Barry Attack
1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4
The Veresov-London hybrid that I call the Barry Attack, although it has other names.
3...e6 4.Nb5!? Na6
The main move. For 4...Bb4+!? see https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/10/veresov-london-hybrid.html
5.e3 c6 6.Nc3 Bd6!?
Not a popular choice.
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| How should White react? |
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Black's offer to exchange his good bishop is slightly strange, but I rejected 7.Bxd6, which would have been a novelty, or at least is not in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database, because 7...Qxd6 leaves Black with a handy lead in development. One continuation is 8.Bxa6!? bxa6 9.Na4, but I thought Black would be fine after 9...Nd7. However, Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon White is slightly better.
A 2445 three years ago played 7.Bxa6!? bxa6 8.Nge2, beating a 2110, but the engines are unimpressed.
Kirill Alekseenko (2575) - Normunds Miezis (2430), Riga 2017, went 7.Nf3!? Bxf4 8.exf4 9.Bd3 c5 10.0-0 with what the engines reckon is a slight edge for White.
7.Bg5?!
Black has a simple but good reply that I missed.
7...e5 8.dxe5 Bxe5 9.Nf3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Nc5 11.Bxf6!?
The engines' choice. The idea will soon become clear.
11...Qxf6 12.Qd4 Ne4 13.Qxf6 Nxf6 14.c4
Dissolving White's doubled pawns - the point behind 11.Bxf6!?
14...0-0 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.Bc4 Nb4?!
I was more concerned about 16...Nb6 and 16...Nc3!?, although White seems to be OK. The text causes Black unnecessary difficulties.
17.0-0-0 c5?!
This leads directly to later problems. The engines suggest 17...a5 18.a3 Na6 19.Bxa6 Rxa6, but give White a slight edge after 20.Ne5.
18.a3 Nc6 19.Rdx5 b6 20.Rd6 Na5 21.Bd5
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| How should Black meet the threat to his queen's rook? |
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21...Nb7?!
The worst of three choices, it seems
Best, according to the engines, is 21...Bb7 22.Bxb7 Nxb7 23.Rd7, when Komodo10 gives 23...Na5 24.Rhd1 Nc4 25.a4 with a slight edge for White thanks to having more-active rooks, while Stockfish10 gives 23...Nd8!? 24.Rhd1 Re8 25.Ne5!? Kf8 26.R1d5 f6 27.Nc4, when it reckons White has the upper hand, but there is no immediate win of material.
After the third choice, 21...Rb8, the engines give 22.Rd1 Bb7 23.Rd7 Bxd5 24.R1xd5 Ra8 with White being much better, but again not immediately winning material.
22.Bxb7?!
KT's postmortem suggestion of 23.Rc6! is strong. White seems to win a pawn whatever Black plays, eg 23...Rb8 24.Rc7 Nd6 25.Ne5 Bb7 26.Rd1 Bxd5 27.Nxd5 f6 28.Rxd6 fxe5 29.Rdd7 Rxf2 30.Rxg7+ Kf8 31.Rxh7 Rxg2 32.Rxa7, although whether this is winning for White (Stockfish10) or merely much better (Komodo10) is hard to judge.
22...Bxb7 23.Rd7?!
Almost certainly another inaccuracy. White seems to be fine after 23.Rhd1 as it is very difficult for Black to dispute White's control of the only open file. The text, however, allows exactly such a challenge.
23...Bc6 24.Rd6 Rac8 25.Rhd1 f6 26.Ne1 Kf7 27.Kb2 Ke7 28.Kc3 Rfd8 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Rxd8 Kxd8
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| The start of a classic bishop-v-knight battle |
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Black is better because a bishop outperforms a knight in endings where there are rival mobile pawn-majorities. The engines reckon Black's advantage is worth just under half a pawn.
31.f3!?
Putting pawns on the same-coloured squares as the bishop might seen strange in an ending where they will be targets, but I thought it was best to restrict the bishop's freedom of movement where possible while using the knight and/or king to prevent Black's king penetrating on dark squares.
31...Ke7 32.Nd3 g5 33.Nf2 h5 34.h3?!
This may have been taking the light-square policy too far, although the engines' suggestion of 34.e4 is similarly motivated.
34...Ke6 35.Kd2 b5 36.c3 a5 37.e4 Kd6
This comes to be Komodo10's choice, at least for a while, but Stockfish10 much prefers to fix the kingside with 37...h4.
38.Nd3?!
It seems I should have taken the chance to play 38.g3.
38...c4?!
Fixing a pawn on the same-coloured square as the bishop is unlikely to be the way to proceed unless, perhaps, there is an immediate tactical point to the move. The engines again suggest ...h4, and reckon White is winning (Stockfish10) or at least much better (Komodo10). However, get them to play on in the position and their evaluations hardly ever change, and nothing much happens as they make aimless moves with the bishop.
39.Ne1 h4 40.Nc2 Bd7 41.Ke3 Ke5 42.Nd4 Be8 43.Ne2 Bc6 44.Nd4 Bd7 45.Ne2 f5 46.exf5 Bxf5 47.Nd4
White is in zugzwang after 47.f4+?! gxf4 48.Nxf4 Be4. Even so, White still seems to be drawing, eg 49.Ne2 Bxg2 50.Nd4 Bxh3 51.Nf3+ Kd5 52.Nxh4, when Black is a pawn up, but all the pawns are on one side of the board and the bishop is the wrong colour for promoting a pawn on the a file.
47...Bd7 48.Ne2 Bc6 49.Nd4 Bd7 50.Ne2 Bc6 ½–½
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