Euroyouth Bulgaria 2011

[robin moore]

Round 3- A better day pointswise. We were all disappointed that we had planned and played so well in round 2 yet had not much to show for it but we got our just reward in round 3. Kai was always in control and won in under 2 hrs. Jamie was ok but his opponent built a monster Q,R,R,h-Pawn and bishop attack and Jamie couldn't hold it after 2 and a half hours. Murad was solid and steady, level position, wisely taking draw when time trouble loomed in 2 and a half hours. Hamish levellish game all through, drawn in rook and pawn endgame. He could possibly have played on as he had a slight edge but was happy to get on the board after 3 hours play. Anna was dead solid again today, easy draw with only minor pieces left in a closed position after 3 hours. She has surprised and impressed me. Carl, rock solid position that went 13 moves into Alan's prep, always comfortable, easy draw in 3 and a quarter hours. Andrew won a pawn but got trapped in a corner, broke out eventually but then chucked a rook. His play so far merits better rewards. Cristina got very short of time again in a tricky position and couldn't hold it in 3 and a half hours. Monica followed Alan's Maroczy bind prep to the letter and was able to handle the later tactics under real time pressure. When the smoke cleared at the time control she had R,B,N and 4 Pawns v R,R and 6 pawns when her opponent unexpectedly blundered a rook and Monica quickly finished her off in just under 4 hours. Ali, what can you say? She must like going for dinner with me as she is always last finished ! A typical tough game with Ali winning in a R,B and pawn ending all in control after 5 hours. Morale and confidence are high and everyone in the whole party is contributing to a great team effort. Hopefully we can keep it going but round 4 looks tougher.

Robin.

[Mike Scott]

Robin,
Now there is a surprise - Ali being one of the last to finish!
Hows the grub?

[Jacqui Thomas]

Ali, what can you say? She must like going for dinner with me as she is always last finished !

for those of us that know Ali that sounds familiar as yes she does tend to be the last to finish but likewise she tends not to eat the food on offer - I think fussy is the term used. So maybe its a ploy that all the food will be finished & they will just give her bread & butter!!

Well done everyone

[David G Congalton]

Well done to those who scored in round 4. For those struggling to get the results their efforts deserve, don't give up. We all have times when things just don't go our way, keep working hard and remember the story of Robert the Bruce in the cave with the spider.

Anna and Monica - you've both done brilliant so far. I have to confess I'm pleasantly surprised at the excellent results both of you have had.

Ali - As one of the best young talents to come out of Ayrshire I expected you to do well and you're showing what a class act you are.

Kai - Keep positive now you've got those first wins. Don't get too upset if you don't play the perfect game, there's always the next round.

Jamie - You proved at the Scottish weekender you have ability, so don't be disheartened.

Murad and Christina - The opponents you've had have been really tough. Keep working hard but relax and enjoy too. Learn from your experiences.

Robin and Alan - You gents are doing a first class job. Robin, the reports are excellent, putting a bit of meat on the bare bones of the scores.

Best of luck to all in round 5. There are some tough pairings there but you are all good enough to get results.

[robin moore]

Round 4- 3 and a half points which was probably fair although we could have got a bit more. We have got our days nicely in a planned routine now. 09.45- Physical excercises (yes, parents and me as well !) led by June Underwood who is a fitness instructor. Nothing too heavy, stretching, circuit training, jogging, skipping etc. 10.15- Coaching- Alan does prep for today's game on a 1 to 1 basis, through to lunch at 1 and after lunch. I take 2 at a time and work through chapters of an excellent endgame book I have that was recommended to me by Iain Swann when we were at the Czech open, Peter Woods found me a perfect 2nd hand copy. It's a classic- Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky. Games yesterday...Kai-levellish position until he managed to infiltrate with Q,R,B and win quickly. Jamie was going along fine until trapped by his opponent and blundered. His general play in his last 3 games is fine and deserves better results. Cristina-same old story-desperate time trouble-blunders. Monica- rock solid position, time tight but so was opponent's -draw agreed. Hamish lost in a wild Q,R and Pawn endgame. He is another whose results do not reflect his overall play. Murad- Always comfortable on the white side of a Sicilian but couldn't quite find enough to take full point-draw. Andrew-Played really well again and this time rightly got the win his play so far has merited. Totally controlled game. Carl- It was decided that he had black against such a tough opponent that the Sicilian Dragon would be trotted out and he gave it a right go, losing eventually in 4 hours. Anna- solid early, went astray positionally, typically dug in and got back level again only to lose in a tricky knight and pawn endgame against a more experienced opponent who knew exactly how to win it after 4 hours. Anna's endgames are weak but I am working on it. Ali- have to confess I didn't see this as she was playing in another building but drew after 3 hours. We have some fair chances of some decent points in round 5.

Robin.

[robin moore]

Round 5- 3 and a half points. Would have possibly liked a bit more but was fair. Jamie had a nice solid draw after an early queen exchange. Kai played great again only to be edged out in a bishop and pawn endgame by his more experienced opponent. Murad lost in a dragon after inexplicably touching his bishop which he then had to move instead of the pawn that led to a lovely trappy line that I had shown him. He is much better than his bare results suggest. Monica is simply becoming a right wee star. She has improved a ton out here and yesterday confidently dispatched her 1683 opponent with some typically aggressive play. Andrew was always in control again in a sicilian where his opponent folded under pressure in 3 hours. Hamish had an inferior position but defended more calmly and solidly than he had in an earlier similar game, swapping off into a safely drawn endgame, a really good effort. Carl was rock solid again with the white bits, drawing and never in danger. Cristina-same again-opening fine, middle game ok, dreadful time trouble, blunders, loses in 3 hours. Anna was fine until falling for her first simple tactic of the week and losing another pawn in the last 4 moves before the time control. She couldn't hold the subsequent rook and pawn endgame. Ali was slightly worse in the middlegame, losing in an inferior endgame position. Friday is a rest day so it's a well deserved wee break for all. Alan and I are delighted by our overall play so far. Kai, Murad and Jamie could have picked up more points than they have so far and there is a lot more to come. We are particularly delighted with Monica and Anna. Anna is like Ali- steady, solid, positional, quiet demeanour but focused and determined with a lovely nature. Monica is more tactical and aggressive, equally determined but bubbly and livelier. We hope they will be part of the Scotland squad for many years to come. Hamish's play deserves more points but is comfortable at this level. Andrew is a very much appreciated and valuable member of this squad and his experience has been of great help. Carl has a nice solid game but alive to tactical chances. He has done very well in a tough section. Ali is Ali ! Tough, solid, never gives in, a wonderful squad member. Cristina' s problem is the clock. If she can overcome this I am certain she will gain points. For myself, I have learned so much in the time we have been here. I had simply no comprehension of the amount of work that was involved but am enjoying every minute of it. Let's hope my nerves stay intact till the end of the tourney !

Robin.

[Andrew McHarg]

Some very promising results! Keep up the good work! =)

[hamish olson]

[pgn]e4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 f4 g6 Nf3 Bg7 Bb5 Nd4 O-O Nxb5 Nxb5 d6?! (7. ... d6 is slightly less accurate than d5, which should be just equal but interesting.) d3 Nf6 Nc3!? ( 9.Qe1 is the main move, but it should transpose.) O-O Qe1 Bg4 Qh4 Qd7 a4 Bxf3?! (12. ... Bxf3 only helps white's attack as I would probably play h3 to induce the exchange anyway, which would render h3 useless for my rook) Rxf3 d5 f5! dxe4 dxe4 gxf5? Rxf5 Qd4+ (After 16. ... Qd4+ I was afraid of getting back rank mated, and wasted a lot of time on ghost threats. This becomes noticeable later on when we are both short of time.) Kh1 e6? (Black's pawn moves gxf5 and e6 just weaken the king's shelter and invite the pieces to join the attack.) Rf3 Kh8 Rh3 h5 Bg5 Kg8 Rf1?! ( I had the killing Rd1! 1-0 (due to Bf4 winning the queen)) Ng4 Qxh5 f5 Qh7+ Kf7 Qh5+?! (exf5! is terminal) Kg8 Rhf3? Ne5?! Be3 Qc4 R3f2?? (my fatal error - I could still have won with the pretty b3! e.g. Qxc3 28.Rh3 Rf7 29.Qh7+ Kf8 30.Bh6 Qxc2 31.Qh8+ Ke7 32.Qxa8 +- as pointed out by my electronic chum. It might have been a little tricky to find this over the board, with 5 minutes on the clock for both sides.)
Ng4 Rf4? Nxe3 exf5 Rxf5[/pgn] (Round 1) Hamish Olson (SCO) 1988 - Nikita Meskovs (LAT) 2302 0-1



Hopefully there will be a couple more games from the Euros put up soon.

[Gerard Blake]

[pgn]e4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 f4 g6 Nf3 Bg7 Bb5 Nd4 O-O Nxb5 Nxb5 d6?! (7...d5 should be equal) d3 Nf6 Nc3!? (9.Qe1) O-O Qe1 Bg4 Qh4 Qd7 a4 Bxf3?! Rxf3 d5 f5! dxe4 dxe4 gxf5? Rxf5 Qd4+ Kh1 e6? Rf3 Kh8 Rh3 h5 Bg5 Kg8 Rf1?! Ng4 Qxh5 f5 Qh7+ Kf7 Qh5+?! Kg8 Rhf3? Ne5?! Be3 Qc4 R3f2?? Ng4 Rf4? Nxe3 exf5 Rxf5[/pgn] (Round 1) Hamish Olson (SCO) 1988 - Nikita Meskovs (LAT) 2302 0-1

I don't know how to insert comments in the game so here is some analysis:

The following website "Standard: Portable Game Notation Specification and Implementation Guide" should help

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.saremba.de/chessgml/standards/pgn/pgn-complete.htm">http://www.saremba.de/chessgml/standard ... mplete.htm</a><!-- m -->

From having a play about with this, it looks like Variations can be inserted using (), although it doesn't look like you are able to follow the variations, maybe one of the Admins can shed some light on this.

You can add comments using {} as Geoff pointed out, but if you put these inside variations () then the {} are also displayed for some reason.

[Angus McDonald]

Hamish,

When I heard you were 9 up on your first round opponent I thought you meant .9

So unlucky against a 2302 FM!

You know what you can do.

Good luck to all for remaining games.

Enjoying the reports Robin.
(Nice to hear the youngters getting praised)