PLAYED on board six (of 16) for Kent at Essex in the Southern Counties' U2050 championship yesterday afternoon.
John Moore (1978) - Spanton (1928)
Sicilian Closed
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6!? 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.d3 d6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0
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| This tabiya from the Closed Variation of the Sicilian Defence occurs 10,595 times in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, with White scoring a disappointing 45%, albeit with a performance 15 elo above the white players' average rating |
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Moore (2050) - Spanton (2030), SCCU Essex-v-Sussex 2007, went 10.Rb1 Rb8 11.Ne2 Nec6 12.c3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Bd7 14.d4 cxd4 15.Nxd4!? a6 16.Qd2 Qc7 17.Rbd1, with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 (1-0, 45 moves).
The text is a sharp pseudo-sacrifice.
10...Nef5
There are 22 games in Mega26 with 10...Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 dxe5 12.fxe5 Bxe5, but White gets the pawn back immediately with 13.Bxc5.
11.Bf2 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Nd4 13.Qd1
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| How should Black proceed? |
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13...d5
Richard Palliser in Starting Out: Closed Sicilian (Everyman 2006) awards 13...dxe5 an exclamation mark, saying Black should accept what is now a genuine sacrifice. After 14.fxe5 Bxe5 15.Ne4 White was scoring 60% in the 2005 version of Mega - and is also scoring 60% in the 2026 edition.
14.Qd2 Bd7 15.Nd1 Qc7!?
This may be a novelty. Known moves are 15...b6 and 15...Qe7.
16.c3 Nf5 17.g4 Ne7 18.d4
The engines like 18.Bg3, freeing the f2 square for White's knight.
18...cxd4
The engines agree this is better than 18...c4?, which they reckon is positionally losing, but they want Black to take immediate kingside action with 18...f5 or 18...f6.
19.cxd4 Rac8 20.Ne3 Bb5 21.Rfc1 Qb6 22.Rxc8!?
This is Dragon1's top choice, at least for a while; Stockfish17.1 prefers 22.Rc3 or 22.Re1!?
22...Rxc8 23.Bh4
The engines like rerouting the white knight to c3 via d1.
The point of the text is that after ...
23...Nc6
... the remaining white rook can be developed to the open file.
24.Rc1 Re8
But now d4 is under pressure.
25.Rd1
The engines are unsure whether to prefer this or 25.Nc2.
25...Bf8
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| How should White proceed? |
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26.a3?
White should probably play 26.Kh2 or 26.Bf2, albeit the engines agree Black is at least equal.
26...Nxd4!?
This may be a tad better than 26...Ba4, but both moves win the d4 pawn.
27.Bf2 Ne2+ 28.Kh1 Qd8??
This turns a winning position into a losing one, or at least one in which White has the upper hand. The simple 28...Qa6 leaves Black the equivalent of about a minor piece ahead, according to the engines.
29.Bf1 Ba4
Best, since 29...d4? 30.Bxe2 Bxe2?! 31.Qxe2 leaves Black knight-for-pawn down, as the d pawn is pinned. Probably better is 30...Ba4, but 31.Qxd4 Bxd1 32.Nxd1 leaves Black down rook for bishop-and-knight, and with White having the bishop-pair. Black could also try 30...Bc6+, but 31.Ng2 again leaves Black knight-for-pawn down.
30.Bxe2 Bxd1 31.Nxd1!?
The engines agree this is the best way to recapture.
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| Now the dust has settled, as it were, how would you assess the position? |
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White has bishop and knight for rook and pawn. This is a material advantage, even if that is not the case under the traditional 9:5:3:3:1 points system. In addition, White has the bishop-pair. But the advantages do not all lie with White. The black king is less exposed, and Black's extra pawn is a protected passer, albeit still in Black's side of the board. Dragon1 reckons White is winning, but Stockfish17.1 gives White 'only' the upper hand.
31...Qc7 32.Nc3
32.Qc3?! contests the open file, but an exchange of queens, while slightly favouring the bishops as being the only remaining pieces with long-range diagonal power, favours the rook even more as rooks are usually at their best in endings.
32...Rc8
Threatening 33...Bxa3!
33.Bd4 a6?!
Probably too slow. The immediate 33...Bc5, seeking to get rid of White's bishop-pair, is possible, as 34.Nb5 can be met by 34...Qb6. The engines also suggest 33...b5!?, the idea being to meet 34.Nxb5 with 34...Qc2 35.Qxc2 Rxc2 36.Bf1 Rd2 37.Bxa7 Rxb2, and 34.Bxb5 with 34...Bc5 35.Ba6 Bxd4!? 36.Qxd4 (36.Bxa8 Qc4!) Rb8, although in both cases the engines reckon White ends with at least a slight edge.
34.Kg2
After playing 33...a6?!, I feared 34.f5!, when 34...Bc5 can be met by 35.f6!, although 35...Kh8 keeps the game going.
34...Bc5 35.Kf2?!
White cannot maintain the bishop-pair, but probably better is 35.Bxc5 Qxc5 36.Bd3, when the engines claim the upper hand for White.
35...Qb6 36.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 37.Kg2 d4?!
The position is completely equal after 37...b5, according to the engines.
The problem with the text is that after ...
38.Ne4 Qc2?!
... White has ...
39.Bd3
This would also have been the answer to the probably better 38...Qc1!?
39...Qxd2+ 40.Nxd2 Rc1
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| How would you assess this ending? |
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The black rook is the best piece on the board, but it is no match for two minor pieces, especially as White has the more active king, and Black's extra pawn, although passed, is unprotected. However, imbalanced positions can be tricky to play, and, while the engines start by claiming White is winning, Dragon1 comes to be less sure.
41.Kf2 Rd1 42.Ke2 Rg1 43.Be4 Rxg4?!
The engines come to much prefer 43...b5 or 43...b6.
44.Kf3?!
They reckon this loses much of White's advantage, which would be preserved by 44.Bxb7.
44...Rg1
44...h5!? might be better, the idea being to meet 45.Bxb7 with 45...Rh4, when 46.Kg3 Rg4+ 47.Kf3 Rh4 is a repetition, so the engines suggest 46.Ke2!? Rxh2+ 47.Kd3, with an unclear position, but one that seems good for White.
45.Kf2?
Definitely better is 45.Bxb7, eg 45...Rh1 46.Bxa6 Rxh2 47.Nc4, when the b pawn seems a lot quicker than the h pawn.
45...Rc1 46.Ke2
Or 46.Bxb7 Rc2 47.Ke2 Rxb2 48.Bxa6 Ra2, with complete equality, according to the engines.
46...b6 47.Nb3
Stockfish17.1 claims 47.Kd3 may give White a slight edge, or the better part of equality; Dragon1 disagrees.
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| What should Black play? |
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47...d3+!?
This pawn sacrifice, with both an interference motif and a diversion motif, is at first warmly greeted by the engines, but Dragon1 comes to see it as 'only' giving Black a slight edge, while Stockfish17.1 eventually concludes that the position is completely equal.
48.Kxd3
The king interferes with the bishop's coverage of b1, but the text is almost certainly better than 48.Bxd3?!, when the bishop is diverted from its coverage of h1. Then 48...Rh1 is strong, eg 49.Nd2 Rxh2 50.Ke3 a5, followed by pushing the h pawn.
48...Rb1 49.Kc2
This may appear to gain a a tempo on the rook, but does not really, whereas 49.Kc3! means Black will not be able to later capture on h2 with check, or play ...Rf2+ and then capture on h2. The point will become clearer as the game continues.
49...Rf1 50.Nd2
If the white king were on c3, White could play 50.Bd3 Rxf4 51.Bxa6, with good drawing chances, although Dragon1 is less sure about this than Stockfish17.1. Because the white king is on c2, the same line could continue 51...Rf2+ 52.Kc3 Rxh2, when Black is a vital tempo up, and, the engines agree, that makes Black's position easily winning.
50...Rxf4 51.Kd3 Rf2 52.h4 Rh2 53.b4 Rxh4
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| Black now has three pawns and a rook for bishop and knight, with an advantage the engines reckon is worth more than a minor piece |
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54.Nf3 Rh1 55.a4 Ra1 56.Bc6 h6 57.Bd7 g5 58.Nd4 g4 59.a5?!
This loses a pawn, but does not greatly affect the engines' evaluation of the position.
59...bxa5 60.bxa5 Rxa5 61.Ke4 g3 62.Nf3 Kg7 63.Bc6 Rc5 64.Bb7 a5 65.Kf2 g2 66.Kg3 g1=Q+ 67.Nxg1 Rxe5 68.Nf3 Rb5 69.Bc6 Rb4 70.Nd2 a4 71.Be4 0-1 (Time)
Essex won the match 10-6.
