Scottish Chess Championships – Round 7

A hard-fought game on board one never strayed too far from equal.  This draw gave the chasing group a chance to close the gap on tournament leader Mark Hebden but GM Paul Motwani only managed a draw against FM Iain Gourlay.  Another great Scottish hope, GM Colin McNab had a disaster in the following position…

Black (Colin) has sacrificed the exchange for excellent positional compensation but now blunders with 24…Bg5? Allowing White the tactical shot 25. Nxb5 winning a critical pawn. Amazingly, the wily Scot then went on to salvage the draw using his exceptional endgame skill – good receovery!

With Scot Martin Mitchell coming a cropper to IM Andrew Greet (see commentary on this game at   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubo8HsUlsIk), Scottish hopes now rested on GM Keti Arakhamia-Grant in her board two game against the Indian Grandmaster Prasad.  This was a fantastically exciting game where it seemed that both players were determined to sacrifice the most pieces.  First, Keti had her turn when in this position

…she sacrificed the exchange with 28. Nxd4. Although it wasn’t long before we reached the following…

when the Indian Grandmaster promptly sacrificed back the exchange PLUS a knight with 32…Nxg5! Leading to massive complications.  That extra piece sacrifice won Black the sacrificing contest and also, ultimately, the game (0-1).  A happy day for India but rather sad for us Scots.

Down on board 14, strong Scottish junior Andrew Green (in the library with the candlestick) was playing the veteran Duncan Walker.  Cunning play by White morphed a King’s Indian attack into an open Sicilian with Black’s pieces awkwardly placed.

To my surprise, Andrew now played 10.Be3? instead of the strong 10. Nf5! Bf8 11. Nd6+ guaranteeing White a persistent positional advantage due to his dominance on the dark squares.  This slip threw away much of his advantage, the game ending (after many adventures) in a draw.

Large open swiss tournaments sometimes throw up games with large rating differences.  Today on board 15, reigning Scottish Champion Alan Tate (2194) was paired with Keith Emery (1585).  Emery elected to play the Alekhine’s defence but, while still in theory, decided to play 11…Nbd7?? in the following position

It didn’t take a player of Alan’s class long to spot 12. f4 winning a knight (1-0, 38).

Join us tomorrow as we enter the final weekend.