[Date "20/04/05"]
[Event "Huntingdon and Peterborough League"]
[White "Jones, Michael "]
[Black "Stokes, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Bg5 Be7 9. O-O Be6 10. a3 Rc8 11. Qd2 b5 12. h3 Qd7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nd5 Bxh3 (A dangerous looking attack begins to materialise but a defence is available)15. Qh6 Bxg2 16. Qg7! (a good move, denying the rook access to the g file to countercheck - probably better was 15... Rg8 preventing the queen from taking the bishop on h3) Qh3 17. Qxg2 Qh6 18. Rfd1 Kf8 19. Kf1 Rg8 20. Qh2 Qg6 21. Ke2 Qg4 22. Rg1 Nd4+(danger again for white but another defensive move comes to the rescue) 23. Kf1 Qxf3 24. Qh6+ Ke8 25. Rxg8+ Kd7 26. Nb6+ Ke6 27. Nxc8 1-0 The attack has totally run out of steam and black's king will soon be held accountable for all the material lost.

[Event "Knockout Cup"]
[Site "University of Warwick"]
[Date "2007.03.20"]
[White "Jones, Michael"]
[Black "Davies, Bill"]
[Result "1-0"]

Possibly the shortest league game ever - finished in under 10 minutes. Admittedly my opponent was only graded about 30... 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 exd4 5.O-O c6 6. Bc4 b5 7. Bb3 Bc5 8. Qh5 Qe7 9. Bxf7+ Qxf7 10. Qxc5 Nf6 11. Qxd4 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Re1+ Ne7 14. Qd6 a5 15. Qxc6+ Bd7 16. Qxa8+

Here Black tried to play 16... Nc8 until I pointed out that this move is illegal because the knight is pinned, whereupon he resigned since it's mate on the move: 16... Bc8 17. Qxc8# 1-0. I can't remember the last time I won a game with only one piece off the back rank!

[Event "Knockout Cup"]
[Site "Whoberley"]
[Date "2007.04.24"]
[White "Jones, Michael"]
[Black "Ireland, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

My first draw against a 140+ player in a match, and only my second against any of the top three division 1 teams. 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Nxd5 Qxd5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e5 7. d3 Nc6 8. O-O Bc5 9. Re1 O-O 10. Be3 Rfe8 11. Bxc5 Qxc5 12. c3 Rad8 13. Qb3 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. Rad1 g6 16. b3 f6 18. Nd2 Kf7 19. Nc4 b5 20. Na3 b4

21. Nb5 Re7 22. d4 bxc3 23. dxe5 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Nxe5 25. Nxc3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Divisional Cup"]
[Site "Coventry"]
[Date "2009.02.03"]
[White "Jones, Michael"]
[Black "Whitmore, Stanley"]
[Result "1-0"]

I had enough swindles in the second half of the 2008-09 season to fill a book with, but this one topped the lot. We actually had a full strength team for once, so I was playing on board 3 of division 2, the lowest I'd ever played for the university, against someone graded 20 below me. This was what happened... 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8. O-O Bg7 9. Be3 a6 10. a3 Rc8 11. Qd2 O-O 12. f3 Ne5 13. b3 Qc7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Nd7 16. c4 Nc5

I noticed, of course, that Black is threatening Nxb3, since the knight on d4 is pinned to the rook. So I moved the rook to break the pin... 17. Rac1??... expect for some reason I overlooked the fact that Black can just take out the knight and then play Nxb3 anyway. 17. Rab1 is OK for White. 17... Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Nxb3 19. Qh4 Nxc1 20. Rxc1 Now I'm an exchange and pawn down, and completely lost. I resorted to the usual psychological ploy/act of gamesmanship (delete according to preference) of playing quickly in an attempt to pressurise my opponent into blundering. 20... f6 21. f4 Qd7 22. g4 e6 23. dxe6 Qxe6 24. Re1 Qxc4 25. Qh6 Rce8 26. Kf2 d5 27. f5 Qxg4 28. fxg6 Qxg6??

The hoped-for blunder materialises; after 28... hxg6 Black is still winning comfortably. 29. Rg1 Presumably Black had been expecting 29. Qxg6+. 29... Qxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Now White has the better of the position, but it's still going to be tricky to win. As is often the case, though, one blunder leads to another and a few moves later he handed me the game on a plate. 30... Rf7 31. Bd4 Rg7+ 32. Kf2 Rg6 33. Qh5 Re4?? 34. Qxd5+ 1-0.

I continued the swindling habit into the following season, and if I thought the Whitmore encounter above was going to remain my most outrageous league game ever, then this one proved otherwise. Unlike most of my swindles, this time I was the first to achieve a winning position, which I then proceeded to blow before my opponent returned the favour. The game was played on board 2 of division 1, but some of the moves played would have disgraced a primary school match; at least it provided a fine example of Tartakower's saying that the penultimate blunder wins the game.
 
[Event "Divisional Cup"]
[Site "Nuneaton"]
[Date "2010.02.09"]
[White "Paterson, Andrew"]
[Black "Jones, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]

Compared to the League regulars Andrew was something of an unknown quantity, this being his first season back after a period of inactivity, and only his fourth game. In the previous three he had beaten Ed Goodwin, Paul Roper and me, so he evidently wasn't too rusty; in contrast, I'd had lost positions in all four games I'd played since Christmas, being lucky to escape with two wins and a draw in the first three before losing a rook endgame to Andrew the week before. 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 Bf5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Nb4 10.Qe2

10... Nxc4 I decide to complicate things - I thought this was OK for Black, but later analysis showed it to be unsound. Playing it safe with a reasonable developing move such as 10...e6 is fine for Black. 11.Qxc4 Taking the knight isn't the refutation, though! White had to play 11.a3! Qa5 12.Rb1 Nxa3 13.bxa3 Nd5 14.Bd2 Nxc3 15.Qd3 Qxa3 16.Bxc3 when Black gets three pawns for the piece but White is still much better. I'd considered this variation as far as 11. Qa5, seen that White cannot take either knight immediately but failed to spot the intermezzo which means one knight must be lost. 11...Nc2+ 12.Kd1 At first glance it might not look like it matters too much where the king goes, but in fact 12.Ke2! was much better - White should clear the first rank to allow the rook to attack the knight. After 12...Nxa1 13.Be3 the knight will be lost due to 13...Nc2 14.Qa4+, when White is better. 12...Nxa1 13.Bf4 Qd7 14.Nd2 Qg4+ 15.Ne2 Rc8 16.Qb5+ Kd8 17.f3 Qg6 Here I deliberately avoided playing Qxg2 due to the threat of Rg1 and Ng5... 18.Ne4

18...Qxg2?? ... so for reasons unknown I then went and played it on the next move instead. 18...Nc2 rescues the trapped knight, after which Black is just the exchange up. 19.Rg1 Qxf3 20.Ng5 Qc6 21.Qxc6 Rxc6 22.Nxf7+ Now I've managed to transform a completely won position into a completely lost one in the space of four moves. 22...Ke8 23.Nxh8 So now we both have a knight stuck in the corner, although at this point I wouldn't have bet on mine escaping while his was still stuck there 15 moves later... 23...Nc2 23...g6 is actually better here, since the threat of Bg7 forces White to return the piece for two pawns: 24.Kd2 Nc2 25.Nxg6 hxg6 26.Rxg6 24.a3

24... e5? I decide to give up a pawn in order to extract my knight, but I should still have been aiming for my opponent's with 24...g6. 25.dxe5 dxe5 26.Bxe5 Now, as well as losing a pawn, I've let the White bishop occupy the long diagonal, and lost the chance to win the knight with ...g6 and ...Bg7. 26...Ne3+ 27.Ke1 Nf5 28.Rf1 g6 29.Nd4 Rc1+ 30.Ke2 Rxf1 31.Kxf1 Bg7 32.Bxg7 Nxg7 33.Nb5 g5? Attempting to ensure that if and when I win the knight, it's for nothing rather than for a pawn, but it should have ensured I didn't win it at all. 33...Nf5 , preventing the other knight from coming to d6 to defend f7, was my best shot, although after 34.Nxa7 White should be winning anyway. 34.Nd6+ Kf8

35.Ke2 35.Nhf7 should have ensured a win for White, since although after 35...Ke7 neither White knight can immediately move without the loss of the other, White only needs to bring his king to d5 or e5 to free the f7 knight from defending d6, and there's nothing useful Black can do in the meantime; even giving back the piece with 35.Nxb7?! is worth a shot, since after either the direct 35...Kg8 36.Nd6 Kxh8 37.Nf7+ Kg8 38.Nxg5 or the indirect 35...Ne6 36.Nd6 Nd8 37.b4 Kg7 38.b5 Kxh8 39.Nc8 , White will get a passed pawn on the queenside and should win. 35...Ne6 36.Ke3?? The only possible explanation I can think of for this blunder is that White failed to foresee the backwards knight move, and thus thought he had one more move to extricate the knight from h8 than he actually did. (36.Nhf7 , see note to previous move.) 36...Nd8! Hitting f7 and thus trapping the knight in the corner; the hasty 36...Kg7? would allow it to escape. 37.Ke4 Kg7 38.Kf5 Kxh8 39.Kf6? I can't see why White didn't just play 39.Kxg5 which is pretty much a dead draw; possibly a case of one blunder leading to another. As it is I've got an extra pawn in the endgame, which may not necessarily be enough to win but will certainly give him more problems to deal with than he might like. 39...g4 40.Nf5 Nc6 41.Nh6 Na5 42.b4 Nc4 43.Nxg4 43.a4 is better, and should ensure a draw; the g-pawn will be lost anyway so White doesn't need to take it immediately. 43...Nxa3 44.Nh6 Nc2 45.Kf7

It was at this point that I noticed White is threatening 46. Kf8 and mate in the corner; I thought I was lost before realising that I could defend against the mate with a check of my own. 45...Nd4! 45...Nxb4?? 46.Kf8 and Black will get mated. 46.Kf8 Ne6+ 47.Kf7 Nd8+ 48.Kf8 b6? Giving White the chance to salvage a draw - I should have played 48...a6 first, ensuring the creation of a passed pawn on the queenside. 49.Nf5? Missing the chance. 49.b5! draws; perhaps White thought that after 49...Ne6+ 50.Kf7 Nd4 he will lose the b-pawn, but after 51.Kf8 Black will never be able to play Nxb5 due to the threat of Nf7#. 49...a5 50.bxa5 bxa5 51.h4? Wasting one tempo when he should be attempting to stop the a-pawn. 51...a4 52.h5?? Wasting a second one, and virtually handing me the win on a plate. After 52.Nd4 a3 53.Nc2 Black is winning, but still has some work to do to bring home the full point, e.g. 53...a2 54.Ke7 Nc6+ 55.Kf6 Nd4 56.Na1 Nf3 57.h5 Kg8 58.Nb3 Nd2 59.Na1 Ne4+ 60.Ke5 Ng3 61.h6 Kf7 62.Kf4 Ne2+ 63.Kf3 Nc3 64.Ke3 Kg6 65.Kd3 Nd5 66.Kc4 Kxh6!! when White cannot stop both pawns: 67.Kxd5 Kg5 68.Kc4 (68.Ke4 Kg4 69.Ke3 Kg3 70.Ke2 Kg2 71.Ke3 h5) 68...h5 69.Kb3 h4 70.Kxa2 h3

(66...Nf4 also wins, but is much more complicated: 67.Kb3 Kxh6 68.Kxa2 Kg5 69.Nb3 h5 70.Nd2 Kg4 71.Kb3 h4 72.Kc3 h3 73.Nf1 Kf3 74.Kd2 Nd5 75.Ke1 Kg2 76.Ke2 Kg1 77.Nd2 Nc3+ 78.Ke3 Kg2 79.Nf3 Nd5+ 80.Ke2 Nf4+ 81.Ke3 Nd3 82.Ke4 Ne5 83.Nh4+ Kg3 84.Nf5+ Kf2 85.Kxe5 h2)

52...a3

53.Ne3 If White tries 53.Nd4, the alternative attempt to cut off the pawn, Black has the neat answer 53...Ne6+!! 54.Nxe6 a2-+ 53...Ne6+ 54.Kf7 Nd4! The key - the black knight defends c2, preventing the white knight coming to block the pawn. Now it's all over bar the shouting. 55.Kf8 h6 Played to put a stop to any hope of mate in the corner; this isn't strictly necessary, as after 55...a2 56.Nc4 a1Q 57.Nd6 Black has a tempo in hand and several ways to prevent the mate, but since White cannot stop the a-pawn, choosing not to advance it immediately doesn't change the result. 56.Ng2 a2 57.Nf4 a1Q 58.Ng6+ Kh7 The game has swung back and forth several times, but now Black has an extra queen and, with no more mate threats, the proverbial fat lady is very definitely singing; White resigned. Since the other three games were drawn, this handed us an entirely unexpected match win and even put us top of the Divisional Cup table, before being brought down to earth by a 3.5-0.5 hiding at the hands of Rugby in the final match. 0-1.

[Event "Ealing Rapidplay"]
[Site "Ealing"]
[Date "2010.08.14"]
[White "Jones, Michael"]
[Black "Murphy, Conor"]
[Result "1-0"]

In the first round at Ealing I'd been drawn against someone who wasn't born when I was a member of my primary school chess club, been an exchange and pawn down but pulled off one of my usual swindles in the endgame to grab a draw. In the second round I was upfloated to play another junior, and determined to do a bit better this time... 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6. d4 Nc6 7. Be3 Setting up a trap. 7... Nf6 8. dxc5! The point is that Black cannot play 8... Bxc5 due to 9. Qxd5 exd5 10. Bxc5. 8... Qxd1+ 9. Bxd1 Ne4 10. b4 a5 Now it looks as if White's queenside pawn structure will be broken up, but I found a way to keep it intact. 11. Ba4! axb4 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. cxb4 Ra4 14. Ne5 Bf5 15. Nxc6 and Black is going to get crushed by the three connected passed pawns; he played on for another ten moves before the pawns were heading for promotion and he decided it was time to throw in the towel. Both of us won our remaining three games; I took clear first in the tournament with 4.5/5, he finished equal second with 4. It was only afterwards that I found out that he was England number 1 in his age group.