Liechtenstein 2011
English Symmetrical
1.c4 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Ne2 d6 6.Nbc3 h5!?
More popular are 6...e5 and 6...Nf6, but the thrust ...h5 (or h4 for White) against an opponent's kingside fianchetto is a common idea, and probably even more common today than it was nine years ago.
7.h3
The best response, according to Miezis. The idea is to meet ...h4 with g4.
7...Bd7 8.d4!?
A mistake, according to Miezis, who thought I should have continued with Rb1, a3 or b3. However, of the 13 games in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database to reach the position after 7...Bd7, seven saw 8.d4!? (albeit one of the seven is this game).
8...cxd4 9.exd4
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
9...Nh6!?
A far-from-obvious move, at least to me, but it is the choice of the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10.
The game Dirk Poldauf (2404) - Zvonko Stanojoski (2496), EU Cup (Rethymno, Crete) 2003, saw 9...Qc8 10.b3 Nf6, and now 11.Be3 gives White the better game, according to the engines.
10.0-0 Qc8 11.Kh1 Nf5 12.Be3 0-0 13.Rc1 Re8 14.d5?
Gaining space, at least on the central-queenside, but more significant is that it gives up control of the e5 square and obstructs White's light-square bishop.
14...Nxe3
Giving up a well-placed knight, but winning the bishop-pair, stopping the d7 pawn being backward on a half-open file, and turning the e5 square into an outpost that cannot be challenged by a white pawn. Black is at least equal
15.fxe3 Ne5 16.b3 Qc5 17.Nd4
Much better than 17.e4?, which puts another pawn on the same-coloured square as White's surviving bishop.
17...a6
Miezis said he thought this was wrong, and that he should have played 17...Rac8, but the engines prefer the text.
18.Ne4 Qa5 19.Bf3?
Miezis suggested 19.c5!?
19...Bh6!?
Black has a slight edge after this, but why not capture on a2 with check? Well, after 19...Qxa2+ 20.Rc2 Qa5, White has an interesting try in 21.Bxh5!? gxh5 22.Qxh5 f6 (only move), and now 23.g4!? is unclear (Komodo10 much prefers Black; Stockfish10 much prefers White).
20.Qe2 Kg7 21.Rf2 Rh8 22.Bg2 Raf8
The engines want Black to immediately attack with 22...f5!?
23.Nf3 Nxf3+ 24.Rxf3 Kg8 25.Rcf1 f5?!
The engines no longer like ...f5, reckoning Black keeps an advantage with 25...Rh7 (Stockfish10) or 25...Bg7 (Komodo10).
26.Qb2?!
I see from my notes that I rejected the almost-certainly better 26.Nf2 because I thought Black's kingside play was coming too quickly, but Miezis pointed out White has more pieces than Black on that part of the board.
26...Bg7
Not 26...fxe4?? 27.Rxf8+ Bxf8 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Qxh8+ Kf7 30.Qh7+ etc.
27.Qd2?!
White has the marginally safer king, so it is probably better to keep queens on the board with 27.Qf2, especially if, as seems likely, Black is obliged to spend time returning his queen to the kingside.
27...Qxd2 28.Nxd2 h4 29.g4!?
Miezis said this is a good move, and the engines agree it is the best move in the position, but Black is definitely better.
29...fxg4 30.Rxf8+ Bxf8 31.hxg4 Bxg4
The engines' 31...Bh6! is strong, the point being that 32.Re1 Bxg4 gives Black a better version of the game.
32.Rf4
Black faces a more difficult task after 32.Bh3! Bxh3 33.Kxh3 as it will be tricky for Black to break down a White blockade on the light squares.
32...Bf5 33.Bh3 Bh6 34.Rf3 Kg7 35.Bxf5 gxf5 36.Rxf5
This is best, according to the engines.
36...Bxe3 37.Ne4
Not 37.Nf3?? Kg6.
37...b5 38.Rf3 Bd4 39.Kh3 bxc4 40.bxc4 Rc8 41.Ra3?
Very weak, according to Miezis, who suggested 41.Kxh4 Rxc4 42.Kg5, which at least gives White an active king.
41...Rxc4 42.Rxa6 Be5 43.Ng5 Kg6 44.Nf3 Bf6 45.Rc6 Ra4 46.Rc2 Kf5 47.Rf2 Ra3 48.Kg2 Ke4 0-1
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
A serious positional error at move 14 gave Black a comfortable middlegame, and another serious positional error at move 41 turned a difficult ending into a lost one.
No comments:
Post a Comment