Tuesday, 18 February 2020

Hampstead Concluded

MY Sunday-afternoon round-five game from Hampstead U2200.
Spanton (1840/170) - Niall Clarke (1646/154)
Jobava-Prié (aka Barry Attack)
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.f3
Alekhine preferred 5.Bd3 in a 1933 simul.
5...e6 6.g4 Bg6 7.h4 h6
NC in the postmortem said he had previously played 7...h5, which is marginally more popular in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3
The analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 prefer a move such as 9...Nbd7, and if 10.Bxh7, then 10...Nxh7, intending a later ...Ng5.
10.Qxd3 Bd6 11.Nge2
Position after 11.Nge2
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
11...Qc7
Baadur Jobava (2716) - Iván Salgado López (2605), EU Championship (Yerevan) 2014, saw 11...Bxf4 12.exf4!? Nbd7 13.Qe3!? (1-0, 62 moves).
12.0-0-0 Nbd7 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4N Nxe4 16.fxe4 0-0-0 17.Rhf1 Rhf8
The engines prefer 17...f6!?, which I am fairly sure NC suggested in the postmortem.
18.Kb1 Kb8 19.e5 Qb4?!
Probably better is 19...Qe7 as then 20.Qh7 can be met by 20...Qg5 or 20...f6.
20.Qh7 Nb6
Possible is 20...Rg8!? as 21.Rxf7?! is met by 21...Nxe5!
21.c3
The engines prefer 21.a3, the point being that the black queen cannot stay on the b file as 21...Qb5 is simply answered by 22.Nc3.
21...Qb5 22.Qd3 Nc4?!
Probably better is 22...Qxd3+ 23.Rxd3 c5, although the engines like White.
23.b3 Na3+?
Unpleasant, but less bad than the text, is 23...Nb6 24.Qxb5 (24.c4!?) cxb5.
24.Kb2 Qa5
Black offered a draw.
The engines prefer the text, even though the knight will be imprisoned, over 24...Qxd3 25.Rxd3 Nb5 26.Rdf3, which indeed looks grim for Black.
25.c4 b5 26.Qc3 b4 27.Qf3 Qc7 28.Qe4 Rfe8 29.Nc1 c5
29...a5 30.Nd3 with Nc5 to come is also very good for White.
30.dxc5 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Rd8
Black may have planned 31...Qxc5, but both 32.Nd3 and 32.Rd7 win.
32.Rd6 Rxd6 33.cxd6 Qd8
If 33...Qc5, then 34.Nd3.
34.Nd3 Qa5 35.Qc6
The game finished:
35...Nc2!? 36.Kxc2 Qxa2+ 37.Nb2 Qa5 38.c5 Qd8 39.Nd3 a5 40.Qb6+ Qxb6 41.cxb6 Kc8 42.Nc5 1-0

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