Return
Round
2
Meet
the coaches (1): Andrew Greet
There are five coaches in the party, all distinguished chess players, who work with the squad throughout the morning to prepare for the games. They are then on hand in the afternoon and evening as the players emerge. We shall be introducing the coaches one by one during the tournament, starting with Andrew Greet.
IM Andrew Greet
Andrew gained his International Master (IM) title last year. He has won the English Chess Federation Grand Prix for two years running. This year he coached the Trinidad and Tobago team in Turin for the chess Olympiad in June, helping them to perform well above their seeding. On the trip so far, Andrew says “I am enjoying it all very much – it’s a great location and we have really good people in the group. I’m anticipating success for the England squad”. What is the difference between playing in a tournament such as this and playing chess in England? “It’s really a level up. If you take the analogy of football, it’s rather like being in the Champions League, playing against the best in Europe. Like for a football player, you benefit from exposure to different styles of competitor.”
Andrew with fellow coaches Robert Bellin, Jovanka Houska, Neil McDonald and Thomas Rendle have given their thoughts on the Round 2 games...
Round 2 games
On the second day of the tournament the English players’ combined points total was 9, representing over half marks.
Radha emerged from the opening in a superior position, which she let slip to pass the initiative to her opponent; Radha went on to achieve a technically winning position, which proved difficult to convert, and a draw was agreed. Marcus gave his higher rated opponent a tough game, but was eventually ground down in the ending. Samuel was caught out in the early middle game and never really recovered. Saravanan had an exciting draw, eventually leaving the playing hall at 6:30. After a slightly worse position from the opening, Yang-Fan confidently outplayed his opponent.
Sheila notched up her second win in a row with another smooth performance. Playing an open Sicilian she went her own way in the opening, followed by an unusual middle game, outplaying the Russian opponent bit by bit. Amisha drew in a “perfect game”, where she was spot on, gaining a great position and clearly having the better of the draw. Jessica got off to a good start with black pieces, but faltered after around 15 moves; the opponent finished the game with a clever tactical move which won Jessica’s queen. Callum was taken by surprise in the opening, resulting in a tough position in which he made a key strategic mistake, from which he did not really recover. Subin had a very exciting struggle in which his opponent held the balance with some fine offensive play, ending in a draw.
Selina outplayed her titled Turkish opponent in a patient strategic style to gain a second successive win. The annotated game is reproduced, thanks to Andrew Greet. Chantal regrettably did not get off the mark. Pleasingly, the opening that James had prepared came up; to this he added his own improvisations. There was a hiccup in the middle game, but with such a good position James steered the game to victory with no great trouble. Once more Ankush displayed his unique chess style, crushing his FIDE Master (FM) opponent with what his coach describes as “terrific tactical flair”, full of improvisations and gambits. Tom’s opponent played unusual moves in the opening, which Tom swiftly punished in a game which produced lots of tactical ideas.
Simon had a “terrifically interesting whirlwind of a game” once more; unlike on the opening day, it went the other way on this occasion in a match full of really imaginative chess, which is a credit to both players. All of this after a redraw meant that the preparation was to no avail. Why the redraw? Apparently a wrong result had been submitted, needing rectification. Li destroyed his IM-titled opponent, as illustrated in the annotated game.
Khoo,S
(1988) - Ozturk,K (2110) [B19]
G U16 (2), 11.09.2006
[Annotated by Andrew Greet]
Play
the game here
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qc7 13.0-0-0 0-0-0 This is all main line Caro-Kann theory. Selina has played the black side of this variation, so she was able to benefit from something of an 'inside view' of how to make life unpleasant for her opponent. 14.Kb1 [ 14.Ne4 would be th e normal move, although this is the type of position in which understanding tends to count for more than precise theoretical knowledge.] 14...Ngf6 15.c4 Bd6 16.Ne4 Even disregarding the attack from the d6-bishop, this knight was not very well placed on g3 and so White often looks to exchange it in this variation. 16...Nxe4 17.Qxe4 Nf6 18.Qc2 [ 18.Qe2 would have been slightly more accurate, although it does not make too much of a difference.] 18...Kb8 Black sensibly improves the position of her king. Her position is solid but rather passive. 19.Bc3 [ Another possibility was 19.g3!? although I'm sure Ozturk would not have fallen for the cheeky threat of c4-c5 when bishop moves would allow Bd2-f4 winning the queen.] 19...Rhe8 20.g3 [ Perhaps the immediate 20.Ne5 would have been worth considering.] 20...Ka8 21.Ne5 This knight should almost always look to settle on this square on this variation. Here is exerts something of a cramping effect, while also tying one of Black's pieces to the defence of the f7-pawn. 21...Qe7 [ 21...Bxe5?! 22.dxe5 would be something of a positional concession. Black could try 22...Rxd1+ but White could react strongly with 23.Rxd1! not fearing the loss of the h5-pawn. Following 23...Nxh5 24.Rd6! White has exce llent compensation thanks to the domination of the d-file and Black's offside knight. Note that 24...Rd8?? would lose immediately due to 25.Qd1!; Black's problem is that she never really seems to do anything in this game. I think that 21...b5! should have been played, with the aim of securing the excellent d5-square for her knight. True, this move exposes her king slightly, but that does not appear to be too serious and at any rate, she really has to try and do something active.] 22.Qe2 Selina patiently builds up her position and takes the opportunity to improve the position of her queen. 22...Nd7 23.Ba5!? A very interesting and thematic idea for this variation. Selina forces the black rook to an unfavourable position. 23...Rc8 24.Nxd7 Now we see y Selina wanted to drive the rook away - to stop it from recapturing. 24...Qxd7 25.Qg4! One of the nice things about the white side of this variation is the way that the h5-pawn really cramps the black kingside. Now one of the black pieces will be forced to take up the unglamorous task of defending g7. 25...Bf8 26.Bc3 Qc7 [ Again, perhaps 26...b5!? was worth considering, but it looks as if Black was content to sit and defend.] 27.Rhe1 Rcd8 28.d5! Excellent! Selina rids herself of her only potential weakness - the d4-pawn - while opening the diagonal for her bishop. 28...cxd5 29.cxd5 e5 [ 29...exd5 30.Rxe8 Rxe8 31.Rxd5 leaves White with a pleasant advantage in this simplified position. Her pieces are very active while Black's kingside weaknesses remain.] 30.Rc1 Taking control of the open file and setting up a threat which Black somehow fails to notice. 30...f6? [ A blunder. Of course she had to try 30...Qd6 31.Bxe5 ( or 31.Red1 ) 31...Qxd5 with chances to defend. Still, in my experience these things don't usually just happen by accident. Selina had played the better game up to this point, putting her higher-rated opponent under pressure and forcing her to use up much of her valuable clock time. Now she gets her reward, and swiftly moves for the kill.] 31.Bxe5! Of course the bishop cannot be recaptured as the queen is en prise. 31...Qf7 32.Bc7 So White has won a pawn, although there is still some work left to do. Selina demonstrates some fine technique to wrap up the game in style. 32...f5 33.Bxd8 Rxe1 34.Qc4 Rxc1+ 35.Kxc1 Qd7 36.Ba5 Be7 37.Bc3 Bg5+ 38.f4 b5 39.Qc5 Be7 40.Qe3 Bd6 41.Qd4 [ 41.Qe6 may have been the quickest win, e.g. 41...Qxe6 42.dxe6 Bf8? 43.Bxg7 etc] 41...Qe8 42.Qxg7 Qxh5?! [ Black misses her last chance to put up a stiffer resistence with 42...Qe3+!? 43.Bd2 Qg1+ 44.Kc2 Qc5+ 45.Qc3 Qxd5 46.Qc8+ Bb8 when at least she would have eliminated the dangerous d-pawn, although it is still a lost cause.] 43.Qg8+ Kb7 44.Qe6! Excellent. Selina is not afraid of a few meaningless checks, and centralises her queen in preparation for the final assault. 44...Qh1+ 45.Kc2 Bc7 46.Qc6+ Kc8 47.Qe8+ Bd8 [ Or 47...Kb7 48.Qxb5+ etc] 48.Qe6+ Kb7 49.Qc6+ A series of accurate checks has forced the black king to take a fatal step onto a dark square, allowing the white bishop to end the game. 49...Kb8 50.Be5+ 1-0
Glud,J
(2415) - Wu,L (2306) [D01]
B U18 (2), 11.09.2006
[Annotated by Andrew Greet]
Play
the game here
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 The Veresov - Li's opponent had never played this before. 3...Nbd7 4.Qd3 g6 [ 4...c6 is an alternative.] 5.0-0-0 Bg7 6.e4 dxe4 7.Nxe4 0-0 8.Nf3 Nxe4 9.Qxe4 Nf6 10.Qh4 White has a space advantage and probably stands slightly better at this point. 10...c5!? This move challenges White's important central pawn and begins to open some lines on the queenside. 11.Bh6?! This seems to be White's first mistake. Itis way too optimistic to think he can succeed with such a crude attacking scheme. Instead he should have attended to the development of his pieces. [ 11.dxc5 was one idea, although Li had no doubt planned to continue with 11...Qa5 regaining the pawn with a reasonable game.; 11.Bc4!? may have been best, intending Rhe1 when White's lead in development would have ensured him of an edge, although the black position remains quite solid.] 11...Qa5! Li wastes no time in going on the offensive. 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Kb1 Be6 14.c4?! [ With hindsight, perhaps 14.a3 would have kept things more solid.] 14...b5! An energetic move, blasting open the queenside. 15.d5 Rfd8! Exploiting the pin on the d-file to bring another piece into the game. 16.Be2 Bf5+ 17.Bd3 Bg4! By drawing the white bishop to d3, Li sets up an awkward pin on the f3-knight. 18.Rhe1 White has finally completed his development, but the problems continue as his pieces are tactically vulnerable. 18...e6! [ Another very strong possibility was 18...bxc4!? 19.Bxc4 e6! with the point that 20.dxe6 is refuted by ( 20.d6 may be relatively best, but even here 20...Bxf3 21.gxf3 Rxd6! leaves Black a clear pawn up with a technically won game.) 20...Bxf3 21.gxf3 Rd4! winning the c4-bishop, because 22.Rxd4 would lose to 22...Qxe1+ Li's move is also extremely strong though.] 19.cxb5 This seems to lead to a lost position, but it is hard to suggest an alternative. [ Ths point of Black's play is that 19.dxe6? is refuted by 19...Bxf3 20.gxf3 Rxd3! when the e1-rook is hanging.] 19...Rxd5 20.Bc4 Bxf3 21.Bxd5 Bxd5 With two dominant minor pieces for a rook, plus an ongoing attack, the win is, as they say, a matter of technique. The remaining moveswere 22.b3 Qxb5 23.Kb2 Rb8 24.Re3 c4 25.Qd4 cxb3 26.a3 Rc8 27.Rc3 Rxc3 28.Qxc3 Be4 29.f3 Bc2 30.Re1 h6 31.h4 Qf5 32.g4 Qf4 33.Re5 Kh7 and White resigned. 0-1
James prepares for his game with Robert Bellin with some final checks
on the database
Jessica enjoying her coaching session
Marcus moves his king to safety
