Journoud & Rivière - Morphy
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 Bb6
Once again reaching the Normal Position.
9.Bb2 Nf6 10.Nbd2 0-0
So far the game has followed Rivière's last Evans' Gambit against Morphy, but here the partners play a major improvement over that game's 11.h3?!
11.e5 dxe5
Still the main reply today but, as stated in part eight of this series, the engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 suggest the seeming-novelty 11...Nh5!?
12.dxe5 Nd5 13.Ne4 Be6 14.Nfg5 h6!?
This appears to be the best move in the position, even though it weakens the light squares around Black's king.
14...Nf4 was tried six years previously by Moheschunder Bannerjee ("Mohishunder Bonnerjee" in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database) in two games against John Cochrane in Calcutta. Cochrane replied 15.Bxe6?! both times and won the games, but Black seems to stand well after 15...Nxe6 or 15...fxe6. The engines reckon much better for White is 15.Qc2!, continuing 15...Bf5 16.Nxf7! Rxf7 17.Bxf7+, all of which was played in Mikhail Chernov (2188) - Andrei Kuznesov (2288), Siberia Championship 2012. That game continued 17...Kxf7 18.Nd6+! Kg8 19.Nxf5, when White was the exchange up and had pressure against Black's king. Worse in this line would be 18...cxd6? 19.Qxf5+ Kg8 20.Qxf4, when Black is again the exchange down but with less active play. It seems Chernov (b1994), now an FM, had prepared well.
15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Qg4
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| Position after 16.Qg4 - as GM Nigel Davies might put it, Black's king has the wind blowing in his hair |
*****
*****
*****
*****
16...Kh8!
The 'obvious' 16...Qe7 fails to 17.Nf6+! Kh8 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Qg6! gxf6 20.exf6 Qh7 (20...Qf7? 21.Qxh6+ is a pawn-down version of the same line) 21.Qg7+ (21.f7+?? d4) Qxg7 22.fxg7+ Kg8 23.gxf8+ Rxf8, all of which was seen in Cochrane - Bannerjee, Calcutta 1852. White is clearly better, being the exchange up for a pawn, but the game has a silly finish in Mega19 (and chessgames.com) in which White resigns despite maintaining his material advantage.
17.Rad1!
An improvement on yet another Cochrane - Bannerjee, Calcutta 1852, game, which saw 17.Qxe6 Nf4 18.Qg4, when 18...Bd4! wins for Black, eg 19.Rfd1 (19.Bxd4 loses a piece to 19...Qxd4) Nxe5 20.Rxd4 Nxg4 21.Rxd8 Raxd8, with Black up the exchange and a pawn.
17...Rf4?
Morphy loses his way in the complications. 17...Qe7 was better. White can win back his pawn with 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Rxd5, but Black is slightly better after 19...Rad8 thanks to White's weak e pawn.
18.Qxe6 Rxe4 19.Bxd5 Nd4 20.Rxd4 Rxd4 21.Bxd4 Bxd4 22.Re1?!
White can safely grab a pawn with 22.Bxb7 Rb8 23.Be4.
22...Qg5 23.Bf3
It seems Bxb7 was still possible, but Black gets a strong initiative with 23...Rf8.
23...Rf8 24.Qc4 c5?
Morphy's instinct was always against pawn-grabbing, but the text lets White's e pawn advance with menaces. Equal was 24...Bxe5 25.Bxb7.
25.e6 Qe7 26.Qa4
The engines reckon that stronger was centralisation with 26.Qd3, eg 26...Rf6 27.Qe4 b5 28.Qd5 b4 29.Qd7 Rf7 30.Qc8+ Rf8 31.Qxf8+! Qxf8 32.e7, winning. This line is by no means forced, but Black faces a difficult defence in any event.
26...Qh4 27.Qc2 Qe7 28.Qg6!
This is even better than transposing to the previous note with 28.Qd3, as after 28.Qd3 Black is not forced to play 28...Rf6.
28...Rf6
This is now forced, so White can transpose to the strong line given at move 26.
29.Qe4 Rf8
The engines come to prefer this to 29...b5.
30.g3
A horrible blunder would be 30.Qxb7?? Qxb7 31.Bxb7 Bxf2+ etc.
30...b5 31.Re2 b4 32.Bh5 a5 33.Bf7 a4 34.Qc2 Ra8 35.Qc4 Rb8 36.Qd5?
A mistake that allows serious counterchances. Better was 36.Bg6!, the point being that if 36...b3, as in the game, White has 37.Qxa4 b2 38.Bb1, leaving him a pawn to the good over the game continuation.
36...b3 37.axb3 axb3 38.Bg6 b2 39.Bb1 Rd8??
The position was dead-equal, but this uncharacteristic blunder by Morphy costs him the game.
40.Qf5
40.Qe4 also wins. Morphy must have seen 39.Bb1 as simply a defensive move, missing that it also sets up a possible battery against h7. Black would have been fine after 39...g6 or 39...g5.
40...g5
Best, but no longer good enough as 39...Rd8?? has given White a decisive tempo.
41.Qg6 Bf6 42.Qxh6+ Kg8 43.Qg6+ Bg7?!
Black's king is too weak for any defence to succeed, but perhaps a better practical try was 43...Kh8, eg 44.Kg2 c4 45.Re3 Rd3!? (45...Qg7 46.Qe4) 46.Bxd3 cxd3 47.Re1 d2 48.Rd1 Qb7+ 49.f3 Be7, but 50.h4 gxh4 51.gxh4 looks convincing enough, despite Black having two pawns on the seventh.
Another try is 43...Qg7, but after 44.e7 the best Black can do is 44...Rd1+ 45.Kg2 Qxg6 46.Bxg6 Bxe7 47.Rxe7 c4 (47...b1=Q 48.Bxb1 Rxb1 49.Re5 is a fairly-simple winning rook-and-pawn ending) 48.Kf3 c3 (the best try as 48...b1=Q 49.Bxb1 Rxb1 50.Re5 is another easy win) 49.Rc7 Rc1 50.Rb7, when Black's connected passed pawns have been neutralised, and White should win with reasonable care.
44.Qh7+
There was nothing wrong with the simple 44.Rxb2.
44...Kf8 45.h4!?
White is probably still winning after this, but it is less clear-cut than a patient line such as 45.Qf5+ Kg8 46.Kg2.
45...Rd1+
45...gxh4 46.Qf5+ Bf6 47.Rxb2 (47.gxh4? Rd1+ 48.Kg2 Rxb1! 49.Qxb1 Qg7+ gives Black serious drawing chances thanks to the exposed white king) hxg3 48.fxg3 Qg7 49.Qf3, and White remains a pawn up, albeit with mutually endangered kings.
46.Kg2 Bf6
46...gxh4 can be met by 47.Re4! Rd4 48.Re3.
47.hxg5 Bd4?!
The engines much prefer 47...Qxh7 48.Bxh7 Bxg5 49.Rxb2 Be7, but White has three connected passed pawns, and the presence of opposite-coloured bishops does not seem to be enough to save Black.
48.Qf5+ Kg8
Or 48...Ke8 49.Qf3 Rxb1 50.Qa8+ Qd8 51.Qc6+ Ke7 52.Qb7+ Kd6 53.e7 Qe8 54.Qb6+ Kd7 55.Qb5+ Kc7 56.Qxe8 Rg1+ 57.Kxg1 b1=Q+ 58.Kg2 Qb7+ 59.f3.
49.Qg6+ Kh8 50.Re4 Qb7 51.e7 1-0
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