SURREY HOME (SCCU STAGE)
WANSTEAD HOUSE
5 OCTOBER 2002

Essex made extremely hard work of winning a match where Surrey were outgraded by a considerable margin. The early exchanges favoured the home team, with the top four boards turning in a regulation "win as White draw as Black performance" and Mark Weighell's win with the Black pieces compensating for Martin McCall's loss. However, a 5½ - 3½ lead gave insufficient margin for comfort as the middle order collapsed and three of the remaining games were lost. The bottom two boards looked promising, but there were moments of anguish for the match captain before the full points were secured. Ray Purse lost concentration in a totally won ending and dropped his bishop to a knight fork, but still had sufficient pawns against his opponent's knight to take the game, while Ian Hunnable's pawn up position had looked like turning into a forced draw until his opponent obligingly exchanged queens to reach a lost rook and pawn ending. Two draws were by now needed from the two games left in play. David Millward had been a passed a pawn up in a rook and bishop ending but with his rook in front of the pawn. He gave up the a pawn to try to make progress on the king side but could do no better than reach a drawn rook ending with an unqueenable h pawn. Meanwhile Julian Winkworth, misjudging the match situation, had turned down a draw offer. He played on to win, but eventually ran out of time with his opponent, by then down to a bare knight, not having mating material so the game was declared drawn under the quickplay finish rules.

David Varley v Ian Hunnable

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 Be7 4. Nd2 Accepting transposition to a French. 4 e5 would lead to a sort of Alekhine's, which I played for a while some years ago. 4...d5 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Bd3 c5 8. c3 Nc6 What started out as a Trompowsky has become a hybrid French - a cross between a Tarrasch variation (Nd2) and a Classical. 9. Qg4 The books call this "premature".9...f5 This, however is as premature as White's thrust. 9...O-O 10 Ngf3 f5 would have been correct, though it does not seem to make a lot of difference. 10. exf6 Nxf6 11. Qh4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Now 12...Qb4 wins a pawn, but at the cost of displacing my king: 13 Ngf3 Qxb2 14 Bg6+ Kf8 15 O-O, though one point I did not appreciate at the time was that Black then has 15...Nxd4. 12...O-O 13. Ne2 e5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 Unfortunately, I cannot play 14...Nxe5 on account of 15 Bxh7+! 15. Nf3? Whether White thought he had to let a pawn go, or whether it was an oversight, I don't know. 15 Rb1 is perfectly playable, though Black retains a small edge.15...Qxb2 16. O-O Ne5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Ng3 a6 19. Rab1 b5 20. Rfe1 Qd6 20...Qc3 is probably better. 21. Re2 Bd7 22. Qg5 Rae8 23. Rxe8 Conceding the e-file; 23 Rae1 must be better. 23...Rxe8 24. Nf5 Bxf5 25. Qxf5 Qc7? 25...Qa3 wins a second pawn. 26. h4 Qc3 27. g4 White has now drummed up some counterplay. 27...Re5 28. Qf3 Now the threat of Bxh7 forces me off the rank. Also, I cannot play 28...Ne4 due to 29 Bxe4, but I knew all that when I played ...Re5. 28...Qc7 ...one square further was, however, better: 28...Qc8 29. Kg2 Ne4 30. Qf4...and this is the reason. The best reply is probably 30...Re7 but I was now getting distracted by the clock 30...Qe7 31. Rc1 Nd6 I've lost a grip of this position in the last few moves and now 32 Rc6 is good. White, however, presses ahead on the other wing, allowing my knight to reach its destination. 32. h5 Nc4 33. Bxc4 dxc4 34. Rd1 Best now is 34...Qb7+ 35 Kg1 Re8 when Black has fully consolidated the pawn advantage. But now time-trouble had fully arrived and I had no time to consider such things. White had offered a draw with his last move which I declined with... 34...Re6 35. Qb8+ For some reason, I thought I'd gifted White a win with this. I have to play 35...Kf7 as 36...Qf8 loses everything after 37 Rd8, but in my time-trouble flap, I only had eyes for the region around my king's position and thought White's queen was supporting a subsequent Rd7! 35...Kf7 It was therefore with some relief that I reached the time-control (15 seconds to spare) with the realisation that White did not have Rd7 after all! 36. Rd8 After this, however, my position is still tricky. White might have enough to draw whatever I play. First of all, however, I have to make sure he does not have enough for a win! 36...Qc5 37. Qb7+ Re7 38. Qf3+ Ke6 39. Qe4+ Qe5 40. Qc6+ Kf7 This much I had seen when playing 36...Qc5. I was now able to conclude to my (dis)satisfaction, that I could not prevent a perpetual: 41 Qf3+ Qf6 42 Qd5+ Re6 43 Qd7+! (not 43 Rd7+ Kf8 and Black wins) 43...Re7 (43...Qe7 44 Qd5 Qf6 etc) 44 Qd5+ etc. I was idly musing on 41 Ra8 Qe4+ 42 Qxe4 Rxe4 43 Rxa6 c3 44 Rc6 Rc4 when White played, not 41 Qf3+ but... 41. Qa8?? I win! Amazing! 41...Qe4+ 42. Qxe4 Rxe4 43. Kf3 Re7 44. Rc8 Ke6 45. Rc6+ Kd5 46. Rxa6 c3 47. Ra8 Rc7 48. Rd8+ Kc4 49. Ke3 If 49 Ke2 Ra7 wins. Re7+ 50. Kf3 c2 51. Rc8+ Kd3 52. Rd8+ Kc3 0-1. If you can't be good, be lucky!

John Wilcox v Mark Weighell

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5 4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.d3 [5.Qf3!?] 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 d4! An important move. 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Be2 Bc5 9.0-0 dxc3+ 10.Kh1 0-0 11.Qe1 Nd4 12.Bd1 Bb6!? [12...Nxf3! 13.Bxf3 a5 has been tried by both Hebden and Flear, with the idea of bringing the rook across the 3rd rank. My opponent was expecting the immediate 12...f6.] 13.Rb1 [13.Qxc3 is obviously out of the question because of 13...Nxf3 etc.13.Ba3 is an interesting alternative, weakening the defence of f7 but still leaving Black with a very comfortable position.] 13...Be6 [13...Bg4?! 14.Qg3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 c6 16.Bg5 Qd7 17.Be4 Rfe8 18.Qh4 g6 19.Bf6 Bc5 20.Rf4 h5 21.Qg5 Bf8 22.Bxg6 Ne6 23.Bh7+ 1-0 Hald v Sorenson, Copenhagen Open 1990] 14.a3 [I prefer 14.a4 ] 14...Ba2 15.Ra1 [15.Rb4?? c5 16.Ra4 Qd7] 15...Bd5 16.Ng5 f6 17.exf6 Rxf6 18.Ne4 Rxf1+ 19.Qxf1 Qf8 20.Qe1 Re8 21.h3 Qe7 [Better is 21...Bxe4 22.dxe4 Qf5] 22.Bf3 Bxe4?! [Winning but 22...Nxc2 is stronger as 23.Nf6+ is refuted by the calm 23...Kh8!] 23.Bxe4 Nxc2 24.Qxc3 Nxa1 25.Qxa1 c6 26.Qa2+ Qf7 If he takes the h pawn with 27 Bxh7+ then after 27...Kf8 White is forced to exchange Queens leaving White with a technical win. 0-1

Ray Purse v Krishna Mehendale

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 e5 4.Bc4 Be6 5.d3 h6 6.Nd5 Better is 6...Nf6 7.Ne3 Be7 8.c3 0-0 9.0-0 a6? [9...Bxc4 10.Nxc4 b5] 10.a4 Nc6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Qb3 Qd7 [12...d5 13.Qxb7 Na5] 13.Nc4 Rae8 14.Nb6 Qc7 15.Qxe6+ Rf7 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 Bf6 18.Bd2 Qe7 19.b4 cxb4 20.cxb4 Qe6 21.Qxe6 Rxe6 22.b5 axb5 23.axb5 Nd8 [23...Nd4 24.Nxd4 exd4 25.f4] 24.Ra8 Rd7 25.Rc1 Kf7 26.Ba5 Re8 27.Rcc8 Ke7 28.Kf1 d5 29.Ke2 dxe4 30.dxe4 Rd6 31.Bc7 Rd7 32.Ne1 [Here White should have not let the Black rook escape the d file and should have played 32.h3 followed by g4, Bb6 and Ne1 or d2] 32...Rd4 33.f3 Kd7 34.b6 Rc4 35.g3 Be7 36.h4 Rf8 37.Nd3 Bf6 38.Kd2 [38.Rxd8+ Rxd8 39.Bxd8 Rc2+ 40.Kd1 Rg2 41.Bxf6 gxf6 42.g4+-] 38...Re8 39.Nb2 Rc6 40.Kd3 Rce6 41.Nc4 Nc6 [41...Nf7 does not lose a pawn yet.] 42.Rxe8 Rxe8 43.Rxe8 Kxe8 44.Nd6+ Kd7 45.Nxb7 Be7 46.Kc4 Kc8 47.Nc5 Bxc5 48.Kxc5 Kb7 49.h5 Nd4 50.Bxe5 Nxf3 51.Bxg7 Ng5 52.Kd4? [Having toyed with the idea of leaving the fork on - the ending is still winning - and noting that I should really play 52.Kd5 for some inexplicable reason I played] 52...Ne6+ 53.Ke5 Nxg7 54.g4 Kxb6 55.Kf6 Ne8+ 56.Kg6 Kc6 57.Kxh6 Kd6 58.Kg6 Ke6 59.g5 Nd6 60.h6 Nf7 61.h7 Ke7 62.Kg7 Nxg5 63.h8Q Ne6+ 64.Kh6 Kf7 65.e5 Nf8 66.Qf6+ Ke8 67.e6 Nxe6 68.Qxe6+ Kf8 69.Qd7 1-0

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