Games
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.01.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1586"]
[BlackElo "1705"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{The first game of a match between two players can sometimes be one sided as
my game with William was in his favour or like this one it can be an
incredibly tense affair. This game should come with a public health warning it
is so complex and the players did play some very good moves without any out
and out blunders, though 17...f5?? wasn't the best move that was ever played,
as suddenly all Nathan's pieces came to life. That William held out under such
pressure is testemant to the hardy Scottish Soul I think!!!!} 1. e4 d6 {
Looks like a Pirc Defence but is an offshoot of it.} 2. d4 c6 3. Nf3 Qc7 {
this Opening System by William works better in a Classical Pirc Defence setup,
which is employed here by White, than it does against the English opening
mainly due to the fact that d5 is a more important square in the english and
Qc7 takes away a defender of that square while here e5 is the important square
and Qc7 adds to its defence.} 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. Be2 e5 6. O-O Nd7 7. dxe5 (7. Be3 {
was played in a few amateur games but it hasnt been tested at the highest
level.}) 7... dxe5 8. Ng5 $1 {allowing the swapping off of the Knight is bad
for Nathan, the e4 pawn so hinders what would be a poor light squared Bishop
for White.} Bxe2 9. Qxe2 Ngf6 10. f4 $1 {the computer dislikes this move but
what does it know-it looks pretty good to me opening up the King position and
taking control of the centre.} Bc5+ 11. Kh1 O-O $6 (11... h6 {it is best to
get rid off attacking pieces if its safe to do so otherwise they can offer
posibilities of attacking if other pieces come forward.}) 12. fxe5 Nxe5 (12...
Qxe5 13. Bf4 Qe7 14. e5 Rfe8 $11) 13. Rxf6 $3 gxf6 14. Qh5 $1 (14. Nxh7 $4 Kxh7
15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Bh6 Rfd8 17. Qh4 Qe7 18. Qg3+ Ng6 $19) 14... fxg5 15. Qxg5+
Ng6 $15 16. Qxc5 {taking stock the position is such that William as Black is
weak on the dark squares and lacks a dark squared Bishop which Nathan has-
such a position because William is up an effective pawn (black up a Rook for a
Bishop and a pawn when a Rook is usually worth a Bishop and two pawns) is
usually plenty of compensation although both sides need to play well as the
position is incredibly double edged.} Qe5 17. Qf2 f5 $2 {Nathans pieces come
alive now.} 18. Bh6 Rf7 19. Rf1 f4 (19... fxe4 $4 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Nxe4 $3
Qxe4 $2 (21... Qxb2 22. Nf6 Qxf6 23. Qxf6+ Kg8 24. Qg7#) 22. Qg7#) 20. Qf3 $3 {
I an the accumulated audience had spotted only g3 but this move does
everything White wants in this position- defending h5 e4 and blockading the
Black f-pawn to threaten g3 later.} Re8 $2 (20... Qe6 $3 21. g3 $2 fxg3 $17)
21. g3 b5 $1 22. gxf4 $11 Qe7 $6 23. e5 $6 (23. a3 $14) 23... Nxe5 $1 24. Qg3+
(24. Rg1+ Kh8 25. Qg2 Nd7 $17) 24... Ng6 $1 25. f5 b4 $3 {it was quite
remarkable that White was never winning there according to the computer, my
own analysis of the position isn't worth any salt as the position was way too
complex.} 26. Rf3 (26. Nd1 Qe4+ 27. Kg1 Rxf5 28. Rxf5 Qxf5 $19 {and that is
won for William.}) (26. fxg6 Rxf1+ 27. Kg2 bxc3 28. gxh7+ Kxh7 29. Kxf1 cxb2
$19 {this line is also completely lost for Nathan.}) 26... Qe1+ 27. Kg2 bxc3
28. fxg6 Re2+ 29. Kh3 Qxg3+ $1 (29... Rxf3 $6 30. Qxf3 Rf2 31. Qd3 Qe6+ 32. Kg3
Qxg6+ $3 33. Qxg6+ hxg6 34. bxc3 Rxc2 $19 {and the endgame is won for Black
because white cannot defend the c3 pawn effectively ie 35.Be3 fails to 35...
Rxc3 and the bishop is pinned.}) 30. Kxg3 $6 (30. Rxg3 $1 Rff2 {threatening
both Rh2+ winning the Bishop on h6 and threatening to Queen the advanced
c-pawn of Blacks.} 31. Bc1 (31. Bg5 $2 cxb2 32. gxh7+ Kxh7 33. Rg1 Rxh2+ 34.
Kg3 Rhg2+ 35. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 36. Kxg2 b1=Q $19) 31... Rxh2+ 32. Kg4 h5+ 33. Kf5
Ref2+ 34. Ke6 Rf1 35. Rxc3 Rxc1 36. Rxc6 Rhxc2 $19) 30... Rxf3+ 31. Kxf3 cxb2
$3 {nice finish to a fascinating encounter, much enjoyed by me and a few
others from the British Channel on the Internet Chess Club. Now William
Harkins leads 1 - 0 against Nathan Miller.} 0-1
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.01.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1684"]
[BlackElo "1607"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg4 {A Queen's Pawn Opening which is extremely rare
at top level as white gets little advantage.} 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. c3 (6.
Nc3 $142 $14) 6... Nf6 7. Nbd2 Qd7 8. Re1 O-O-O $6 $146 {A dubious novelty,
0-0 or h5 has been played here before.} 9. b4 $3 {already o-o-o looks a
dubious move.} Bxf3 10. exf3 e6 11. a4 $6 (11. Nb3 h5 12. Nc5 Qe7 13. Qa4 Nd7
14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. b5 Nb8 16. Qxa7 Qxb5 17. Bg5 f6 18. Rab1 (18. Bf1 Qb6 19.
Qxb6 cxb6 20. Bd2 $16) 18... Qa6 19. Qxa6 Nxa6 20. Bf4 $16) 11... h5 12. Nb3
Qe8 13. a5 h4 14. b5 Ne7 15. b6 $6 cxb6 16. axb6 axb6 17. Qe2 Qc6 18. Be3 hxg3
19. fxg3 Nf5 20. Bf2 Rh7 21. Rec1 $3 {the start of a fierce attack...} Kd7 $3 {
Run to the Hills...Run for your life...seriously the King was looking down the
barrel on c8 after the move c4 which would likely pin Nathans Queen to the
King with Williams Rook on c1.} 22. c4 Ke8 23. cxd5 Qxd5 24. Qa2 Ke7 25. Qa3+
Qd6 26. Qa7 Rd7 27. Rc4 $3 (27. d5 $2 Nxd5 28. Nc5 $2 Bxa1 29. Nxd7 $4 Bd4 30.
Bxd4 Nxd4 31. Nxb6 Qxb6 32. Qxb6 Nxb6 33. Rc7+ Nd7 34. Rxb7 $19) 27... Rh8 28.
Rac1 Nd5 29. Nd2 $2 (29. Qa4 $17 {to stop b5 and its hard to see anyone
progressing without much risk.}) 29... Qb8 $4 $13 {b5 was a conclusive victory
for nathan but that was a computer move not a human one.} (29... b5 30. Rc8
Rxc8 31. Rxc8 Qb4 $19) 30. Qa3+ Qd6 31. Qb3 $6 {losing control of the a-file.}
Ra8 $3 32. Ne4 $4 Qa3 $1 33. Qc2 $4 {its all over now!!!} (33. Qxa3+ Rxa3 $19)
33... Nde3 $5 34. Bxe3 Nxe3 35. Qe2 Nxc4 36. Qxc4 Bxd4+ 37. Kh1 Kd8 (37...
Qxc1+ $1 38. Qxc1 Ra1 39. Qxa1 Bxa1 $19) 38. Ng5 Qc5 (38... Qxc1+ $1 39. Qxc1
Ra1 40. Qxa1 Bxa1 41. h4 $19) 39. Nxf7+ Rxf7 40. Qf1 Qxc1 $3 {and as after 41.
Qxc1 Ra1 42.Qxa1 Bxa1 then it is lost for William (ie a Rook and pawn down).
So the match between Nathan and William is tied at 1 - 1.} 0-1
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.01.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "1598"]
[BlackElo "1781"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{After a holiday had relaxed Nathan into a false sense of security he
blundered a gift of a pawn but came back gainfully to get a good attack but
William has a great defence usually and he held him off and Nathan did not
want to play the endgame a pawn down and resigned in a position there still
looked to be life in.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Qc7 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. Be3
e5 7. Be2 Nf6 {Its actually a caro-kann advanced variation.} 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9.
O-O-O Bg6 $1 {rather than allow the Bishop to be pushed with g4 Black attacks
a pawn but his bishop looks out of the game- taking on f3 does not look
pleasant either as white can play 10.gxf3 and open up lines to attack.} 10. Nh4
$2 Nxe4 11. Qe1 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 Nf6 $6 (12... Be7 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. dxe5 dxe5 15.
Bf3 O-O 16. h4 Nf6 17. h5 e4 18. Be2 gxh5 19. Bxh5 $44) 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nxg6
hxg6 15. g3 Bd6 16. Bc4 O-O 17. h4 b5 18. Be2 a5 19. h5 gxh5 20. Bxh5 Rfd8 21.
Bg5 (21. Rdg1 e4 22. Rh3 Be5 23. Qb3 g6 24. Bxg6 a4 25. Bxf7+ Qxf7 26. Rh8+ Kg7
27. Bh6+ Kg6 28. Qxf7+ Kxf7 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 $19) 21... Be7 22. Qe1 b4 23. Rh2 g6
24. Be2 Rxd1+ 25. Qxd1 Ng4 $3 {a nice way to swap off material at first I
thought this was winning for William, i actually thought it won a piece- maybe
Nathan thought that too or maybe after 26.Bxg4 Bxg5+ Nathan didnt like the
sheer passivity of Whites play. That game left the position of the match with
William strengthening his hold but early days yet- 2 - 1 to William.} 0-1
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.02.02"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A46"]
[WhiteElo "1819"]
[BlackElo "1607"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{The mighty William the conqueror , ie William Harkins is the favourite for
the grand prix title we are playing for in this four way match tournament and
he quells the strong challenge from America, in the shape of Nathan Miller
this time around. The match score was before this match 2 - 1 to William.} 1.
d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 {Not being deflected into opening theory, William keeps
a tight ship with this Colle Opening move which he is familiar with.} (3. d5 {
This is I guess what Nathan was expecting- ie the Czech Benoni Defense.}) 3...
g6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Nbd2 cxd4 $1 {both destroying Williams centre and
uncovering, atleast until William castles, Whites King.} 7. exd4 d5 {d6 and e5
may have been an option getting rid of Williams last remaining centre pawn,
this challenges for the e4 square but leaves e5 weak.} 8. Be2 Nc6 9. O-O Re8
10. Ne5 {this is known as an outpost, where a piece (usually a knight)
occupies a square defended by atleast a pawn and which it is hard to chase it
away with an enemy pawn. Note occupying the square e5 stops the pawn move 10...
e5 by Nathan.} Nd7 11. f4 $1 {the reserves come into action.} f6 $1 {this is a
great strategy when you are afraid of an advanced pawn in the position.} 12.
Nd3 e5 {finally Black gets in the move he intended on move 10.} 13. fxe5 fxe5
14. dxe5 Ndxe5 $15 {Black has an isolated pawn but it is the only pawn in the
centre so I would say Black has a small edge.} 15. Kh1 $6 (15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16.
Bd4 $15 {Blockading the pawn is best, first blockaid an isolated pawn then
target it is the strategy for defending which is well known from Aaron
Nimzowitsch's 'My System' book. The strategy for attacking is to push all
pieces away from the path of the pawn and steadily advance the pawn like a
battering ram.}) 15... b6 16. h3 Qh4 17. Nf3 Nxf3 18. Rxf3 $4 (18. Bxf3 $14)
18... Bg4 $4 (18... Bxb2 19. Nxb2 Nd4 20. Rd3 Nxe2 $19) 19. Rf4 Bxe2 $1 20.
Rxh4 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 Bxb2 22. Nxb2 Re2 $6 (22... Re5 $15 {Taking advantage of
the strong pawn and weak positioning of the White Rook at h4 was probably
enough to give Black an edge here.}) 23. Rxd5 Rxc2 24. Rc4 $1 {now the
position is dead drawn I guess Nathan had missed this cunning move.} Rxb2 25.
Rxc6 Rxa2 26. Rd7 Rb2 {Game drawn by mutual agreement. This is known to be
very drawn if white wants a draw he can just double up rooks on the 7th rank
and check the king infinitum. So the score after this game is 2.5 - 1.5 to
William.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.02.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1599"]
[BlackElo "1788"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{The position in the match is 2.5 - 1.5 to William.} 1. d4 d5 2. e4 $1 {
This is the Blackhmar-Diemer Gambit and is known for being very sharp.} dxe4 3.
f3 Nf6 $1 {the best way to refute the gambit.} (3... exf3 $6 4. Nxf3 {and
Whites bishops are free to wander and White has an advantage in development in
the centre in particular for the pawn.}) 4. fxe4 e5 $3 5. Nf3 Bg4 $5 {It is
Black who has turned the tables and is threatening.} 6. Be2 Nxe4 7. Qd3 f5 8.
O-O Nc6 9. Be3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Bxe2 11. Nxe2 Qxd3 12. cxd3 Nd6 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14.
Bxd4 O-O-O 15. Nc3 Nf7 16. Rxf5 Rxd4 17. Rxf7 Rxd3 18. Ne4 Re3 19. Raf1 Bb4 20.
a3 Ba5 21. Nc5 Re1 $6 {one dubious move and the chances are gone for a win for
Nathan.} (21... Bb6 $1 22. Rf8+ Re8 $19) 22. Rxe1 Bxe1 23. Rxg7 {now there are
an equal number of pawns on both sides-from the opening Nathan never
relinquished the gambit pawn but here he has finally secumbed to a complete
draw.} Bd2 24. Ne6 c6 25. Rc7+ Kb8 26. Rd7 Be3+ 27. Kf1 Re8 28. Ng7 $15 {
Nathan has a slight edge from playing Kc8 at some point with the threat of Bd4
but it is easily defended against. So despite playing a stormer of a model
anti-Blackhmar-Deimer Gambit Nathan does not get the win needed to level the
scores but it is now 3 -2 to William.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.02.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A56"]
[WhiteElo "1744"]
[BlackElo "1609"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{Before this game the match score between William and Nathan was 3 - 2 to
William. There weren't many fireworks in this game as the match score remains
tight. William is doing a Carlsen, ie he is resting on a 1 point cushion.} 1.
d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 {The opening is the Czech Benoni.} 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nge2
O-O 6. g3 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. c5 Nc6 (8... b6 {was played by a national master
level player against an amatuer recently.}) 9. Bg2 Ne4 10. O-O Bg4 11. Be3 Nxc3
12. bxc3 Re8 $6 $11 (12... e5 $11) 13. h3 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Na5 $6 $14 (14... Rc8
$11) 15. Qb5 Rb8 $6 $14 (15... e6 $11) 16. Bxd5 $1 Qxd5 17. Qxa5 Ra8 18. Rfd1
b6 19. Qb4 Rec8 20. cxb6 $6 (20. h4 bxc5 21. dxc5 Qe6 22. Qb3 Qxb3 23. axb3
Bxc3 24. Rac1 $16) 20... axb6 21. Rdc1 $14 {Its three on one pawns on the
Queenside and William takes a draw!!! the equivalent of a scottish rugby union
team kicking the ball to touch when having a three on one on the left wing.
Wouldn't see a Welshman do that William. LOL. The score is now 3.5 - 2.5 to
William. Sure Nathan is a strong player and a draw is more than likely there
but...} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.02.18"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1614"]
[BlackElo "1727"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{This time it is Nathan who does not go for a win and accepts a draw. In a
Blackhmar-Deimer Gambit opening which was a surprise choice as the last game
went 3...Nf6 and White (Nathan) was struggling.} 1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. f3 e5
4. Be3 $6 (4. dxe5 $15) 4... Nc6 $1 (4... exd4 5. Qxd4 Qxd4 6. Bxd4 Nc6 7. Bb5
Bd7 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Nc3 Nf6 $17) 5. d5 $5 {that is the problem with 4...Nc6.}
Nb4 $5 6. Nc3 (6. fxe4 Qh4+ 7. Kd2 Nf6 8. Nf3 Qxe4 9. Nc3 Qf5 10. Kc1 $17) 6...
Nf6 $2 7. fxe4 $3 {Now that the route to h4 for the Queen is blocked, Nathan
can safely lob off the loose pawn on e4.} Bd6 (7... Nxe4 $2 8. Nxe4 Qh4+ $4 (
8... Bf5 $1 $16) 9. Ng3 $18) 8. a3 Na6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Nf3 Nc5
12. Nd2 {The alternative was to swap off the Bishop (from e3) on the square c5
for a Knight.} O-O 13. h3 a6 14. b4 Na4 15. Nxa4 Qxa4 16. c4 Qxd1+ 17. Rxd1 $6
b5 $6 (17... a5 $1 $14) 18. c5 Be7 19. O-O {and they agreed a draw yet again
so that in the seventh game is four draws in a row to make the score still
extremely tight at 4 - 3 to William.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.02.25"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "1720"]
[BlackElo "1618"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{Nathan said he was tired, and short of time, and thats why he missed a win, I
watched the end of the game and I think Nathan was clearly winning it but he
could not get the ball into touch and goal. The position was 4 - 3 before this
game to William.} 1. d4 c5 2. dxc5 e6 3. Nf3 Bxc5 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O
Nc6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. a3 e5 9. b4 {Black has an advantage in that he has a pawn
majority in the centre plus his pawns and pieces are occupying the centre but
its nothing tangeable yet because the centre could become a target rather than
an asset if fixed.} Bb6 10. c4 e4 $1 11. Ne1 e3 $1 12. fxe3 Bxe3+ 13. Kh1 dxc4
$1 {Superb play be Nathan, he seizes the initiative with consumate ease.} 14.
Qc2 (14. Nxc4 $4 Qxd1 $19) 14... Be6 15. Nxc4 Bd4 16. Bb2 Bxb2 17. Nxb2 (17.
Qxb2 $4 Bxc4 $19) 17... Rc8 18. Rd1 $1 Qe7 19. Qc3 $1 {correctly seeing the
White Queen is -for the moment safe on the same file as the Black Rook.} Rfd8
20. Nf3 Nd5 21. Qc5 {now its getting dodgy for the White Queen.} (21. Qc2 $4
Ncxb4 $1 $19) 21... Qf6 22. Nd4 Nxd4 23. Rxf6 $1 Rxc5 24. Rxe6 Rc2 25. Re5 {
the Rook was rather unfortunately under attack otherwise White would have had
a big plus there.} Nf6 $5 {Rxd4 no longer works as a lure to get back row mate
as the Knight defends the e8 square ie.(26.Rxd4?? Rxd4 27.Re8+ Nxe8).} 26. Na4
Kf8 27. h3 b6 28. e3 $2 {Almost all whites pawns are on the 3 rd rank and most
of them are weak. This may have proved fatal but doesn't due to the Rook and
pawn endgames being very drawn in theory.} Ne6 29. Rxd8+ Nxd8 30. Rf5 Ra2 31.
Nc3 Rxa3 32. Nb5 Rxe3 33. Nxa7 Rxg3 34. Nc8 Rb3 35. Rb5 Ne6 36. Rxb6 Nf4 37.
Ba8 Rxh3+ 38. Kg1 Ne2+ $4 (38... Ra3 $3 {Threatening mate wins a piece here:-}
39. Bc6 Ng4 40. Bb5 Ra1+ 41. Bf1 Ne3 42. Kf2 Nxf1 $19) 39. Kf1 Re3 40. Nd6 Ng3+
41. Kg2 Rd3 42. Rb8+ Ke7 43. Nc8+ Ke6 44. Rb6+ Ke5 45. Ne7 Kf4 46. Rb5 Ng4 47.
Nd5+ Kg5 48. Nc3+ f5 49. Nd5 Ne3+ $6 (49... Rd2+ $3 {It is difficult to see
this move especially as nathan only had a few minutes on the clock at the time.
} 50. Kxg3 (50. Kg1 Rd1+ 51. Kg2 Ne2 52. Bc6 Rg1+ 53. Kf3 Nd4#) 50... h5 51.
Bc6 h4+ 52. Kf3 Rf2#) 50. Kxg3 Nxd5+ 51. Kf2 Nf4 $6 (51... Nc7 52. Rb8 Nxa8 53.
Rxa8 h5 54. b5 Rb3 55. Rb8 Kf4 56. b6 g5 57. b7 g4 58. Rh8 Rxb7 59. Rxh5 g3+
60. Kg2 Rb2+ 61. Kg1 Kg4 62. Rh8 Kf3 63. Ra8 Rb1#) 52. Be4 Rd2+ 53. Ke1 Re2+
54. Kd1 Rxe4 55. Rb7 Kg6 56. b5 h5 57. Rb8 h4 58. b6 h3 59. b7 h2 60. Rh8 Nh5
$3 61. b8=Q h1=Q+ 62. Kc2 Re2+ 63. Kc3 Qc1+ 64. Kd3 Rb2 $4 $11 {I saw this
move and it was played near instantly. I think Nathan assumed White would go
to b3 with his King, but he didn't!!!! It is mate either way if played
correctly by Nathan. He did all the hard work and got nothing for it, except a
half point, he played some sublime chess.} (64... Rd2+ 65. Ke3 Qc3#) ({or the
simple...} 64... Qd1+ 65. Kc3 Rc2+ 66. Kb3 Qb1+ 67. Ka3 Ra2#) 65. Qe8+ {
from here it is dead drawn though both sides can still blunder.} Kg5 (65... Kf6
66. Qd8+ Ke6 67. Qe8+ Kd5 68. Qd8+ Kc5 $4 {black loses his queen if he tries
to escape or its mate even better for White.} 69. Qc7+ Kb4 70. Qxc1 (70. Rb8+
Ka3 71. Qa5#)) 66. Qxh5+ Kf4 67. Qh4+ Kf3 68. Qh3+ Kf4 69. Rh4+ Ke5 70. Qg3+
Kf6 (70... f4 $4 71. Qxg7+ Kf5 72. Rh5+ Ke6 73. Qg6+ Ke7 74. Rh7+ Kf8 75. Qf7#)
71. Qd6+ Kf7 72. Qd7+ Kf6 73. Qd6+ Kf7 74. Qd7+ {fortunately for Nathan,
Williams famous counter attack worthy of 1066AD is thrawted by the g7 pawn
defending against a Rook flank attack. The game is agreed drawn and so the
score goes to 4.5 - 3.5 yet still in Williams favour though he is riding his
luck somewhat.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.03.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "1607"]
[BlackElo "1731"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{All the wins in this match have come from the Black side. William plays his
c6 d6 e5 Qc7 setup a lot, I noticed this when he played it against me. Here he
blasts his way through the Queenside and Nathan is left grabbing at straws...}
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. f4 e5 4. dxe5 Qc7 $1 {an interesting pawn sacrifice ie
gambit.} 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. e5 Be7 7. Nc3 Nh6 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bd2 Rd8 10. Qe2 Na6
11. O-O-O Be6 12. h3 Qa5 $1 {William brilliantly recognises that the White
King is not safe on the Queenside.} 13. g4 $2 (13. a3 Bxa3 14. bxa3 Qxa3+ 15.
Kb1 Nc5 {the only way to avoid collapse, here, seems to be to give up the
Knight.} 16. Bc1 (16. Qe3 $6 Na4 17. Nxa4 Qa2+ 18. Kc1 Qa1#) 16... Qxc3 17. Bb2
$19) (13. Qe4 $1 Bxa2 14. Qa4 Qxa4 15. Nxa4 $14) 13... Bxa2 14. Nb1 $6 (14. Qf2
Bc5 15. Ne4 Bb4 16. Nd6 $17) 14... Nb4 $1 15. Na3 Qa4 16. Qe3 b5 17. Ng5 a5 18.
Bg2 Nd3+ $3 {A move worthy of a world champion in a World Championship Match.}
19. cxd3 Bxa3 20. Bc3 $1 b4 21. Bd4 Rac8 $6 (21... c5 22. Bxa8 cxd4 23. Qe4
Bxb2+ 24. Kd2 Bb3 25. Rdf1 g6 $13) 22. Ne4 $4 (22. bxa3 Qxa3+ 23. Bb2 $18)
22... c5 $1 23. Nxc5 $2 (23. Bxc5 Bxb2+ 24. Kd2 Bd4 $3 25. Bxd4 Rc2+ 26. Ke1
Rxg2 $13) 23... b3 $3 24. Kd2 Qxd4 25. Qxd4 Rxd4 26. bxa3 Rxc5 {The hoodoo on
White players continues in this match, will White win anything but a draw. And
so with that fabulous play by William, he leads their match by 5.5 - 3.5. Its
no wonder Nathan cracked under the pressure, the number of hyper accurate,
good moves was incredible in the game by both sides. That brings an end to the
run of 5 draws which was also looking like a grandmaster run (ie grandmasters
are known for their draws, by clubplayers, we have a derogoratory term for it
'a grandmaster draw').} 0-1
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.03.02"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1710"]
[BlackElo "1628"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{Yet another White player bites the dust in this encounter after a few
mistakes in the endgame. Before this game the standing was 5.5 - 3.5 to
William who has kept his lead developed very early on and added to it last
game, can Nathan recover as William only needs a draw to be sure of drawing
the match and a win would see him to victory, worth 3 points to him because of
the way it is worked out in the grand prix event these matches count towards.}
1. c3 {The reversed slav has a name but I don't know it rather embaressingly.
The only thing I can come up with is the wittily named cabbage formation which
is eric schillers invention but this is different, it is an attempt to play
the c6 d6 Qc7 e5 formation as white reversed with the moves c3 d3 Qc2 e4 (ie
reversed means a mirror image).} Nf6 2. d3 e5 3. Qc2 d5 4. e4 c5 5. Bg5 Be7 6.
Nd2 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. Ngf3 Nc6 9. Be2 Bg4 10. O-O Qd6 11. Rfd1 {The problem
with Whites Opening is Black gets an easy game just taking control of the
centre by occupying it with pawns and pieces.} Rac8 12. Qa4 Be6 13. h3 Rfd8 14.
Bg3 Nh5 $1 {aiming for the f4 square.} 15. Bh2 Nf4 $1 16. Bf1 a6 17. Qc2 b5 18.
a4 b4 19. Re1 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Qc7 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Rac1 b3 $1 23. Qe2 Bf5 24.
Rcd1 Rd7 25. Rc1 Bf8 26. d4 cxd4 27. Nxd4 Nxd4 28. cxd4 Qxc1 29. Rxc1 Rxc1 30.
Qd2 Rc2 $2 (30... Rxf1+ 31. Kxf1 Bxe4 $19) 31. Qxf4 Bg6 32. Kh2 Rxb2 33. Qe3
Rb7 34. Bxa6 Rb6 35. Bc4 Rb4 36. Bd5 Rxa4 37. Bxb3 Ra3 38. Bxf7+ $2 (38. Nd2
Bd6+ 39. g3 Rxd2 40. Qxd2 Rxb3 $17) 38... Bxf7 39. Qc1 Raa2 40. Kg1 Bg6 41. Nc3
Rc2 42. Nxa2 Rxc1+ 43. Nxc1 Bb4 44. Kh2 Bc3 45. Ne2 Be1 46. Kg3 Bd3 47. Kf3
Bxe2+ 48. Kxe2 Ba5 49. Kd3 Kf7 50. Ke4 Be1 51. f4 Ke6 52. d5+ Kf6 53. g4 Bh4
54. Kd4 Ke7 55. Ke5 g6 56. f5 $4 (56. d6+ Kf7 57. Kd5 Bg3 58. Ke4 Ke6 59. f5+
gxf5+ 60. gxf5+ Kxd6 61. f6 Be5 62. f7 Bg7 63. Kf5 Ke7 64. Kg6 Bf8 65. h4 Ke6
66. Kh5 Kxf7 67. Kg4 Kg6 68. Kg3 Kf5 69. Kg2 Kg4 70. Kh1 Kxh4 71. Kg1 $11 {
and its drawn because the Black Bishop and Black King cannot get the White
King out of the corner without stalemate occuring. This is well known to
theory.}) 56... Bg3+ 57. Kd4 g5 $1 {this is important move in stopping a wrong
coloured Bishop endgame.} 58. Kc5 Kd7 59. Kd4 Kd6 60. f6 Be5+ 61. Ke4 Bxf6 62.
Kf5 Bh8 63. Kg6 Kxd5 64. Kxh6 Bf6 65. Kg6 Ke6 66. Kh6 (66. Kh5 Kf7 67. h4 gxh4
68. g5 h3 69. gxf6 h2 70. Kg5 h1=Q $19 {and that is lost for William.}) 66...
Ke5 67. Kh5 Kf4 68. Kg6 Bd8 69. Kf7 Kg3 70. Ke8 Kxh3 $1 {After 71.Kxd8 Kxg4 72.
Ke7 Kf5 the pawn is unstoppable to promote to a Queen. They both played the
endgame in constant time trouble but unlike the match, a few games previously,
Nathan did not throw away the win but played purposefully. The result is that
Nathan lives to fight another day but now must win and atleast draw the
possible two final games to tie the match and he must do what no one has done
so far in this match that is to win with White as well as win with Black in
the final game, to win the match. It stands at 5.5 - 4.5 in Williams favour.}
0-1
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.03.10"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Harkins, William"]
[Black "Miller, Nathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "1705"]
[BlackElo "1618"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{Before this match William was only needing one win to win the match outright.
He was leading 5.5 - 4.5 against his worthwhile opponent Nathan. The game was
a tense tight affair. The eagle eyed of you will notice they played the wrong
colours in the Match order (ie it should be alternate colours each game but
Nathan has had two Blacks in a row).} 1. d4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d5 d6 4. c4 b5 $1
{This move by Nathan as Black is known in the East by the name Volga Gambit in
the West we Know it as the Benko Gambit.} 5. e3 g6 6. cxb5 a6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. Be2
O-O 9. O-O axb5 10. Bxb5 Ba6 11. Bd3 {an unusual reply to this reasonably well
known line.} Qb6 12. e4 Nbd7 13. Bxa6 Qxa6 14. Re1 Ng4 15. h3 Nge5 16. Nxe5
Nxe5 17. Re2 Rfb8 18. Rc2 Nd3 19. a4 Rb7 (19... Bd4 20. Bh6 Nxf2 21. Rxf2 Rxb2
$19) 20. Ra3 Nxc1 (20... Rb4 21. a5 c4 22. Na4 Rab8 23. Bd2 Nxb2 24. Bxb4 $4
Nxd1 $19) 21. Qxc1 Qa5 22. f3 Rb4 23. g3 Rab8 24. Qd2 Rd4 25. Qe2 h5 26. Kg2
Rdb4 27. Qd2 Ra8 28. Ra2 Rd4 29. Qe2 Rb4 30. Qd2 Bd4 31. Ne2 Bg7 32. Nc3 Rab8
33. Ra3 Bf6 34. Ra2 Kg7 35. Ra3 Ra8 36. Ra2 Qb6 37. Qf2 Ra5 38. Ra1 Bd4 39. Qd2
Rb3 40. Ra2 Qb4 41. Qc1 Bxc3 42. Rxc3 Rxa4 43. Rxa4 Qxa4 44. Rxb3 Qxb3 45. Qc3+
Qxc3 46. bxc3 {an incredibly tense period comes to an end with the poistion
dead drawn.} Kf6 47. f4 e6 48. dxe6 fxe6 49. c4 e5 50. Kf3 exf4 51. gxf4 g5 52.
f5 Ke5 53. Kg2 $3 Kf6 (53... Kxe4 $4 54. f6 $18) 54. Kf3 {And so this is not
the last game though William cannot be beaten he can be caught by Nathan if
Nathan wins his final game the score is 6 - 5 to William so if William draws
the final game he will still win the match or indeed if he wins. Nathan must
win to tye.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12 Match Series 60 10"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2016.03.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miller, Nathan"]
[Black "Harkins, William"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1656"]
[BlackElo "1688"]
[Annotator "Llewellyn,Alan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
{Going into this final game between Nathan and William it looked like Nathan
was 2nd favourite in the match at 5 - 6 down but Nathan was far from out.} 1.
f4 {I dont know if Nathan knows this opening well or if he was just trying
something different. It is called The Bird Opening and it immediately weakens
Whites Kings side position but White often gets attacking posibilities with
the advanced Kingside pawn.} d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. b3 Bg4 4. e3 g6 5. c4 Bg7 6. Nc3
O-O 7. Bb2 (7. Nxd5 $4 Nxd5 8. cxd5 Bxa1 $19) 7... Nc6 8. Be2 (8. Nxd5 Nxd5 9.
cxd5 Bxb2 10. dxc6 Bxa1 11. cxb7 Rb8 12. Qxa1 Rxb7 $15) 8... d4 9. Nxd4 Bxe2
10. Nxc6 Bxd1 11. Nxd8 Bxb3 12. axb3 Rfxd8 {after that massive complex swap
off the position is even.} 13. d4 a6 14. h3 h5 15. Ke2 e6 16. Kf3 Rac8 17. Rhd1
Ne8 18. Ne4 Nd6 19. Ng5 Bf6 20. e4 Bxg5 21. fxg5 Kf8 22. Rf1 Ke8 23. Rf2 Rd7
24. Raf1 b6 25. g4 h4 26. e5 Nb7 27. Ke4 c6 28. Ba3 b5 29. Rf6 a5 $4 (29...
Rdc7) 30. Rxg6 $1 ({even better is Rxe6:-} 30. Rxe6+ $3 Kd8 31. Ref6 Rcc7 32.
e6 b4 33. exd7 bxa3) 30... Kd8 31. Rg8+ Kc7 32. Rxc8+ Kxc8 33. Rf6 b4 34. Bb2
Nd8 35. Rh6 Ra7 36. Rxh4 a4 37. bxa4 Rxa4 38. Kd3 Ra2 39. Kc2 Ra7 40. Kb3 Rb7
41. Rh6 Rb6 42. Rf6 Kd7 43. h4 Ke7 44. h5 Nb7 45. h6 Na5+ 46. Kc2 Nxc4 47. h7
Rb8 48. g6 fxg6 49. Rxg6 Kf7 50. Rh6 Kg7 51. Rxe6 Ne3+ 52. Kd3 Nxg4 53. Rxc6
Kxh7 54. e6 Re8 55. d5 Nf2+ 56. Kc4 Ne4 57. Kxb4 Rb8+ 58. Ka3 Ra8+ 59. Kb3 Rb8+
60. Kc2 Kg6 61. d6 Nf6 62. Bxf6 Kxf6 63. d7 Rd8 64. Rc8 $1 {well played Nathan
the match was drawn 6 - 6, the tortoise caught up with the hare lol.} 1-0