20-11-2012, 10:41 PM
Hi Joy and thanks for your interest in our progress...
Phil is physically OK but a bit 'sick' at all these draws! Despite only lasting 11 moves, our game included a lot of bluff and double-bluff as we both tried to avoid what we thought the other had prepared! After that we reached a position not very well known to 'theory':
[pos]rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/8/2p1n3/5N2/8/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 6[/pos]
We both spent a lot of time analysing the Q-sac variation 6. Nf3 Bg4!? 7. Nxe5! Bxd1 – and now after 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Nxc6 Qb6 10. Nd5 Qxb5 11.Nc7+ Kd7 12. Nxb5 bxc6 13. Na3 the game is amazingly back to something like material equality. Unsure of that I went instead for 6. Bb5+ Nbc6 7.Qh5!? This introduced some more possible complications and we both used up a lot of time. But after the continuation 7...Qd6 8. Nf3 Bd7 I had nothing better than to exchange everything – 9. Nxe5 Qxe5 10. Qxe5 Nxe5 11. Bxd7+ giving us a sterile position with complete equality. Draw agreed but not due to any lack of effort on both sides.
In the previous round Phil spent ages trying to see a way to exploit his opponent's unusual knight manoeuvre – (Nb8-c6-b8-d7!?) When nothing came to mind, he was too short on time to do anything else but to accept a draw offer. So that wasn't a 'short' draw either despite appearances.
Phil is physically OK but a bit 'sick' at all these draws! Despite only lasting 11 moves, our game included a lot of bluff and double-bluff as we both tried to avoid what we thought the other had prepared! After that we reached a position not very well known to 'theory':
[pos]rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/8/2p1n3/5N2/8/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 6[/pos]
We both spent a lot of time analysing the Q-sac variation 6. Nf3 Bg4!? 7. Nxe5! Bxd1 – and now after 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Nxc6 Qb6 10. Nd5 Qxb5 11.Nc7+ Kd7 12. Nxb5 bxc6 13. Na3 the game is amazingly back to something like material equality. Unsure of that I went instead for 6. Bb5+ Nbc6 7.Qh5!? This introduced some more possible complications and we both used up a lot of time. But after the continuation 7...Qd6 8. Nf3 Bd7 I had nothing better than to exchange everything – 9. Nxe5 Qxe5 10. Qxe5 Nxe5 11. Bxd7+ giving us a sterile position with complete equality. Draw agreed but not due to any lack of effort on both sides.
In the previous round Phil spent ages trying to see a way to exploit his opponent's unusual knight manoeuvre – (Nb8-c6-b8-d7!?) When nothing came to mind, he was too short on time to do anything else but to accept a draw offer. So that wasn't a 'short' draw either despite appearances.