[Event "4NCL Hull Open"]
[Site "Royal Hotel Hull"]
[Date "2019.11.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cooper, John G"]
[Black "Gormally, Daniel W"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2083"]
[BlackElo "2491"]
[Annotator "DG"]

{I recently took part in the Hull weekend congress, which ran alongside a Grandmaster invitational event. As usual with a 4NCL event, it was very well
run and attended. The hotel where the tournament took place has been famous for many years, as it was featured in "Friday night at the Royal Station
hotel" by the poet Philip Larkin, who was from Hull. It's just a short walk from the playing hall to the bar, if you want to grab a drink or a snack. In
the first round I was paired against John Cooper. First rounds are generally tricky for me as I always feel a bit rusty, and this was no different. I was
actually slightly relieved though when I got to the board to discover that it wasn't the John Cooper from Wales, but a different one, this John Cooper
actually being from Hull itself. As there was no sheet indicating the pairings yet available, I asked him what his rating was. He replied "Not as high as
yours!"} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 {I've had this variation a lot recently. I had a couple of games with it at Scarborough.} (4. O-O Ngf6 5. Re1
a6 6. Bf1 g6 7. c3 Bg7 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Nc3 b5 $1 {This is the way to fight against this system, as I learned when I played the White side
against David Eggleston once. Black mobilises quickly on the Queenside, not fearing an e5 push.} 11. e5 dxe5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. Qd5 Qb6 $1 {When Black is
already better, was my first round from Scarborough. It seems a lot of people like to play this ultra-solid stuff with Bb5, Re1, and Bf1 as in theory not a
lot can go wrong. But in that game in Scarborough, my opponent got tempted into punishing me. Cooper plays much more sensibly in this game, going for a
much more positional approach.}) 4... Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. a4 b4 {I wasn't totally sure about this, as I'm rather handing him the c4 square
on a plate. But I wanted to relieve the pressure on the Queenside.} (8... c4 $5 9. axb5 axb5 10. Rxa8 Qxa8 11. Na3 Bxe4 12. Nxb5 {would have lead to something
of a mess.}) 9. a5 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. cxb4 cxb4 12. d4 O-O 13. Nbd2 Re8 14. Nb3 Nf8 15. Bd2 d5 $6 {Around about here I get outplayed, and end up in an
unpleasant position.} ({After the game I wondered what would have happened if I had just given up the pawn on b4. Could I get away with} 15... Ng6 16. Bxb4 {
I wasn't sure. However here Black has a strong riposte that I hadn't seen.} (16. Rfc1 {a strong positional move, ignoring the weakling on b4, keeps a
nagging edge for White.}) 16... Qb8 $1 17. Rfc1 Bxe4 $15) 16. e5 Ne4 17. Be3 f6 18. Ne1 $1 $16 {I had underestimated this very strong retreat, although as
soon as my opponent played it, I recalled that it was a typical idea in such positions. White wants to encircle the Knight on e4.} fxe5 19. dxe5 Nd7 20. f3
Nec5 21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. Kh1 $2 {Up to this point in the game my opponent had played very well, but now he starts to go astray. With Kh1, he lines up some
idea of taking on c5 and then taking on h7, but this is too transparent and now I am able to free my position, making the game very unclear.} (22. Nd3 $1 {
would have been very hard to meet. My main problem in this position is my Bishop on b7- it's dead, out of the game. The other problem I have is the
abscence of a light-squared Bishop on the Kingside, so he has very good chances of breaking through with an attack over there.} Nxd3 (22... d4 23. Bf2
{maintains White's edge.}) 23. Qxd3 g6 24. Ba4 Rf8 25. Bb6 Qb8 26. f4 {is a dream position for White. He's got an easy attack over on the Kingside and I
have absolutely no way of gaining counterplay.}) 22... d4 $1 {The only chance. I have to mix it up, at any cost.} 23. Rd1 Qxa5 24. Rxd4 {Although in theory
gaining a central pawn for a wing pawn would be a gain for White, this isn't the case here. By playing ... d4 I've managed to free the Bishop on b7, making
the position much more random.} Red8 25. Rg4 $2 {Now White's position goes rapidly downhill. I think he overestimated his chances of a Kingside attack,
when in fact I can easily defend against his threats.} b3 26. Bb1 Qb5 $1 {This is the problem. My Rook will reach d1, with a crushing strategical advantage.
He now had his longest think of the game trying desperately to find an answer to his problems, but unsurprisingly wasn't able to find one. There simply
isn't one available and it's funny how in the course of just a few moves, Black has gone from a clearly worse position to one which is completely
winning. Such is the dynamic nature of chess...} 27. Qf2 (27. Qxb5 axb5 {is also very bad for White. next move I will play ... Rd1 or ... Ra1, with
crushing threats.}) 27... Rd1 28. Be4 (28. Qg3 $2 Qxf1+ {doesn't help White.}) 28... Nxe4 29. fxe4 Rf8 30. Rf4 Rxf4 ({During the game I was kicking myself
for not playing} 30... Qe8 $2 {but in fact this is a serious mistake, much worse than what I played.} 31. Rxf8+ Bxf8 32. Qf3 {is still bad for White, but
he can grovel.}) ({The powerful retreat} 30... Rdd8 $1 {was strongest of all here, a move I hadn't even seen. White experiences unsoluable problems on the
f-file.} 31. Rxf8+ Rxf8 32. Nf3 Bxe4 $19) 31. Qxf4 h6 $1 {I thought for a while and found this, and while this is obvious in some ways, I was worried
about ideas of him checking on f7 and taking on h6. But fortunately for me none of them work.} 32. Kg1 (32. Qf7+ Kh7 33. Bxh6 {worried me in my earlier
calculations, but Black has at least two ways of winning now.} Qxf1+ $1 (33...Kxh6 $1 34. Qxe6+ g6 $1 {was what I had missed earlier. The pawn simply blocks
the checks leaving Black with an easy win.}) 34. Qxf1 Bb4 {is completely crushing.}) 32... Bc5 $1 {Perhaps in some ways the simplest. I exchange pieces,
removing the possibility of overlooking any nasty counterplay, and at the same time accentuating the strategic problems that White has. He can never move the
Knight on e1 without losing material.} (32... Bb4 $1 {amongst other ways, was also very strong.}) 33. Qf2 Bxe3 34. Qxe3 Qc4 {just maintaining the bind.} (
34... Qxe5 35. Qxb3 Qxe4 36. Qg3 $1 {was still very good for Black, but White is still kicking.}) 35. Qf3 Qd4+ 36. Qf2 Qxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Bxe4 38. Ke2 Rb1 39.
Rf4 Rxb2+ 40. Ke3 Bg6 (40... Re2+ 41. Kxe2 b2 42. Rxe4 b1=Q {was also winning, and I was tempted to play this, but I didn't see what he was going to do
against what I played in the game, either.}) 41. Rb4 a5 42. Rb8+ Kh7 43. Nf3 a4 44. Nd4 Bf7 45. Rb4 Rxg2 46. Rxa4 b2 47. Rb4 Bg6 0-1

[Event "4NCL Hull Open"]
[Site "Royal Hotel Hull"]
[Date "2019.11.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Gormally, Daniel W"]
[Black "Merriman, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2491"]
[BlackElo "2201"]
[Annotator "DG"]

{In round two I was paired against John Merriman. I knew he was a dangerous player, as he had recently beaten Mark Hebden (who was the second seed in this
tournament) in a recent 4ncl event, as well as beating Simon Williams in a British championships a few years back. And there were no flukes about those
games, so I was on my guard.} 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 $6 {He played his last move very quickly, so I responded in kind, which was a
sort of bluff. I wanted him to think that I had prepared this. I thought if I started spending lots of time, he would sense indecision. So play Nbd2 quickly,
and hope he doesn't take...} (5. Nc3 {is the sort of rubbish I normally play, but because he played his last move so quickly I guessed he was prepared for
this.} O-O 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 $1 {is more than ok for Black.}) 5... O-O $6 (5... dxc4 $1 {is of course critical, just grabbing the pawn. The problem is
White's set-up isn't great for finding compensation here. It looks a bit awkward with the Knight on d2. I was worried about this at the board, because
I had analysed this before with an engine and it was giving an edge for Black, but my only reasoning was that I felt John was quite a classical and correct
player, and I thought going for these kind of murky positions so early in the game wouldn't be his thing. On this occasion i guess correctly. Murky or not,
this is the correct way to play. White has to prove compensation.} 6. a3 (6. Qc2 b5 7. a4 c6 {and I would prefer Black. His follow-up moves are obvious- ...
Bb7, ... Nbd7 etc.}) 6... Bxd2+ 7. Bxd2 Nc6 {is one possibility. Black looks more than OK in all of these lines.}) 6. Qc2 {Phew!} b6 (6... c5 7. dxc5 Qa5 8.
Bg2 Ne4 $2 9. O-O {favours White.}) 7. Bg2 Bb7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Ne5 Bxd2 ({I saw nothing wrong with} 10... Re8 {for example} 11. Ndc4 (11. Nc6 Bxc6
12. Qxc6 Rxe2 13. Nf3 {is a punt, but it's hard to see enough compensation for White.}) 11... Qc8 $1 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Ne3 Nf6 $11) 11. Bxd2 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ne4
13. Bf4 Qe7 14. Rad1 g5 $2 {This is an interesting moment. In some ways this is a principled idea, but I feel in this particularly position it's too much.
The weaknesses that open up around the Black King are more significant than my pawn on e5. I think that 30 years ago nobody would consider playing such a
move in this situation, but we've all seen games recently by players like Caruana recently, where they've thrown their Kingside pawns forward, not
concerned about the consequences and then won later in devastating fashion. This of course is the influence of the computers. They don't care about vague
general principles, it's all about whether the move is good or not and this outlook has filtered down to lower levels. So I've noticed in my own games of
late that my opponents are happy to play their pawns forward in front of their King. But I just think that in this particular example this is taking it too
far, because with equally direct play, I can create clear and immediate threats against his Kingside.} ({especially as Black had perfectly fine
alternatives.} 14... Rad8 {is one of them, John was concerned about} 15. Qc1 {but} h6 $1 {takes the sting out of this idea.}) 15. Bc1 Qxe5 16. f3 $1 ({the
move played in the game is more accurate than} 16. f4 gxf4 17. Bxf4 Qe7 18.Qxc7 Qxc7 19. Bxc7 {Which gives White an edge, but I wanted more. The Black
King is the target now, so I shouldn't allow him to escape to an ending.}) 16... Nc5 (16... Nd6 17. f4 Qe6 18. fxg5 {is one interesting way to defend,
even if this looks quite dangerous, with ideas of Rf6 hanging in the air.}) 17.b4 $1 Ne6 18. f4 gxf4 19. gxf4 Qd6 (19... Qg7 20. Rf3 $1 Nd4 21. Rxd4 Qxd4+ 22.
e3 {wins on the spot, and I even saw this variation in the game.} Qxb4 23. Rg3+ Kh8 24. Bb2+ f6 25. Qxc7 {with a bust.}) (19... Nd4 $2 20. fxe5 (20. Qd2 Nxe2+
21. Kf2 Qh5 22. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 23. Kxe2 Ba6+ 24. Kf2 Bxf1 25. Rxf1 {is also pretty bad for Black. Eventually my two Bishops might overwhelm him.}) 20... Nxc2 21.
Bh6 {and the attack continues in the endgame.}) 20. f5 Ng7 $1 {This actually loses on the spot, but I think it's the best practical chance. The Knight
should stay as close to the King as possible. Besides I think the forced win that I missed in the game wasn't that obvious.} (20... Nd8 {was possible, but
this looked depressing beyond belief.}) 21. e4 $2 {I thought for a while here, but still went wrong. Of course the time control at 4NCL weekenders are quite
quick (you do have to get two games in during the day after all.) So because they are essentially "glorified rapidplay games" you can't just sink into
really long thinks, nevertheless I had enough time here to work out a forced win.} (21. f6 $1 {was the move I very much wanted to make work, as it looked
like the logical conclusion of my previous play. But I was concerned- what if I can't mate him, and he tucks the King away on h8, and then plays ... Rg8-g6?
I might even be in trouble!} Ne6 22. Rd3 $3 {this is what I missed.} (22. Rf3 $3 {also wins, for similar reasons.} Rfe8 23. Rg3+ Kh8 24. Rh3 Nf8 25. Qd2 Qxf6
26. Bb2 $18) ({I was mainly looking at stuff like} 22. Rf5 $2) (22. Qf5 $1 {however is also crushing.} Rfe8 23. Rf3 Nf8 24. Qh5 {and Qh6 is coming, and
he's dead.}) 22... Qxb4 (22... Rfe8 23. Rh3 Nf8 24. Qd2 $1 {this sly little move is easy to overlook from afar.}) 23. Ba3 $1 {the key idea, preventing ...
Qc5 with the exchange of Queens.} Qh4 24. Rh3 $18) 21... f6 22. exd5 Qxb4 23.d6 $5 {I think this was a good practical decision. I sensed that i had gone
wrong and lost a large part of my advantage, which was true. So it was time to act decisively. I felt that if I kept drifting anything could happen. Of
course ideally I wouldn't give up the two Bishops, which are very strong in this open position, but now short of time the position becomes very trappy for
Black. And I saw an immediate way for him to go wrong, so just went for this.} Bxg2 24. Qxg2 Kh8 $2 {Although this is a natural reply, it actually hands
White a decisive edge.} (24... cxd6 $2 25. Bh6 $1 Qc5+ 26. Kh1 Qc7 27. Rg1 {wins on the spot, because the Rook on a8 is hanging, so he can't play ... Rf7.
This was the trap that I had in mind when I played d6.}) (24... Rad8 $1 {John might have found if he had more time.} 25. dxc7 (25. Bh6 Rf7 26. Rf4 Qc5+ 27.
Kh1 Rxd6 28. Rg1 Rdd7 {is another long line. Who knows what would have happened if he had played Rad8. I think my mental state wasn't great, because
I felt that I had been winning earlier. So in this "tilt" state I could have easily lost.}) 25... Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Qc5+ {is the tactical justificiation, when
Black is completely fine (even a pawn up.)}) 25. Kh1 Rac8 (25... cxd6 26. Bh6 Nh5 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 {was the best chance according to the all-seeing metal
oracle, although White is technically winning here.} 28. Rg1 $18) 26. Rg1 Nxf5 27. Bh6 $1 {White now wins tactically. the d-pawn, combined with the threats
down the g-file, allow me to carry out a combinational finish.} Rf7 28. d7 Rd8 29. Qg8+ $1 Rxg8 30. Rxg8+ Kxg8 31. d8=Q+ Rf8 32. Qd5+ {The tournament ended
on a happy note for me. I beat Mark Hebden in round four, which meant I went into the last round with a half point lead. A quick draw offer to Jonah Willow
was accepted, and after the board two was eventually drawn I wrapped up the tournament outright with 4.5/5, which meant �Q500. This also meant a much
bigger profit than in comparable weekenders, where you have to pay for the hotel and the entry fee (in 4ncl this is covered for titled players.) It's a
shame that there isn't a 4ncl weekender every week, although I think this might bankrupt Mike!} 1-0