The game gave me my 13th chance to try to play against the French in the style of Paul Morphy.
Spanton (170) - Robert Stern (172)
French Exchange
1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 c5 6.0-0
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 like 6.c3, but I did not believe that is the type of move Morphy would play if getting on with development were possible.
6.dxc5!? Bxc5 produces a very different type of game.
6...c4 7.Re1+ Be7 8.Bf1 0-0 9.b3
Kasparov played 9.Bg5 in a win over Korchnoi at Tilburg (Netherlands) 1991.
9...cxb3 10.axb3 Nc6 11.Nbd2
The main move is 11.Ne5 but the text has also been tried by a few 2400+ players.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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11...h6
I did not understand the point of this, but RS explained after the game that his idea is to give his light-square bishop a retreat square on h7 in the event of it going to f5 and being attacked by Nh4.
However the immediate 11...Bf5 features in three games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database by players rated 2431-2575. The point is that 12.Nh4?! runs into 12...Bg4, when the d4 pawn is hanging.
If 13.f3?, Black has 13...Be6, when both d4 and the knight at h4 are in danger.
If 13.Nhf3 (13.Ndf3?? loses to 13...Ne4, when the vulnerability of the knight at h4 is again apparent) then simply 13...Nxd4 is good.
That leaves 13.Be2 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Re8 (14...Nxd4?! 15.Qxe7 Nxc2 gives an unclear position, but not 15...Re8?? 16.Qxd8), and now the engines agree the best White has is 15.Qd1 Nxd4 16.Bb2 Qb6 17.Bxd4 Qxd4 18.Rxe7 Rxe7 19.Nf5 Qe5 20.Nxe7+ Qxe7, when Black emerges a pawn up.
12.Bb2 Bf5
The arguably somewhat inconsistent 12...Bg4 was played in Lars Oskar Hauge (2431) - Gupta Prithu (2219), Rilton Cup (Stockholm) 2016. That game continued 13.h3 Bh5 14.Bd3 Bd6 15.c4 with a roughly level position (but 1-0, 30 moves).
13.Ne5 Re8
13...Nb4 14.Rc1 Na2 16.Ra1 Nb4 15.Ra1 Nb4 would be an invitation to an early draw. However 14...Rc8 would keep the game going.
14.Nxc6!?
This unisolates the d5 pawn but isolates the a pawn and creates a new weakness at c6. It also means White's backward c pawn is no longer on a half-open file.
14...bxc6 15.Nf3 Ne4
The engines give 15...a5!?, preventing a White piece going to a6.
16.Ne5 Qc7
Possible is 16...Bd6!? as 17.Nxc6? (the position is difficult to assess - one line given by the engines runs 17.Ra6 Bc8!? 18.Rxc6!? Bb7 19.Rxd6 Nxd6, when White has a pawn and the bishop-pair for the exchange) Bxh2+! 18.Kxh2 Qh4+ 19.Kg1 Qxf2+ gives what the engines reckon is a winning attack for Black.
17.Ra6 c5?
The engines give 17...Qb7, when they reckon 18.Nxc6 Bg5 19.Ne5 Nd2 20.Ra5 Nxf1 provides good compensation for the pawn.
18.Qf3 Be6
Best, according to the engines, is 18...Bh4 19.g3 cxd4 20.Bxd4 Bf6 21.Rxf6 gxf6 22.Nxf7 Qxf7 23.Qxf5, when, for the exchange, White has a pawn, the bishop-pair and an attack.
19.Rxe6! Ng5
19...fxe6 20.Qf7+ Kh8 21.dxc5 wins for White, as does 20...Kh7 21.Qg6+ Kg8 22.Qxe6+ Kh8 23.Rxe4! (other moves are also good) dxe4 24.Ng6+ Kh7 25.Qf5 etc.
20.Qh5 fxe6 21.h4 Ne4
Not 21...Nh7?? 22.Qf7+ Kh8 23.Ng6#.
22.Qf7+ Kh7
If 22...Kh8 then 23.dxc5 quickly wins.
23.f3
Even stronger is giving up a second exchange by 23.Rxe4! dxe4, and then 24.Qg6+, but I was not confident enough about this.
23...cxd4
I expected the engines' choice 23...Bd6, when I intended keeping the attack going by 24.Qg6+ Kg8 25.fxe4. The engines continue 25...Bxe5 26.dxe5 d4 27.Bc4, when White has two bishops for a rook, and an ongoing attack.
24.Qg6+ Kg8 25.Qxe6+ Kh8 26.Nf7+ Kh7 27.Qf5+??
I was so used to calculating lines with black pawns on g7 and h6 that I forgot they could move!
Both 27.Qxd5 Nc5 28.Bxd4 Bxh4 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.Nd6 and 27.Rxe4 dxe4 28.Qxe4+ g6 29.Bd3 Rg8 30.h5 win for White.
27...g6 28.Qxd5 Nf6
This looks strong but Black had to find 28...Nc3! 29.Rxe7 (White has a pawn for the exchange, but no bishop-pair, after 29.Bxc3?! dxc3, and his pieces are uncoordinated) 29...Qxe7 30.Qxd4 Qe3+ 31.Qxe3 Rxe3, when he emerges with two rooks for two bishops and two pawns, and is much better, according to the engines.
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| White to play and win |
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29.Ng5+!
Not 29.Qxd4?? Bc5.
29...hxg5
29...Kh8 30.Qf7 hxg5 - there is nothing better - transposes.
30.Qf7+ Kh8 31.Bxd4 Qd6 32.c3 Rf8 33.Qxg6 Rae8 34.Qh6+
34.Bd3 also quickly mates.
34...Kg8 35.Bc4+ Rf7
If 35...Nd5 then 36.Qg7#.
36.Qg6+ Kh8 37.Bxf7 Qg3 38.Qh6#
The match was drawn 2.5-2.5.
My updated Battersea statistics for 2019-20
Event*..Colour...Grade...Opponent's Grade...Result
CLL..…...B....…..168...………169...……….....W
CLL...…..B...…...168...………196...…………..D
CLL...…..W...…..168...………176...…………..L
LL....……W...…..168...…....…175...………….D
CLL...…..B...…...168...………192...…………..D
CLL...…..W...…..168...………181...…………..L
LL...…….W...…..168...………168...…………..L
EC...…….B...…..168...………175...……….….L
CLL...…...B.........170...………172...…………..L
LL...…….W...…..170...………183...…………..D
LL............W........170...…........180......……......L
LL....…….B...…..170....……...182...………….W
CLL...…...B...…..170...………183...……….….D
LL...……..B...…..170...………162...…………..W
LL...…….W...…..170...………172...…………..W
Overall this season for Battersea I have scored +4=5-6 for a grading performance of 171.
In season 2018-19 I scored +12=12-13 for a grading performance of 169.
In season 2017-18 I scored +10=8-9 for a grading performance of 175.
*CLL: Central London League; LL: London League; EC: Eastman Cup.
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