How to beat Dad at chess !!!

Here is a quick post for the Junior followers of this Blog - If you still haven't seen all the checkmates and you really want to beat your Dad at chess in the near future, why not invest in this great little guide:

How to Beat Your Dad At Chess

Two Rooks on the 7th - should never had been allowed!

My latest club match was a bit of a disaster frankly speaking ... I committed a cardinal sin and allowed my opponent to place both his rooks on his 7th rank :(. My concentration was completely lost - halfway through the game we had to change rooms which really didn't help me ...

Of course the story would have been different I think, had I

a) not lost concentration!
b) prevented the seventh rank incursion and perhaps sacrificed a pawn instead.

In a sharp position such as the one reached in the game Black should always be looking for aggressive counter play instead of passive play - a lesson I will take away with me ...

As usual, any comments welcome ...

Sicilian Maroczy-Bind

1. e4 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. d3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bf4 d6 9. Rb1 a6 10. Qd2 b6 11. Bh6 Bb7 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. a3 d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. e5 Nf5 16. b4 cxb4 17. axb4 Ncd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Qf4 Ne6 20. Qg4 h5 21. Qg3 h4 22. Qg4 Qg5? my concentration must have gone - this is passive and lacklustre! 23. f4 Qxg4 24. Bxg4 d4 25. Ne2 Rfd8 26. Rfc1 f5 27. exf6 Kxf6 28. b5 a5 29. Bxe6 Kxe6 30. Rc7 Rab8 31. Rbc1 Kd5 32. Rg7 Re8 33. Kf2 Re3 34. R1c7 Rbe8 35. Rgd7+ Ke6 36. Nxd4+ Kf6 37. Rf7# 1-0

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Skewer tactic wins exchange and game ...

I was due to play a club match last week, however my opponent turned out to be a 'no show' for whatever reason - the same deal for my colleague Jonathan, therefore we settled for a friendly against each other ...

Here is the game, a c3 sicilian. I got lucky and was gifted with a simple skewer, that allowed me to clean up ... (No, its not an April Fools joke, this really did happen, LOL)

As usual, any comments welcome ...

c3 Sicilian

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 e6 6. cxd4 Qc7 7. Bd2 d6 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. Bxc3 d5 10. Rac1 Nc6 11. Bd3 Be7 12. O-O O-O 13. Bb1 Bd7 14. Qd3 g6 15. Bd2 Rfe8 16. Ng5 Qd8 17. f4 b5 18. Kh1 Qb6 19. Nf3 a5 20. a3 b4 21. Bc2 a4 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Ra1 Bb5 25. Qd1 Bxf1 26. Qxf1 Rec8 27. Qd3 Qxb2 28. Rxa4 Rxa4 29. Bxa4 Qa1+ 30. Bd1 Rc1 0-1

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Draw accepted against the clock ...

In my next club game I had the opportunity to play a colleague I met up with at the recent Portsmouth Chess Congress - Ivor!

He had seen my first game in the congress (a 'Budapest') and probably wanted to avoid it, so he played 1. Nf3 ... For those that are unsure why White plays 1.Nf3 here is the basic theory;  http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess_Opening_Theory/1._Nf3

As usual, any comments welcome ...

1.Nf3 Opening

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 c6 8. c5 b6 9. b4 bxc5 10. bxc5 Qa5 11. Qd2 Nd7 12. Be2 Nxc5 13. O-O Nd7 14. Rac1 c5 15. Nxd5 Qxd2 16. Nxf6+ Nxf6 17. Nxd2 cxd4 18. exd4 Rb8 19. Nb3 Bb7 20. Nc5 Bd5 21. Bc4 Rfd8 22. Bxd5 Rxd5 23. Na6 Rbd8 24. Rfd1 g6 25. Nb4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Rxd4 27. Nc6 Ra4 28. Rc2 Nd5 29. Kf1 Kg7 30. g3 a5 31. Rc5 Rxa2 32. Nxa5 Kf6 33. Nc6 Rb2 34. Nd4 Rb4 35. Nf3 Rb1+ 36. Kg2 0.5-0.5

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/