LANCASHIRE (BCF SEMI-FINAL)
QUENIBOROUGH
5 JUNE 2004

Lancashire were an unknown quantity as they had received a bye in the quarter final, and had qualified as a result of playing a single match, which they had won on board count against Yorkshire. They were two players short, but did not have the courtesy to inform Essex or the controller in advance, thus causing Paul Barclay and Ray Purse to undertake unnecessary journeys up to the Midlands. Despite the two point cushion, this was not an altogether comfortable afternoon for Essex. The first seven over the board results produced six draws and a win for Lancashire, restricting the Essex margin to 5-4 and with a clearly unfavourable board count. However, wins for Ian Hunnable, Dana Hawrami and Mark Weighell enabled Peter Doye to force a draw to see Essex into the final, and the remaining games produced an unexpectedly large crop of points.

I Hunnable v S Appleby (notes by Ian Hunnable)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.h3 Bg7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 b6 [6...c5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.Nd2 Qxc5 9.Nb3 Qb6 10.Be5 e6 11.Nb5 Ne8 12.Bxg7 Nxg7 13.h4 1-0 77 moves, Capablanca-Yates, New York 1924.] 7.Nb5 Ne8 7...Na6 is slightly better. 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd6 11.Bd3 Bb7 12.0-0 Nd7 13.Rc1 Re8 14.Ne5 To forestall Black's implied ...e5, but Fritz prefers 14 Ne4. 14...Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nc8 16.Qc2 e6 17.Ne4 h6 Since Black is intending ...Qe7, he takes steps to prevent the awkward Bg5. 18.Rfd1 Qe7 At this point, I became seduced by the sac on h6. White has a beautiful position and should have no need of such measures, and but for one fact, I might have seen sense. In calulating the followup (as occurred in the game), I realised that, after Nf6+, an eventual Rd7 was winning the bishop on b7. I therefore concluded that Bxh6 wasn't a sac at all, so played it... 19.Bxh6 [19.Qc3 Rd8 20.Nf6+ Bxf6 21.exf6 Qf8 22.Be2+-] 19...Bxh6 It was at this point that I spotted the flaw in my calculation; I have a bishop on d3 that prevents following my next move with Rd7. The upshot is that I shall be giving up two minor pieces and a rook for a queen and two pawns, but Black is not yet fully developed and his king will be partially exposed. 20.Nf6+ Kg7 21.Bxg6 [21.Be4+- was best here. 21...Rd8 22.Rxd8 Qxd8 23.Rd1 Qf8 24.Rd7 Rb8 25.Bxg6+-] 21...fxg6 22.Rd7 Qxd7 [22...Rd8 23.Rxe7+ Nxe7 24.Qc4 Kf7 25.Ng4=] 23.Nxd7 Ne7 24.Nf6 Red8 25.g4 [25.Qb3] 25...Nd5 26.Ne4 At this point, I noticed that Black has 26...Nxe3 and that if 27 Qb3 Nxg4. 26...Kh7 Black either failed to see it, or thought it insufficient. [26...Nxe3 27.Qb3 Nxg4 28.Qxe6 Bxc1 29.Qe7+ Kh6 (29...Kh8 30.hxg4+-) 30.Qh4+ Kg7 31.Qe7+=] 27.h4 Bg7 Now it's not so good: [27...Nxe3 28.fxe3 Bxe3+ 29.Kf1 Bxc1 30.Qxc1±] 28.Ng5+ The game now came to an abrupt end as Black resigned instantly! Black had already concluded that 28 Ng5+ was 1-0 on the grounds of 28...Kg8 29 Qxg6 Bc8 30 h5 etc. However, he resigned so fast that I had not formulated how I was going to meet 28...Kh6. Waiting for the train home, I concluded that 29 h5! would fit the bill. On returning home, Frtiz confirmed this is enough to win: 29...Ne7 (29...Kxg5 30 Qxg6+ Kh4 31 h6 threat Qh5#) 30...Bxe5 (30...Kxg5 31 f4+ Kxg4 32 Qg2+ Kf5 33 Rf1 Bxe5 34 e4+ etc) 31 f4 Rh8 (31...Nxg6 32 Qh2+) 32 Nxe6 Bc8 33 Qh2+ Kxg6 34 f5+ Kf7 35 Qxe5 etc. 1-0

Return to 2003/2004 summary
Return to U175 Index
Return to John Philpott's Homepage