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Daily Telegraph

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The Scottish team at the Olympiad will include four Grandmasters after John Shaw finally completed his quest to gain the title with a fine performance for Guildford ADC in the 4NCL 2005-6 season. After a number of near misses as he went for his third and final GM norm, most notably this year at Capelle la Grande, Shaw defeated Charlie Kennaugh in the ninth round of the 4NCL final weekend at Birmingham to take his season’s tally to 6.5/9

Shaw made GM results at the 2003 Gibraltar International and the 2004 Olympiad at Calvia. He has previously been rated over 2500 so there is no reason why he should not be awarded the title.

Shaw joins Paul Motwani, Colin McNab and British champion Jonathan Rowson as he becomes Scotland’s fourth GM and hopes are high for a best ever Scottish performance at the Olympiad in Turin as the GMs are jojned by Danish Import IM Jacob Aagaard and debutante Iain Gourlay.

This was a gritty game since after playing innocuously in the opening Shaw was just a pawn down in the endgame and would have had to struggle for a draw after the line given on move 19.

J Shaw – C Kennaugh
4NCL (9) Birmingham
Ruy Lopez Schliemann

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Qe2 Bc5 7.exf5 Qe7 8.Nxe5 Bxf5 9.d3 0–0 10.Bf4 Rae8 (Black has great activity for the pawn) 11.0–0 Bd4! 12.Nf3 Qxe2 13.Nxe2 Bxb2 14.Rae1 Nd5 15.Bd2 Bg4! 16.Ng3 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Rxe1 18.Rxe1 Rxf3 19.Kg2 Rf7 (19...Rf8 20.c4 Bd4!) 20.c4 Nf4+? (20...Nc3 21.Re8+ Rf8 22.Re7 Rf7 23.Re8+ Rf8 24.Re7) 21.Bxf4 Rxf4 22.Ne2! (Winning back the pawn and not 22.Rb1? Bd4 23.f3 b6 24.Ne2 Rh4 25.Kg3 Bf6) 22...Rg4+ 23.Kh3 h5 24.f3 Rg5 25.Rb1 Bf6 26.Rxb7 Ra5 27.Rxc7 Rxa2 28.Ng3 h4 (With an outside passed pawn and bishop v knight on an open board Black felt he had to play for a win but c6 is lost so 28...Rd2 29.Rxc6 Rxd3 30.Nxh5 Rxf3+ 31.Kg4 Rf2 was the way to draw) 29.Rc8+ Kf7 30.Nh5 Be7 (Trying to keep the bishop but 30...Rf2 31.Nxf6 Rxf3+ 32.Kxh4 gxf6 33.Rxc6 Rxd3 with a draw was again the way to play) 31.Rxc6 Rf2 32.Nf4 Rxf3+ 33.Kg4 Rf2 34.Rc7 (Shaw now has connected passed pawns and well organised pieces) 34...a5 (This was the last chance to jettison the pawn with 34...Ke8 35.Rxa7 Rxh2 36.d4) 35.Nd5 Re2 36.Ra7 Ke8 37.Nxe7 Rxe7 38.Rxa5 Re3 39.Rd5 h3 40.Kf4 1–0

Kennaugh

board

Shaw

Final position after 40.Kf4 forcing an exchange of rooks

J Shaw – L Johannessen
4NCL (6) Nottingham 2005
Caro Kann

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qc7 13.0–0–0 0–0–0 14.Ne4 Ngf6 15.g3 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Bd6 17.c4 c5 18.d5 Nf6 19.Qc2 exd5 20.cxd5 Qd7 21.Bc3 Rhe8 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Kb1 Qg4 24.Nd4 Re5 25.Nb5 Kb8 26.f4 Rxh5 27.Rhe1 Qf5 28.Qxf5 Rxf5 29.Re8 Bc7 30.d6 Ba5 31.d7 1–0