Saturday 13 February 2021

Knight v Bishop (part 30)

White has just captured on f4 in Spanton (2017) - Leif Kverndal (1914), Gausdal (Norway) Elo 2008. Who stands better, and by how much?
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The bishop is restricted by the black central pawns, and Black has a backward e pawn, although that is not really a weakness White can get at, any more than Black can get at White's isolated queen's pawn. Black has more space on the kingside, but White has chances of creating a passed pawn there. The analysis engines Stockfish12 and Komodo11.01 reckon the position is equal, but to me it looks much easier for White to play.
35...Bc6?
Activating the bishop, but it runs into a tactical refutation. Good is 35...Kf6.
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36.Kf1?
Missing that 36.Nd3 sets up a triple fork on e5.
36...Kf6 37.Nd3 Kf5 38.f3!?
Keeping the black king out of e4, but giving up hope of creating a kingside passer. 38.Nc5 also keeps the black king out of e4, but allows 38...e5.
38...gxf3 39.gxf3 Be8 40.Kf2 Bh5 41.Ke3 Be8
Black seems to have no way to improve his position. The engines still rate the position as equal, but a draw is all Black can expect while White can probe for more.
42.Ne5 Kg5 43.f4+ Kf5 44.h3 Kf6!?
Evaluate this move.
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In my original notes I gave ...Kf6 two question marks, thinking the move loses the game for Black. But it probably does not!
I was expecting 44...Bh5, to which I planned to play 45.Nc6, but 45...Be8! holds for Black, eg 46.Nxa7 Bd7 47.Kf3 Kf6, when apparently neither side can make progress. If 48.Kg4!? the engines give 48...e5+ 49.Kxh4 exf4 50.Nxb5! Bxb5 51.Kg4 Bd7+ 52.Kxf4 Bxh3 as being equal, eg 53.b5 Bf1 54.a4 Ke6 55.Ke3 Bc4 56.Kd2! Kd6 57.Kc3 Kc7 58.Kb4 Kb6 59.a5+ Kb7 60.Kc5 with again neither side able to make progress. 
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45.Nf3
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45...Kf5?
Black has good drawing chances after 45...Bg6 46.Nxh4 Bf5 47.Nf3 (47.Nxf5 exf5=) Bxh3 48.Ne5 Bf5 49.Nc6 Bg6 50.Nxa7 Be8 51.Nc8 Bd7. White is a pawn up but Black seems able to hold (Stockfish12 reckons the position is dead-equal, but Komodo11.01's evaluation of a slight edge for White is surely more accurate).
46.Nxh4+ Kf6 47.Nf3 Kf5 48.Ne5 Kf6 49.Nd3 Kf5 50.Nc5 Kf6 51.Nb7 a6?
Throwing away another pawn.
The game finished:
52.Nc5 Bh5 53.Nxa6 Bd1 54.Nc7 Ba4 55.h4 Kf5 56.h5 Kf6 57.h6 Kg6 58.Nxe6 Kxh6 59.Nc7 Kg6 60.Nxd5 Bb3 61.Nc3 Bc4 62.Ke4 Kf6 63.d5 Ke7 64.Ke5 1-0

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