I HAVE just returned from a trip to London, so cannot give a full update on events at the local club, where the 2005 Bermuda Closed Championship has now started. I shall catch up next week.While in England I was expecting to meet up with the country’s top player Mickey Adams, but this did not happen because he was called away to represent Porz, his club in the prestigious German team competition, the Bundesliga.

Despite being registered to play, Adams has rarely made the trip across the North Sea in recent years, but this was the final and deciding weekend of the 2004/5 season and the club evidently provided the necessary inducements.

Judging from the team lists, there were two overwhelming favourites for the title, Porz and Baden-Baden. By chance they were due to meet in the 15th and final round, with each having won 13 of their earlier matches but suffered one upset loss.

Furthermore Baden-Baden’s vanquishers Werder Bremen (led by the English youngster Luke McShane) had lost to Porz but won all of their other matches, so if the “big match” ended in a draw they could slip through to a remarkable first place.

On top board, Adams faced Vishy Adams, who has inherited Garry Kasparov’s status as the world’s top-rated player — Mickey earned his appearance fee by drawing comfortably.

Board Two was also drawn, but on third board Alexei Shirov produced a win for Baden-Baden.

The Porz fourth board was the highly aggressive Dutch player Ivan Sokolov, who faced the young Spaniard Francisco Vallejo Pons. Both of these players have been on the fringe of the world top 20 list for some years, so this was another heavyweight match-up.

White: F. Vallejo Pons

Black: I. Sokolov

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nf3 e6

See Diagram 1. Sokolov has played an unusual and very flexible version of the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The only obvious drawback is that White could not try the constricting 6. c5

6. b3

But Vallejo Pons is not noted for aggressive opening play with White.

Bb4 7. Bd2 0-0 8. a3 Bd6 9. b4 Nbd7 10. Qb3

I do not believe these moves have been seen before in master chess, but it all seems very reasonable. Given a free rein, White is able to build up a solid position with some advantage in space.

e5!

So Sokolov strikes immediately. This is a real pawn sacrifice, since in Diagram 2 White can play 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 although after 13. ...Nf6 14. Qb3 Be6 Black’s active pieces provide clear compensation.

11. Rd1?!

In my opinion Vallejo Pons might as well have taken the pawn, since he is going to suffer anyway.

e4<$>

Black has comprehensively won the opening battle.

12. Ng5 Ng4 13. Nh3

It is typical in top-level matches for careful play to dominate, so that most games are drawn and matches hinge on the rare decisive games. We can therefore only imagine how the other Baden-Baden players felt when they looked at the position on this board.

Nxh2<$>

It is usually unwise to open the h-file against your own king like this, but White’s pieces are in no state to leap out and attack anything.

14. Be2 Nf6 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Nxd5 Be6 17. Bc4<$>

See Diagram 3. Is White finally getting himself organised?

Bxh3 18. gxh3 Nh5

Not really. His king remains very exposed.

19. Nc3 Qh4 20. Bd5 Rae8 21. Bxb7 <$>

Desperate.

Qxh3 22. Qd5<$>

See Diagram 4. I expect the Spaniard realised that he was allowing mate in three here, nothing else lasts much longer.

Nf3+ 23. Ke2 Ng3+

White resigned in view of 24. fxg3 Qg2 mate.

Porz won another game on a lower board, and so took the eight game match and finished at the top of the table. However, Werder Bremen also won, to equal their score and force a play-off which will be held in the near future.

If the date does not conflict with McShane’s end-year examinations at Oxford, and if Adams can be persuaded to make the return trip, then the two Englishmen could find themselves having a major effect on the destination of the team trophy.