Tuesday 29 October 2019

Ponzing About (part three)

Alexander Alekhine - Konstantin Ivakov
Moscow spring championship 1907
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5
Black's sharpest reply and also, I suspect, the move most Whites hope for as it requires the greatest book knowledge.
4.Qa4
White's most popular response.. Black answers with a set-up favoured by Steinitz.
4...f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.0-0 Bd7 8.d4 e4
8...exd4!? 9.cxd4 Ne5! 10.Nc3 Nxf3+ 11.gxf3 Qf5 looks fine for Black, but the position is unclear and the line is not forced, eg White could try 9.Rd1. The text seems to have been first played by Steinitz.
9.Nfd2 f5 10.Nb3 Ne5 11.Nc5 c6 12.Be2 Bc8 13.Be3 b5 14.Qa5?!
Even better may be14.Qc2. The text lets Black win the bishop-pair.
14...Nc4 15.Bxc4 Qxc4
After the counter-intuitive 15...bxc4!, White is only slightly better, according to Stockfish10 and Komodo10. The text allows White an initiative.
16.Nd2 Qd5 17.a4 Ng6 18.f3 Bxc5 19.dxc5 Qd3 20.Bg5?
White is better after 20.Rfe1, eg 20...0-0 21.Rad1 with a continuing initiative.
20...h6?
Natural and best was 20...0-0. The text loses by force.
White to play and win
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
21.Nxe4! hxg5?
21...fxe4 is met by 22.Rfd1, so Black should have castled, when the engines' mainline runs 22.Nf2 Qe2 23.Rfe1 Qxb2 24.Be3, with what they reckon is a large, but not yet winning, advantage for White.
22.Nd6+ Kd7 23.Rad1 Qe3+ 24.Kh1 Qf4 25.g3 Qxa4 26.Nxb5+ 1-0

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