Janne Rempe (1539) - Spanton (1855)
London System
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bd6 4.Bg3
The main move in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, but 4.Bxd6 and 4.e3!? are also popular.
4....Nc6!?
Seventh(!) most-popular in Mega20, and it scores badly, but it is playable.
5.e3 Nge7!?
Played with the intention of winning the bishop-pair, or at least forcing Bxd6, but the manoeuvre costs valuable time.
6.c3!?
White has a lot of choices here including 6.Bd3 (if 6...Nb4 then 7.Be2), 6.Nbd2 and 6.c4, all of which give White an edge, according to Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01.
6...Nf5 7.Bd3!?
The obvious alternative is 7.Bxd6, which at least gives Black a tricky decision to make as to how to recapture.
7...Nxg3 8.hxg3 e5 9.dxe5
White's bishop gets trapped after 9.Rxh7?
9...Nxe5 10.Bc2!?
Almost certainly a novelty - two games in Mega20 saw the obvious 10.Nxe5.
10...c6 11.Qd4
Black has the bishop-pair but White has a lead in development. The engines prefer Black but kingside castling looks decidedly iffy, and queenside castling will be difficult as long as the white queen eyes a7.
11...Qf6
And there goes Black's edge, at least according to the engines, who prefer a move I did not even consider, 11...Qb6.
12.Nbd2 Nxf3+
I had hoped to play 12...Be6 followed by ...c5, but Qa4+ is a good reply - so good in fact that Stockfish11 reckons White is better even after the illegal sequence 12...Be6 12...c5 13.Qa4+ (Komodo11.01 rates the position as level).
13.Nxf3
I expected 13.gxf3, but either way I get the queens off - rarely a bad thing against juniors.
13....Qxd4 14.exd4!?
Here I expected 14.cxd4 with a Minority Attack to follow, but the engines much prefer the text - presumably because 14.cxd4 leads to unbalanced pawn-majorities, which bishops are usually better than knights at supporting.
14...h6
The engines prefer 14...g6, or even 14...Kf8!? with ...g6 to come. I rejected 14...Be6 because of 15.Ng5, after which White can force opposite-coloured bishops.
15.0-0-0 0-0 16.Rde1 Bd7 17.Ne5 Bxe5!?
Surrendering the bishop-pair but getting closer to an endgame, which is where juniors are supposed to be weakest.
18.dxe5!?
The engines marginally prefer this over 18.Rxe5, but (not for the first time) I was surprised as I thought JR was intent on a draw and so would keep a (more-or-less) symmetrical pawn-structure.
18....Rae8 19.f4 Re7 20.Rh4?
20.Kd2 maintains the balance, according to the engines. It is rarely a good idea to disconnect rooks in an ending without good reason.
20...f6 21.Kd2 fxe5 22.Kd1
Clearly White is in trouble whatever he plays, eg 22.fxe5 Rf2+ 23.Re2 Rxe2+ 24.Kxe2 Rxe5+, or 22.Rxe5 Rxe5 23.dxe5 Rf2+. The main advantage of the text is that it keeps the game more complicated than is the case after the alternatives.
22...e4 23.b4 b6 24.Bb3 Be6 25.Rf1 Ref7 26.Re1 Rf6 27.Kd2 a5 28.a3 Ra8 29.Rf1 axb4 30.axb4 Ra3 31.Kc2
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| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
If a diagram like this were to appear in a magazine, then the answer would be 31...Rxb3! 32.Kxb3 d4+, but after 33.Kc2 the position is equal, according to the engines, which is not at all what Black wants.
31...Kf8 32.g4 Ke7
I rejected 32...g5? because of 33.Rxh6! Rxh6 34.fxg5+, but the engines reckon 34...Rf6! 35.gxf6 is at least equal for Black, despite being a pawn down, and he may even have an edge thanks to the weakness of White's kingside pawns. However this is academic as Black has the upper hand after 33...Kg7! 34.Rxf6 Kxf6 35.fxg5+ Ke5!? (or the more prosaic 33...Kxg5).
33.f5 Kd6 34.Rd1 Bf7 35.c4 Ke5 36.cxd5 cxd5
White is completely lost - his kingside majority is immobile so Black is effectively up by a pair of connected passers. The game finished:
37.g3 d4 38.Bxf7 Rxf7 39.Rh3 Rc7+ 40.Kd2 Rcc3 41.Ke1 Re3+ 42.Kf1 Rf3+ 43.Ke1 Rxg3 44.Rxg3 Rxg3 0-1
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