(Thanks to Covid-19 restrictions it is even harder than usual keeping up with comings and goings, but relatively-new Forum contributor Simon Rogers has been posting news of chess-community deaths.)
There is a tribute to and photo of Shany - he looks very dapper - at https://www.broadstairschessclub.co.uk/shany-rezvany-1954-2019/ along with his last club game.
We only played the once.
Spanton (163ECF) - Rezvany (169ECF)
SCCU U180 2017-18 Sussex v Kent (Hassocks) 2018
English Botvinnik
1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 e5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.e4 Nf6!?
A rare move in this position, at least in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database, where 5...d6, 5...Nge7 and (just) 5...Nd4!? are preferred.
6.Nge2 0-0 7.d3
Far more popular is 7.0-0, the point being White may want to get in a quick f4.
7...d6 8.0-0 Bd7
Eighth-most popular in Mega20, where the most-played moves are 8...Be6 and 8...Nh5. One of the ideas behind the text is that if White replies 9.Nd5, which is a common response to the most-popular move 8...Be6, Black can capture on d5 with the king's knight.
9.Rb1
Another unpopular move. Normal is 9.h3, but often the early stages of the Botvinnik Variation of the English are non-forcing, so both players have a wide choice of continuations.
9...Qc8 10.b4 Bh3 11.b5
Spanton (2000) - Alexander Bandow (2090), Bad Wörishofen 2011, saw 11.Nd5 Qd7!? 12.Bg5 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Ne7 15.d4 f6 16.Be3 with what the analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon is an equal position (but 1-0, 35 moves).
11...Ne7 12.Nd5 Nfxd5!?
Preparing a quick ...f5. The engines prefer 12...Nexd5 13.cxd5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Nd7, which was (prematurely) agreed drawn in Vladimir Rozensweig (2088) - Zdeněk Havlůj (1981), Tábor (Czechia) 2011.
13.cxd5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Qd7 15.d4!?
This may be too loosening. The engines reckon White is better, and able to operate on either wing, if the centre is kept closed.
15...f5 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.f3 fxe4 18.fxe4 Rxf1+ 19.Qxf1 Rf8 20.Qe1 Nc8?!
The knight heads for the blockading square d6, but this is probably too slow.
The engines point out Black can force a draw with 20...Nxd5!? 21.exd5 Qxd5+ 22.Kg1 Qc5+ 23.Kg2 Qd5+ etc.
And if Black wanted to keep the game going, then better seems to be 20...c6, fighting against White's space advantage.
21.Ba3 Rf6 22.Ng1
The knight heads for f3, where it puts pressure on e5 (a moot point after what transpires in the game) and eyes g5 with hopes of reaching e6.
22...Nd6 23.Bxd6 cxd6 24.Qe3 b6?!
Defending a7 but seriously weakening the c6 square.
25.Nf3
 |
| Position after 25.Nf3 |
White is better thanks to having more space, the better minor piece and - to come - control of the open c file.
25...h6 26.a4 Rf8 27.Rc1 Kh7
27...Rc8?! looks a waste of time as White replies 28.Rc6 and can later force the black rook away by doubling on the c file with the white queen.
28.Rc6 Rf7 29.h3
Taking the g4 square away from the black queen.
29...Bf8
SR pressed his clock and offered a draw.
30.Qc3 Bg7
Black has no counterplay, so the question is whether White can force further concessions to build a bigger advantage.
31.Ne1!?
It is not clear if White can make progress without bringing the knight to the queenside. However, moving the knight allows Black to play ...h5 and ...Bh6 to, at least partly, activate the bishop.
31...Bf6
The immediate 31...h5 looks natural, but it is doubtful if the follow-up ...Bh6 achieves much as long as Black has to defend the d6 pawn and be ready for on an invasion by the white rook.
32.Qa3 Be7 33.Nc2 Bf8 34.Nb4 Qe7 35.Qe3
Covering the g5 and f2 squares.
35...Qf6 36.Qe2 h5
36...Qg5?! does not threaten an invasion of the white position, and anyway the engines reckon it is a mistake because of the reply 37.Rc8 with Nc6 to come.
37.Rc3 Kg7 38.Nc6
The knight completes its journey to the c6 outpost. The engines reckon White has a positionally won game.
38...Qg5 39.h4 Qh6
After the game we had a postmortem (a rarity at club level in the computer age) and SR said he would have been OK if he had played 39...Qg4, but the engines give 40.Qxg4 hxg4 41.Nd8 Rd7 42.Ne6+ (42.Rc8 is also winning) Kf7 43.Rc8 Bh6, when the simplest may be 44.Nd8 followed by Nc6, Ra8 and Rxa7.
40.Nd8 Rf6 41.Ne6+ Kg8 42.Ng5 Qg7 43.Qc2 Qd7 44.Rc7 Qg4 45.Rxa7
The game finished:
45...Rf4 46.Rb7 Bh6 47.Rb8+ Rf8 48.Rxf8+ Bxf8 49.Qf2 Qd7 50.Qf6 Qg7 51.Qxg7+ Bxg7 52.a5 bxa5 53.b6 1-0
Shany Rezvany RIP
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