Promising female junior Nabeelah Saib (11) has convincingly won the 2005 Dunedin Junior Girls Chess Championship.
The leading results were: Saib (Tahuna Normal Intermediate), 5/5, 1; Violet Baird (17) (Logan Park High School) 4/5, 2; Tania Bracey-Brown (14) and Ashleigh Brewer (13) (both Logan Park High School), 3/5, equal-3. Most promising player: Saib. Best novice: Rebecca Favel (12), of Macandrew Intermediate. The school team prize was narrowly won by Logan Park (Bracey-Brown and Brewer) ahead of St Hilda’s Collegiate (Jess Thomson and Kim Hannah).
As promised in the last column, today’s game features Otago Queen’s Birthday event winner Nikolas Croad with white against fellow Wellington player Ross Jackson, who claimed second place.
1 Nf3 d5 2 d4 c6 3 c4 e6 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 Bg5 dxc4 6 e4 b5 7 e5 h6 8 Bh4 g5 9 Nxg5 hxg5 10 Bxg5 Nbd7 The double-edged main line of the Queen’s Gambit Semi-Slav Defence.
11 exf6 Bb7 12 g3 a6? This loses valuable time. The main line runs 12 — c5, 13 d5 Qb6, 17 Bg2 0-0-0, 18 0-0 b4 with complications.
13 Bg2 Nxf6?! Black can ill afford this pawn capture. He should be thinking about the safety of his king.
14 0-0 Be7 15 Rc1 Rg8 16 h4 Nd5 17 Bxe7 Qxe7 18 b3! — White gradually prises the position open. The black king has nowhere to hide.
18 — Qb4 19 Ne4 cxb3 20 axb3 a5 21 Qh5 Ke7 22 Nc5 Bc8 23 Nd3! Qxb3 24 Ne5 — White’s striking knight manoeuvre elegantly ends Black’s resistance.
24 — Rg7 25 Qh8 Rg6 26 Nxc6+!
1-0 White wins easily after 26 — Kd6, 27 Qf8+! Kc7, 28 Nxa5+.
Problem: White to
play and win.
Solution: 1 Nf6+! gxf6, 2 Qg4+ Kh7, 3 Kg2! and 4 Rh1#.