John Henderson reports on the 4NCL Final Round (11)

MATCH OF THE DAY

IT was billed by the organisers as “The Match Of The Day” - an idea that seemed good at the time despite it becoming a bit of an anti-climax due to the league title being decided in the previous round! However, the final game of the 1999/2000 4NCL season between Slough and Wood Green, nevertheless, proved to be a tense, and entertaining affair with the only real thing at stake (apart from the little matter of second place for Wood Green) being pride and honour for these two arch-rivals of the British chess scene.

With GMs being flown in from around the world to play in what was thought to be “the title decider”, the match easily became the strongest-ever domestic fixture in the UK. Wood Green, with the addition of Alexander Morozevich, Nigel Short and Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, were joined by Jon Speelman, John Emms, Alexander Baburin (now manager of Morozevich), Chris Ward and Paul Littlewood, had the strongest line-up on paper with an average rating of 2568. Slough, pulling out all the stops to retain their title, made to fly in at the last minute Hungary’s Zoltan Almasi and Belgium’s Mikhail Gurevich, to join Tony Miles, Lubo Ftacnik, Peter Wells, Colin McNab, Matthew Turner and Sue Lalic, for an average rating of 2531.

Slough would have had a higher average rating were it not for the rules of the competition. With the league stipulating that you can only play two non-EEC players in any given match, the Slough captain, Tony Miles, had the unfortunate task of having to drop the Canadian former world championship candidate, Kevin Spraggett.

Fittingly, in the end, both teams shared the honours with a nail-biting 4-4 draw. The match, however, was in the balance for the champions until the very last minute when Matthew Turner bravely ground down the former British champion, Paul Littlewood, to keep Slough’s unbeaten record in the league. It was also a double celebration for Turner, with the win also securing him his first GM norm!

Slough1 4-4 Wood Green1

1 Z Almasi 0-1 A Morozevich; 2 M Gurevich draw N Short; 3 A Miles draw J Speelman; 4 L Ftacnik draw J Emms; 5 P Wells 1-0 A Baburin; 6 C McNab draw C Ward; 7 M Turner 1-0 P Littlewood; 8 S Lalic 0-1 K Arakhamia-Grant.

Zoltan Almasi vs Alexander Morozevich

Almasi,Z (2676) - Morozevich,A (2748) [B82]

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Qb6 5 Nb3 Nf6 6 Nc3 e6 7 Bd3 d6 8 Be3 Qc7 9 f4 a6 10 g4 b5 11 g5 Nd7 12 Qd2 Nc5 13 Nxc5 dxc5 14 Qf2 Bb7 15 0–0–0 0–0–0 16 Rhf1 Nd4 17 e5 Be7 18 Be4 Nf5! 19 Bxb7+ [If 19 Bxf5 exf5 and Black has the bishop pair and control of the important e4-square.] 19 ..Kxb7 20 Ne4 Rxd1+ 21 Rxd1 Rc8 22 Qf3 Kb8 23 Bf2 c4 24 Bg1 Qc6 25 Qf2 Rc7 26 Qb6+ Kc8 27 Qxc6 Rxc6 28 Bf2 Rc7 29 h4 Kb7 30 h5 Kc6 31 a3 Rc8!

(A wonderful retreat from Morozevich. It was only now that (much like Almasi) we began to realise that White's advanced kingside pawns were now going to become a liability in the ending after ..Rh8 and ..h6) 32 Rd2 Rh8 33 Rd1 (Almasi is simply helpless in preventing Morozevich continuing with his plan) 33 ..h6 34 Rh1 [34 g6? fxg6 35 hxg6 h5 36 Rh1 Rh6 37 Rg1 h4!] 34 ..hxg5 35 Nxg5 [35 fxg5? Kd5 36 Nc3+ Kxe5] 35 ..Bxg5 36 fxg5 Kd5 (As Steinitz once observed: "The King is a fighting piece - use it.") 37 Be1 Rh7! [37 ..Kxe5? 38 h6! Kf4 39 hxg7! saves the day for White. Morozevich's subtle little rook move stops all the tricks and forces Almasi to defend e5.] 38 Bc3 Ke4 39 b3 cxb3 40 cxb3 Kf3 41 h6 (The only way to prevent ..Kg2 winning the h5 - and probably g5 - pawn) 41 ..gxh6 42 gxh6 Rxh6 43 Rd1 Ke4 44 Rd7 Rh3 45 Kb2 Ne3 46 Bd2 [46 Rd4+ Kf5 47 Rd7 Nd5 48 Bd4 (48 Rxf7+?? Kg6) 48 ..Ke4 49 Bc5 Rh2+ 50 Kc1 Nf4] 46 ..Rh2 47 Kc3 Nd5+ 48 Kc2 Rf2 49 Ra7 Kxe5 50 Rxa6 Ke4 51 Rd6 e5 52 a4 Ne3+ [52 ..Ne3+ A) 53 Kc1 bxa4 54 Bxe3 (54 bxa4 Rf1+ 55 Kb2 Nc4+) 54 ..Kxe3 55 bxa4 f5; B) 53 Kb1 53 ..Rf1+ 54 Kb2 bxa4 55 Bxe3 a3+ 56 Kxa3 Kxe3 57 b4 f5] 0–1

Nigel Short vs Mikhail Gurevich

Short,N (2683) - Gurevich,M (2694) [C11]

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 dxe4 5 Nxe4 Be7 6 Bxf6 Bxf6 7 Nf3 0–0 8 Bc4 Nc6 9 c3 e5 10 d5 Ne7 11 Nxf6+ gxf6 12 Nh4 Ng6 13 Qh5 Qd7 14 h3 Nxh4 15 Qxh4 Qf5 16 0–0–0 Bd7 17 f4 Qxf4+ 18 Qxf4 exf4 19 Rhf1 Rae8 20 Rxf4 f5 21 Bd3 Re5 22 c4 Rc8 23 Kd2 c6 24 dxc6 Rxc6 25 Re1 Rxe1 26 Kxe1 Rg6 27 Kf2 Bc6 28 g3 Rd6 29 Ke3 Rg6 30 Kf2 Rd6 31 Ke2 Rg6 32 Bxf5 Rxg3 33 Rg4+ Rxg4 34 hxg4 Kg7 35 Ke3 Kf6 36 Bxh7 Ke5 37 g5 b6 38 b4 Bd7 39 Bd3 Bc8 40 a3 Be6 41 c5 bxc5 42 bxc5 Bd7 43 Bc4 Be8

[At the post mortem, Gurevich commented to Short "If it is Black to play, I would have resigned!" What we have on the board is a reciprocal zugzwang (or "Volkswagen" as Short calls it!) where if it is Black to move, he loses; if White is to move, it's a draw! Chess can be so cruel at times.] 44 Bb3 [Both players had a try at a winning attempt for White with the obvious: 44 a4 Bxa4 45 Bxf7 a5! 46 g6 Kf6 47 Kd4 Bb5 48 Bc4 Bc6 49 Bd5 Bb5 50 Be4 Kg7 51 Kc3 (51 Kd5 a4 52 c6 Bxc6+ 53 Kxc6 a3 54 Bb1 a2 55 Bxa2 Kxg6) 51 ..Bd7 52 Kb2 (52 Kc4 Ba4 53 Kd4 Bd7) 52 ..Bb5 and White cannot make any progress.] 44 ..f6! (The more pawns that can be exchanged, the easier the drawing task as Black can either sacrifice the bishop for a draw or, with extreme care, go into a drawn King and pawn ending.) 45 gxf6 Kxf6 46 Kd4 Ke7 47 Ke5 Bb5 48 Be6 Bc6 49 Bd5 Bxd5! (Carefully calculated out - the King and pawn ending is drawn as Black has the opposition) 50 Kxd5 Kd7 51 c6+ [51 a4 Kc7 52 c6 Kc8 53 Kd6 Kd8 54 a5 Kc8 55 a6 (55 Kc5 Kc7 56 Kb5 Kd6! 57 Ka6 Kxc6 58 Kxa7 Kc7 59 a6 Kc8 60 Kb6 Kb8 draws) 55 ..Kd8 56 c7+ Kc8 draws] 51 ..Kc7 52 Kc5 Kb8! [The correct move, keeping the opposition. The alternative leads to disaster: 52 ..Kc8?? 53 Kd6 Kd8 54 a4 a5 (54 ..Kc8 55 a5 Kd8 56 c7+ Kc8 57 Kc6 a6 58 Kd6 Kb7 59 Kd7) 55 Kc5 Kc7 56 Kb5 Kb8 57 Kxa5] 53 Kd6 Kc8 54 c7 [54 Ke5 Kc7 55 Kd5 Kb8! (Again the only move) 56 Kc5 Kc7 57 Kb5 Kb8 58 Ka6 Kc7 59 Kxa7 Kxc6 60 a4 Kc7 61 a5 Kc8 62 a6 Kc7] 54 ..a6 [54 ..a5?? 55 a4! Kb7 56 Kd7] 55 Kc6 a5 56 Kb6 [56 a4 is stalemate] 56 ..a4! 57 Kc6 ½–½

Peter Wells vs Alexander Baburin

Wells,P (2494) - Baburin,A (2591) [D20]

1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 (A Baburin specialty! - The Queen's Gambit Accepted, which invariably leads to dynamic positions with free piece play,) 3 e4 (The Central Variation) 3 ..Nc6 4 Nf3 [4 Be3 led to an amusing little miniature by Matthew Sadler after 4 ..Nf6 5 Nc3 e5 6 d5 Na5 7 Nf3 Bd6! 8 Qa4+ Bd7 9 Qxa5 a6 10 Nb1 Nxe4 11 Kd1 c3 0–1 Illescas Cordoba,M-Sadler,M/Linares 1995/CBM 51 (11); 4 d5 Ne5 5 Bf4] 4 ..Bg4 5 d5 Ne5 6 Bf4 Ng6 7 Bg3 e5 8 Bxc4 Bd6 9 Bb5+ [9 Qb3 Nf6 10 Bb5+ (10 Qxb7? Nxe4 11 Nbd2 Nc5) 10 ..Kf8! 11 Nfd2 c6! offers chances for both sides.] 9 ..Bd7 [9 ..Kf8!?] 10 Qb3!?N [10 Bxd7+ Qxd7 11 Nc3 Nf6 12 0–0 0–0 13 Rc1 b5 14 Qc2 Rfb8 15 Nd1 and White stood better in Timman-Lautier, Wijk aan Zee match, 1994.] 10 ..Nf6 [Also an option was 10 ..c6!? 11 Bc4 (11 dxc6 bxc6 12 Bc4 Rb8) 11 ..Qc7 12 Nc3 Nf6 13 0–0 0–0] 11 Nbd2! (The knight has more options from d2 rather than c3) 11 ..0–0 [Also worth looking at was 11 ..h5!? 12 Bxd7+ Nxd7 13 h4 Nc5 14 Qb5+ Qd7] 12 Bxd7 Qxd7 13 0–0 c6! 14 dxc6 Qxc6 [14 ..bxc6? 15 Qc2 Rfd8 16 Nc4 Qe6 17 Rfd1 Bc7 18 Rac1] 15 Rac1 Qa6 16 Nh4 [16 Rfd1 Rac8!] 16 ..Rac8 17 Nf5 Bc5 18 Rc4 Rfd8 19 Rfc1 b6

[It's hard to criticize ..b6, but Black was much better heading for an ending by exchanging off the pieces with 19 ..Rxd2 20 Rxc5 Rxc5 21 Rxc5 Qe6! (a move that may have been missed by Baburin) 22 f3 (22 Qxe6? Rd1#!; 22 Qa4 Nxe4!) 22 ..h6 23 Rb5 (23 Qxe6 fxe6 24 Nh4 Nxh4 25 Bxh4 Rxb2 is good for Black) 23 ..Qxb3 24 Rxb3 Rd1+! 25 Kf2 b6 26 Ke3 Rg1 27 Kf2 Rc1 and Black should have no problem holding this ending as the White bishop is effectively out of commission on g3.] 20 Qc2!? (The game now becomes very, very complicated - which is not helped by the fact that both players now got themselves into deep time-trouble.) 20 ..Qxa2 21 Nf3 a5 22 h3 [22 Nxe5? Nxe5 23 Bxe5 Qxc4! 24 Qxc4 Bxf2+ 25 Kxf2 Rxc4 26 Rxc4 Ng4+ 27 Ke2 Nxe5] 22 ..a4 [Defending e5 wasn't a practical choice: 22 ..Nd7? 23 Nd6! Rc6 (23 ..Rc7 24 Ng5 h6 25 Ngxf7 Rf8 26 Nb5 Rc6 27 Nfd6 Rxd6 28 Nxd6 Bxd6 29 Qd2 Rf6 30 Rc6) 24 Nb5 Rf6 25 Rd1 A) 25 ..h6 26 b4! Qxc2 27 Rxc2 axb4 (27 ..Bxb4 28 Rc7) 28 Rcd2; B) 25 ..Rc8 26 Rxd7 Qxc4 27 Qxc4 Bxf2+ 28 Bxf2 Rxc4 29 Rd8+ Nf8 30 Nc3] 23 Nxe5 Ra8 [23 ..a3? 24 Nxg6 hxg6 25 Ne7+] 24 Nc6 Re8 [Staying on the d-file also had it's problems: 24 ..Rd7!? 25 e5 Nh5 (25 ..Nd5 26 Nd6!) 26 Bh2 a3 27 bxa3 Rxa3 28 g4! A) 28 ..Rd2? 29 Rxc5! bxc5 (29 ..Rxc2 30 R5xc2 Qe6 31 Ncd4 Qd7 32 Rc8+ Nf8 33 e6 fxe6 34 Bd6) 30 Qxc5; B) 28 ..Qxc2 29 R1xc2 Rxh3 30 gxh5 Rd1+ 31 Kg2 Rxh5 32 Ne3 Bxe3 33 Ne7+! Kf8 34 Nxg6+ hxg6 35 fxe3] 25 e5 Nd7 26 Nd6 Bxd6 [26 ..Re6 27 Qf5 Bxd6 28 exd6 Qxb2 29 Nd4 Ra5 30 Qg4 h5 31 Qd1 Rd5 32 Rb1! (The Queen now becomes embarrassed for squares) 32 ..Qa2 33 Rcb4 Qa3 (33 ..Re4 34 Ra1!) 34 Qf1] 27 exd6 a3 28 bxa3 Qxa3 (By this stage, both players flags were on the verge of dropping.) 29 Qf5 Ngf8 [29 ..Re6 30 Nd4 Ra5 31 Rc8+ Ngf8 32 Qb1 Rh6 33 Nc6!] 30 Ne7+ Rxe7 31 dxe7 Qxe7 32 Rc8 Rxc8 33 Rxc8 h6 34 Qd5 Kh7 35 Bd6 Qe1+ 36 Kh2 Ne6 [36 ..Qxf2? 37 Bxf8 Qf4+ 38 g3! Qf2+ 39 Qg2] 37 Qf5+ g6 38 Qxf7+ Ng7 39 Qg8# 1–0

Turner,M (2487) - Littlewood,P (2411) [A22]

1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 g3 Bb4 4 Bg2 0–0 5 e4 Bxc3 6 bxc3 Re8 7 d3 c6 8 Qb3 Na6 9 Ba3 b6 10 Ne2 Nc5 11 Qc2 d5 12 cxd5 cxd5 13 exd5 Nxd5 14 0–0 Bb7 15 Bxc5 bxc5 16 Rab1 Bc6 17 Nc1 Qd6 18 Re1 Rad8 19 Nb3 Ne7 20 Bxc6 Nxc6 21 Re3 f5 22 Rbe1 c4 23 dxc4 Rf8 24 f4 e4 25 R3e2 Qa3 26 g4 g6 27 Rg2 Qd6 28 gxf5 Rxf5 29 Qxe4 Rxf4 30 Qe3 Rdf8 31 Nd2 Kg7 32 h3 R4f7 33 Ne4 Qe5 34 Nd2 Qd6 35 c5 Qf6 36 Qe6 Qh4 37 Rf1 Rxf1+ 38 Nxf1 Qf4 39 Ng3 Qf3 40 Kh2 Rf6 41 Qe1 Rf7 42 Qe6 Rf6 43 Qe2 Kf8 44 Ne4 Qf4+ 45 Kh1 Rf5 46 Rf2 Qe5 47 Kg2 Rxf2+ 48 Qxf2+ Kg7 49 Qe3 Qe6 50 a3 Qe5 51 a4 a5 52 Kf3 Qd5 53 Kg3 Qe6 54 Qd3 h6 55 Kg2 Qf5 56 Qf3 Qe6 57 Nd6 Ne5 58 Qe4 Kf6 59 Qf4+ Kg7 60 Qd4 Kh7 61 Qe4 h5 62 Kf2 Qf6+ 63 Ke2 h4 64 Nb5 Kg7 65 Nd4 Qe7 66 Nf3 Nc6 67 Qxe7+ Nxe7 68 Nxh4 Kf6 69 Kd3 Ke5 70 Kc4 Ke4 71 Nxg6!

[Very alert - even after nearly six-hours of play. This is one of those positions where the knight can't cope as the pawns are on opposite sides of the board. However, only last year, Peter Svidler agreed a draw against Vishy Anand from a similar position not realising that it was a win! (see below)] 71 ..Nxg6 72 Kb5 Kd5 73 c4+ Ke6 74 Kxa5 Kd7 75 Kb5 Kc7 76 a5 Nh4 77 c6 Nf5 78 Kc5 Ne7 79 h4 Nxc6 80 a6 Ne7 81 h5 Nf5 82 Kb5 Nd6+ 83 Kb4 Nf5 84 Kc5 Nh6 85 Kb5 Nf5 86 c5 Nd4+ 87 Kc4 Nf5 88 Kd5 Ne3+ 89 Ke6 Ng4 90 Kf5 Ne3+ 91 Kg5 Nc4 92 h6 Kb8 1–0

GM norm for Matthew Turner

Being the last game to finish, this nicely ground out win by Matthew Turner not only saved the match for Slough, it also gave him his first GM norm – Congratulations, Matthew!

Svidler,P (2713) - Anand,V (2781) [C80]

Dos Hermanas (5), 1999

Here, Anand offered a draw after 69 ..Kf7. Incredibly, Svidler accepted(!), not realising he had a forced win on the board! 69 ..Kf7 70 Kxd4 Nb5+ 71 Kc5 Nxa7 72 Kb6! A) 72 ..Kg8 73 f6! (73 Kxa7?? Kh7 74 Kb6 Kxh6 75 Kc6 Kg5=) 73 ..Nc8+ 74 Kc7 Na7 75 Kd7+-; B) 72 ..Nc8+ 73 Kc7 B1) 73 ..Na7 74 Kd7! Nb5 (74 ..Kf6 75 h7! Kg7 76 f6+ Kxh7 77 f7 Kg7 78 Ke8!+-) 75 h7 Kg7 76 f6+ Kxh7 77 f7 Kg7 78 Ke7+-; B2) 73 ..Ne7 74 h7 B2a) 74 ..Nd5+ 75 Kd6 (75 Kd6 Kg7 76 Kxd5 Kxh7 77 Ke6 Kg7 78 Ke7+-) ; B2b) 74 ..Kg7 75 f6+!+-

Ketevan Arakhamia vs Susuan Lalic

Arakhamia-Grant,K (2404) - Lalic,S (2318) [B16]

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ gxf6 6 c3 Bf5 7 Nf3 e6 8 g3 Qd5 9 Bg2 Qe4+ [9 ..Qc4!? 10 Be3 Nd7 11 Nh4 Bg6 12 Nxg6 hxg6 13 Qd2 Rd8 14 b3 Qb5 15 c4 Qh5 leaves White with just a small plus.] 10 Be3 Qc2 11 Nh4 Nd7?!

[Black's best here is to exchange Queen’s with 11 ..Qxd1+ 12 Rxd1 Bg6 (Much better is 12 ..Bg4! 13 f3 Bh5 14 g4 Bg6 15 f4 Nd7 16 f5 exf5 17 gxf5 Bh5 18 Rd2 Nb6 19 Bf4 0–0–0 20 Kf2 Nc4 21 Rc2 Bd6 22 Bxd6 Nxd6 23 h3 Rhg8 24 Ke3 Rg5 25 Kf4 Rdg8 26 Rh2 Bd1 27 Rd2 Rh5 28 Rxd1 Rxh4+ 29 Ke3 Nxf5+ 30 Kd2 Rf4 31 Bf1 c5 32 Bd3 cxd4 33 Bxf5+ Rxf5 34 cxd4 Rg3 35 Re1 Rf4 36 Rc1+ Kd7 37 Rc4 h5 38 Ra4 a6 39 Rb4 Kc7 40 Re2 b5 41 a3 Rxh3 42 Kc2 h4 43 Re8 Rg3 44 Ra8 h3 45 Kb1 Rf2 46 d5 h2 0–1 Pugachov,A-Vasiukov,E/St Petersburg 1994/CBM 41 (46)) 13 0–0 Nd7 14 f4 f5 15 c4 Bh5 16 Rc1 Rc8 17 d5 Bc5 18 Rfe1 0–0 19 dxc6 bxc6 20 Nf3 Bxf3 21 Bxf3 Bxe3+ 22 Rxe3 c5 23 Ra3 Rc7 24 Rd1 Rb8 25 b3 Rb6 26 Kf2 Kf8 27 Ke3 Ke7 28 Ra5 Nf6 29 Rd3 Ne8 30 Kd2 Nd6 31 Re3 Rb8 32 Re5 Rbc8 33 Ra6 Ne8 34 Kc3 Nf6 35 Ra5 Nd7 36 Re2 Nf6 37 Rb5 Rd8 38 Kc2 Rd4 39 Rd2 Rxd2+ 40 Kxd2 Ne4+ 41 Ke3 Nd6 42 Ra5 Kd7 43 h3 h6 44 Kd3 Ke7 45 a3 Kd7 46 g4 fxg4 47 hxg4 f5 48 gxf5 exf5 49 b4 cxb4 50 c5 Ne4 51 axb4 Kc8 52 Bxe4 Rd7+ 53 Bd5 Rxd5+ 54 Kc4 Rd7 55 c6 Rh7 56 b5 Kb8 57 Kc5 h5 58 b6 axb6+ 59 Kxb6 h4 60 Rxf5 Rh8 61 Rf7 h3 62 Rb7+ 1–0 McDonald,N-Lalic,S/GBR 1998/CBM 64 ext (62); 11 ..Qxb2? 12 Nxf5 exf5 13 0–0 Qxc3 14 Qb1! leaves Black in a bad way.] 12 Nxf5 Qxf5 13 0–0 Bd6 14 c4 [Also worth a try was 14 Qb3!? 0–0–0 15 c4 Qa5 16 d5! Nc5 17 Bxc5 Qxc5 18 dxc6 bxc6 19 Qa4 Be5 20 b4 Qb6 21 Rab1 with a raging attack on the Black king.] 14 ..0–0–0 15 Qa4 [It may have been quicker with the immediate 15 d5! exd5 (15 ..Ne5 16 dxc6 Nxc6 17 Qa4!) 16 Bxa7 and Black's struggling.] 15 ..h5 16 d5 exd5 17 cxd5 c5 18 Qxa7 h4 19 Rfc1 hxg3 20 hxg3 Rde8 21 Rc3! (Stopping any ideas of ..Rxe3) 21 ..b6 22 b4 Kd8 23 Re1 Re4 24 bxc5 [24 Bxe4?? Qxe4 25 Kf1 Qf3 26 Qa8+ Bb8! wins for Black] 24 ..bxc5 25 Qa8+ Nb8 26 Rb3 Rb4 27 Rxb4 cxb4 28 Bb6+ Kc8 29 Rc1+ Kd7 30 Qb7+ Ke8 31 Rc8+ 1–0

Slough1 Wood Green1 4-4; Guildford ADC 5.5-2.5 Barbican 4NCL1; Index IT1 5-3 Bigwood1; NW Eagles 2-6 The AD's; Silvine White Rose 5-3 Bristol1; Wood Green2 3.5-4.5 Richmond

Division One Final Table

Division Two Final Table