Kingston v Epsom, Surrey League division 1, Willoughby Arms, Kingston, 27 November 2023
Epsom inflicted a chastening defeat on Kingston in this crucial division 1 match, but the bright spot for the home side was this victory on board 6 by Will Taylor over former British champion Peter Lee. The final moves were lost in a time scramble, unrecorded under the five-minute rule, but what we have demonstrates how Will achieved a winning position. A memorable scalp.
Taylor, Will
Lee, Peter
Kingston vs Epsom
November 27, 2023 – Willoughby Arms, Kingston
Annotated by Will Taylor
1.e4e62.d4d53.Nd2Nf64.e5Nfd75.Bd3c56.c3Nc67.Ne2f6?!I knew this was wrong because it allows Nf4, but I couldn’t recall anything more than that.7…cxd48.cxd4f6is the correct move order, when9.Nf4could be met by9…Nxd4=8.Nf4Qe7I was hesitant to go for the following sequence, as it looked very unclear, but was ultimately persuaded by the fact that I knew Black’s play could be punished, and this looked like it could plausibly be a punishment.9.Qh5+?!The right move isn’t obvious. In the ~250 games in my database to reach this position, only ~50 have continued9.Nf3!After, for example,9…cxd410.cxd4fxe511.dxe5Ndxe512.Nxe5Nxe513.Qh5+Nf714.O-Og615.Qe2±White has sacrificed a pawn but is much better, as Black’s clumsily placed queen prevents him from untangling.9…Qf710.Bg6?!hxg611.Qxh8fxe512.Nh3cxd413.Nf3dxc314.bxc3Nf6?!The engine says that Black can develop his queenside with14…b6and an eventual O-O-O with advantage.15.Nh4Ne7?!Black should prioritise untangling his pieces, even at the cost of a pawn. Now the advantage swings back to White.My opponent suggested after the game that he should have given up a pawn with15…Bd716.Ng5Qg817.Qxg8Nxg818.Nxg6Bd6, when his bishop pair and central pawns compensate for the slight material deficit.16.Ba3Qg817.Qxg8Nfxg818.O-OBd719.Ng5Nc6?The position has been difficult to play from early on, and Black finally cracks. This allows me to win a pawn while maintaining dominant pieces.I was expecting19…Nf6, when winning a pawn with20.Bxe7!?Bxe721.Nxg6=would allow Black to untangle.20.Bxf8Kxf821.Nxg6+Ke822.Rab1b623.Rfe1e424.f3exf325.gxf3I stopped recording here as I was under five minutes.The idea of 22. Rab1 was to allow25.Nxe6Bxe626.Rxe6+when Black can’t play Kf7 because of the undefended knight on c6, but when I got here I decided the simple recapture was clearer.25…Nd826.Nf4Rc827.Ngxe6Nxe628.Nxe6Kf729.Nf4Rxc330.Nxd5Rxf331.Rbc1Rd332.Re5Bh333.Nf4Rf334.Nxh3Rxh335.Rc7+Kg6There were many more moves, but this is as far as I’ve been able to recall with confidence. I don’t think I allowed Black chances to get back into it.1–0
