Another McDonnell - La Bourdonnais Attack

White to play.  What's the best plan of attack?

I have annotated the game Goeller - Sherer, Kenilworth CC Championship 2011, from the fourth round of the club championship played Thursday night.  It was my second McDonnell - La Bourdonnais Attack (1.e4 e6 2.f4) of this tournament, and a very complex and interesting game.  Of course, it probably could have been even better if I didn't have to play the second half of it with less than a minute plus 5 second increment on my clock.  I definitely have to work on my time management!  But despite my time challenge, I still managed to pull off a win, putting me in contention for the championship next week in a final round game with tournament leader Ken Chieu.

The Double Swindle

Black to play.  Is there anything worth trying?

White to play.  Should he accept a draw?

I have annotated the game Mangion - Goeller, Kenilworth Chess Club Championship 2011, from the third round this past Thursday.  It's not a pretty game and I clearly should have lost.  But I was saved by an amazing double swindle.  In the first diagram above, I played the tricky 19...Be7!? to which Ian immediately responded (as I had hoped) 20.Qxe5! when quickly followed 20...Bg5+ 21.Bxg5 Rxe5.  But that was only half the swindle.  The more important part was that as I took his Queen off the board, I offered a draw, suggesting that it was a magnanimous gesture toward a worthy opponent who otherwise was killing me.  Ian immediately accepted, too stunned by the surprising turn of events to notice that a draw was not his best option....

Adventures in the La Bourdonnais - McDonnell Attack vs the French

White to play.  Can you find a winning plan?

I have annotated two of my Adventures with the La Bourdonnais - McDonnell Attack vs. the French (1.e4 e6 2.f4), including a disappointing draw with John Moldovan from Round 2 of the Kenilworth Chess Club Championship.  John has annotated the game as well, and it is interesting to compare notes.  Though I wasn't happy with my play or with the outcome, the game did strengthen my belief in my nineteenth century opening repertoire.  I just have to learn how to play on two sides at once and exercise a little more lateral thinking to do so.  For more analysis of this line, see my article on McDonnell's Anti-French.

Round Two in the Kenilworth CC Championship

2011 KCC Championship, Round One

McAuliffe - Goeller, Kenilworth CC Ch. 2011
Black to play.

I have annotated the game McAuliffe - Goeller, Kenilworth 2011, from the first round of the 21st Annual Kenilworth Chess Club Championship.  I have had two previous games against Dr. Geoffrey McAuliffe, both of which were quite interesting: in the 2005 club championship and the 2008 summer tourney.  The present game went well for me and should help build my confidence going forward.  I got to play my favorite Black Fianchetto System in the Open Games (see Part One and Part Two), which has turned out to be a very solid system and a great fit with the King's Indian against d4.    John Moldovan has posted all of the games from Round One along with a crosstable.  John and I are scheduled to play next week in the "battle of the bloggers."

The first round of play in the Kenilworth CC Championship.

Kenilworth Chess Club Championship Starts

The 21st Annual Kenilworth Chess Club Championship tournament starts tonight -- see the Calendar or The Chess Coroner for details. Games from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 championships are collected online, and I'm sure more recent ones are online too.  In his history of the club, Mike Wojcio tells how important the championship has been as an institution that has helped to keep the club going for over two decades.  Mike is a bit of an institution himself, but (unless he suddenly comes back from Hawaii) this will be the first club championship without him.  I'm sure he is enjoying himself. I will be playing in the championship myself, especially since the five round and unrated format make it a great opportunity to shake off some rust in preparation for the US Amateur Teams.