Central London League 2018
 |
| White has just captured on e3 - who stands better, and by how much? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
White has more space on the centre-queenside, and has the more-centralised king. But there are many pawns on the board and it will be very difficult for the white king to enter the black position. Komodo11.01 reckons White has a slight edge, while Stockfish11 gives White the upper hand. I suspect the truth is nearer Komodo11.01's verdict: White is better, but Black should be able to draw.
27...Kf7 28.b4!?
The engines prefer 28.Kf4 or 28.g4, both of which gain space by preventing the move Black plays next.
28...f5 29.Kd4 Kf6 30.a4 g5 31.a5 bxa5 32.bxa5 a6
Black has ensured the white king cannot enter the black position via the queenside.
33.c5?
A mistake. White cannot achieve anything on the queenside. White's space advantage there is meaningless, but the text lets Black gain a sizeable space advantage on the kingside, where the two pawn-chains are more flexible.
33...h5
This looks natural, at least to me, but Black has promising play after the space-gaining 33...g4! At first the engines are convinced this wins, but the line is long and their evaluations vary enormously during it. Best play may be 34.c6 Kg5 35.Ke3 h6 (if 35...f4+ then 36.Ke4) 36.h4+! gxh3 (not 36.Kxh4? Kf4) 37.gxh3 h5 38.Kf3 Kh4 39.Kf4 (if 39.Kg2? then 39...f4) Kxh3 40.Kxf5 Kg2 41.Ke6 h4 42.Kd7 h3 43.Kxc7 h2 44.Kb8 h1=Q 45.c7, when White seems to have a draw. Even so, immediately pushing the pawn would have caused White problems.
34.h3 h4
If 34...g4 then 35.h4 keeps Black out.
35.f3
But not 35.g3? g4.
35...g4 36.f4 g3 ½–½
No comments:
Post a Comment