Archive for the ‘My Own Games’ Category

Sticking it to my electronic friend

Posted in My Own Games on December 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I got another draw with what could be decribed as the kitchen sink attack!

Sacrificial attacks in search of mate but couldn’t quite pull it off!

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On the right path

Posted in My Own Games, tagged , , , , on December 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I am already benefitting noticeably from abandoning online chess and playing Lucas Chess instead. The engine I chose, Cinammon 1.2c. I have to be at my very best to stand a chance, and in the dozens of games already played, I only have one draw. But in most game I really stick it to it and gain a strong initiative, sometimes with sacrifices. I’ve nearly had it beat quite a few times.

The most obvious benefit being it has revatalized my approach, level of seriousness and begun complexifying my decision making process for my moves. It’s pulling my out of the malaise 4 years of online chess created. There is work to be done as I am still making mistakes but less so and they don’t usually lose my the games, more so the initiative. Correction there is not work to be done, there is much work to be done. This is quite okay as I am already enjoying it because my style has become very attacking, and I am already far better than what I usually am. Happy to play 10 games a day, after all, I am am holiday and have to rest up anyway after the accident I had a few days back. Here’s a link to the draw I should have won, illustrated by embedded pgn, so you can play through it.

https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14443&p=313683#p313683

Impressive huh?

MJM

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Underpromotion brings about checkmate!

Posted in My Own Games on September 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Not me at my best but how often do you get to deliver checkmate with underpromotion? Which I might add was due to my opponent generously allowing me counterplay and failing to identify a threat in the position.

MJM

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Under the kosh? No problem!

Posted in My Own Games on September 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Determining whether a sacrifice is sound or not is never easy but it is generally accepted that greek gift sacrifices usually are not. So I accepted rather than decline and came under the kosh but hung on in there as my opponent allowed me to simplify all too easily.

MJM

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…’how to’ and ‘how not to’…

Posted in My Own Games on August 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

If you are ever taught by a GM, you will learn quickly that you should not make mistakes in the opening, well I was at least… .

…this game makes me smile because you don’t normally deliver checkmate barely out of the opening without even moving your queen…

…especially in the Italian game of all things but it does sometimes happen…

…enjoy…

MJM🙂

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The perils of passivity

Posted in My Own Games on June 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

My opponent never even made it out of the opening against me of all people! There are many things you shouldn’t do in chess. Being super-passive in the opening is one of them, usually a recipe for disaster! At the highest level that can be interpreted as provocative but here its just downright foolish. Don’t do this at home folks!

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McCready v Gayson (Beds. Chess Challenge 1)

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, Life beyond the chess board, My Own Games on February 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

We played on the same team on 87 (Luton A), and were members of the same club in its final year, so let’s see if Board 1 can beat Board 4! (most probably!)

Game on

1. e4 c5. We start with a Sicilian because it offers more counterplay than the French, which I grew rather tired of as the years rolled on by.

2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 (note to self: try to remember the correct bloody move order next time please!). Uppsala! Having not played one single game in 8 months, I simply forgot 5. …a6 or 5. …Qc7 are the most playable responses that avoid transposing towards the deluge of open Sicilian theory -clumsy.

6. Ndb5 d6 (almost a necessity and frighteningly transpositional!)

7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Be7

We have transposed into the Sveshnikov but that’s quite alright as I played it for a few years and read up on it too! But as GM Rowson once said ‘the Sveshnikov is full of holes’. They can appear on both flanks, some caution is needed.

11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. c4

Yoicks, not the main move, so now I am out of book. Although 12. …Qa5 may look tempting, its not at all, its premature. Black has threats to attend to before any counterattacking ideas can be put into play. I could lose the exchange or a pawn easily if I am not careful. So the plan is to shut things down and shore things up, that way the position should stay in tact – hopefully should! I can’t really tell because I am out of book already, so will stick to the few opening principals I learnt some ten years ago.

12. …b4 (let’s shut things down) 13. Nc2 a5 (and shore things up) 14. Qf3! I chose exclamation mark because I’ve never seen that move before and don’t know why it’s played. Here I play 14. …Be6 because usually the light-squared bishop goes to either e6 or b7 and I never worked out why the latter was the preferable option so, once again, I stuck it on e6, and also because I couldn’t work out what else to do, so blindly follow opening theory and principles I shall but this is really just about as far as I can go, I’m pretty much on my own from now on. I know I may get double f-pawns but that’s okay, all it means is the king should stay in the centre, and that’s okay, its quite safe there with the bishop on e6.

15. Nxf6 (from what I understand this is thematic as black usually ends up with doubled f-pawns)

15. … Qxf6. I spent around 5 minutes thinking about this. In principle, white’s remaining knight is heading to d5, so why would I want to put my queen on f6? I played it because the white queen is on f3, and unless white exchanges, I gain a tempo, which I can lose with, say Qg6, should the knight land on d5. I’m not expecting an exchange of queens.

16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. 0-0-0. Now what do I do?

Much thought required here. Where does the king go? I don’t really want to place it on e7 if a knight can pop into d5. I have to keep my bishop on e6 and exchange off if that happens but if it does, I think my knight is slightly better than white’s bishop as it can stay unchallenged on d4. Do I castle queenside? My rook can gain counterplay on the a-file, do I want to take it off that file?

18. … 0-0-0

Updates to follow

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So let it be written, so let it be done…

Posted in My Own Games on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Around the hero everything becomes a tragedy; around the demigod everything becomes a satyr-play; and around God everything becomes–what? perhaps a “world”? Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil 150

Dual purpose intentions in play here; firstly, to challenge the demi-gods of Bedfordshire chess past because they challenge me (only so historically), secondly, to give myself real purpose to play on, to play meaningful chess if you like…

First up, a certain Peter Gayson. Dunstable’s first resident to play board 1 for Bedfordshire since J. M. Craddock 1 lived there one, two and three decades before him. He went on to play for Luton up until the 87/88 season and was board one whilst I played board four or five. ELO rating usually between 2150-2250, with a peak rating of 2281 and if I am not wrong, currently 2117 well so says FIDE. In English money that’s 188 (ECF-188 [2117-700÷7.5=188]). Peter is an FM and currently plays in the 4NCL for White Rose.

Pre-game thoughts? Despite being rubbish at chess, I gunned down an FM in Turku, Finland at the 3 beers pub in the student village -and that’s the only time I have beaten an FM. He was rated 2340 and I beat him with 1. f4 (which he accused of being very drawish after the game, which was his way of saying he like facing it hence his laconic play and overall lack of interest!). Prior to that, I drew with FM Dave Ledger in 93 in Luton. Dave played the King’s Indian Attack against me but didn’t open the position up, ran out of ideas and lost interest in it. Eventually it fizzled out to a draw. No other results against FMs were had. I’m bloody rubbish at chess anyway, so I’ll probably lose.

You may, if you so wish, find the game here, I am black.

https://www.chess.com/game/daily/623139629

And yes the title comes from one of Metallica‘s better songs and yes I wanted to include the line ‘sent here by the chosen one’ but decided against it for what are, perhaps, obvious reasons… .

  1. https://mccreadyandchess.co.uk/2023/12/17/a-stand-out-figure-from-the-50s/ ↩︎

Mark. J. McCready 06.45 February 16th 2024, Al-Fursan, Dammam, KSA.

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Up in the air

Posted in My Own Games on February 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It has been claimed that a GM can just throw a minor piece up in the air and it will somehow land on the right square on the board. Unfortunately, I am not a GM. In fact, I’m nothing like one chess wise and looks wise as I am much more handsome than the average GM.

I’m doing my best for my county in an online match, and reached a dilemma in the opening. ‘Just where do I put that bloody light-squared bishop?‘ Should I place it on g2, e2, d3 or c4?

How should I know what’s best? I chose c4 because I want to create pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal and push the king onto the h-file, after which I will castle long and send harry the h-pawn down the board. I am soon to play Qd3 (threatening Qxg6, and also making it easier to switch the queen to the h-file. But since I am bloody rubbish a bit rusty at chess these days, I can’t be sure if I am doing the right thing here. Any thoughts?

MJM —- Al Fursan

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ความเป็นสนิม (rustiness)

Posted in My own endeavours, My Own Games on February 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

What sort of engine splutters? 1 full of rust! 8 months of no chess at all has been vanquished but even already I am taking my foot off the pedal. I played five games on-line with a 30 minute time control and won them all and have agreed to represent my county online in 2 games with a 3-day a move time limit. Alas I am regretting it already! And why’s that? Because its the sense of occasion that I cherish most of all, the social aspect of the game if you like, and of course, that is noticeably lacking with online chess. Is if that wasn’t enough, here’s a position from the 3rd win, just look at the obvious tactic I went and missed due to rustiness! (the title of the post is the Thai word for rustiness: ความ [kwam] state of mind/being, เป็น [pen] be สนิม [sanim] rust}.

Game 3 faux pax. Thinking I was winning, here I played 28. Kh1? What should I have played?

The best move is 28. Nxc5! winning material. Quite obvious really! That’s rustiness for you! Or is it me just being rubbish anyway?

Only a fortnight away…

Bangkok chess awaits once more, this time I intend to visit with Grace, my daughter, and will make videos that focus on the social aspects of chess rather than the play itself. I shall be there. You shall see. Videos to follow.

Mark. J. McCready, 03:50am, Wednesday February 7th

Al Fursan, Dammam, KSA

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