4NCL round-up, 12-13 January 2013 - Lawrence Cooper

The second weekend was split over three venues, Divisions One and Two took place at De Vere Venue Staverton Park in Daventry, Division Three South at Daventry Court Hotel and Division Three North at Redworth Hall Hotel in County Durham.

Division 1A

Wood Green had a surprisingly tough first weekend, their first team who are the current Champions had been held 4-4 by e2e4.org.uk without winning a game in round 2 whilst their second team had suffered two losses. The second weekend however was much more successful. Having said that, the first team had a narrow victory over Cambridge in round 3, David Howell and Jonathan Rowson won on the top two boards but a defeat for Robert Fontaine against Adam Eckersley-Waites and draws on the bottom three boards including Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant being held by England international Sabrina Chevannes on board eight made for a closer match than expected. They faced another tough match on Sunday; Barbican 1 are always tough opponents for even the strongest teams but wins for Jonathan Rowson with black against Jonathan Parker on board 2 and John Emms on board seven against Simon Knott saw them home. They ended the weekend on seven match points whilst Barbican are now a point behind.

Cheddleton also finished the weekend on six match points after two big victories including a 7-1 dismantling of a strong Guildford 2 team in round 3 and a 6.5-1.5 victory against e2e4.org.uk in round 4. Their round three winners included Jonathan Hawkins and Keith Arkell who ground down GM Alexander Cherniaev and IM Gediminas Sarakauskas whilst David Eggleston beat IM Nigel Povah. On Sunday they scored 4/4 with white in addition to three draws and a win for Stephen Burns-Mannion on board five.

The battle for the remaining qualifying place in Division 1A is wide open with Cambridge University well placed on four points but with Guildford 2 and e2e4.org.uk (both on 3) still to play. Sambuca Sharks secured their first victory by beating e2e4.org.uk 5.5-2.5 whilst BCM Dragons remain on one. One other point worth mentinoing is that if e2e4.org.uk don't finish in the top four then their draw with Wood Green won't carry forward thus meaning Wood Green may have a one hundred per cent record in the Championship Pool after round seven. This could leave Guildford 2 in th bizarre situation of not wanting to finish above e2e4 if these two teams end up in fourth and fifth.

Division 1B

Guildford 1 lost their one hundred per cent record (despite fielding six grandmasters and two international masters) to Wood Green 2 who secured a 4-4 draw when Richard Pert was able to hold a difficult ending against IM Rui Gao. Malcolm Pein's win against IM Jose Cuenca Jimenez had cancelled out Nigel Short's victory on top board against Wood Green captain Andrew Greet. Sarah Hegarty had a fine result on board eight, drawing with grandmaster Tony Kosten. If Wood Green 2 are able to qualify for the Championship Pool then this result will carry forward and could impact on the destination of the league. Guildford did at least power to a 6-2 victory against Jutes of Kent on Sunday, although Tony Kosten was defeated by one of England's highest rated juniors, Ezra Kirk.

White Rose also lost their one hundred per cent record with a surprise 2.5-5.5 loss to Barbican 2 but their 5-3 victory against Blackthorn Russia means they remain very likely to qualify for the Championship Pool. Barbican 2 also beat South Wales Dragons and are now well placed to qualify with five match points. Highlights of their weekend included a win with black for Terry Chapman against Richard Palliser and Natasha Regan over Paul Townsend in the White Rose match and a win for Chris Dorrington against IM John Cooper in the SW match.

South Wales Dragons had an important victory against Blackthorne Russia to finish the weekend on four match points level with Jutes of Kent who had a somewhat eventful weekend losing their top board before the games had even started but they did manage a victory against Warwickshire Select which keeps their hopes of qualification and a potential European Club Cup place alive. Wood Green 2 have three points but having drawn with Guildford 1 they are likely to field very strong sides for their next three rounds to boost their first team's title chances. Warwickshire on 2 and Blackthorne Russia on 1 now face a difficult task to qualify and may have to settle for a relegation battle unless they can score heavily in the next three rounds.

Division 2A

Two teams had maximum points from the first weekend, Pandora's Box and Wessex. Pandora's had a convincing 7-1 victory against e2e4.org.uk 2 whilst Wessex defeated Poisoned Pawns 2 by 5.5-2.5 in round three. In round four Pandora's faced Oxford who are likely to be one of their main rivals for promotion. Despite fielding two IMs and outrating Oxford on six boards they suffered a 5.5-2.5 defeat with Oxford winning the top four boards! FM David Zakarian rated 2374 beat IM Jerzy Slaby on board one and Matthew Rose beat IM Colin Crouch on board two. Wessex were beaten 5.5-2.5 by Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg 1 with IM Richard Jones amongst the winners for the Welsh team.

Pandora's, Oxford and Wessex top the table with six match points each, the former two also being level on game points. Anglian Avengers won both their matches to join Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg 1 on four match points whilst Spirit of Atticus, e2e4.org.uk and Poisioned Pawns all have two points.

Division 2B

Kings Head maintained their one hundred per cent record with 5-3 victories over North East England and Bristol. They seem to have a good blend of youth and experience with IM Andrew Whiteley and other experienced players on the high boards and two of our most promising juniors, Ravi Haria and Ananth Balaji playing lower down.

White Rose 2 remain well placed to join them in the Promotion Pool after victories over KJCA Kings and The ADs. 3Cs fielded Sophie Milliet on top board and had a convincing 6-2 win against Bristol followed by a 4.5-3.5 victory against North East England. Having had to drop out of the league some years ago it is good to see them working their way back up the divisions and they would seem to have the necessary strength to have a good chance of promotion this year.

Barbican Youth and The Ads finished the weekend on four points, Barbican had a narrow defeat to the ADs followed by a convincing victory over KJCA Kings whilst The ADs defeat to White Rose 2 leave their chances of making the promotion pool in the balance. Bristol 1 suffered defeats to Kings Head and 3Cs but remain in contention and with IMs Chris Beaumont and Jack Rudd in their team and their two rivals for fourth place still to play.

Sadly North East England and KJCA Kings have yet to score a match point and so are likely to need to win their next three chances to have any chance of reaching the promotion pool. Both teams were missing key players including their top board; David Walker and Victor Jones.

Division Three South

Anglian Avengers top the table with maximum match points. They beat FCA Solutions 1 (who fielded Tarun Malhotra on top board) 4.5-1.5 and Rhyfelwyr Essyllwg 2 5-1 with David LeMoir and Michael Cook both scoring 2/2. Oxford 2 and BCM Rhinos 2 are both on seven match points, Oxford had 4-2 victories against Celtic Tigers 1 and Guildford 3 whilst BCM recorded a 3-3 draw with Fermented Sharks and then beat Cambridge 4-2 including a win for Matthew Wadsworth on top board.

There are currently seven teams on six match points including Brown Jack who had 3-3 draws in both matches, of those matches between the chasing pack Cambridge Uni 2 beat Leeds Uni Old Boys 3.5-2.5 on Saturday. They are joined by Hackney, The Full Ponty, Sussex Smart Survivors, Borwn Jack and The Rookies.

With thirty-nine teams in the division, competition for the four promotion places will be fierce, especially with the likelihood of at least one team from the Northern League likely to have a large match point tally carried forward when the North and South leagues merge after round seven.

Division Three North

Bradford DCA Knights A maintained maximum points to lead the divsion after wins against second placed Cheddleton 2 by 4.5-1.5 and a narrow 3.5-2.5 victory against Aigburth in round four. Oskar Hackner (who played in the U16 Olympiad and World Youth) played on top board and beat Paul Wallace in the top of the table clash but was then beaten by Aigburth top board Roger Williamson on Sunday. Cheddleton bounced back with a 4.5-1.5 win against Atticus in round four.

Holmes Chapel are in third place on five points after a 4-2 win against Atticus and a 3-3 draw with Jorvik. Aigburth, Atticus and Bradford B all have three points whilst Jorvik and Manchester Manticores have two. The league remains very competitive with three of the eight matches ending in draws whilst no team scored more than 4.5 in any of the matches.

In clsoing, I would like to thank the three hotels for their hospitality and accommodation and the arbiters and game inputters at each of the three venues. I would also like to thank the players for continuing to make the league as competitive but friendly as possible and look forward to the remaining three weekends. Weekend three takes place on the 23rd and 24th February with Divsions One and Two again taking place at Staverton Park and Division Three South at Daventry Court Hotel whilst the nortern section will be held at De Vere Wychwood Park near Crewe.

Some of the crucial games from this weekend's matches:

Two wins from Cheddleton - Guildford 2

Hawkins,Jonathan (2507) - Cherniaev,Alexander (2441)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.141), 12.01.2013

1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.f3 e4 6.Qd4 exf3 7.gxf3 c5 8.Qf2 g6 9.e4 Bc8 10.Be3 Nbd7 11.0–0–0 a6 12.Kb1 Bg7 13.Nge2 0–0 14.Nc1 Rb8 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bf4 Qe7 17.Nb3 Nh5 18.Bd2 f5 19.Qg2 Qf6 20.Rg1 Kh7 21.f4 b5 22.Be2 bxc4 23.Bxh5 gxh5 24.Na5 fxe4 25.Nxc4 Nb6 26.Nxe4 Bf5 27.Bc3 Qg6 28.Qxg6+ Bxg6 29.f5 Rxf5 30.Ncxd6 Rxd5 31.Rxd5 Nxd5 32.Bxg7 Kxg7 33.Ka1 Ne3 34.Nxc5 Nc2+ 35.Kb1 Nb4+ 36.Nde4 Kf7 37.a3 Bxe4+ 38.Nxe4 Nd3 39.Kc2 Ne5 40.b4 Rb6 41.Rf1+ Kg6 42.Kc3 h4 43.h3 Nf7 44.Rf4 Rc6+ 45.Nc5 a5 46.Kc4 axb4 47.axb4 Rb6 48.Rxh4 Ne5+ 49.Kd5 Nc6 50.Rg4+ Kf5 51.Nd3 Ne7+ 52.Kc4 Rc6+ 53.Nc5 Rd6 54.Rg1 Rd1 1–0

Arkell,Keith CC (2460) - Sarakauskas,Gediminas (2412)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.143), 12.01.2013

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.b3 d5 4.Bb2 Bg4 5.e3 e6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0–0 Bd6 8.d4 Qb8 9.Nbd2 h6 10.h3 Bf5 11.a4 0–0 12.Ba3 a5 13.Qc1 Re8 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Qb2 Ne4 16.Rfd1 Qb4 17.Nxe4 Bxe4 18.Rac1 Nb6 19.Qa2 dxc4 20.Bxc4 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Rad8 22.Bf1 Nd5 23.Qc2 Qe7 24.Bg2 Nb4 25.Qe4 b6 26.f4 c5 27.dxc5 Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Qxc5 29.Bf1 Nd5 30.Qd4 Qxd4 31.Rxd4 Nb4 32.Rd7 Rb8 33.Bc4 Nc6 34.h4 Kf8 35.Kg2 Rd8 36.Rb7 Rb8 37.Rc7 Ne7 38.e4 g6 39.Kf3 Rc8 40.Rb7 Rc6 41.Ke3 Rd6 42.Bb5 h5 43.f3 f6 44.Ke2 e5 45.fxe5 fxe5 46.Ke3 Rf6 47.Bc4 Ke8 48.Rb8+ Kd7 49.Bb5+ Kc7 50.Re8 Kd6 51.Rd8+ Kc5 52.Rd7 Rf7 53.Kf2 Kb4 54.Bc4 Rg7 55.Be6 Kc5 56.Ke2 Kc6 57.Ke3 Kc5 58.f4 exf4+ 59.Kxf4 g5+ 60.hxg5 Ng6+ 61.Ke3 Rxd7 62.Bxd7 Ne5 63.Bf5 Kd6 64.Kf4 Nd3+ 65.Kg3 Ke5 66.Kh4 Nf4 67.Bh7 Ke6 68.Bg8+ Ke5 69.Bf7 Kd6 70.g6 Ke7 71.Kg5 Nd3 72.Bd5 1–0

The two decisive games from Wood Green 1 v Barbican 1:

Parker,Jonathan F (2525) - Rowson,Jonathan W (2586)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.112), 13.01.2013

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nge2 dxc4 7.Bxc4 e5 8.0–0 Qe7 9.a3 Bd6 10.Nb5 e4 11.Nxd6 cxd6 12.Nf4 b6 13.Bd2 Bb7 14.Rc1 Na6 15.b4 Nc7 16.b5 Qd7 17.Qb3 g5 18.Nh3 h6 19.a4 Rac8 20.Kh1 Bd5 21.Ng1 Qe6 22.Bxd5 Ncxd5 23.a5 Kg7 24.axb6 axb6 25.Rc6 Ng8 26.f3 Nge7 27.fxe4 Qxe4 28.Rxd6 Rc2 29.Rf2 Ra8 30.Qb1 Raa2 31.Qf1 f5 32.Qd1 Nxe3 33.Qh5 Ng4 0–1

Emms,John M (2483) - Knott,Simon JB (2325)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.117), 13.01.2013

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Qe2 Bd6 13.Bg5 0–0 14.Bd3 Bxh2+ 15.Kf1 Bf4 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qh5 f5 18.Rad1 Kh8 19.g4 e5 20.Nxf5 f6 21.Nh4 Kg8 22.Be4 Be6 23.Rd6 Rf7 24.Red1 Qc4+ 25.Bd3 Qc8 26.Nf5 Bc4 27.Rxf6 e4 28.b3 exd3 29.bxc4 Qxc4 30.cxd3 Qxa2 31.g5 Rxf6 32.gxf6 Qf7 33.Qg4+ Kh8 34.Qxf4 Qxf6 35.Re1 a5 36.Re7 a4 37.Qxa4 1–0

The decisive games from Guildford 1 v Wood Green 2:

Short,Nigel D (2696) - Greet,Andrew N (2438)

4NCL Division 1b De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.151), 12.01.2013

1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 f5 4.d4 Be7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.e3 0–0 7.Nge2 c6 8.0–0 Na6 9.a3 Nc7 10.f4 e4 11.d5 cxd5 12.cxd5 Nd7 13.g4 g6 14.g5 Rf7 15.b4 Bf8 16.Bb2 Bg7 17.h4 h5 18.Qb3 a5 19.Rfd1 axb4 20.axb4 Rxa1 21.Bxa1 Nb6 22.Nd4 Qe8 23.Bf1 Bd7 24.b5 Rf8 25.Bb2 Qe7 26.Na4 Nxa4 27.Qxa4 Kh7 28.Qb3 Rc8 29.b6 Ne8 30.Ra1 Qf7 31.Ra7 Rb8 32.Kg2 Bh8 33.Bc4 Bxd4 34.Bxd4 Qe7 35.Bb2 Kg8 36.Kg3 Kf8 37.Kf2 Kg8 38.Be2 Kf8 39.Ke1 Kg8 40.Qc3 Qg7 41.Qxg7+ Nxg7 42.Ba6 Bc8 43.Bb5 Kf7 44.Bf6 Ne8 45.Bd8 1–0

Cuenca Jimenez,Jose (2479) - Pein,Malcolm (2376)

4NCL Division 1b De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.157), 12.01.2013

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 0–0 6.Be3 a6 7.a4 b6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.e6 fxe6 10.Bd3 Nf6 11.h4 Nc6 12.Ng5 e5 13.d5 Nb4 14.Be4 c6 15.h5 Nxe4 16.Ngxe4 Bf5 17.f3 e6 18.Bg5 Qd7 19.dxc6 Qxc6 20.0–0 d5 21.Ng3 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 h6 23.Bd2 Bxc2 24.Qc1 Qc4 25.Kg1 g5 26.b3 Qc5+ 27.Kh2 Bd3 28.Nce2 Nc2 29.Ra2 Nd4 30.Qe1 Nc2 31.Qc1 Nd4 32.Qe1 Nxe2 33.Nxe2 a5 34.Bc1 e4 35.f4 Qc7 36.g3 Rf5 37.fxg5 Rxf1 38.Qxf1 Rf8 39.Qe1 Rf3 40.Bf4 e5 41.Bc1 e3 42.Kg1 e4 43.g6 d4 44.Ba3 Rf2 45.Qc1 Qxc1+ 46.Nxc1 Rxa2 47.Nxa2 e2 48.Kf2 e3+ 49.Ke1 Be5 0–1

Notable results against grandmasters for two of the England women's Olympiad team:

Arakhamia-Grant,Ketevan E (2405) - Chevannes,Sabrina L (2083)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.118), 12.01.2013

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.0–0 Nc6 7.Be3 Qb6 8.Nc3 c4 9.b3 Qa5 10.Bd2 Bb4 11.Qe1 Bxc2 12.bxc4 Nge7 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd2 15.Nxd2 Qxd5 16.Nc4 0–0 17.Ne3 Qe4 18.Bf3 Qg6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.f3 Ba4 21.Qc3 Rfb8 22.Rfc1 Rb7 23.Qa3 Bb5 24.Rab1 Rab8 25.Qc3 Qg5 26.Rb2 h6 27.Rf2 Qg6 28.Rd2 Ba4 29.Qd3 Rb1 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Nxf1 Qxd3 32.Rxd3 Rb1 33.Rd2 Bb5 34.Rf2 Rd1 35.g3 Rxd4 36.Ne3 Ra4 37.Rd2 Ra3 38.Kf2 Rd3 39.Rc2 Kf8 40.f4 Ke7 41.Rb2 Rd7 42.Kf3 a6 43.Rc2 Rd4 44.h4 Ba4 45.Rc3 Rd2 46.a3 Bb5 47.Nc2 Rd3+ ½–½

Hegarty,Sarah N (2133) - Kosten,Anthony C (2479)

4NCL Division 1b De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.158), 12.01.2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 a6 6.0–0 Ba7 7.Bb3 d6 8.Be3 0–0 9.Nbd2 Ne7 10.Bxa7 Rxa7 11.d4 Ng6 12.Re1 h6 13.Nc4 Nd7 14.Qd2 Ra8 15.Rad1 Qf6 16.Ne3 Nb6 17.c4 Re8 18.dxe5 Nxe5 19.Nxe5 Rxe5 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.exd5 Bf5 22.Rxe5 Qxe5 23.Re1 Qf6 24.Re3 Kf8 25.Ba4 Qh4 26.Qe2 b5 27.Bb3 bxc4 28.Bxc4 Qd4 29.h3 Bd7 30.Bb3 Re8 31.Rxe8+ Bxe8 32.Qxa6 Qxb2 33.Qc4 Qa1+ 34.Kh2 Qe5+ 35.Kg1 Qe1+ 36.Kh2 Qxf2 37.Qxc7 Qf4+ 38.Kg1 Qe3+ 39.Kh2 Qf4+ 40.Kg1 ½–½

England junior games:

Kosten,Anthony C (2479) - Kirk,Ezra G (2260)

4NCL Division 1b De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.156), 13.01.2013

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0–0 5.e4 c5 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.d3 Ne8 8.Be3 Nd4 9.Rb1 Nc7 10.b4 d6 11.bxc5 dxc5 12.0–0 Rb8 13.h3 b6 14.f4 Bb7 15.a4 Qd7 16.e5 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Nc6 18.Qd2 Rfd8 19.Rfd1 f6 20.exf6 exf6 21.g4 f5 22.gxf5 Qxf5 23.Ng3 Qd7 24.Nce4 Rf8 25.Rf1 Rbd8 26.Rbd1 Na6 27.Qe2 Nab4 28.Nf2 Ne7 29.a5 Nf5 30.Nxf5 Rxf5 31.axb6 axb6 32.Qf3 Qf7 33.Bc1 g5 34.Ne4 gxf4 35.Ng3 Qg6 36.Bxf4 Bh6 37.Qe4 Rxf4 38.Rxf4 Bxf4 39.Qxf4 Nxd3 40.Rxd3 Rxd3 41.Qb8+ Kf7 42.Qc7+ Ke8 43.Qb8+ Rd8 44.Qe5+ Kd7 45.h4 Qc6+ 46.Ne4 Re8 47.Qf5+ Kd8 48.Kf3 Qxe4+ 49.Qxe4 Rxe4 50.Kxe4 h5 51.Kd3 Kd7 52.Ke3 Kc6 53.Kd3 b5 54.cxb5+ Kxb5 55.Kc3 Kc6 56.Kc4 Kd6 57.Kc3 Ke5 0–1

The game that took Terry Chapman over 2300 and allows him to claim his FM title:

Palliser,Richard JD (2454) - Chapman,Terry PD (2292)

4NCL Division 1b De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.161), 13.01.2013

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.e3 c5 6.Be2 Nc6 7.d5 Bxf3 8.gxf3 Ne5 9.f4 Nd7 10.Qc2 Nh6 11.h4 a6 12.Bd2 Nf5 13.Bg4 Nh6 14.Bh3 Rb8 15.a4 Nb6 16.Ne4 Na8 17.Bc3 Kf8 18.Bxg7+ Kxg7 19.Qc3+ Kg8 20.f5 Nc7 21.h5 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.hxg6 hxg6 24.fxg6 f6 25.Rg1 bxc4 26.Ra7 f5 27.Qa5 Nxd5 28.Qxd8+ Rxd8 29.Ng3 e6 30.Bf1 Nf6 31.Bxc4 d5 32.Bb5 Nhg4 33.f3 Ne5 34.Be2 Rb8 35.Re7 Rb6 36.f4 Neg4 37.Bxg4 Nxg4 38.Re8+ Kg7 39.Rxh8 Kxh8 40.Nh5 Rxb2 41.Rg3 Rh2 0–1

Fontaine,Robert (2559) - Eckersley-Waites,Adam (2266)

4NCL Division 1a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (3.114), 12.01.2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Nde2 Nf6 8.Bg2 0–0 9.0–0 Rb8 10.a4 a6 11.h3 b5 12.axb5 axb5 13.Bg5 Nd7 14.Qc1 b4 15.Nd5 Nc5 16.Rd1 Ba6 17.Rd2 Re8 18.Be3 Qc8 19.Kh2 Ne5 20.b3 e6 21.Bxc5 dxc5 22.Nc7 Qxc7 23.Rxa6 Ra8 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.Qd1 Nc6 26.Qf1 Ra1 27.Rd1 Ra2 28.Rc1 Bb2 29.Rd1 Bg7 30.Rc1 Bb2 31.Rd1 Bc3 32.Nxc3 bxc3 33.Qd3 Nd4 34.Qxc3 Rxc2 35.Qe3 Re2 36.Qc1 Qb6 37.Qf4 e5 38.Qxe5 Rxf2 39.Qe8+ Kg7 40.Qe5+ f6 41.Qe7+ Kh6 42.Qf8+ Kg5 43.Rc1 c4 44.Qf7 Qc6 45.Qe7 c3 46.Ra1 c2 47.Ra5+ Nb5 48.Qb4 c1Q 49.Rxb5+ Qxb5 50.Qxb5+ Kh6 51.e5 Qc2 52.Qd5 fxe5 53.h4 Qd2 54.Qa8 Qe2 55.Kh3 Qe3 56.Kh2 Kg7 57.Qb7+ Rf7 58.Qd5 Qd4 59.Qc6 Re7 60.Be4 Qd2+ 61.Kg1 Qe3+ 62.Kh2 Qxb3 63.Qc5 Qe6 64.Bd5 Qf6 0–1

Boards one and two from the Oxford-Pandora's Box match

Zakarian,David (2374) - Slaby,Jerzy (2476)

4NCL Division 2a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.11), 13.01.2013

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.h3 Nf6 6.exd5 cxd5 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Re1 a6 11.a4 Nb6 12.Ne5 Rc8 13.Bf4 e6 14.Qd3 Nfd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.a5 Nc4 17.Na4 Qe7 18.b3 Nxa5 19.Nb6 Rcd8 20.Qd2 Nc6 21.c3 Rfe8 22.b4 f6 23.Rad1 Qf7 24.Bg3 Na7 25.Re2 Nc8 26.Na4 b6 27.Rde1 Qd7 28.Qa2 Kf7 29.Nb2 Qb5 30.Re3 Nd6 31.Bxd6 Rxd6 32.Nd3 Bh6 33.f4 Rc6 34.Qf2 Kg8 35.Qh4 Kg7 36.Nf2 f5 37.Rf3 a5 38.g4 axb4 39.Ra1 Rc7 40.cxb4 Qe2 41.Kg2 e5 42.dxe5 Bxf4 43.Qf6+ Kg8 44.Rxf4 Rf7 45.Qd6 Rxe5 46.Ra8+ Kg7 47.g5 Re4 48.Qd8 1–0

Crouch,Colin S (2388) - Rose,Matthew (2303)

4NCL Division 2a De Vere, Staverton Park ENG (4.12), 13.01.2013

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Ne2 0–0 6.Be3 c5 7.Qd2 Nc6 8.Nbc3 Qa5 9.Rd1 a6 10.a3 e6 11.Nb1 Qxd2+ 12.Rxd2 d5 13.dxc5 dxe4 14.Nec3 exf3 15.gxf3 e5 16.Kf2 Bf5 17.Bd3 Bxd3 18.Rxd3 e4 19.Nxe4 Nxe4+ 20.fxe4 Ne5 21.Rb3 f5 22.Rxb7 Rad8 23.Bg5 Rde8 24.Re7 Nd3+ 25.Ke3 Nxc5 26.Nd2 h6 27.Bh4 g5 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Bf2 Bxb2 30.Rb1 Bxa3 31.Rb6 Nxe4 32.Nxe4 Bc5+ 33.Kd2 Bxb6 34.Nf6+ Kf7 35.Nxe8 Bxf2 36.Nc7 a5 37.Kd3 Bc5 38.Na6 Bg1 39.h3 Ke6 0–1