Notable opponents in the Borders League: Nicole Mullen
My record against Nicole is 2½/10, and at one time I found it quite frustrating that I seemed doomed to be outplayed and out-calculated by her time after time. None of that really matters though: what matters today - especially in retrospect - was the sheer energy of Nicole's play. She never seemed to miss a trick, and outplayed me regularly. Here are a couple of fine victories by her.
08.06.2011: Berwick v Selkirk
N Mullen (1501) v D Bogle (1616)
British Legion, Kelso
It was a 4-1 defeat for Selkirk that evening, with only Stuart Wilson's victory against Steve Gamsby saving the whitewash. My game seemed promising at first, but a couple of unadventurous moves allowed Nicole to blunt my attack and step in with a counter on the Queenside. A good game with an efficient conclusion from Nicole.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. h3 Na5 7. Bb3 Nxb3 8. axb3 h6 9. Nc3 a6 10. Kh2 Be6 11. Ne2 Qd7 12. Bd2 g5 13. Nfg1
13...0-0-0
The immediate 13...g4 was necessary. Delaying this allows Nicole to start operations on the queenside.
14. b4 Bb6 15. c4
15...Rdg8
Understandably trying to build up to a breakthrough; but 15...Ng4! is much stronger, according to Stockfish.
16. b5 Kd8 17. bxa6 bxa6 18. Rxa6 g4 19. h4 Ke7
Instead of this unnecessarily timid move, I should have struck out with 19...g3+ followed by 20...Ng4+. Nicole spots the danger and snuffs out that idea for good, leaving me with few prospects on the Kingside, and facing a rapid Queenside attack.
20. g3 Rg6 21. b4 Nh5 22. Qa1 f6 23. Qa3 Bd4 24. Nxd4 exd4 25. c5 Rc8 26. Ne2 dxc5 27. bxc5 Kf7 28. c6 Qd8 29. Qc5 Ng7 30. Nf4 Ne8
Unusually for Nicole, she missed a win here: 31. Qh5 and it's all over. However, it was the move after time control and it's certainly not unknown for players' brains to be a bit tired around these times.
31. Nxg6 Kxg6 32. Qf8 Ng7 33. Qxd8 Rxd8 34. Bf4 Ne8 35. Rg1 Nd6 1-0
01.11.2011: Selkirk v Berwick
D Bogle (1607) v N Mullen (1498)
British Legion, Kelso
Another 4-1 defeat for Selkirk - curiously with almost identical individual results. Exceptions were: (i) team colours were reversed, and (ii) in Nov 2011 John Mitchell was Andrew Morgan's victim, instead of Chris Nathan in the June match. Otherwise, the match played out exactly as last season.
This game against Nicole is a far better one than I imagined it at the time. A standard Philidor gets tricky at the 11th move, leading to knife-edge play. The game is finished off by Nicole with a total killer move.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O-O h6 8. Bh4 Nc6 9. Qd3 Bg4 10. Bg3 Nh5 11. Be2 f5
A fighting move, and an absolutely correct decision. The opening phase is over, and Nicole wastes no time in initiating an aggressive middlegame.
12. Qd5+ Kh8 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Nd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Nf6 16. Bf3 c5 17. Qc4 Qb6 18. Rhe1 Rae8 19. Nb5?
Pressuring d6. But 19. Nb5 just doesn't work, and 19. Qb5 or 19. Rxe7 Rxe7 20. Bxd6 would have been far preferable. My pieces now get somewhat tangled, and I'm on the back foot from here on.
19...d5 20. Bxd5 Nxd5 21. Rxd5 Bg5+ 22. f4 Rxe1+ 23. Bxe1 Be6
Quite. My pieces are tripping over each other, and my position will collapse eventually.
24. Qxc5 Bxf4+ 25. Kb1 Rc8 26. Qxb6 axb6 27. Rd3 Bf5 28. Rc3 Rd8
Ouch!! Mate on d1 is threatened, and if 29. a3 then 29...Rd1+ still wins the Bishop. 29. Rd3 is no better, as 29...Rxd3 30. cxd3 Bxd3+ picks up the Knight. Incisive play by Nicole.
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