Ok to get the ball rolling I”ll post one of the games that helped Ennis qualify for the Euro Club Cup. This is from round 2 of the Irish club championships in Ballinasloe last April. I had hardly played in the 8 months or so before this event bar a couple of games in the Munster League so my preparation was zilch and in addition I had fluked a win from a drawn position against Kevin O’Flaherty in the previous round.
K. Delaney- R. Quinn
(Irish Club Championships, Ballinasloe 25/04/09]
1. e4 d5 [well the previous time I had played Killian I went 1..e5 and the game ended in a quick draw in a 2 knights defence. This time I decided to play something a bit more aggressive and also thought I might surprise him not realising my strategy was flawed. Even though I think Killian likes tactics he seemed a tad hungover for this game plus I was in an attacking mood!] 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 [so a portugese gambit it is! White can avoid this by playing 3 Nf3 and to my mind that is a more accurate move order. Of course the Portugese is nothing for white to fear provided he knows what he is doing but the positions can get messy fast.] 4. f3 Bf5 5. c4 [ I would be reluctant to criticise this as its one of the main lines of the opening however its giving black what he wants. Possibly 5 Bb5+ is maybe more accurate and on move 4 Be2 is possible. In fact the best move here may well be 5 g4! I saw a thread on chesspublishing.com I think it was which more or less claimed that after extensive computer analysis this line actually busted the Portugese. The German theoretician Bucker concurred and one would have to sit up and take notice if he is saying this] … e6 6. Qb3 [ I had never seen this before but it turns out to be quite a good move however white does not follow up correctly]… exd5 7. cxd5?! [this is definitely wrong, white should have played 7 Qxb7 Nbd7 8 c5! and this pawn exerts a significant cramping influence on black preventing his smooth development. I think black is not without some chances even here though despite Fritz' verdict of a big advantage for white. In fact Killian said he intended to play this line as he had a game on the white side of a portugese a few weeks before and had looked it up on Fritz afterward. If I had known that I would never have played this line in the first place! Lucky for me he didnt remember.] Nbd7 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. Bg5 Qe7+ 10. Kd2? [either very brave or very foolhardy. I think I would lean towards the latter. Kf2 or Nge2 looks more sensible though either way White has problems developing. Black has a very simple plan now... smash open the centre and kill the king!!]… 0-0 11. Re1 Qd8 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nh3 [I'm not sure about the last two moves, white needs to try get his king to safety]
… c5! [smashy smashy] 14. Nb5 Bb8 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. Qc4 a6 17. Nd4 Ba7 18. Nf5 b5 19. Qf4 [Fritz recommends Ne7+ here which I didnt really look at during the game just presuming that Qxe7 was winning and indeed it should but black needs to be a little bit careful. after the move played its all over] Qa5+ 20. Kd1 Nxd5 21. Qd4 Bxf5 22. gxf5 Qxa2 23. Rg1 Qb1+ 24. Bc1 Qxc1+ 0-1
Not one of Killians best games I’d wager, but entertaining enough none the less.
