chess

I've said it before, and I shall, no doubt, say it again: you don't win many games by playing good chess; the way to win is by playing bad chess - only you have to play it very well.

Today's game, from a match in the Four Nations Chess League last weekend, is a fine example. Black's pawn-grabbing, development-neglecting, queen- over-working opening was quite bad enough without 9...Qg6?. When White called his bluff with 10.Bd3!, Black saw that 10...Qxg2 11.Ke2 would be disastrous, so opted for a semblance of solidity with 10...Qd6 and 11...f6. Then White began to get carried away.

Any patient preparation of f4 will lead rapidly to a winning attack, but in playing 14.f4 and 15.Rae1, White must have overlooked the clever 15...Nbc6!. With 16.dxc6 met by Qxd3, Black was suddenly back in the game.

He would never have won so convincingly if he had played more correctly in the opening.

White: J Richardson

Black: A Kosten

1 d4 e6 9 Qa4 Qg6

2 c4 Bb4+ 10 Bd3 Qd6

3 Nc3 c5 11 Bc3 f6

4 d5 Bxc3+ 12 Nh4 Ne7

5 bxc3 Qa5 13 0-0 0-0

6 e4 Qxc3+ 14 f4 exf4

7 Bd2 Qf6 15 Rae1 Nbc6

8 Nf3 e5 16 Bb1 Ne5

17 Rxf4 N7g6 30 Qxf5 Rxf5

18 Nxg6 hxg6 31 Bxf5 dxe5

19 Ref1 Re8 32 Be6+ Kh8

20 g4 Qe7 33 Bxe5 b5

21 g5 fxg5 34 Kf2 bxc4

22 Bxe5 gxf4 35 Ke2 Qb7

23 Bxf4 Rf8 36 Bc3 Qb1

24 Qb3 g5 37 Bd2 Qd3+

25 Bg3 Rxf1+ 38 Ke1 c3

26 Kxf1 d6 39 Bxg5 c2

27 Kg2 Bg4 40 Bd2 Qf3

28 Qd3 Rf8 White resigned

29 e5 Bf5