Caplin Hastings 2023-24

[Richard Bates]

I wonder if PC was thinking of possible tricks after 8....Qc7, but they don't actually work.

3. d5 was played a couple of times by Tigran Petrosian among others.

After 8. .. Qc7, a stockfish comes up with the idea 9. Qxa8 Bc3 where it thinks Black is worse but by a pawn, not a rook. In particular in a continuation 10. Kd1 Bb7 it much prefers Black after 11. Qxa7 Qd6+

And 10. Bd2 Bxd2 11. Kxd2 Qd6+ 12. Kc2 Qc5 appears to be an (eventual) repetition

[Brendan O'Gorman]

More pix added from rounds 3 and 4: https://brendanogorman.smugmug.com/Ches ... ss-2023-24

[IM Jack Rudd]

Yay, another opponent whose FIDE rating starts with a 1 and whose year of birth starts with a 2. My favourite.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I wonder if PC was thinking of possible tricks after 8....Qc7, but they don't actually work.

3. d5 was played a couple of times by Tigran Petrosian among others.

After 8. .. Qc7, a stockfish comes up with the idea 9. Qxa8 Bc3 where it thinks Black is worse but by a pawn, not a rook. In particular in a continuation 10. Kd1 Bb7 it much prefers Black after 11. Qxa7 Qd6+

Fritz seems to prefer 10 bc3, but its fascinating to see White's supposed plus go down as the analysis gets deeper. Maybe the real point is that's its not so surprising that even a GM like Gormally missed this OTB if he's not really familiar with the position?

[IM Jack Rudd]

In case anyone was wondering why Willow is upfloating: Gupta upfloated in round 4, Jacobson has already played Royal, and Ghasi upfloated in round 3. That leaves Willow as the highest eligible black-seeker on 3.

[LawrenceCooper]

In case anyone was wondering why Willow is upfloating: Gupta upfloated in round 4, Jacobson has already played Royal, and Ghasi upfloated in round 3. That leaves Willow as the highest eligible black-seeker on 3.

I suspect that wasn't a question on most people's minds on New Years Eve!

[Jonathan Rogers]

In case anyone was wondering why Willow is upfloating: Gupta upfloated in round 4, Jacobson has already played Royal, and Ghasi upfloated in round 3. That leaves Willow as the highest eligible black-seeker on 3.

I suspect that wasn't a question on most people's minds on New Years Eve!

Nor the following afternoon! But good luck to Jack against the underrati, and Happy New Year to all forumites.

[Jonathan Rogers]

I hadn't realised that Jack was playing a Barbican player! But if he was (understandably) concerned about playing another fast-improving player, then he might have elected to play an opening line with less risk of losing his queen ...

[LawrenceCooper]

I hadn't realised that Jack was playing a Barbican player! But if he was (understandably) concerned about playing another fast-improving player, then he might have elected to play an opening line with less risk of losing his queen ...

I'm not sure if you tuned in to the commentary but Richard Pert mentioned that the Bc7 move is mentioned in the book he wrote on the opening many years ago so it was an inspired opening choice. Max & Jack joined him in the commentary room after to analyse the game.

[Jonathan Rogers]

I hadn't realised that Jack was playing a Barbican player! But if he was (understandably) concerned about playing another fast-improving player, then he might have elected to play an opening line with less risk of losing his queen ...

I'm not sure if you tuned in to the commentary but Richard Pert mentioned that the Bc7 move is mentioned in the book he wrote on the opening many years ago so it was an inspired opening choice. Max & Jack joined him in the commentary room after to analyse the game.

No idea about any of that. But Bc7 is old news, I seem to remember a strong (Russian?) GM playing it many years ago, probably before Max was born!

[LawrenceCooper]

I hadn't realised that Jack was playing a Barbican player! But if he was (understandably) concerned about playing another fast-improving player, then he might have elected to play an opening line with less risk of losing his queen ...

I'm not sure if you tuned in to the commentary but Richard Pert mentioned that the Bc7 move is mentioned in the book he wrote on the opening many years ago so it was an inspired opening choice. Max & Jack joined him in the commentary room after to analyse the game.

No idea about any of that. But Bc7 is old news, I seem to remember a strong (Russian?) GM playing it many years ago, probably before Max was born!

I also discovered a Richard Pert-Dave Ledger game where black fared as badly as today's game.

[Roger de Coverly]

I'm not sure if you tuned in to the commentary but Richard Pert mentioned that the Bc7 move is mentioned in the book he wrote on the opening many years ago so it was an inspired opening choice.

Twenty years ago or more, Jack met my Tromp with 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 d5 . That superficially looks not possible as if it allows 4. e5, but the resource is 4. .. h6.

The line they played 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. f3 Qa5+ 5. c3 Nf6 6. d5 Qb6 was a main line in the 1990s. One of the stem games beimg a Hodgson- Adams gane from Hitchin 1990. (I was there) It was unclear in the 1990s and beyond whether it is necessary to play 7. Bc1 or 7. b3 or whether the offer of a b pawn with 7. e4 is possible. In the line that runs 7. e4 Qxb2 8. Nd2 Qxc3, I was aware that 9. Bc7 had been discovered but I had stopped playing the Tromp by then so didn't have to try to understand the ongoing weirdness of Tromp theory. Defending the d pawn at move 7 with 7. Qd2 seems to fail to 7. .. Nxd5. Julian H once tried to make it work by allowing .. Qxb2 and .. Qxa1, but it failed.

(edit) The earliest record of Bc7 that I can find dates to 2005. After that knowledge of it spread. I think a game that was published was between Laurence Trent and Mark Hebden at Southend in 2006 where Mark was beaten. (/edit)

[John Moore]

Interesting to note again that strong older players (1950+ - grade not birth year) are suffering again at the hands of juniors who are hugely under-rated. Probably not a surprise anymore.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Indeed not, they will probably feast on my rating when I return OTB.

We have a sole first and sole second now, a bit unusual after five rounds. Presumably Shreyas plays White since Zhang should keep his colour sequence?

[John Moore]

Good to know that you are going to return more regularly, Jon, and join all the rest of us losing points.