Wernick Cup game played at the Sultan pub, Wimbledon, on 22 May 2023
Hayden is a relatively new member at Kingston – one of the group of young players who joined after lockdown – and has already made a huge contribution to all aspects of the club. As this game in section four of the Surrey Individual (designed for players of about 1500 ECF and below) shows, he is making rapid progress and promises to be a real force in future years.
Hayden Holden1388
Kamaljit Sood1118
Wernick Cup2
May 22, 2023 – Wimbledon, The Sultan
Annotated by Hayden Holden
1.d4e62.e4I am a fan of the French and quite like playing both the White and Black sides of it, so I chose to transpose even though I had played 1.d4.2…d53.e5The Advance Variation, though not popular at the top level, leads to very rich and unbalanced positions.3…c54.c3Nc65.Nf3Qb6One of the more popular continuations, though 5..Bd7 is more popular and scores a lot better.5…Bd76.Be2Nge77.Na3!?Intending to put the knight on c2 leads to a complex battle where Black is trying to undermine White’s space advantage and White is trying to hold his strong point on e5 and also the d4 pawn.6.a3This is the main line, although 6.Be2 is a completely reasonable continuation, as is the interesting 6.Bd3!? gambiting the pawn for quick development and attack.6…Nh6!?This is an interesting sideline which allows 7.b4 but attempts to quickly get the knight to f5, although there are drawbacks in allowing a g4 push.7.b4cxd48.cxd4Nf59.Bb29.Be3is also possible, defending the pawn a different way.9…Nxe310.fxe3looks ugly, yet is fine for White because of the pressure he will eventually exert on the f-file.9…Bd710.g4!This push intends to take space on all sides of the board, and if Black does not play correctly he can find himself very cramped.10…Nh6?!This was the first real inaccuracy from my opponent. There is no easy way to get the knight back in the game after 11. h3, the only logical way being to play f6 and re-route the knight through f7. Moreover, White’s kingside pawns can’t be undermined by an h5 push as the black knight blocks an advance.10…Nfe7is the main move and black scores quite well at the top level.11.h3Be7?!The only way this move is justified is to prepare f6. It is, however, a touch slow.12.Nc3Having kicked the knight off f5, we can now develop our knight to c3, intending c3-a4-c5.12…O-O-O?Unwise to say the least. White can now attack with tempo, and Black has to try to survive in his cramped space.12…Qd8Is a computer suggestion, prophylactically moving the queen because (a) it is no longer good on b6 and (b) to stop it being attacked with tempo by Na4.12…O-Owould also hold the position.12…f6and12…f5are also perfectly playable13.Na4!The first move in a sequence of threats that Black’s decision to castle long has allowed.13…Qc7The Queen really has no other squares.14.Rc1!This move develops the rook to the open file and threatens b5 winning a piece as the knight is pinned to the king.14…f6??Black blunders a piece.14…a6is obligatory.15.Nc5Kb816.a4Bxc517.Rxc5Qb618.Bc3Rc819.b5axb520.Bxb5Qa721.Qb1Ka822.Bxc6Rxc623.Rxc6Bxc624.O-OBlack is hanging on, but it has not been a fun evening, especially for the perpetually harassed black queen.15.b5Qa5+16.Bc3Qc717.bxc6Bxc618.exf6Bxf6??One blunder leads to another.19.g5Qf420.Bd2Qf521.gxh61-0Black resigns. After all one piece down is bad, but two is really depressing. 21. gxh6 wasn’t in fact the most accurate move. Correct (and flashier) is21.Rxc6+bxc622.Ba6+Kc723.Ba5+Kd724.Nc5+Ke725.Bd3Qf426.Bd2Qd627.gxf6+gxf628.Bxh6winning a third piece. The moral of this story is: only castle queenside when you are absolutely sure it’s the right thing to do!1–0
