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Seventeen year-old David Howell has produced a result of Fischeresque proportions in the grandmaster event at Southend over Easter.  Without drawing a single game Howell raced to victory, winning in every round bar one.  Final results were as follows: Howell 6/7; Wells 4½; Trent 4; Hebden, Plaskett and McDonald 3½; Emms 2½ and Ward ½.

Although this event was composed entirely of British players, and therefore failed to satisfy the criteria necessary for an international tournament, it could still claim status at least equal to a category 10 event.  Howell's success in scoring six from seven produced a performance rating of 2784!

Trent,L (2463) - Howell,D (2528) [C52]
Jack Speigel Memorial Southend (3), 22.03.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Nbd2 Bb6 9.a4

This appears to be wildly overambitious.  White wants to keep the king in the centre but sacrifices far too much material.

9...Nf6 10.a5 Nxa5 11.Rxa5 Bxa5 12.dxe5 Ng4 13.h3 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 dxe5 15.Ba3

15...c6 16.0-0 b5 17.Rd1 Qb7 18.Qc2 Bd8 19.Qa2 bxc4 20.Nxc4 Be7 21.Bxe7 Qxe7 22.Nd6+ Kf8 23.c4 a5 24.c5 a4 25.f4 exf4 26.Qa3 Be6 27.Rf1 Qg5 White resigns  0-1
 

Plaskett,H (2490) - Howell,D (2528) [C60]
Jack Speigel Memorial Southend (4), 22.03.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 4.0-0 Ng6 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 d5 7.d4 dxe4 8.Nxe5 Ngxe5 9.dxe5 Bf5 10.Bf4 Bc5 11.Nd2 Qh4 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qa4 0-0 14.Nxe4 Bb6 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.Bg3 Qh6 17.Kh1 Qg6 18.f3 h5 19.Rad1 h4 20.Bf4 h3 21.g4 Rad8 22.Ng5 Bc2 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Qxa6 Bf2 25.Rf1 Bh4 0-1
 

Jack Speigel Memorial, Southend (ENG)
21-24 March 2008; cat. X (2482)

Howell,D (2528) - Ward,C (2440) [B22]
Jack Speigel Memorial Southend (2), 21.03.2008

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.dxc5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Nc6 8.h3 Bxf3+ 9.gxf3 e6 10.b4 a5 11.Bb5 Nd5 12.Bd2 Be7 13.a3 0-0 14.Ra2

14...axb4 15.Bxc6 b3

If 15...bxc6 16.cxb4 and White has a healthy extra pawn.  Once he gets coordinated - which he can do fairly quickly with Kc2 and Nc3 - his queenside pawns will win the game.  Therefore Black tries to complicate by unbalancing the material situation.

16.Bxd5 bxa2 17.Bxa2 Bxc5 18.Ke2 Rfc8 19.Bc1 b5 20.Bb3 Be7 21.Rd1 Rc5 22.Kf1 Rd8 23.Be3 Rh5 24.Kg2 Rxd1 25.Bxd1

It is ironic that although White has five isolated pawns and Black just one, it is the black weakness on b5 that will decide the game.

25...Rd5 26.Be2 Kf8 27.f4 g6 28.Bg4 h6 29.Be2 g5 30.Bf3 Rd8 31.Kf1 f5 32.Ke2 Kf7 33.Bc6 g4 34.hxg4 fxg4 35.Bxb5 h5 36.a4 h4 37.Nd2 h3 38.Nf1 Rc8 39.c4 Bb4 40.Bb6 Rh8 41.Nh2 Rg8 42.Nf1 Ke7 43.c5 Rc8 44.c6 Bd6 45.a5 Bxf4 46.a6 h2 47.Nxh2 Bxh2 48.a7 g3 49.fxg3 Bxg3 50.Ba6 1-0
 

Emms,J (2502) - Howell,D (2528) [C55]
Jack Speigel Memorial Southend (6), 23.03.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 h6 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 g6 7.d4 Nd7 8.Be3 Bg7 9.Qc1 Qe7 10.Re1 Nf6 11.Bd5 Nb8 12.Na3 g5 13.dxe5 dxe5

14.Qc2

Here White should retreat his bishop from d5 to keep the black position under control.

14...Nxd5 15.exd5 0-0

Now Black has a useful mobile pawn mass on the kingside.

16.Nc4 f6 17.Rad1 Qf7 18.Qb3 b6 19.Bc1 Nd7 20.Qc2 Bb7 21.Ne3 f5 22.c4 c5 23.dxc6 Bxc6 24.Rd6 Rac8 25.Red1 Nc5 26.b3 Ne4 27.R6d3 f4 28.Ng4 Qe6 29.h3 h5 30.Ngh2 g4 31.hxg4 hxg4 32.Ne1 Qf5 33.Qe2 g3 34.fxg3 Nxg3 35.Qg4 e4 36.Rd6 Qc5+ 37.R1d4 Ne2+ 38.Qxe2 Bxd4+ 39.Rxd4 Qxd4+ 40.Kh1 Qg7 41.Bb2 0-1
 

Howell initially leapt to prominence when he defeated the seasoned grandmaster Dr. John Nunn at the age of eight in a formal game. Here is that game, a win which made the front pages of all the main papers over the next few days.

Nunn-Howell; Mind Sports Olympiad Blitz, London 1999; Ruy Lopez

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3

A quiet but still dangerous method of conducting the Ruy Lopez.  It might be considered particularly appropriate against a relatively inexperienced opponent, unfamiliar with the strategic nuances of the Lopez.

5...b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nbd2 d6 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Re1 Re8 12.Nf1 Bf8

Standard manoeuvres in the Ruy Lopez, but the patience displayed by the eight-year-old is impressive.

13.Ng3 g6 14.Bg5 Bg7 15.Qd2 Bb7 16.h4 h5 17.Rad1 Nc6 18.a3 Rc8 19.Bb1 Na5

Here White has the chance to maintain the slight edge he has been nursing from the early opening. The right way is 20.b4 cxb4 21.axb4 Nc6 22.Ba2 with further threats of converging on the black king’s fortress by means of Bh6 and Ng5.

20.Ba2

Having missed his chance, Nunn now discovers that Black’s position can become full of vitality. Howell’s next move ensures that White’s king’s bishop stays out of the game for some time to come.

20...c4 21.d4 exd4 22.cxd4

Superficially attractive but 22.Nxd4 is stronger.

22...Qb6 23.d5 Ng4 24.Nd4 Ne5 25.Bb1 Nb3 26.Nxb3 cxb3 27.Be3 Qd8 28.Bg5 Qb6 29.Qe3 Qxe3 30.Rxe3 Nc4 31.Rxb3 Nxb2 32.Rc1 Rxc1+ 33.Bxc1 Nc4 34.Bd3?

In order to stay in the game White now had to play 34.Bf4.

34...Bxd5

This must have come as a horrible surprise for Nunn.  Black wins a pawn in broad daylight.

35.exd5

Acquiescing in Black’s plans, but White is pinning his hopes on the fact that endgames with bishops of opposite colours tend to be quite drawish.

35...Re1+ 36.Kh2 Rxc1 37.Ne4 Ne5

38.Be2

And not 38.Nxd6 Nxd3 39.Rxd3 Be5+, expanding Black’s material gains.

38...Nd7 39.g3 Be5 40.Kg2 Nc5 41.Nxc5 Rxc5

By playing instead 41 ... dxc5 Black would ensure an easier victory given his mobile mass of queenside pawns.  It is clear though that Howell did not want to grant his mighty opponent even the vestige of a counter-chance, such as a passed d-pawn.

42.Rd3 Rc3 43.Kf3 Rxd3+ 44.Bxd3 f5

This ending is extremely difficult for White since so many of his pawns are fixed on vulnerable dark squares and thus can fall easy prey to the black bishop.

45.Ke2 Kf7 46.Kf3 Ke7 47.Ke2 Kf7 48.Kf3 Bb2 49.a4 bxa4 50.Bxa6 Kf6 51.Ke2 Ke5

One of the most impressive things about this game is the way in which the eight-year-old, having first won a pawn, kept his nerve in the endgame and did not throw away the fruits of his previous strategy by over-impatience.  He now wraps up the game with a simple king march.

52.Bc4 Kd4 53.Ba2 Kc3 54.Kd1 Ba3 55.Ke2 Bc1 56.Kd1 Kb2 57.Bc4 Bh6 58.Ke2 a3 59.Kd3 a2 60.Bxa2 Kxa2

Black’s whole conduct of this game was in the style of the young Capablanca: a solid but unsophisticated opening followed by neat tactics and a near perfect technical exploitation of the advantage thus obtained.

61.Kc4 Bd2 62.Kb5 Be1 63.Kc6 Bxf2 64.Kxd6 Bxg3+ 65.Ke6 Bxh4 66.d6 f4 White resigns 0-1