Skype coaching session, 24 July 2016. 

Recordings of some previous coaching sessions can be found at: 

http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/PaulBenson/PaulBenson.htm 

The following game was examined, the game 42 moves) is given with annotations and then again without annotations. 

Paul Benson. 

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Annotated game. 

White: McShane, 2625. 
Black: Illescas Cordoba, 2624. 
Event: 15th European Team Championship, 2005. 
Result: 1-0 in 42 moves. 
Opening: Queen's Pawn Opening, London System, Morris Counter-Gambit, D00. 

| Note: For comments on the early moves of this counter-gambit please refer to the annotated game to the 17 July 2016 session. || 

1. d4 d5 
2. Bf4 c5 
3. e4 dxe4 
4. d5 Nf6 
5. Nc3 a6 

| Preparing the expansion of the queenside pawns in anticipation of an opposite-wing castling middlegame. || 

6. Qe2 g6 
7. O-O-O Bg7 
8. Nxe4 

| White regains the "gambit" pawn and simplifies the centre. In the process each king will be deprived of their best defensive piece, a knight posted on the 3rd rank of the relevant bishop file. The lack of such a knight offers the opposing attacking pieces greater opportunities, in this case the black g7 bishop must have been licking it's lips in anticipation of the forthcoming middlegame. || 

8. ... Nxe4 
9. Qxe4 O-O 
10. Bc4 

| Perhaps played on the basis of a miscalculation? White is offering black the chance to enter into tactricks involving the push of, pawn b5. This attacks the white c4 bishop but lines up the black a8 rook to the x-ray attack of the white queen sitting on the h1 - a8 diagonal. Instead white should have continued with any move which assists the assault on the black king, perhaps 10. h4, is the easiest to find. || 

10. ... Bf5 

| An important zwischenzug. The lifting of the bishop off the black back rank appears to create possibilities of the white queen being unable to escape from the a8 square should white try for tactricks beginning with, pawn d6, and, Qxa8. || 

11. Qf3 

| Black to play must decide. The dynamic move is, 11. ... b5, but white might reply with, 12. d6, creating some unpleasant threats such as, Qxa8, or, dxe7. Time for some hard work folks, can black afford the lash out with, pawn b5 or is it too risky? || 

11. ... b5 

| Bluff well and truly called. Black reckons the a8 rook is toxic and asks white to agree or disagree. || 

12. Bf1 

| Never be too proud to admit to having miscalculated or misjudged the position. White dare not go for tactricks with, 12. d6 bxc4 13. Qxa8 Qb6, when black has two strong threats. Firstly there is the powerful, Qxb2+, which will lead to either mate or the winning of the white d1 rook. Secondly black can trap the wandering white queen with, Nc6, when white will be forced to give up the queen with, Qxf8+, leaving black with a decisive material advantage. White does not have a single move to prevent both of these ideas and so must back down with a retreat the light square bishop. || 

12. ... Qa5 
13. g4 

| Instead, 13. Kb1 Nd7, and black can answer, 14. d6, with, 14. ... e5. In the game it is black to play and save the f5 bishop, wouldn't you say? || 

13. ... Qxa2 

| Variation on a familiar theme: "Initiative Over Material". Black offers a piece for disruption of the white king position and a couple of pawns. It is virtually impossible to calculate the consequences of this passive piece sacrifice. Instead such moves are played using judgement gained through experiences, both good and bad. || 

14. gxf5 Qxb2+ 
15. Kd2 Nd7 

| Black must mobilise before attempting to mount an attack on the white king. Neither player is interested in resolving the conflict between the white f5 pawn and the black g6 pawn. If white captures with, fxg6, black will gain a semi-open f-file for the f8 rook. If black tries, gxf5, the g-file will become a motorway leading directly towards the black king. || 

16. Ne2 Nb6 
17. Qb3 

| White must push the black queen away before the queenside pressure either wins more material or catches the exposed white king. || 

17. ... Qf6 

| Trading queens would be a mistake. The white king is still exposed and the white pieces still uncoordinated. || 

18. Ke1 

| King safety over material. Instead capturing with, 18. fxg6, to avoid a pawn loss will only give black a semi-open f-file up which to attack. || 

18. ... Qxf5 

| So black finally grabs a third pawn for the offered bishop. This material imbalance might be considered equal on pawn-count, but the positional imbalances make matters very unclear. Just the sort of position which the higher rated player desires when seeking to confuse the lower rated player. || 

19. Bh3 Qf6 
20. Rg1 

| White has completed development but there are no weak points in the black position to attack. The next phase of the game will involve white trying to coordinate the pieces in preparation of opening up the black position. || 

20. ... Nc4 
21. Rg3 Nb2 
22. Rb1 Nc4 
23. Rd1 Nb2 
24. Rb1 Nc4 

| It appears that black is willing to accept a draw by 3-fold repetition. It is for white to decide whether to agree to end the game or fight on. || 

25. Bg2 

| We fight on. White judges that the extra black pawns cannot be used for attacking purposes in the middlegame, and as such there is no great risk in shuffling pieces combined with the occasional pawn push. || 

25. ... Rad8 

| It is not easy for black to mobilise the queenside pawns and since the white king has vacated the queenside there is little point in letting go of them for open lines. Consequently black must wait for white to show some commitment and respond accordingly. || 

26. h4 

| Since black cannot make any gains by advancing pawns on either side of the board, it is quite safe for white to try and open up some lines in front of the black king. || 

26. ... h6 

| Hopefully you all pushed that tasty white h-pawn to the side of your plate. If, 26. ... Qxh4, white can trap the black queen with, 27. Bg5 Qh5 28. Nf4 Qh2 29. Rh3 Qg1+ 30. Ke2, a king lift to expose the black queen to the b1 rook. An alternative line could be, 26. ... Qxh4 27. Bg5 Qh2, when, 28. Nf4, prepares the trap. Black would have a move to disrupt matters, perhaps, 28. ... f6, which will gain more material for the queen with, 29. Rh3 Qg1+ 30. Ke2 Qxb1 31. Qxb1 fxg5, but this sort of positional and material imbalance will only favour the white queen. 

With the game move black is preparing an attempt to keep the kingside closed. Unfortunately for black the split white kingside pawn formation means that white should always be able to create some open lines for the rooks and bishops. || 

27. h5 g5 

| So black has avoided the first white attempt to open up the g-file using the advancing h-pawn. However, the black g5 pawn is now a potential target for a white pawn break with, pawn f4. White to play and exploit the poor coordination in the black position. || 

28. Bc7 

| A cunning move. Surprisingly it is not the black d8 rook which is the real target. Black to play and minimise the material loss. Clue: Someone has no less than 13 "legal" moves available, surely one of them must be safe? || 

28. ... Rd6 

| The black queen needed a flight square and this rook interference "wins" the e5 square. Instead, 28. ... Rd7, and white shows the black queen is trapped in an open position with, 29. Rf3. Black could try, 29. ... Qxf3 30. Qxf3 Rxc7, but the black queenside pawn formation would be vulnerable to probing from the white pieces. There would either be forced pawn advances or pieces will become tied up in protecting them. Something would eventually give, and once one pawn falls others will soon follow. The important factor in organising such a downfall would be the ability of the white queen to attack in eight directions at any time. So with the game move black determines the only course of action is to give up an exchange and become a whole rook down while partially closing the centre. There will be opposite bishops in the continuing middlegame, which means whoever is attacking effectively has an extra piece but this will not be enough to save the game for black. There is no obvious plan of attack for black who must again wait for white to arrange a means to break open the kingside and respond accordingly. || 

29. Bxd6 exd6 
30. Qf3 Qd8 

| Thoroughly miserable. Black dare not exchange queens, the extra three pawns are not compensation for a rook. Now it is a matter of black trying to randomise the game while white sets about dismantling the black kingside. || 

31. Qf5 

| White plans a battery of queen and bishop to threaten mate on the h7 square. While black can easily create a flight route for the king, preventing the white pieces from massing for the eventual destruction of the black kingside pawn defences is virtually impossible. || 

31. ... Re8 
32. Be4 Kf8 
33. Rf3 Qa5+ 

| Black tries for activity, there is little point in just sitting there waiting for white to activate the b1 rook and e2 knight for the final assault. || 

34. c3 Ne5 

| Backwardly guarding the f7 pawn from the white threat of, Qxf7+ mate. || 

35. Re3 Nc4 
36. Rf3 Ne5 

| With both players perhaps running short of time each has taken the opportunity to put more moves on the score sheet while refraining from committal moves. Again, black will be happy to accept a draw, so it is up to white to break the repetition of moves sequence. || 

37. Rg3 

| The sideways rook shuffle onto the g-file anticipates the break of, pawn f4, which in turn will open up the g-file for the rook. || 

37. ... Qa2 
38. f4 gxf4 
39. Qxf4 Qc4 

| White to play and activate the b1 rook. || 

40. Kf2 Nd7 

| Black has created some threats up the e-file. The white e4 bishop is now doubly attacked and there is an x-ray threat on the e2 knight. However the time control has been passed and white has the opportunity to think carefully. Clearly there are simple methods to fend off the black attack, but is there an opportunity to shorten the game with a crushing tactic? || 

41. Rxg7 

| Cute. White does not need to defend anything. Such luxuries become available when you happen to be a rook ahead. This sacrifice threatens an immediate mate on the f7 square while also opening up the g-file for the b1 rook to make a decisive entry into the game. || 

41. ... Kxg7 

| Forced. Instead either, 41. ... Qxe4, or, 41. ... Rxe4, lose to 42. Qxf7+ mate. || 

42. Rg1+ 
Black resigns, 1-0 

| If 42. ... Kh8 43. Qxh6+ is mate. Instead, 42. ... Kf8 43. Qxd6+ Re7. The black rook has been forced to the e7 square which now denies the black king a potential flight route to the queenside other than running along the back rank. White now neatly invades with queen and rook to finish black off with, 44. Qxh6+ Ke8 45. Rg8+ Nf8 46. Qxf8+ Kd7 47. Qd8+ mate. || 

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## Unannotated game. 

White: McShane, 2625. 
Black: Illescas Cordoba, 2624. 
Event: 15th European Team Championship, 2005. 
Result: 1-0 in 42 moves. 
Opening: Queen's Pawn Opening, London System, Morris Counter-Gambit, D00. 

1. d4 d5 
2. Bf4 c5 
3. e4 dxe4 
4. d5 Nf6 
5. Nc3 a6 
6. Qe2 g6 
7. O-O-O Bg7 
8. Nxe4 Nxe4 
9. Qxe4 O-O 
10. Bc4 Bf5 
11. Qf3 b5 
12. Bf1 Qa5 
13. g4 Qxa2 
14. gxf5 Qxb2+ 
15. Kd2 Nd7 
16. Ne2 Nb6 
17. Qb3 Qf6 
18. Ke1 Qxf5 
19. Bh3 Qf6 
20. Rg1 Nc4 
21. Rg3 Nb2 
22. Rb1 Nc4 
23. Rd1 Nb2 
24. Rb1 Nc4 
25. Bg2 Rad8 
26. h4 h6 
27. h5 g5 
28. Bc7 Rd6 
29. Bxd6 exd6 
30. Qf3 Qd8 
31. Qf5 Re8 
32. Be4 Kf8 
33. Rf3 Qa5+ 
34. c3 Ne5 
35. Re3 Nc4 
36. Rf3 Ne5 
37. Rg3 Qa2 
38. f4 gxf4 
39. Qxf4 Qc4 
40. Kf2 Nd7 
41. Rxg7 Kxg7 
42. Rg1+ 
Black resigns, 1-0 

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