CHESS
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Your support makes all the difference.Two Sundays ago, I was delighted to be present at the Royal Automobile Club centenary celebrations at Woodcote Park, near Epsom. While I was there, the gentlemen put on a most civilised display of living chess. And here is the splendid game that resulted.
White: The Gentlemen of the RAC (driven by Mr Norwood and Mr Wade)
Black: The Gentlemen of Hurlingham (steered by Mr Stean and Mr Hartston)
1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 f5 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 Qc7! 6.d5
Intent on preventing Black's ...e5, White commits an oversight.
6...cxd5 7.cxd5 Nxd5!
Naturally 8.Qxd5 is met by 8...Qxc1+. 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Bg5 Nc6. An alternative was to complete the three-point turn with ...Ne4.
10.Nc3 e6 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Rc1 d5 13.Nd4 Bd7 14.e4
Black's solidity has reduced White to this desperate effort to create counterplay.
14...fxe4 15.Qh5+ Ke7!
Lesser men would have adopted the safer Kd8, but the Hurlingham crew prefers to tempt the white forces onwards.
16.Nf5+ Kd8!
All according to plan. While 16...exf5 would have lost the queen to Nxd5+, the white knight on f5 is now under threat.
17.Rfd1 Qe5 18.Bxe4
White is forced into this further desperate gamble.
18...dxe4 19.Qf7 Be7 20.Nxe7 Nxe7 (see diagram) 21.Rxd7+
Again forced, for White has not the glimmer of a chance without this.
21...Kxd7 22.Rd1+ Kc6 23.Qxe7 a6
Calmly securing a bolthole at a7.
24.Nxe4
A fortunate resource, for 24...Qxe4 is met by 25.Rc1+ and 25.Qc5. Now the black side rejected 24...Rad8 as too likely to let their opponents escape with an ill-merited draw.
24...Kb6 25.Nd6 Qe2 26.Qxb7+ Ka5 27.Qc7+ resigns.
For 27...Kb4 28.Rd4+ is fatal. A typical result of Sunday driving, I'm afraid.
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