The 5th EU Youth Chess Championships

1-9 August 2007, Mureck, Austria

Round 7

Tuesday morning, and all’s well. That is until Mr Chips reboots his laptop, only to find the following mysterious message:

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Terorist Demand 1 – Hello Peter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have hacked into your computer and taken over the editorial content of the EU Championships.

We have taken your ‘Just Married’ balloon captive. If you want it back safe and unpopped, give us doughnuts and sweets. Fizzy drinks would also be useful, and ice cream. Beckie wants decent cheese, but the rest of us would be happy with unhealthy and potentially lethal chocolate.
P.S. “ ”
P.P.S. “ ”
P.P.P.S. “ ”
P.P.P.P.S. The rubber duck is on our side. He is an inside man and is feeding us information.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Death to the heart shaped balloon, too, unless you give us FREEDOM!!!!!!!
P.P.P.P.P.P.S. We are worried about Joe. His favourite perfume is Chanel No. 5.
P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. The scooter is dead, and all because of your callous ignorance of the fact that your balloon is in grave danger.
P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. No, not really. I’m getting slightly fed up of typing the same letters.

Farewell, fellow Earthlings.

Signed Bex n’ Issy (aka Beckie Grant and Isabel Stevens) and fellow gangsters (brup brup).

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Slowly, and with the aid of photographic evidence, the RAPs piece together what had happened the night before. It had all started with Mr Chips trying out the next day’s Brain Teaser on one of the little people: before he knew it he had been over-run with the blighters. In seeking refuge in the dining-room-cum-bar he had inadvertently left himself open to digital and pop attack, and clearly there was no hesitation by the Players in going for the jugular.

This seems a sure sign that cabin fever is breaking out – although as Snow White says there are only two more Groundhog Days to go before all routines have to be restructured for the last round – but there is a happy ending. We just don’t know what it is yet…

In the meantime, our thanks must go to Mr Andy Bowler, who is working tirelessly (and we must assume entirely in his own personal time) to ensure that we have the draw each evening at the earliest possible convenience. Now we do have her already Mr Hieroglyphs with his “always on” Raspberry or Blueberry or some such, but honestly the screen is so small it takes 15 minutes to read out the draw for each age group. So much reliance is now placed on Mr Bowler – and he highlights the Eng pairings to make them stand out in the draw, it is fantastic, and he still regularly beats the official organiser’s fax by nearly an hour! One minor glitch with the draw for the 8th round: the U12s did not come through. Now they were later than the U10s and U14s (more explanation of why later on) and yet it seemed they should have arrived already. When questioned Mr Bowler rather ominously admitted “ah, them’s I did differently this time…”. So he was inveigled upon to re-send the usual way and sure enough, within minutes we had the draw. No one knew what happened to the copy “that were done differently”… at least until this morning: it transpired that the fax had arrived but because the look and feel was different it was assumed that it was the result pages not the draw and was therefore put to alternative use as a drinks mat. It is remarkable isn’t it how I have managed to drag out a simple thank you to Mr B into a shaggy dog story about a drinks mat. I tell, Cabin Fever doesn’t begin to tell you how pleased we are when something – however small – happens…

And another thing. The Germans were at it again in the seventh round, this time following two England Players who were paired against German opponents (Polly and Peter) plus our coaches and indeed monitored us RAPs as we waited on the grassy knoll outside. Paranoia or what. Mr “GM” Quinn hummed loudly throughout the round and wiggled his eyebrows but to no avail – both Polly and Peter were to lose, thereby also successfully exploding the German team’s hypothesis that we had the power of telepathy.

And another thing. Our thanks go to the fans in Japan, whose message of support got through the firewalls and other technical and interpretational barriers or protocols that the worldwide interweb interposes in what would otherwise be a simple conversation. You can rest assured, both “eine grosse bier” and “ein grosses bier” has in fact achieved the right result at the bar, but now I understand why I’ve been getting a slightly wary look from Rudi every time I order “one her beer”. So now I can put this right and avoid the funny looks completely!

And another thing. Coaching goes on as usual.

And another thing. Neil momentarily wanders outside: “It’s bright out here!” he exclaims, “I think I’ll go back inside.”

And now the Chess bit:

After the outrageous slings and arrows of yesterday, when NOT ONE OF THE PLAYERS LOST, Round 7 was always going to be a tough nut to crack. Fortunately, we’re here for the chess not a nutcracker, so hopes remain high. Everyone is again in their own personal battles, but with George O in the U14s and Danny in the U12s both flying high there is real hope for England glory overall. And they are not alone with Alex in the U14s and both James and Peter in the U10s not far behind as well!

Early results are encouraging: David secures a good draw, and Patrick a good win. But then both Robert and Polly lose. Check out the photos, were they bound to get the same result as each other?

And then what’s this? George G and George O come out in quick succession. George G has played a very clever game (see game of the round!) and secured a good win. But then what of George O – for him it is extremely early to have finished after just over 2 hours? It appears that he has played what could be the game of the tournament. He has destroyed his 2050 rated opponent in just 24 moves. That puts him 2nd in the U14s and tomorrow he will play his opponent’s slightly weaker brother. English hopes ride a little higher!

For these Players, an early result opens the door to a trip to the swimming pool, just a couple of hundred yards from the venue. Accompanied by appropriate RAPs, they head off pretty happily – even those that have lost!

There are then some less favourable results. Peter plays long and hard but loses in the end. Brandon has got into trouble, and Joseph looks to be the exchange down. Brandon plays on but does lose in the end; Joseph plays on looking for threats or draw opportunities, and there seems to be some life yet in the game, it is not ending soon! In contrast Megan has finally gone the exchange up and then starts to make it tell – see game of the round section below – well done! Any more for the swimming pool?

Joseph continues to battle, but in the U10s James turns up the pressure and makes it 3 wins in a row to put him within one point of the overall leader. Joseph continues to battle, and in the U14s Charlie is slowly boring his opponent towards a draw whilst Alex and his opponent have not been seen to make a move for 45 minutes. Joseph continues to battle and the only other England Player still going is Danny who unbeknownst to us all, is barely half way through… Looks like no swim again for him tonight!

Finally, Joseph succumbs (a loss) as does Charlie’s opponent (a draw). Alex – playing the brother of George O’s opponent – appears to have the upper hand but is down to less than 2 minutes on the clock. Even with the additional 30 seconds added for each move he makes, that does not leave Alex much thinking time. Against a strong opponent that often tells and it does in this case – Alex loses.

Finally the playing hall is empty bar one board, where Danny and his opponent are locked in a prolonged end game. Danny has gone into it a pawn up but miscalculated to swap off remaining pieces and pawns too early. Nonetheless, he retains a single pawn advantage and tries everything he can to force it home. His opponent however plays flawlessly, always finding just the right move to stay in the game. After an hour of this cat and mouse, with Danny running at 30 seconds to a minute on his clock (his opponent running at 5 minutes or so), and this particular RAP having a near death experience every time Danny made a move {I know, I know, I should have more faith in the lad, but honestly it’s easier to say than do when you’re here}, the pair finally agree a draw on move 111 and just shy of the 5 hours mark. I look around – I do not know how I feel, whether I am happy or relieved or just numb – and notice that a large number of the England party have stayed (missing dinner time in the process) to watch and support Danny. Everyone’s rooting for everyone else, there is a real team spirit within the England camp!

The full results of Round 7 are as follows:

The draw for Round 8:

The Players’ results to date:

This time there are again two games of the round:

Galliano, George [ENG] - Pereira, Susana (1493) [POR]
European Union Youth Championships – Mureck, Austria 2007 Under 12 Rd 7
[Annotated by IM Adam Hunt]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Be7 7.f3 0–0 8.Qd2 a6 9.0–0–0 b5?! Usually black plays Qc7 earlier or here. [9...Qc7 10.g4 b5 11.g5 Nh5 12.Kb1 b4 13.Nce2 with the idea of swapping off the blockading knight with Ng3] 10.g4 [10.Nxc6! dxc6 11.Qf2 looks pleasant for white, as the queenside files are closed] 10...b4 11.Nce2 a5 12.g5 Nh5 13.Ng3! White gives up a pawn for a very dangerous initiative 13...Nxg3 14.hxg3 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Bxg5 16.f4 Be7 17.Bd3 Ba6 18.e5! Bxd3 19.Qxd3 g6 20.g4 a4 21.f5 exf5 [21...b3 is much better 22.a3 bxc2 23.Rd2 Often an enemy pawn is left in these sort of positions as a shield for the king 23...Rb8÷] 22.gxf5 Bg5 23.f6 Bxf6 24.exf6 Qxf6 25.Qd4 [25.Bd4 was stronger. This keeps the threats and the presence of the queens is a worry for black] 25...Qxd4 26.Bxd4 Rac8 27.Rxh7!

27...f5 [27...Kxh7 28.Rh1+ Kg8 29.Rh8#] 28.Rg7+ mate will follow next move 1–0

Pahole, Samantha [SLO] - Cleeves, Megan [ENG]
European Union Youth Championships – Mureck, Austria 2007 Under 12 Rd 7
[Annotated by GM Neil McDonald]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 Megan's favourite Modern Defence, which received some fine tuning after her debacle against Danny Hunt in Round One. 4.Be3 a6!? This is the new idea: Black looks for immediate queenside counterplay, whilst leaving the knight on g8 to prevent the Bh6 move that Danny used to such good effect. 5.Qd2 b5 6.a3 Anticipating 6...Bb7 and then 7...b4, which would lead to the win of the e4 pawn. Nonetheless, 6.Bd3 was a better way to defend the centre as it develops and avoids any weakening of the queenside pawns. 6...Bb7 7.0–0–0 Nd7 8.f3 Ngf6 More vigorous was 8...Rc8 and 9...c5. 9.Nge2 c6 [Still 9...Rc8! ] 10.g4 Nb6 11.Bh6 At last White becomes active on the kingside, but meanwhile Megan has prepared her queenside counterplay. 11...Nc4 12.Qg5 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 a5! Aiming straight at the white king.

14.Nb1 Far too defensive. To be preferred was [14.Ng3 or the centre thrust; 14.e5!?] 14...a4 15.Nd2 Na5 A bit too respectful. Better was [15...Qb6 with the plan of attack along the b-file based on Ba6, Rb8 and b5-b4.] 16.Ng3 Qb6 17.b4? Samantha Pahole is keen to block the b-file and is also tempted to trap the black knight. But it seems she may have overlooked the crushing en passant capture that follows. [More sensible was 17.c3! ] 17...axb3 18.cxb3 Qxd4 Winning a pawn and exposing the white king to attack. 19.Kc2 Qc5+ 20.Kb2 Qe5+ 21.Kc2 Ba6 22.Qe3 Qc5+ Simplifying to a winning endgame, but there was a tactical solution with [22...Nd5! 23.Qh6 (Or 23.Qd3 b4) 23...Qc3+ 24.Kb1 Ne3 25.Rc1 Qxd2 and wins] 23.Qxc5 dxc5 24.Kb2 0–0 25.g5 Nd7 26.Be2 f6 27.h4 fxg5 28.hxg5 Ne5 29.Rc1 Nb7 30.Rhf1 b4!

Megan has a sharp tactical eye thanks to her study of the works of Bent Larsen, the great Danish Grandmaster. Most players would have settled for 30...Rf4, but Black has spotted the double weakness of the d3 and a3 squares. 31.axb4 [No better is 31.Bxa6 Rxa6 32.Kc2 Rxa3] 31...Bxe2 32.Nxe2 Nd3+ Winning the exchange. 33.Kb1 Nxc1 34.Rxc1 cxb4 35.Rxc6 Na5 36.Rb6 Rfd8 37.Nc4 Nxb3 38.Rxb4 Rab8 39.Rxb8 Rxb8 40.Kc2 Nc5 41.Kc3 Na4+ 42.Kd2 Rb3 43.Ng1 Rb4 44.Ne5 Nb6 45.Nc6 Rb5 46.Nxe7+ Kf7 47.Nc6 Rxg5 48.Ne2 Rg2 49.Ke1 Rg5 50.Kf2 h5 51.f4 Rb5 52.Kg3 Rb3+ 53.Kf2 h4 54.Ne5+ Kg7 55.Ng4 h3 56.Ng1 Rb2+ The passed pawn will cost Black a piece sooner or later. Pahole decides to end it quickly. 57.Kg3 Rg2+ 58.Kxh3 Rxg1 59.Kh2 Rxg4 An excellent achievement by Megan who succeeded in outplaying her opponent. 0–1

And as a special treat, here is George O’Toole’s game:

O’Toole, George (1974) [ENG] - Tomazini, Zan (2050) [SLO]
European Union Youth Championships – Mureck, Austria 2007 Under 14 Rd 7
[Annotated by IM Adam Hunt]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.0–0 Bc5 [6...Nxe4 is well met by 7.Qe2 Nf6 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.Nxe5 with advantage to White; 6...d6 is also possible] 7.Qd3!? d6 8.Qc4 Bd7 9.Nc3 a6? [9...Qe7 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Nd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Bxd7+ Qxd7 14.c3 with a small advantage to White] 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.Nxe5! Bxf2+ 12.Rxf2 dxe5 13.Bh6!

I must admit that we had this position on the board during our preparation! Nearby games came to a stop as players gathered round to examine what George had done. Note that after 13 moves George has so far gained 2 minutes on the clock! 13...Rg8? [13...gxh6 14.Qe6+ Qe7 15.Rxf6 is pretty grotty but the only way for black to survive] 14.Rd1 Qxd1+ [14...Qe7 15.Rxf6! wins a piece] 15.Nxd1 0–0–0 16.Nc3 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 gxh6 18.Rd2 Rdf8 19.Nf6 Rg6 20.Qe6+ Kb8 21.Nd7+ Bxd7 22.Qxd7 Rgf6 23.g3 e4 24.Qe7 1–0

And finally…

Brian teaser 6 – Combination of numbers & letters. CROSS + ROADS = DANGER S=3 Find the value of the other letters, using digits 1 to 9. Each letter has a different number.
Answer: CROSS + ROADS DANGER D=1, O=2, S=3, E=4, A=5, R=6, G=7, N=8, C=9

Brian teaser 7 – What is the longest word which can be made from the top line of letters on a standard keyboard?