SWEDISH grandmaster Jonny Hector launched the New Milner-Barry Gambit at the elite level in the following game.
Hector (2550) - Rafael Vaganian (2600)
Bundesliga 2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!? Bd7
Strong players have shown no inclination to make White's pawn sac permanent by capturing on c3. No doubt this is because they feel White's compensation is very real, but it may partly be because ...Bd7 is also the main continuation after the normal Milner-Barry Gambit move 7.cxd4.
8.Re1 Nge7
Hector has also faced 8...Rc8 and 8...Nh6, and I will cover these moves later, but he has not faced 8...dxc3.
Six different moves appear in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database after 8...dxc3 9.Nxc3, but none appears more than twice. The analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 give best-play as 9...Rc8 (not one of the six in Mega20!) 10.a3 Nge7 11.Na4 Qd8 12.Nc5 Ng6!? 13.Nxb7 Qc7 14.Nd6+ Bxd6 15.cxd6 Qxd6 16.Be3 with a slight edge for White.
9.h4!?
Hector has played this aggressive pawn-thrust all five times he has reached the position after 8...Nge7.
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| Position after 9.h4!? |
9...Rc8
Hector (2537) - Michael Roiz (2680), Politiken Cup (Helsingør, Denmark) 2008, saw 9...h6 10.h5 Rc8 11.Bc2 (the engines prefer 11.a3 a6 12.b4 or 11.Nbd2!? dxc3 12.bxc3 Na5 13.Rb1) dxc3 12.Nxc3 d4!? (this may be premature) 13.Na4 (13.Ne4!? is a possible improvement) Qc7 14.Be4 Nd5 15.Bxd5 exd5 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Qc4 18.Qxc4 Rxc4 19.Nc3, which the engines reckon is slightly better for Black (but ½–½, 27 moves).
Hector (2614) - Tomas Karlsson (2293), Swedish Championship (Växjö) 2008, varied with 10...a6. The game continued 11.Bc2 (again the engines prefer 11.a3 or 11.Nbd2!?) dxc3 12.Nxc3 Qc7 13.Bf4 b5 14.Rc1 Qb7 15.Nh2!? Rc8 16.Ng4 Na5 17.Qf3 Nc4 18.b3 Nb6 19.Ne2, when the engines agree Black's cramped position gives White more than enough compensation for a pawn (1-0, 43 moves).
Hector (2592) - Anton Frisk Kockum (2332), Swedish Team Championship 2010-11, went 9...a6 10.Bc2 (the engines like 10.Nbd2!?) Rc8 11.h5 h6 (the engines prefer 11...dxc3!?) 12.cxd4 Nf5!? 13.Bxf5 exf5 14.Nc3, when Stockfish12 prefers White but Komodo11.01 reckons the position is equal (1-0, 46 moves).
It was Hector who varied in Hector (2539) - Arne Matthiesen (2345), Danish Chess Championship (Helsingør) 2012: 9...h6 10.Na3 Nf5!? 11.Bxf5 Bxa3 12.bxa3 exf5 13.cxd4 0-0 with a messy position, although the engines give a slight edge to Black (but ½–½, 42 moves).
As you can see, the diagrammed position is something of a tabiya for the New Milner-Barry Gambit. There are no clearly defined paths for either player, so familiarity with the ideas, as illustrated in Hector's games, is especially important.
10.a3
Hector (2485) - Lars Hansen (2239), Deltalift Open (Tylösand, Sweden) 2015, went 10.h5 a6 11.a3 dxc3!? 12.Nxc3 d4!? (premature?) 13.Na4 (the engines much prefer 13.Ne4!?) Qa7 14.b4, when Stockfish12 reckons Black is better but Komodo11.01 calls the position equal (1-0, 36 moves).
10...a6 11.Bc2!?
For once the engines like this manoeuvre. The idea, I presume, is to oblige Black to either take on c3, in which case White replies Nxc3, or to allow White to capture on d4, in which case Black is no longer a pawn up.
11...dxc3 12.Nxc3 Na5 13.Rb1 Qc7 14.Bf4 Nc4 15.Bd3!?
The bishop has spent three tempi to end up on d3, which is hardly ideal, but the engines like 15.Bd3!? along with 15.h5.
15...b5 16.a4 bxa4!?
This is best, according to the engines.
17.Nxa4 Ng6 18.Bg3 Bb4 19.Re2 Ne7 20.Ra1 Qa7 21.Rc2 Bb5
The engines reckon White more-or-less equalises after this, although they find it hard to agree on what to put in its place. One line they both quite like runs 21...Qb8!? 22.b3 Na5 23.Rxc8+ (23.Bxa6 Rxc2 24.Qxc2 0-0 is better for Black, according to the engines) Bxc8 24.Nd4 Nac6 25.Nxc6 Nxc6, when they reckon White does not have full compensation for a pawn.
22.Nc3 Bc6 23.Qe2 a5 24.Na2 Qb6
The engines prefer 24...Bc5.
25.Rac1?!
Offering the exchange as the rook on c2 has nowhere to run.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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25...h6?!
Critical is 25...Ba4, when it is hard to believe White gets enough compensation.
The engines reckon best-play after 25...Ba4 goes 26.Bxc4 Bxc2 27.Bb5+ Kf8 28.Nxb4 axb4, when White has the bishop-pair but is the exchange and a pawn down.
Also possible is 26.Nxb4 axb4 27.Bxc4 Bxc2 28.Bb5+ Kf8, but this is just a transposition.
Finally 26.Rxc4 dxc4 27.Bxc4 0-0 leaves White the exchange down without any apparent compensation.
Both players presumably thought something in these lines was no good for Black, but I cannot work out what they saw.
26.Bf4!?
White renews his offer ...
26...Ba4!?
... and this time Black accepts.
However, the engines no longer like ...Ba4 so much, preferring 26...0-0.
27.Bxc4 dxc4
Capturing on c2, which was the engines' answer to 26.Bxc4, is no longer so strong, eg 27...Bxc2 28.Be3 Bc5 (28...Qb7?? 29.Ba6)) 29.Bb5+ Kd8 (the engines marginally prefer this over 29...Kf8) 30.Rxc2 Bxe3 31.Rxc8+ Kxc8 32.fxe3 with an unclear position.
28.Be3!?
28.Rxc4 is equal, according to the engines.
28...Qb7
White does not have enough for the exchange after 28...Bc5!? 29.Rxc4 Bb5 30.Rxc5 Qxc5 31.Qd2 Qd5 32.Rxc8+ Nxc8 33.Qxa5, according to the engines. But Black faces great practical difficulties and can easily lose on the spot, eg 33...0-0?? 34.Nc3.
29.Rxc4 Rxc4 30.Qxc4 0-0 31.Nxb4 axb4 32.Bc5 Rc8 33.Ra1 Bb3!?
A simpler way to a draw seems to be the engines' 33...Nd5 34.Rxa4 Qc7 and 35...Qxc5.
34.Qxb4 Qxb4 35.Bxb4 Nd5 36.Bd2 Rc2
Black's activity more-or-less compensates for being a pawn down.
37.Bc1 Rc7?!
But the rook is not so active here, which is why the engines want to restrict the white knight by 37...Re2 or 37...Rc4.
38.Nd4 Bc2 39.Bd2 Rc4 40.Bc3 Bd3 41.Ra3 Nxc3!?
Bishop-and-rook is usually a better combination than a knight-and-rook. On the other hand there is an old rule-of-thumb that is easier to realise a one-pawn advantage when the pieces are of different types.
42.bxc3 g5 43.hxg5 hxg5 44.Nf3 Rc5 45.c4 Be2 46.Nd4
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| A critical position - how should Black proceed? |
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46....Bxc4!?
Vaganian must have been tempted by 46...Rxe5!? but presumably he assessed the ending after 47.c5 Re4 48.c6! (48.Nxe2 Rxe2 49.Rc3 Ra2 50.c6 Ra8 looks very drawish) Rxd4 49.c7 Rc4 50.Ra8+ Kg7 51.c8=Q Rxc8 52.Rxc8 as promising for White. Stockfish12 reckons the ending is equal, but Komodo11.01 reckons White is 0.68 better.
Black could also try 46...Bh5!? with what seem decent drawing chances, eg 47.Rc3 Kf8 (47...Rxe5? 48.c5) 48.Nb3 Rxe5 49.c5 Ke8 50.c6 Kd8, although this is not clear after the engines' 51.Nc5!?
47.Rc3 Kg7 48.Nf3 Rc6
So 49.Nd2 can be met by 49...Bd5.
49.Nxg5 Bd5 50.Rg3 Rc1+ 51.Kh2 Kg6
Worse is 51...Kf8? 52.Nh7+ Ke7 53.Ra3, eg 53...Rb1 54.Nf6 with much the better game for White.
52.f3!?
52.Nxe6+ looks strong and is preferred by the engines but after 52...Kf5 53.Ng7+ Kxe5 a pair of pawns has come off the board, which (generally speaking) is not what the player looking for a win wants.
52...Ra1
The engines like 52...Rf1. The point is that if White continues as in the game with 53.Nh3+ Kh6 54.Rg4, Black has 54...Bxf3! 55.gxf3 Rxf3, after which White's winning chances are very small as Black should be able to swop off the last white pawn.
53.Nh3+ Kh6 54.Rg4 Rc1?
Now the white king gets into play. Black had to strike quickly with 54...Re1, when 55.Ng5 Kg6 56.Nxe6+ Kf5 57.Ng7+ Kxe5 has swopped off a pair of pawns. White could protect the e5 pawn with 55.Rg5, but then his rook and knight are tied to their posts. And protecting the e5 pawn with 55.f4 destabilises the white rook, eg 55...Ra1 56.Ng5 Kh5 57.Kh3 (57.Rg3 Kh4 58.Nxf7 Rh1+! 59.Kxh1 Kxg3=) Rh1+ 58.Kg3 Ra1.
55.Kg3 Rc8 56.Ng5 Rf8 57.Nh3 f6 58.exf6 Rxf6
Black has managed to exchange a pair of pawns, but the white king is well-placed to play a crucial role while the black king is out of play, at least for a while..
59.Nf4 Rf5 60.Kf2 Kh7 61.Ke3 Bb7 62.Rh4+ Kg8
Forced.
63.Rh6 e5 64.Nh3 Kg7 65.Rb6 Bd5 66.Rd6 Bf7 67.Nf2 Rf6 68.Rd7
68.Rxf6+ Kxf6 is a tablebase draw,
68...Ra6 69.Ng4 Ra3+ 70.Ke4 Ra4+ 71.Kf5 Kf8 72.Nxe5
Winning a second pawn seals the deal.
The game finished:
72...Ba2 73.f4 Kg8 74.g4 Ra6 75.Kg5 Re6 76.Ng6 1-0
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