It was a SWARM, btw. I'll post moves anon.

We chatted about this place a bit, as well as his Dublin visit in 1976. I didn't say a word about rodents or vermin of any stripe, but it's good to know that the name Domdaniel carries some weight in the GM-o-sphere.

How about <Locus Solus>? Sounds similar, some of the same erudite Frog references (Roussel, Foucault, Danton's head in a fishpond, and so on) ... but it also stresses the unique and solitary nature of that lonely furrough you plough.

Forgive me, I meant the *furrow you plow*. Those gh things are tow, row, and enow to make one cow, even in Slow.

PS. Um, tell me it's not just a King's Indian Attack versus the Caro-Kann. Or, if you subsequently stammer the Queen back to d1, it could be The King's Speech against the Caro-Caro-Caro... sorry, old chap, I can't.

I'm taught p-l-o-u-g-h
S'all be pronouncÈ "plow."
"Zat's easy w'en you know," I say,
"Mon Anglais, I'll get through!"

My teacher say zat in zat case,
O-u-g-h is "oo."
And zen I laugh and say to him,
"Zees Anglais make me cough."

He say "Not 'coo,' but in zat word,
O-u-g-h is 'off,'"
Oh, Sacre bleu! such varied sounds
Of words makes me hiccough!

He say, "Again mon frien' ees wrong;
O-u-g-h is 'up'
In hiccough." Zen I cry, "No more,
You make my t'roat feel rough."

"Non, non!" he cry, "you are not right;
O-u-g-h is 'uff.'"
I say, "I try to spik your words,
I cannot spik zem though!"

"In time you'll learn, but now you're wrong!
O-u-g-h is 'owe.'"
"I'll try no more, I s'all go mad,
I'll drown me in ze lough!"

A word on playing conditions. Nigel plays White, and - as previously indicated by Kingscrusher - likes the organizers to sort the players into groups of roughly equal strength. Not literally in exact rating order - but we had a table of over 1800s, a table of 1600-1800, and one of under 1600s. Interestingly, there were two draws on the middle table. But I wound up in the middle of the top table, and seemed to get extra attention in the early middlegame.

Protocol demands that you move immediately when the GM arrives at your table. This starts to recur rather quickly after move 20, when a few people start losing. Just at the point where a move demands a 20-minute think (at least the way I play) one has about two minutes instead. In practice, you try to have a 'safe' candidate move ready while you analyze a sharper or riskier option: and suddenly he's there, and you have to play the 'safe' move. Some of these will be inferior, so you drift into a passive position, and lose. I saw nearby players try something more tactical, not fully analyzed, and get mated.

Short's simul technique is superb. His play is generally more solid than his usual game, and he avoids messy positions - until he's in control, when he often finishes with a sacrifice.

[Event "simul"]
[Site "Cork"]
[Date "2011.02.23"]
[White "Short, Nigel"]
[Black "McCarthy, Gerry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C17"]
[WhiteElo "2658"]
[BlackElo "1800"]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4

I'd contemplated 3...dxe4, specifically the Fort Knox. Solid but passive, and I didn't want to commit myself to passivity so soon. Also, let's face it, I like the Winawer too much not to use it against someone who plays both sides so well.

4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5

The SWARM, aka Swiss-Armenian line. I thought he might play 6.dxc5, which he's used before. But he chose the mainline.

6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Ne7 8.bxa5 dxc3 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qxh7 Nbc6 11.Nf3 Qxa5

All theory. 11...Qc7 is more usual, but I don't like giving White the chance to play a5-a6.

A common move here is
12.Ng5, which can be dangerous. I knew this, however. He had a longish think and played a different move.

12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Bb5 Bd7 14.O-O

Now we've just about left theory behind. Certainly any theory I knew. And White's 14th may have been slightly inaccurate.

14...O-O-O

This was my 'safe' backup move. Somebody unfamiliar with the Winawer might worry about f7, but it's not really in danger. However, I had a very interesting alternative in 14...Nxe5!? Looks crazy, no? 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Rxb7+ would be enough to put some people off, but keep going: 17...Kc6 18. Rb4 a5 ... and that was as far as I got. I was analyzing furiously, trying to make this idea work (Fritz seems to suggest that it does) but when Nigel arrived I hadn't reached a conclusion. So I castled.

15.Bxc6 Nxc6 16.Re1 d4?
A mistake, I think. 16...Rg6 is better.

17.Bg5 Rdf8 18.h4

Ah. The great thematic Short h4 arrives. Nigel *made* this move a lethal weapon against the French, using it both as a rapid passer (like here) and an attack dog. My eccentric play over the next few moves is actually an attempt to make the pawn over-extend, so it can't support a piece on g5, and then blockade. Risky, but not altogether insane.

18... Rg6 19.h5 Rgg8
20.Qe4 Rh8 21.h6 Rfg8 22.Qf4 Be8 23.Rbd1 Rg6 24.Nxd4 Nxd4 25.Rxd4 Bc6 26.Red1 Bd5 27.Rxd5

Of course. He had a long think on the previous move, then came back and played this at once. Quite a few people had lost by now, and it was starting to speed up.

27... exd5 28.Rxd5 Qb6 29.Qf5+ Qe6 30.Qxe6+ Rxe6 31.f4 Kc7 32.Kf2 Ra6 33.Ke3 Rxa3 34.g4 Kc6 35.Rd6+ Kc7 36. Bd8+ Kc8 37.g5 Ra1 38.Bf6 Rh7?

Pressure tells, but Black is lost by now.

39.Rd8+ Kc7 40.Rg8 a5 41.Rg7 Rxh6 42.gxh6 1-0

The baker-man was kneading dough
And whistling softly, sweet and lough.

Yet ever and anon he'd cough
As though his head were coming ough!

"My word!" said he," but this is rough:
This flour is simply awful stough!"

He punched and thumped it through and through,
As all good bakers dough!

" I'd sooner drive," said he " a plough
Than be a baker anyhough!"

All theory. 11...Qc7 is more usual, but I don't like giving White the chance to play a5-a6.>

At 17 plies, Fritz10 rates 11...Qxa5 1.02 and 11...Qc7 .42 Which is about worth the paper I'm writing this on.

And yet I've played GMs - lesser ones - in one-on-one tournament situations without feeling the same pressure. I suspect that's just my own habit of needing at least one 20-minute think, which is impossible in a simul.

I don't know much of the theory here, but I think the main difference between 11...Qc7 and 11...Qxa5 is that the former immediately pressures e5, which, maybe, is more important than its counterpart a5. You managed to put pressure on it all the same, but the hesitation on taking it later (14...Nxe5) is understandable (Why let his Rook get to the seventh rank with a capture and a check?). The d4 push doesn't look that bad initially as maybe you were anticipating a Bd7-c6 maneuver for your Bishop later but GM Short's play quickly revealed its flaw-the pawn became a target and the move cost you a tempo for activating your Rooks. After 17.Bg5 Rdf8, Black's position is passive.

18...Rg6 was provocative but it's hard to play Black in this position. A move I looked at was 18...Qa5 (not to capture a3 but to try to hold d4 through Qd5, with the idea of facilitating the Knight move then the Bd7-c6 plan-IF White will allow it.

I'd got as far as seeing that, after 14...Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Rxb7+, then 17...Kxc6! was playable. The Ne7 is immune because of 18.Rxe7 Rh8, and Black is winning. Also, 17...Kd6? is horrible, due to 18.Qxf7 and the threat of Bf4. After 17...Kc6, Black hits the Rook and threatens ...Rh8, but 18.Rb4 keeps the game in balance. Fritz prefers 18...a5, though I was also looking at an immediate ...Rh8.

Looking at it now, it's obviously so much more dynamic than anything I achieved in the game that it should have been a no-brainer. But there were sidelines to consider, risks to evaluate ... and I was afraid of being first to lose if it all went horribly wrong.

Within a few moves the guys playing on both sides of me had lost, so that particular pressure had passed. So had my only real chance, though.

His subsequent exchange sac with 27.Rxd5 was really excellent. It clarified the position, from one where Black had a glimmer of play to one with none at all. The Bishop and pawns just overwhelm my Rooks.

< blue wave: I like to play the French defense as black. But what are the chances? Not so good I'd imagine.> <morfishine: You never know. Our opponent may be a good candidate to play a French against.>

That's innaresting. I don't trust engines much in opening lines, and the Winawer even less so. On the other hand, they're good at finding tactics. I'd have thought Fritz would be more materialistic about the a5 pawn grab, though pawns count for little in these positions. My main reason for taking it was so it couldn't become a nuisance later, but GM experience seems to prefer ...Qc7.