Harrogate Congress - I had some luck

[Event "Harrogate Congress"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.18"] [Round "1"] [White "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Black "Bruce, Oliver"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A43"] [PlyCount "71"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 c5 {This is known as the "Sniper"... everyone I asked about this all quoted a book by GM Charlie Storey, whom I'd never heard of... Things like this highlight my ignorance of theory!} 4. d5 {This opening can transpose to many things including Sicilian type structures, the goal is to allow White the centre, only to then undermine it} d6 5. c3 {? Not best} e5 {I should have known this was coming, might have played Be2 or Bd3 instead of c3} 6. Be3 Ne7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Be2 {White has a lead in development, just need to castle} Nd7 9. Nc4 Nf6 10. Nfd2 b5 {Black punishes White's mis-coordination, now this Knight will dance to c2 and Black gains the initiative} 11. Na3 a6 12. Nc2 Nd7 13. f4 {?! Castles first was probably wiser, but I had anticipated f7-f5 so wanted to show that I can strike first} f5 14. O-O Bb7 {With development complete, it is clear Black has fared better and has a strong centre... not bad for a hypermodern opening} 15. fxe5 Bxe5 {? Nxe5 was slightly better} 16. Bh6 Bg7 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. c4 {With the dark-squared Bishops off, I begin to contest the centre} bxc4 19. Bxc4 Nf6 {? Again Ne5 was probably the better choice of square for this Knight} 20. exf5 Nxf5 21. Qf3 Nd7 22. Qc3+ Qf6 {Black offers a Queen trade, I wish to oblige but in a way that benefits me} 23. Ne4 Qxc3 24. Nxc3 {The game's focus now almost entirely switches to White's d5 weakness} Rae8 25. Rae1 Ne5 26. Be2 Nd7 27. Bf3 Re5 28. Rxe5 Nxe5 29. Be2 Nd7 {This Knight has jumped on and off the d7 square a lot, it must be embedded with hot coals} 30. a3 {Precautionary move, anticipating the eventual capture on d5 by the Bishop} Nf6 31. g4 Ne7 32. Ne3 Nexd5 {Due to the pawn on a6 being targeted by White's Bishop, this is a draw} 33. Nexd5 Nxd5 34. Nxd5 Bxd5 35. Rxf8 Kxf8 36. Bxa6 {Draw offered and accepted} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Harrogate Congress"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Bott, Simeon"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C45"] [PlyCount "140"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {Scotch opening} exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 {Classical variation} 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 a6 {Stops Nb5 ideas} 7. Bc4 Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nxc6 {White decides to simplify things a little} Qxc6 10. Bxc5 Qxc5 11. Qd4 { Anytime your opponent offers a trade, ask yourself "does it benefit me?"... here I did not think so, also Qxd4 allows cxd4 which strengthens White's centre } Qc6 {However Qh5 was probably a better square} 12. f4 b5 13. Bb3 Bb7 14. Nd2 Nf5 {My opponent questioned this move after the game saying it was patzerish (he was a nice honest person)} 15. Qf2 {It's obvious that exf5 allowed checkmate, my goal was to knock the Queen to somewhere unfavourable} Nd6 16. Bd5 {This was the move I missed... Black's pawn structure becomes broken by force now} Qb6 17. Qxb6 cxb6 18. Bxb7 Nxb7 {Now my opponent entered a long think, his first real think of the game... nearly 30 minutes were spent on this one move} 19. a4 bxa4 {I did not want doubled b-pawns} 20. Rxa4 Nc5 21. Rd4 {White seems to be going after the d-pawn, however my opponent after the game said his real targets were the a and b pawns} Rfe8 22. Kf2 Rad8 {? My intentions behind this move alone deserve a question mark... I was hoping for Ke3 next, allowing me to push d5 without consequence, but Rc8 instead was better.} 23. Kf3 f6 24. Ra1 {b4 is now a threat} b5 25. c4 {? b4 was still probably better, after which I planned Na4} bxc4 26. Rxc4 {Nxc4 would have fallen for Nb3 fork} Rc8 {?? The Knight had to move, now Ra1-c1 wins material} 27. Rd4 {?? This was missed} Rb8 28. b4 Ne6 29. Rc4 Rb6 {Now I feel comfortable, for the first time since the Queens came off} 30. h4 {? The idea here was to enable f5 knowing there wasn't Ng5+ available, however this allows Black counterplay} Rd6 31. Nf1 {It was either this or Ke3, the two best computer suggestions} Rd3+ 32. Kf2 Nxf4 33. Rxa6 Rb3 {Threatening Rxb4 then Nd3+} 34. Rb6 Ra8 {? I thought this looked good, however pushing f5 or even d5 was better... neither of which could be taken, so Black would get a good attack } 35. Ne3 {? Not best, Nxg2 is playable now} Ra2+ {? It was overlooked, as I had already wanted to play this move... there is a lesson there somewhere} 36. Rc2 Rxc2+ 37. Nxc2 Rb2 38. Rb8+ {I missed this idea} Kf7 39. Rc8 Nd3+ 40. Ke3 Nxb4 41. Nxb4 Rxb4 {Now with good play this is a draw... correct etiquette would mean the player who is a pawn up (me) should be the one offering a draw, however I am stubborn so we played a while longer} 42. Rc5 Ke6 43. g3 Rb8 44. Ra5 Rc8 45. Kf4 h6 46. Kf3 Rc7 47. Ke3 Rc3+ 48. Kf2 g5 49. hxg5 hxg5 50. g4 Rd3 51. Rb5 d5 52. exd5+ Rxd5 {Rxd5 loses here for White} 53. Rb3 Ke5 54. Kf3 Rd1 55. Rb5+ Kd4 56. Rb4+ Kc3 {At any point I could have offered a draw but didn't. .. my opponent simply waited for me} 57. Ra4 Rf1+ 58. Kg2 Rd1 59. Kf2 Rd4 60. Ra6 Rxg4 61. Rxf6 Kd4 62. Ra6 Ke4 63. Ra4+ Kf5 64. Rxg4 Kxg4 65. Kg2 {This is a draw... how many times are we shown this position in studies and discussions? } Kf4 66. Kf2 g4 67. Kg2 g3 68. Kg1 Kf3 {I finally offered a draw here... the stalemate sequence is as follows} 69. Kf1 g2+ 70. Kg1 Kg3 {In a game where we both had winning chances missed (White even more so) a draw is somewhat fitting } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Harrogate Congress"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Black "Hadfield, Roy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B42"] [PlyCount "65"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 {This is known as the Kan variation of the Sicilian} 5. c4 {I played what's called the Maroczy Bind, a pawn structure most common vs Sicilians} Nf6 6. Bd3 Be7 7. e5 {? I knew I should castle or develop, this move simply drops a pawn} Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Qxe5+ 9. Be3 { White has small compensation of faster development, but the e-pawn was pretty valuable} Qc7 10. O-O d6 11. Qf3 Nbd7 {Qg3 was my intention, but I did not like Ne5 forking the Bishop and c-pawn} 12. Qe2 {So I made a concession and dropped back} Ne5 13. f4 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 b6 15. Nf3 Bb7 16. h3 {? b3 would have been a more useful pawn move} Rc8 17. Nd2 O-O 18. Rac1 Qb8 {A little crafty, Black is tempting Bxb6 however that doesn't work due to the immediate Bxg2... Black is also ducking away from White's Rook and perhaps one day planning Qa8} 19. Qd4 Nd7 20. f5 Bf6 21. Qg4 Ne5 {Here, over the board I felt Qe2 was probably "best" however in positions like these it sometimes pays to try keep positions complicated} 22. Qg3 {So I gave up another pawn, choosing to keep attacking pressure} Nxc4 23. Nxc4 Rxc4 24. fxe6 fxe6 25. Bh6 {? Computer preferred Bf4, tempting pawn to e5 which shuts off Black's Bishop diagonal, nice idea which I missed} Bd4+ {? Be5 was strong} 26. Kh1 {? Be3 was the move, now Be5 once again is strong... the computer evaluates this position with a heavy -6.78 in Black's favour!} d5 {? This slashes the evaluation by more than half, Black is more interested in exchanging Queens and simplifying, however White must avoid this} 27. Qg4 Bxc3 {? Another mistake, this was a key Bishop for Black, no need to swap for the poor Knight} 28. Qxe6+ {Also, it gave a pawn back} Kh8 29. bxc3 {Rxf8+ was the computer suggestion but Black is still better... now gxh6 is the only move that wins, remarkably} Qe8 {?? This is why it's remarkable, in this position, White now has a star move to win the game... .} 30. Qe5 {!! This was a killer move that I was happy to see during the game.. . the more you look at it, the better it gets. Now a win for White is forced} Rxf1+ 31. Rxf1 Qg8 32. Bxg7+ {Black resigned here... the checkmate is as follows} Qxg7 33. Rf8# 1-0

[Event "Harrogate Congress"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Riddle, Jim"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C70"] [PlyCount "62"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {I've dabbled with the Berlin (Nf6) before, even the more passive cozio (Ng8-e7) but just lately I prefer a6} 4. Ba4 Bc5 {This is known as the Classical Defense, Deferred... which I did not know until now, so once again my ignorance of opening theory shows} 5. O-O d6 6. h3 Bd7 7. c3 { Natural, looking to strike at the centre} Nf6 8. d4 exd4 {? retreating with Ba7 was better, now White gets a strong centre} 9. cxd4 Ba7 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5 {I've often done this as Black, worrying about Nxg5, but that doesn't work here} 12. Bg3 Qe7 13. Nc3 O-O-O 14. Re1 Qf8 {Gets out of trouble, but White clearly has the initiative} 15. d5 Ne7 16. Bxd7+ {? e5 would have piled on more pressure, this eases things a tad} Nxd7 17. Rc1 Kb8 18. e5 dxe5 19. Bxe5 { ?? Nxe5 was considerably better, losing this Bishop throws White's advantage away} Nxe5 20. Nxe5 f6 21. Nc4 Qf7 {? Nxd5 was playable immediately due to c6} 22. Qb3 {? d6 was best} Nxd5 23. Ne3 {I expected Na5, where I had planned Bb6, however this is OK} Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Qg8 25. Nxd5 Qxd5 26. Qxd5 {Here we go again, pawn up in a Rook endgame, but both pairs are still on board so it's not a draw yet} Rxd5 27. Re7 c6 28. Rf7 Re8 {I drop f6 in favour of claiming both central files} 29. Rxf6 h5 30. Kf1 {Stops my Re2, but most importantly looks to be preparing Re1} h4 {? Not necessary, instead Rd2 threatened more} 31. Rc3 {??? I fully expected Re1, this self-mate was just shocking... after my next move I said "I'm sorry"} Rd1# {To which my opponent said "No you're not, you're quite pleased" before gathering his things and leaving hastily} 0-1

[Event "Harrogate Congress"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.20"] [Round "5"] [White "McMorran, Richard"] [Black "Tomlinson, Zak"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D77"] [PlyCount "60"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 d5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 {I often play symmetrically in this opening... though I'm not sure if it's a Queen's Pawn or King's Indian} 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 e6 {Now it's like a Queen's Gambit Declined... on multiple occasions I thought about nabbing the c4 pawn} 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Bf4 a6 9. Rc1 Re8 {? For a couple of moves now, dxc4 was the top computer suggestion, now White lunges forward} 10. Ne5 Ne7 {? 10... Nxe5 11.dxe5 Ng4 was the best option for Black} 11. cxd5 Nexd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bd2 c6 {To threaten Qb6} 14. e4 Ne7 15. Bc3 Bxe5 {I made the decision to take the game to an almost-endgame, where I would have a 3-to-2 Queenside majority} 16. dxe5 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 c5 {? But I executed it badly, wanting to play b6 next to prepare Bb7 however I had missed White's next move} 18. Ba5 {Now the c5 pawn is lost, my light-squared Bishop is stuck and my dark-squares are super weak} Nc6 {My thoughts were that if he plays Rxc5 then I get small tempo gains by trapping the Rook after NxB and later b5} 19. Rxc5 {? This was actually played, however Bc7 was a better move, c5 still can't be defended} Nxa5 20. Rxa5 b5 {Now White should play Ra3 immediately and look to quickly regain control} 21. Bf1 {Instead, White repositions the Bishop with a threat to take b5, however Black's next move stops it and in fact was going to be played anyway} Bb7 22. f3 Red8 23. Bd3 {? Rd6 or even Rxd8 avoided encouraging counterplay} Rd4 24. Kf2 Rad8 25. Ke3 Kg7 {I had not seen a way to progress my pieces but had realised Ra3 was not good for White, so after a think I played this} 26. Ra3 {? Although not best (computer suggested pushing Kingside pawns) this move is still playable providing that the sequence goes 26...b4 27.Ra5 Bc6 28.a4 and Black won't be in time to sufficiently gang up on d3} b4 27. Rb3 {?? Instead, this loses material and places Black firmly in the driver's seat} Bc6 28. a3 Ba4 29. Bc2 {? Be2 was better, after which 29... Rxd1 30.Rxb4 Bb5 31.Bxd1 Rxd1 was the top suggested computer line, where White faces an endgame being down a Bishop for 2 pawns} Rxd1 30. Rxb4 {?? This doesn't work as the Bishop is now hanging on c2, confirming that Be2 was better } Bxc2 {White resigned here} 0-1