I HAD lost to Specht in the same tournament in 2016 and 2017.
In the 2016 game, in which he had White, play went 1.d4 d5 2.c4. I tried the Albin, and got crushed. This time, in a game in which the winner would receive 150 euros for coming third-fourth, he was to prefer the fashionable New London.
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 Bd6
Topalov and Rublevsky are among strong players who have favoured this simple answer to White's system.
4.Bxd6!?
I felt this helped Black, so I was surprised to later discover it is quite popular and, what is more, eventually becomes Stockfish9's choice.
4...cxd6!?
4...Qxd6 is much more popular, and was the choice of Yusupov in 2013, but I like the idea of half-opening the c file, and having a pawn covering the e5 and c5 squares.
5.c3?!
Excessively passive.
5...Nc6N 6.Nd2
 |
| Position after 6.Nd2 |
In some ways, White's play is reminiscent of boxer Muhammad Ali's rope-a-dope tactics, but why shouldn't Black take over the centre if White shows little inclination to fight for it?
7.Nb3 Nf6 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Be2 Re8
9...Bg4 is 'natural', but I didn't want to play it before White had castled as I feared 10.h3 Bh5, with White preparing long-castling and the pawn-thrust g4.
Such a plan would be double-edged, to say the least, as White's king would hardly be at its safest on the queenside. But I felt it was unnecessary to go in for such lines when Black has a relatively stable central advantage.
10.0-0 Bg4 11.Re1 e4
I'd had several chances earlier to gain space by closing the centre in this way, but I wanted to wait for the best moment, and I did not fear White going in for dxe5 dxe5.
12.Nfd2 Qd7 13.Bxg4 Nxg4 14.Nf1 f5
Both players would be better off with their e-file rooks on the f file.
15.h3 Nf6 16.a3 Kh8
Analysis engines reckon the position is roughly equal, or only slightly favourable to Black. But it seemed to me - and my opinion has not changed - that the position is much easier for Black to play.
After ...
17.f4 exf3 18.Qxf3 Nd8
The knight is heading for e4.
White's backward e pawn is much weaker than Black's doubled d pawns. I now held the initiative, and eventually won in 40 moves, although only after HS blundered.
No comments:
Post a Comment