Tweet
LAVISHLY BACKED GUILDFORD EXPECTED TO CRUISE TO 4NCL LEAGUE TITLE
3384: Shevedchikov v Estrin, Moscow 1977. White's next turn led to
early resignation. What did he play?
Leonard Barden
Friday 3 April 2015 19.24 BSTLast modified on Friday 3 April
201519.27 BST
Britain's 4NCL league heads for its final weekend next month with
Guildford set to win by a distance. The battle at the top has always
been partly financial, as backers of rival teams fly in grandmasters
from across Europe for key matches.
But this season Guildford are way ahead in the sponsorship stakes,
a Chelsea or Manchester City equivalent facing moderately bankrolled
rivals. The effect was highlighted in last Saturday's Guildford v
Oxford match, where the Surrey club's rating average of 2533, middling
GM level, was around 360 points higher than the mixture of academics,
juniors and locals who took to the board for the Dark Blues.
Oxford have a reputation this year as giant-killers and they justified
that by avoiding a statistically plausible 0-8 whitewash. Their
untitled board four beat Guildford's Spanish IM while Oxford's woman
player, Francesca Matta, covered herself and Bicester CC with glory
by setting up an impassable endgame blockade and drawing against a
male GM - whom the Guardian will not name but who can be identified
by judicious internet research - rated some 550 points higher.
Guildford's paymasters have the knack of motivating their star
players. The day before the match the former world title challenger
Nigel Short was in Calcutta, where he shared second prize with 7/9
in a strong open despite food poisoning in the closing rounds. Short
then departed for Birmingham and arrived in time to face Oxford's No1,
David Zakarian.
A few weeks earlier the young Armenian had saved his team from defeat
in the annual varsity match by an imaginative tactical coup, and he
elected to go for broke against his eminent but possibly jetlagged
opponent by opting for the Nimzovich Defence 1...Nc6, then giving
up a knight for three pawns and an attack. Short calmly defused the
threats, homed in on the other flank with rook, bishop and knight
and chased the black king down the board to checkmate.
Guildford have already narrowly defeated Cheddleton, their only serious
challengers. However, the league format is such that Guildford still
need to avoid any slip-ups in the final three rounds on 2-4 May,
which can be viewed live and free online.
Advertisement
This game from Guildford v Guildford B in round eight features a hot
theory Queens Gambit Accepted rook for knight sacrifice. The world
No3, Hikaru Nakamura, and Romain Edouard both won with it as Black
at Tradewise Gibraltar, yet here the Frenchman takes it on as White.
Black may improve by Bb4+ exchanging bishops before White castles
or by taking on e4 with the bishop, since as played his Nc3 gets in
a tangle and White is winning by move 17. Theorists will await the
next outing of 3...b5 and 7 Nxb5 with interest.
Romain Edouard v Dave Smerdon
1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 e4 b5?! 4 a4 c6 5 axb5 cxb5 6 Nc3 a6 7 Nxb5!? axb5
8 Rxa8 Bb79 Ra1 e6 10 Be2 Nf6 11 Nf3 Nxe4 12 0-0 Bb4 13 b3 Nc3 14 Qd2
Nc6 15 bxc4 Nxd416 Nxd4 Qxd4 17 Bf3 Bxf3 18 Qxd4 Ne2+ 19 Kh1 Nxd4 20
gxf3 0-0 21 cxb5 e5 22b6 Rb8 23 Ba3 Bxa3 24 Rxa3 Kf8 25 Rb1 Ke7 26
f4 exf4 27 b7 Nc6 28 Ra8 1-0
3384 1 Nf6+-but it was White who resigned after exf6 2 gxf6 Qxf2+!
when if 3 Kxf2 Ng4+ and Nxh6 or 3 Kh1 Qxf6.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/03/guildford-expected-to-win-4ncl-title
3384: Shevedchikov v Estrin, Moscow 1977. White's next turn led to
early resignation. What did he play?
Leonard Barden
Friday 3 April 2015 19.24 BSTLast modified on Friday 3 April
201519.27 BST
Britain's 4NCL league heads for its final weekend next month with
Guildford set to win by a distance. The battle at the top has always
been partly financial, as backers of rival teams fly in grandmasters
from across Europe for key matches.
But this season Guildford are way ahead in the sponsorship stakes,
a Chelsea or Manchester City equivalent facing moderately bankrolled
rivals. The effect was highlighted in last Saturday's Guildford v
Oxford match, where the Surrey club's rating average of 2533, middling
GM level, was around 360 points higher than the mixture of academics,
juniors and locals who took to the board for the Dark Blues.
Oxford have a reputation this year as giant-killers and they justified
that by avoiding a statistically plausible 0-8 whitewash. Their
untitled board four beat Guildford's Spanish IM while Oxford's woman
player, Francesca Matta, covered herself and Bicester CC with glory
by setting up an impassable endgame blockade and drawing against a
male GM - whom the Guardian will not name but who can be identified
by judicious internet research - rated some 550 points higher.
Guildford's paymasters have the knack of motivating their star
players. The day before the match the former world title challenger
Nigel Short was in Calcutta, where he shared second prize with 7/9
in a strong open despite food poisoning in the closing rounds. Short
then departed for Birmingham and arrived in time to face Oxford's No1,
David Zakarian.
A few weeks earlier the young Armenian had saved his team from defeat
in the annual varsity match by an imaginative tactical coup, and he
elected to go for broke against his eminent but possibly jetlagged
opponent by opting for the Nimzovich Defence 1...Nc6, then giving
up a knight for three pawns and an attack. Short calmly defused the
threats, homed in on the other flank with rook, bishop and knight
and chased the black king down the board to checkmate.
Guildford have already narrowly defeated Cheddleton, their only serious
challengers. However, the league format is such that Guildford still
need to avoid any slip-ups in the final three rounds on 2-4 May,
which can be viewed live and free online.
Advertisement
This game from Guildford v Guildford B in round eight features a hot
theory Queens Gambit Accepted rook for knight sacrifice. The world
No3, Hikaru Nakamura, and Romain Edouard both won with it as Black
at Tradewise Gibraltar, yet here the Frenchman takes it on as White.
Black may improve by Bb4+ exchanging bishops before White castles
or by taking on e4 with the bishop, since as played his Nc3 gets in
a tangle and White is winning by move 17. Theorists will await the
next outing of 3...b5 and 7 Nxb5 with interest.
Romain Edouard v Dave Smerdon
1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 e4 b5?! 4 a4 c6 5 axb5 cxb5 6 Nc3 a6 7 Nxb5!? axb5
8 Rxa8 Bb79 Ra1 e6 10 Be2 Nf6 11 Nf3 Nxe4 12 0-0 Bb4 13 b3 Nc3 14 Qd2
Nc6 15 bxc4 Nxd416 Nxd4 Qxd4 17 Bf3 Bxf3 18 Qxd4 Ne2+ 19 Kh1 Nxd4 20
gxf3 0-0 21 cxb5 e5 22b6 Rb8 23 Ba3 Bxa3 24 Rxa3 Kf8 25 Rb1 Ke7 26
f4 exf4 27 b7 Nc6 28 Ra8 1-0
3384 1 Nf6+-but it was White who resigned after exf6 2 gxf6 Qxf2+!
when if 3 Kxf2 Ng4+ and Nxh6 or 3 Kh1 Qxf6.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/03/guildford-expected-to-win-4ncl-title