It's a Sandwich Double!

The juniors of Sandwich and Folkestone renewed their acquaintance over the board in a ‘B’ team match on Saturday 9th March, a warmer and sunnier day than our previous chilly December meeting. Both sides retained two players from the earlier fixture, with Sandwich this time fielding two girls in our team. Once again the time control was 10|5 and the contest a six-round all-play-all in which each player took on all six members of the opposing team.

Sandwich once again took an early lead, and by the end of Round 4 we had built it up to ten points, leading 17–7. However, faced with an uphill challenge to keep in the running until the final round, Folkestone seized their chance with the white pieces in Round 5, winning it by a comprehensive scoreline of 5½–½. Needing another 5½ points to tie the match, and all 6 to win, Folkestone pressed hard with the black pieces in the final round but ultimately came up short, with the final scoreline 21½–14½ to Sandwich.

The players before the start of the match

The two top performances of the day came from Sandwich players, with Laurence top scorer overall on 4½ points, and the Sandwich captain Conor second on 4 out of 6. Newcomer Alfie scored an impressive 3½ points, showing perseverance and no little talent in the endgame, and tying with our highest-rated player Aayush. May and Aine both scored a very creditable 3 out of 6, with Aine surviving the most incredible time pressure in Round 2 to play out a winning ending on top board.

For Folkestone, Henry emphatically hit his stride in the last two rounds, while brothers Marcus and Tristan proved consistent scorers for their team; all three finished on 3 points. Siah impressed again, defending valiantly against Aine in that Round 2 game, to finish on 2½ points. Newcomer Aarav’s aggressive approach with the white pieces netted him a couple of remarkably quick mates, some red faces in the Sandwich team, and 2 points. And finally Alex was unlucky not to score more with his thoughtful play, succumbing a couple of times to checkmates he just didn’t see coming.

We’re already looking forward to next season, with a larger-scale match in the planning stages (maybe 12 boards, maybe more!) and hopefully fixtures against some other club or school sides. Click here to view the full match results on the ECF League Management System.

Paul Carfrae (Broadstairs) v Harry Sharples

[Event "Sandwich v Broadstairs (Millar Cup)"] [Site "St Clement's Hall"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Paul Carfrae"] [Black "Harry Sharples"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1747"] [BlackElo "1777"] [EventDate "2024.03.05"] [ECO "D00"] [PlyCount "110"] {Here is another excellent win from our 5-2 victory at Broadstairs, all three of which were with the black pieces! This one came on Board 3 courtesy of Harry. He survives some dangerous early kingside manoeuvres from Paul and proves the value of controlling and exploiting open files with your rooks. Once White's backward e-pawn is exposed to the full strength of Black's attack, there is no coming back.} 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Bf5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 $1 {When Black plays symmetrically against the London System like this, it's difficult for White to find a plan.} 5.c4 c6 ( {The main move here is} 5...Bxb1 $1 6.Rxb1 {and now} 6...Bb4+ 7.Ke2 Bd6 {and White has lost castling rights for nothing.} ) 6.c5 $146 Nbd7 ( 6...Na6 $6 7.Qa4 $1 ) 7.Qb3 Qc8 ( {A viable alternative for Black is} 7...b6 $1 8.Ba6 $1 Be7 9.Bb7 $5 bxc5 10.Bxa8 Qxa8 11.O-O O-O $44 {where Black has sufficient compensation for the exchange.} ) 8.Nbd2 Nh5 $1 {Black means to remove the powerful dark-squared bishop in order to regain access to the c7- and b8-squares.} 9.g3 $6 ( {Harry feared} 9.Bd6 $5 Bxd6 10.cxd6 {which does seem unclear.} ) 9...f6 $2 10.Nh4 ( 10.Bd6 $1 Bxd6 11.cxd6 Qb8 12.h3 {and Black has trapped his own knight with the f7-f6 pawn push.} ) 10...g5 11.Nxf5 exf5 12.Be2 Ng7 $10 13.Bd6 Bxd6 14.cxd6 Nb6 $1 15.h4 g4 16.h5 h6 17.f3 $6 Qd7 ( {I can't see much wrong with} 17...gxf3 $1 18.Bxf3 Qe6 19.Rc1 Qxd6 $17 ) 18.Qb4 $6 O-O-O $1 $17 19.fxg4 fxg4 20.a4 $1 {If there's one trump in White's position, it's that he knows which side he should be attacking on. Black is better, but he must be wondering where, if at all, White intends to castle now.} 20...Qxd6 ( {It's the perfect time to play the important} 20...Kb8 $1 ) 21.Qxd6 Rxd6 22.a5 $1 Nd7 23.Bxg4 f5 24.Be2 Re6 $1 {Black prepares to pile up on the White's weak e-pawn.} 25.Kf2 Rhe8 26.Ra3 Nf6 27.b4 Ng4+ 28.Bxg4 fxg4 29.Rc3 a6 30.Rh2 Rf6+ 31.Ke2 $2 ( {While it's tempting to treat the king as an attacking piece, this is not yet an ending, and the king is safer in the corner:} 31.Kg1 $1 Rf5 $1 32.Rh4 Rg5 33.Nf1 ) 31...Nf5 $1 32.Nf1 $2 ( 32.Kd1 $1 {Run away!} ) 32...Nxd4+ 33.Kd3 {Now the white king has no choice but to try and hold on in the centre.} 33...Nf3 34.Rh1 $19 Ref8 35.Rc1 Ne5+ 36.Kd4 Nf3+ 37.Kd3 {Black is momentarily jammed. Of course White wants this repetition.} 37...Re8 38.Nh2 Nxh2 $1 39.Rxh2 Rf3 40.Re1 Re4 $1 {Now Black threatens captures on both g3 and b4.} 41.Rb1 Rfxe3+ ( {Two rooks on the sixth looks even more inviting and might have brought about a swift finish:} 41...Rexe3+ $1 42.Kd4 $4 Kc7 $1 43.Rc2 Kd6 44.Rxc6+ bxc6 45.b5 Re4# ( 45...Rd3# ) ( 45...c5# ) ) 42.Kd2 Rxg3 43.Rf1 Rxb4 44.Rf8+ Kd7 45.Rhf2 $2 Rb2+ $1 46.Ke1 Rxf2 47.Kxf2 Ra3 $6 ( {Quick win no. 2:} 47...Rf3+ $1 48.Rxf3 gxf3 49.Kxf3 c5 $1 {The pawn ending is completely winning.} ) 48.Rf7+ Ke6 49.Rxb7 Rxa5 50.Kg3 Ra4 $6 ( {And no. 3:} 50...d4 $1 {Passed pawns should be pushed!} 51.Kxg4 d3 $1 $19 {The black king is well placed to prevent the white rook from getting behind this pawn.} ) 51.Rg7 c5 $1 {Finally the passed pawns start to motor.} 52.Rg6+ Kf5 53.Rxh6 Kg5 54.Rh8 Ra3+ 55.Kg2 Rh3 $19 {Harry's notation runs out, but Black's win is clear enough.} 0-1

Andy Flood (Broadstairs) v Jon Hunt

[Event "Sandwich v Broadstairs (Millar Cup)"] [Site "St Clement's Hall"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Andy Flood"] [Black "Jon Hunt"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1638"] [BlackElo "1501"] [EventDate "2024.03.05"] [ECO "B01"] [PlyCount "131"] {Published "by popular demand", I make amends for my poor showing two weeks earlier against Margate, posting a fine win in a 5-2 victory over Broadstairs in which every Sandwich player was unbeaten. I also break my duck against Andy Flood, after several years' trying!} 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.Nf3 a6 5.d4 Nf6 6.a4 $6 {A very unusual sixth move choice} 6...Nc6 7.h3 Bf5 ( {Against this, where Bc4 would seem to be White's intention (though in fact Andy doesn't play it), there's much to be said for} 7...Be6 $5 $10 ) 8.Bd3 $1 Bxd3 $1 9.Qxd3 O-O-O 10.Be3 e5 $1 {Yes, Black can play it, so why not?} 11.Qf5+ $5 Qd7 $1 12.Qxd7+ Nxd7 $10 {This took me a while to calculate, but Black successfully holds the pawn on e5 and the position is about equal.} ( 12...Rxd7 $2 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 Rxd5 16.f4 $1 g5 17.g3 {and White hangs onto the extra pawn.} ) 13.dxe5 $6 ( {I expected} 13.d5 $1 Nb4 14.O-O-O {which is certainly how White should proceed, and now e.g.} 14...Be7 15.g4 $5 g6 16.h4 f5 17.gxf5 gxf5 18.Bg5 Rde8 19.Bxe7 Rxe7 20.Rdg1 $5 $10 ) 13...Ndxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Bf4 $6 Ng6 {This is not the strongest forcing move.} ( {I'm not surprised to find the engine recommending the option I turned down:} 15...Nc4 $1 16.Bc1 Bb4 17.O-O Rhe8 ) 16.Be3 Bb4 17.O-O Rhe8 {Black's development lead is small but clear to see.} 18.a5 $6 ( 18.Na2 $1 {was an idea I had seen:} 18...Bd2 $5 19.Rad1 Bxe3 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.fxe3 f6 $15 {Black's lead remains minimal.} ) 18...Bxc3 19.bxc3 {While I was somewhat reluctant to open up the b-file for White to exploit, the fact is that the c-pawns are weak and a natural target now.} 19...Re4 $6 {This turns out to be hasty, although not at all the wrong idea.} ( 19...Ne7 20.Ra2 Nf5 21.Bg5 f6 22.Bf4 Re4 $17 {now comes with tempo.} ) 20.Ra2 $6 {I definitely expected Ra3, not Ra2. I wondered if Andy's plan was Rfa1 followed by Ra4 (since then the exact choice of square doesn't matter), but I can't say I get it.} 20...Nf4 $1 {My moment to shine. This surprising leap forward presents White with multiple threats and options.} 21.Kh2 $6 ( {The correct choice, as I had calculated, was} 21.Re1 $1 {preventing ...Ne2 entirely, but the continuation is hardly attractive for White since this allows another fork:} 21...Nd5 $1 22.Bd2 Rc4 23.Ra3 b5 24.axb6 cxb6 $15 25.Rxa6 $4 {The d2-bishop is hanging.} 25...Nc7 26.Rxb6 Rxd2 ) 21...Ne2 $1 22.Ra3 Rc4 $17 {The c3-pawn must fall.} 23.Bc1 $1 Nxc3 24.Bb2 Nb5 25.Re3 Rxc2 $6 ( {Black should prefer} 25...f6 {which I turned down because I feared the white rook entering my second rank now} 26.Re7 Rxc2 27.Bc1 Rg8 $17 {holds perfectly well.} ) 26.Bxg7 Nd6 27.Bf6 Re8 $1 ( {I could have tried the obvious alternative, but it's not quite as strong:} 27...Rg8 28.g4 $1 Rg6 29.g5 h6 30.h4 hxg5 31.hxg5 Rg8 $15 ) 28.Rxe8+ Nxe8 29.Bh4 Nd6 ( 29...b5 $1 {at once is fine.} ) 30.f4 $2 f5 $6 ( {Actually, there's time for} 30...Ra2 31.Be1 Ra1 $1 ) 31.Re1 Ne4 32.Rd1 Rd2 $1 33.Re1 h5 $1 {An excellent practical blockade, just as White was beginning to contemplate striking out with g2-g4.} 34.Kg1 b5 $6 ( 34...Ra2 $1 ) 35.axb6 cxb6 36.Rc1+ Kb7 37.Be1 $6 $19 {Andy is already down to three minutes, and on my next move I fall below five. Black is clearly winning, but there's significant work still to be done. What follows is from memory, and I have my doubts about its absolute accuracy.} 37...Ra2 38.Kf1 a5 39.Rd1 Kc6 40.Rc1+ Kd5 $1 41.Rd1+ Kc4 42.Rc1+ Kd3 43.Rc7 $2 ( {I expected} 43.Rc6 $6 ) ( {Better for White is} 43.Rb1 a4 44.Bb4 b5 {but Black's passed pawns are still making progress.} ) 43...b5 {My memory is definitely hazy from hereon in, and I can't be sure that the mating combinations in the variations below were definintely on the board.} 44.Rd7+ Ke3 45.Re7 Kxf4 46.Rb7 $2 b4 47.h4 Ra1 48.Ra7 Ke3 $1 49.Re7 Kf4 $2 {I was baffled by the pin along the e-file preventing my intended ...Nd2+. (Whether that should have been ...Ng3+ is another story!)} ( 49...b3 $1 50.Rb7 Ng3+ 51.Kg1 Rxe1+ 52.Kh2 {and now take your pick!} 52...Rh1+ $1 ( 52...Kf2 53.Rxb3 Rh1# ) 53.Kxg3 f4# ) 50.Ke2 $1 {How did that happen? (But, one way or another, it did!)} 50...Ra2+ 51.Kd3 Nc5+ {I may have interpolated along the way, but I'm sure that this was the position reached.} 52.Kc4 {And now, it seems, the simple ...Rc2+ eludes me.} 52...b3 $2 {This is a fairly poorly judged sacrifice, but it might just be good enough...} ( 52...Rc2+ $1 53.Kd4 {and now the king is cut off from the pawns.} ( 53.Kb5 $2 b3 $1 ) ) 53.Kxc5 a4 54.Bc3 b2 $2 ( 54...Rxg2 $1 55.Rb7 Rc2 56.Kd4 Kg3 57.Be1+ Kg2 58.Ke3 Rc1 $19 ) 55.Rb7 $6 ( {Black has allowed White a way out to a draw now:} 55.Be5+ $1 Ke3 ( 55...Kg4 $4 {fails to an extraordinary mate:} 56.Rg7+ Kxh4 57.Bf6# ) 56.Bxb2+ Kf2 57.Be5 Kxg2 $10 ) 55...a3 56.Rb4+ $6 Kg3 57.Kd5 Ra1 58.Bxb2 axb2 59.Rxb2 Re1 $1 $17 {This really is as far as I can reconstruct the game. I think (hope) I had the good sense to cut off the white king from the kingside pawns like this (the alternative, probably also winning, is ...Kxh4), but if I did then I didn't successfully maintain it in the ensuing frenzy. Undoubtedly, there were times when the position was a theoretical draw, but the clock pressure on Andy was enough for me to win both white pawns and queen the f-pawn to collect his rook and the game.} 0-1

Harry Sharples v Jon Hunt

[Event "Sandwich \"Black-and-White\""] [Site "St Clement's Hall"] [Date "2024.02.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Harry Sharples"] [Black "Jon Hunt"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1712"] [BlackElo "1586"] [EventDate "2024.02.20"] [ECO "A56"] [PlyCount "67"] {Rematch (B&W Round 8). Harry and I reignite our debate in the Czech Benoni. I burn up too much time on the clock finding my way to a superior endgame and suffer a shock mate under time pressure.} 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Be7 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.Nge2 O-O 8.f4 $6 {Harry insists on his customary early f2-f4 break.} 8...exf4 9.Bxf4 $6 ( 9.Nxf4 Ne5 $10 ) 9...Nh5 $1 10.O-O $5 ( {The "right" line is infused with the sort of chessic psychedelia preserved for the mysterious and unknowable Benoni:} 10.g3 $1 g5 $5 11.Bd2 Ne5 12.Nc1 Ng7 $1 13.Be2 f5 $1 {Black times his first key pawn break just right.} 14.O-O Bd7 15.exf5 Nxf5 16.Ne4 b5 $1 {Black gets in the second key pawn break of the Benoni.} 17.b3 Nd4 18.Nd3 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Bg4 20.Qe3 Nf3+ 21.Kg2 Nd4 22.Nxg5 Rxf1 23.Rxf1 Bxg5 24.Qxg5+ Qxg5 25.Bxg5 Be2 26.Nf2 Bxf1+ 27.Kxf1 bxc4 28.bxc4 Re8 $17 ) 10...Nxf4 11.Nxf4 Ne5 12.Be2 Bf6 13.Qc2 a6 14.b3 $6 $15 {White has drifted into a worse position, -1.0 to Black according to the engine.} 14...Rb8 15.Rad1 Qc7 ( {My other idea is a bit better:} 15...Qa5 $5 16.Nh5 Bg5 17.Nf4 b5 18.Nd3 Be3+ 19.Kh1 Bd4 20.Nxe5 Bxe5 $15 ) 16.Nd3 Nxd3 17.Rxd3 $6 b5 $2 {This is well met by the exchange sac I was nervously eyeing...} ( 17...Be5 $1 ) 18.Rg3 $2 ( {Exchange sac:} 18.Rxf6 $1 gxf6 19.Qd2 Kh8 20.Qh6 Qe7 21.Rf3 Rg8 22.Qxf6+ Qxf6 23.Rxf6 Rg6 24.Rxf7 Kg8 25.Rf4 Bd7 26.e5 dxe5 27.Re4 bxc4 28.Rxc4 $1 Rb4 29.Rxc5 Rd4 30.Kf2 Bg4 31.Bf1 $10 ) 18...Be5 19.Rgf3 Bg4 $1 20.Rd3 bxc4 $1 21.bxc4 Bxe2 22.Qxe2 Rb4 23.Rdf3 Bxc3 24.Rxc3 $15 {Black is still for choice. My scoresheet runs out - I had under 4 minutes left on the clock. The rest is from memory and was under increasing time pressure.} 24...Qe7 25.Rb3 Qe5 26.g3 Qd4+ 27.Qe3 Rxc4 $6 ( 27...Qxc4 $1 28.Rxb4 cxb4 $1 $17 ) 28.Qxd4 Rxd4 29.Re1 Re8 30.Ree3 {This move is the warning that White is already looking for the back rank mate.} 30...Rd1+ ( 30...Rdxe4 $4 31.Rxe4 Rxe4 32.Rb8+ Re8 33.Rxe8# ) 31.Kf2 Rd2+ 32.Re2 Rd4 $2 {Black misses the win.} ( {Simply} 32...Rxe2+ 33.Kxe2 Rxe4+ {and Black goes two pawns up.} ) 33.Kf3 Re5 $4 {Under two minutes on the clock, but even so this is a stinker. The back rank beckons.} 34.Rb8+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

Jon Hunt v Harry Sharples

[Event "Sandwich \"Black-and-White\""] [Site "St Clement's Hall"] [Date "2024.02.20"] [Round "7"] [White "Jon Hunt"] [Black "Harry Sharples"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1586"] [BlackElo "1712"] [EventDate "2024.02.20"] [ECO "B20"] [PlyCount "51"] {Languishing near the bottom of the draw, Harry and I embark on the first of two "must win" games (B&W Round 7). I succeed in my plan to get Harry out of book, and in the end I reap the rewards of taking the game into uncharted territory.} 1.c4 c5 2.e4 $5 {There! Now is this an English or a Sicilian?} 2...g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Bd3 $5 {Totally out of book - it's move 4, and there's not a single game in the database with these moves. However, the engine reads a quiet 0.0. White has given up his opening edge, but in return he has a totally unknown position on the board. I'm calling this the "Snake Anglo-Sicilian".} 4...Nc6 5.a3 d6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.h3 O-O 8.O-O Nd7 9.Re1 Nde5 10.Bf1 $6 ( 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Bf1 {is right.} ) 10...f5 ( 10...Nxf3+ $1 11.Qxf3 f5 {was the way to do this.} ) 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.f4 $2 ( 12.exf5 Rxf5 13.d3 {is fairly solid for White.} ) 12...Nc6 $1 $15 13.d3 fxe4 14.Nxe4 $1 {A good decision - the knight is centralised, and White begins to consider how he will unravel matters on the long diagonal.} 14...Bh6 $6 15.g3 $1 Bg7 $10 16.Ra2 Be6 $6 {Black appears to be targeting the rook on a2, but this proves to be an unfortunate choice of post for the light-squared bishop.} 17.b3 ( {Already White has the option of exploiting the opening of the e-file:} 17.Nxc5 $1 Bxc4 $1 18.dxc4 dxc5 19.Bg2 $14 ) 17...Nd4 {Black finally occupies the weak square in White's position, but can the knight really make use of it?} 18.Be3 Nf5 19.Kh2 Nd4 $2 {The knight has tried and failed, and White has not only caught up but now takes the lead in the game.} ( 19...Nxe3 $1 20.Rxe3 Bf5 21.Ng5 e5 $1 22.Bg2 exf4 23.gxf4 Bd4 24.Re1 $10 ) 20.Bg2 Qb6 $4 {Black's attack on the b3-pawn is misguided. It's time to open the e-file!} 21.Bxd4 $1 Bxd4 22.Ng5 $1 Bf5 $2 ( {Better, but not much better, is} 22...Bf7 23.Rxe7 d5 24.Nxf7 Rxf7 25.Bxd5 Rf8 ) 23.Rxe7 Rab8 24.Bd5+ Rf7 25.Rxf7 Re8 26.Rxb7+ {Black resigns. His king is paralysed and his queen lost. Both Kh8 and Kf8 fail to mate in one.} 1-0