Nuneaton C were home to Warwick University D in the opening game of the 2025/26 Warwickshire chess league, and Scott has submitted his board 1 game to the website for review.
Scott, playing the black pieces, found himself playing the Caro-Kann Defence against a new opponent who had not participated in league chess before. The game turned out to be a fascinating positional game, with a slow build-up that eventually transitioned into a technical endgame.
Opening phase
The game began with:
- e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5
A solid Caro-Kann setup, with black aiming for counterplay on the light squares. White opted for a more modest structure, and after: 5. Nc3 e6 6. g3 Nd7 7. Bg2 Ngf6, both sides were developing soundly.
Bd2 from white was a little slow, perhaps h4 to start challenging black’s light squared bishop would have been a better decision, as this approach gave black plenty of time to complete development and castle safely.
By move ten, both sides were comfortable with no obvious weaknesses.
Middle game turning point
After some manoeuvring, the position reached this point:
13. Bc3 Nd5 14. b3 Nxc3!
This was black’s first key decision of the game, realising that exchanging on c3 would double white’s pawns and give black access to the d5 and f5 squares. From here, black’s knights became monsters. The reroute Nd6-f5 provided long term pressure on e3 and g3, while white’s pieces were tied down.
Simplification
Following a few exchanges, by move 25 the queens had come off the board. Black steered the game from here into an equal endgame that was a little easier to play, with less room for mistakes. Black’s pawn structure was healthier, with the minor pieces having slightly better prospects.
By move 30, white traded a rook which allowed for the transition into a more favourable end game for black. The plan was simple:
- Bring the king to the centre
- Expand on the kingside with g5 and h5
Endgame technique
From Scott’s own words, he finds the end game the most difficult to play. But from move 38, it became a game of patience and to see who would make the first mistake.
Both sides were walking a fine line between activity and overextension. The key moment came after:
46. cxb6 Bxb6 47. Nc4 Bxd4+ 48. Kd3 Bf2
Following this, white played Ne3+ which ultimately led to his demise. After the capture from black, white’s king would fail to maintain control of the centre and would ultimately be pushed to the side of the board.
From here it was a simple endgame, with black beating white to promotion and eventually winning the game.
White resigned after 66. Kb7 Qxa7+
The full game
Please click on a move to see the corresponding position.
Send us your game to review
We’d love to see your game. Please upload a picture of your scoresheet using our website’s contact form. Alternatively please give it to Scott on a Monday night.