Friday: 80.4kg (177lb)
Saturday: 80.7kg (178lb)
Sunday: 80.4kg (177lb)
Monday: 80.2kg (177lb)
Tuesday: 80.8kg (178lb)
Wednesday: 80.2kg (177lb)
Thursday: 80.7kg (178lb)
Yesterday: 81.4kg (179lb)
Today: 81.7kg (180lb)
Amateur Chess Organization World Senior Championship Group C (Fodele Beach Resort, Crete) Round 9
Catalan
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7
The point of Black's well-known manoeuvre is to induce the white dark-square bishop to go to d2, the argument being that in the Closed Catalan it is often much better placed on b2.
6.Bf4!?
A very rare move. Usually White gets on with kingside development with 6.Bg2 followed by 0-0.
6...0-0 7.Bg2 c6 8.0-0
The game has transposed to a mainline position popular at the elite level.
8...Nbd7 9.Qc2 b6 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Bc7!?
This strange-looking move has been played by grandmasters, although 11.Rc1 and 11.Nc3 are slightly more popular in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database.
11...Qe8 12.Rc1
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
12...Ba6!?
This may be new. Artur Yusupov, Emmanuel Bricard and Marcin Dziuba have played 12...Bb7. The analysis engines Stockfish13 and Komodo12.1.1 very slightly prefer the text.
13.Nc3
The game immediately transposes to a known position, albeit there is only one example in Mega21.
13...Rc8 14.Bf4
Viktor Moskalenko (2505) - Pablo San Segundo Carrillo (2415), Aviles (Spain) 1992, saw 14.Qa4 Rxc7 15.Qxa6 Qc8 16.Qd3 Ne4 17.Nd2 Nxc3 ½–½.
14...Ne4 15.Qa4 Nb8
Bad is 15...Nxc3? because after 16.Qxa6 the white queen covers e2.
16.Bxb8!?
Stockfish13's choice, at least for a while, but Komodo12.1.1 prefers keeping the bishop-pair with 16,Qb3, and Stockfish13 comes to agree.
16...Qxa4 17.Nxa4 Rxb8 18.Rc7
White has a little initiative, but it is soon extinguished, after which the bishops will have their say.
18...Rb7 19.Rac1 Bd6 20.Rxb7 Bxb7 21.Ne5 Rc8 22.Rxc8+ Bxc8 23.f3 Nd2 24.b3
Not 24.Nc6?? Bd7.
24... Bb7 25.Kf2 Nb1 26.Ke3 Kf8 27.f4 Ke7
I came to regret not kicking the white knight with 27...f6!?, but I was concerned about making e6 a target for the white bishop.
28.h4 h5 29.Bf3 g6 30.g4!?
Now ...f6 will be hard to arrange.
30...hxg4 31.Bxg4
Black remains better but the prospects are for a long game of manoeuvre.
31...Na3
The engines prefer 31...Bb4, which I rejected because after 32.h5 Bd2+ 36.Kf3 gxh5 37.Bxh5 f6 38.Ng6+ the d6 square, in my mind's eye, was still occupied, and so White would have a draw by repetition with 38...Kd7 39.Nf8+ Ke7 40.Ng6+ etc.
32.Kd2 Bb4+ 33.Kc1 Nb5 34.e3 Nd6 35.h5?!
I was expecting this, but the engines much prefer 35.Nd3 Ba3+ 36.Kc2, when they reckon Black has at best a slight edge.
35...gxh5 36.Bxh5 Ne4 37.Kd1
37.Bxf7?! quickly loses a pawn to 37...Bd2+ 38.Kc2 Bxe3 etc.
37...Bd2 38.Ke2 f6 39.Nd3
This is best, according to the engines.
39...Bc6
The engines give best as 39...Ba6 40.Nab2 f5!?, when they reckon Black has a positionally won game, although there is, to say the least, a lot of play left.
40.Bf3 Ba5
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| How should White meet the threats to his queenside? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
41.b4?
Black wins a pawn, but is only slightly better, after 41.a3!? Bxa4 42.bxa4 Nc3+, according to the engines, Similarly they reckon Black's edge is small after 41.Kd1!? Bxa4 42.bxa4 Nc3+ etc.
41...Bxa4 42.a3
Hardly an improvement is 42.bxa5 Bb5.
42...Nc3+
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 42...Bb5!?
43.Kf2 Bb5 44.Nb2 Bxb4 45.axb4 Na2
White loses a second pawn.
The game finished:
46.f5 Nxb4 47.Nd1 exf5 48.Kg3 Ke6 49.Nc3 Bc4 50.Na4+ Nd3 51.Be2 b5 52.Nc3 a5 0-1
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