? - ?

Result: 1-0

Site: ?

Date: ?

This game was played in Round 5 of the British Chess Championships Over 65 event in Torquay in the Summer of 2019. My opponent had an ECF grade of 216 in July 2009, but had taken a break from chess over the last ten years.

[...] 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 £xd5 The opening referred to by "Batsford Chess Openings 2" as the Centre Counter, but referred to as the Scandinavian in "Winning with the Scandinavian." 3.¤c3 £d6 This is a perfectly reasonable line in the Scandinavian, Qa5 and Qd8 are also played. 4.¤f3 ¤f6 5.g3 White's plan is to fianchetto the bishop, and perhaps to play the other bishop to f4. Black's queen will undoubtedly have to move again. 5...a6 6.¥g2 e5 7.O-O ¤c6 8.d3 ¥e7 9.¦e1 O-O 10.h3 The computer gives Nxe5 as a slightly stronger move, but h3 is played to prevent a pin by the bishop on g4. 10...¦e8 11.¥e3 Here Nxe5 was certainly a stronger move. 11...¤d4 12.¤xd4 Bg5 was another plan, but white is going for his original plan of an attack on the queen. 12...exd4 13.¥f4 £b6 14.¤a4 £a5 The fourth move by the black queen on only his 14th move. 15.b3 ¦b8 ? Here the computer gives c6 as the correct move giving the player an escape for the queen to d8. 16.¦e5 b5 ?? Continuing with his original idea, but the plan is flawed. The only move here was Qb4. 17.¥d2 Black's que en has no escape square, and the final nail in his coffin is that his rooks are not connected. 17...¥b4 18.¦xe8+ ¤xe8 19.£e1 Diagram # Black is either mated or loses his bishop and queen. The game is a good example of an early Queen sortie by black which goes dramatically wrong. Sadly for me, Paul Hutchinson finished higher than I did in the congress, but I still had the pleasure of one of my better games.