Crouch
Gormally,D - Crouch,C [A18]
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e6 3 e4 d5 4 e5 d4 5 exf6 dxc3 6 bxc3 Qxf6 7 d4 c5 One of two good moves. 7...e5 is OK too: 7 ..e5; RR 7 ..Qd8 8 Nf3 Be7 9 Bd3 Nd7 10 0–0 c5 (RR 10 ..0–0 11 Qc2 h6 12 Qe2 Nf6 13 Re1 Re8 14 Bc2 Bf8 15 Ne5 g6 16 Qf3 Bg7 17 g4 Qe7 18 g5 Nd7 19 gxh6 Bxe5 20 dxe5 Nf8 21 Qf4 Bd7 22 Ba3 g5 23 h7+ Nxh7 24 Bxh7+ Kg7 25 Qc1 c5 26 Be4 Rh8 27 Qe3 Rac8 28 Bc1 Rh4 29 Qg3 1–0 Vilela,J-Sieiro Gonzalez,L/Sagua la Grande 1989/EXT 97 (29)) 11 Qe2 Nf6 12 Rd1 0–0 13 Ne5 Qc7 14 Bf4 Bd6 15 Bg5 Ne8 16 Nf3 Bd7 17 Rab1 Rb8 18 Rb2 g6 19 Bh6 Ng7 20 h4 Bf4 21 Bxf4 Qxf4 22 Ne5 Ba4 23 Rdb1 cxd4 24 g3 Qf6 25 Rb4 Be8 26 cxd4 Qe7 27 Ng4 Nf5 28 Bxf5 gxf5 29 Nh6+ Kg7 30 Nxf5+ 1–0 Bonner,G-Brigden,M/Bristol 1968/EXT 99 (30); RR 7 ..Bd6 8 Nf3 h6 9 Bd3 0–0 10 Qe2 c5 11 0–0 Nc6 12 Ba3 Qe7 13 Rad1 Re8 14 Rfe1 Kh8 15 Ne5 Bxe5 16 dxe5 Bd7 17 Qh5 b6 18 Bc1 f5 19 exf6 Qxf6 20 Be4 Rf8 21 Qf3 Qh4 22 Qe3 Rad8 23 Rxd7 Rxd7 24 Bxc6 Rdf7 25 f3 Qxc4 26 Be4 Qxa2 27 Bd3 Qd5 28 c4 Qd4 ½–½ Kube,H-Schlosberg,E/Germany 1999/EXT 2000 (28)
8 Nf3 h6 Necessary, in view of White's threat: Bg5 9 a3!? It's very difficult to imagine that this is White's best move although it works a treat against a tired Crouch. Gormally places great emphasis on avoiding an exchange of pieces that would occur after 9 Bd3 cxd4! 10 cxd4 Bb4+ 11 Bd2 Bxd2+ RR 9 Be2 Nc6 10 0–0 Bd6 11 Be3 0–0 12 dxc5 Bf4 13 Qc1 e5 14 Rd1 Rd8 15 Rxd8+ Nxd8 16 g3 e4 17 Nd4 Bg5 18 h4 Bxe3 19 Qxe3 Qe5 20 Rd1 Bd7 21 Nc2 Ba4 22 Rd5 Qe8 23 Nd4 Bc6 Vasiukov,E-Chekhov,V/Telavi 1982/MCD/½–½ (58); 9 Bd3 cxd4 (RR 9 ..Nd7 10 0–0 Be7 11 h4 b6 12 Qe2 Bd6 13 a4 a5 14 Re1 Bb7 15 d5 0–0–0 16 dxe6 fxe6 17 Be4 Rhe8 18 Rb1 Bxe4 19 Qxe4 Kc7 20 Re2 Qf5 21 Qc2 Ne5 22 Nxe5 Bxe5 23 Be3 Bxc3 24 Qb3 Bb4 25 Bd2 Rd3 26 Qb2 Qf6 27 Qxf6 gxf6 28 Bxh6 Rd4 29 Bg7 Rxh4 30 Bxf6 Rxc4 31 f3 Bc3 32 Rc2 Bd4+ 33 Bxd4 Rxc2 34 Be5+ Kb7 35 Rd1 Ra2 36 Rd7+ Ka6 37 g4 Rxa4 38 f4 Re4 39 Bc7 Rd4 40 Rh7 a4 41 Kf2 a3 42 Rh1 a2 43 Kf3 Kb7 44 Be5 Ra8 45 Ra1 Rb4 0–1 Pfaff,T-Prause,R/Oberhof 1999/EXT 2000 (45)) 10 cxd4 Bb4+ A) RR 11 Kf1! Perhaps the best move here. White needn't agree to Bd2: 11 ..0–0 12 Rb1 (RR 12 Bc2 Qd8 13 h4 Nc6 14 Bb2 Be7 15 Qe2 Nb4 16 Bb1 Bd7 17 g4 Qc7 18 a3 Nc6 19 g5 Qf4 20 Rg1 e5 21 d5 Bh3+ 22 Ke1 Nd4 23 Nxd4 exd4 24 Qd3 Bb4+ 25 axb4 Rfe8+ 26 Kd1 Bg4+ Beim,V-Gofshtein,L/Herzliya 1993/CBM 39/Ribli/1–0 (37)) 12 ..Bd6 13 Qe2 Qd8 14 g4 e5 15 dxe5 Bxg4 16 Qe4 Bh3+ 17 Kg1 g6 18 exd6 Re8 19 Qf4 Qd7 20 Bb2 Nc6 21 Qg3 Qe6 22 d7 Re7 23 Bf1 Bf5 24 Rd1 Rxd7 25 Rxd7 Qxd7 26 Ne5 Qd1 27 Nxc6 bxc6 28 h3 Re8 29 Qc3 Kf8 30 Qg7+ Ke7 31 Qd4 1–0 Holzapfel,J-Heigl,R/Germany 1992/EXT 99 (31); B) 11 Bd2 11 ..Bxd2+ 12 Qxd2=
9 ..Nd7N RR 9 ..Nc6 10 Be3 cxd4 11 cxd4 Bd6 12 Bd3 0–0 13 0–0 b6 14 Bc2 Ne7 15 Qd3 Ng6 16 h4 Rd8 17 Qe4 Rb8 18 c5 Bc7 19 h5 Nf8 20 g4 Rd5 21 Kg2 Bb7 22 c6 Bxc6 23 Ne5 Bb7 24 f3 Rxe5 25 dxe5 Bxe5 0–1 Noeckler,A-Reindl,W/Bayern 1999/EXT 2000 (25) 10 Bd3 Bd6 11 0–0N 0–0 12 Bc2 Rd8 13 Nd2 b6?!
Quite knackered at the end of long event, Crouch overlooks that 13 ..Bc7! is excellent. Black drops away unscathed, leaving White thinking about his pawn weaknesses. 14 Ne4 (14 f4 b6 15 Ne4 Qe7 16 d5 Nf8) 14 ..Qh4 15 g3 Qe7 This position contains the seeds of victory. Black defends his King with ...Nf8 and with ...b6, ..Bb7, coolly strides towards the advantage 14 Ne4 Qe7 15 Nxd6 Qxd6 16 Qg4 f5
Gormally's attack is less threatening than it appears. Having said that, and seeing the way Black gets caned, White's position must be treated with respect. But Crouch could also play 16 ..Nf6 17 Qf3 Ba6 18 dxc5 Qxc5 19 Bxh6 Bxc4 Black survives-that's all that counts.. 17 Qh4 Ba6 18 Re1 Nf8 18 ..cxd4 19 cxd4 (19 Rd1 Bxc4 20 Rxd4 Bd5 21 c4 Qe5 22 Bb2 Qe2) 19 ..Bxc4 19 d5! Sharp. I reckon Colin Crouch underestimated the force of the advance. Watching the game at this point, I saw him take twice quite confidently. 19 ..exd5 20 cxd5 Qxd5 21 Bxh6!!
Ouch ! Big fun for everyone - except Black! 21 ..gxh6 This capture shows that Crouch is fading fast. After 21 ..Rd6! Black can make a stab at survival: 22 Be3 Rg6 23 Qh3 Bd3 22 Qg3+
22 ..Kf7 23 Re5! Very satisfying. White rounds 'em up and moves 'em out 23 ..Qc4 24 Rxf5+ Ke7 25 Qg7+ Kd6 RAWHIDE! 26 Rxf8 Kc6 27 Qf6+ Kb5 28 Rxd8 Rxd8 29 Qxd8 Qxc3 30 Qd7+
A reread of 'How to Defend at Chess' by Dr CS Crouch (a wonderful book by the way) would appear to be in order. White soon finds the mate after 30 Qd7+ Kc4 31 Qa4+ Kd5 32 Rd1+ Ke5 33 Qe4+ Kf6 34 Qf5+ Ke7 35 Rd7+ Ke8 36 Qf7# Signing off 1–0