Spanton (1808) - Adam Stefański (1447)
Wrocław B Round 5
Nimzo-Indian
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2!?
Breaking the pin has become fashionable, but Bd2, which at this point scores just 39% in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, is usually played a little later.
4...0-0 5.Nf3 b6 6.e3 Bb7
Joseph Blackburne reached this position at least twice in the 19th century. Berthold Englisch - Blackburne, London 1883, saw 7.Be2, but James Mason - Blackburne, Paris 1878, continued with ...
7.Bd3 d5 8.0-0
Mason preferred 8.cxd5, which is more popular in Mega21, but Smyslov and Korchnoi are among those who have played the text. Incidentally, Blackburne drew both the games quoted.
8...Nbd7?!
There are 112 examples of this move in Mega21, but it may be a mistake. Can you see why?
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| Position after 8...Nbd7?! |
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9.Rc1
Robert Byrne, in a 1965 game, is the first in Mega21 to have played 9.Nxd5!? After the more-or-less forced 9...Nxd5 10.cxd5 Bxd2 11.dxe6 White is winning a pawn, although Byrne only manged to draw his game. The analysis engines Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 give best-play after 11.dxe6 as 11...Bxf3 12.gxf3 fxe6 13.Qxd2, when Black cannot play 13...Rxf3?? because of 14.Be4.
9...Rc8 10.Qa4
Still playable is Nxd5, although it does not win a pawn as after 10...Bxd5 11.cxd5 Bxd2 the rook on c1 is threatened.
10...a5 11.Rfd1!?
Placing a rook opposite an opponent's queen is usually a good thing to do, but here it gives Black an unbalancing option.
11...dxc4 12.Bxc4 Bxf3!? 13.gxf3
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| Who stands better? |
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The position is difficult to assess. There is no doubt the black king is safer than its white counterpart, but it is not so clear whether Black can get at the white king. Meanwhile White has the bishop-pair, a central pawn-majority and hopes of exploiting Black's queenside light-square weaknesses.
13...Nd5?!
Black should probably attack the white centre, and simultaneously solve the problem of the backward c pawn, by playing 13...c5. The engines continue 14.Ba6 Ra8 15.Bb5 Qe7 with what they reckon is an equal position.
The text looks natural in that it opens the d8-h4 diagonal for the black queen, and it sets a trap: 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Bxd5?? Bxd2 16.Rxd2 Qg5+ etc. However, after ...
14.e4 Nxc3 15.bxc3
... White has a good game.
But this is not the final word. The engines reckon Black should play 14...c6!?, when the threat of ...b5 gives White at best a slight edge, they conclude. Going further back, they reckon 14.Nxd5 is playable, and may be White's best move, as long as 14...exd5 is met by 15.Bxb4 axb4 and either 16.Bb5 or 16.Bf1.
15...Be7 16.e5!?
Depriving black's pieces, specifically the knight and the king's rook, of use of the f6 square. But I felt wrong playing it, and believed (correctly) the engines would not like it. They reckon White is doing better after 16.Ba6 Rb8 17.Qc6.
16...c6!
This drives White's pieces back and seems to more-or-less solve the problem of Black's light-square weaknesses.
17.Qc2
17.Bd3?! Nxe5! 18.Bxh7+ Kxh7 19.dxe5 probably favours Black.
17...b5 18.Bd3 f5?
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19.Kh1?
I saw 19.Qb3 but did not play it because I thought 19...Kf7? was an adequate answer, missing 20.Bxf5. I played the text instead because it is a useful move and I hoped AS might respond with 19...Kh8, when I felt 20.Qb3 would win the e6 pawn in a simple way.
19...Nb6
But I was wrong anyway as after 19...Kh8 20.Qb3 Black has 20...Nxe5!
20.Rg1?!
The ingredients for a successful kingside attack are probably not there. The engines reckon White should play in the centre-queenside with 20.c4, which one way or another stops the black queen taking up a dominating position on d5, eg 20...bxc4 21.Bxc4 Nxc4 22.Qxc4, when 22...Qd5 can be safely met by exchanging queens or by 23.Kg2.
20...Kh8
This and 20...Qd5 are both good.
21.Rg2
Again the engines prefer c4, and they now also like 21.Be3.
21...Qd5 22.Rg3 c5!?
The white centre is collapsing.
23.Bxb5 cxd4 24.c4 Qxe5
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25.Re1??
The engines give 25.a4, but prefer Black after 25...Nd5 26.Re1 Qd6 27.Bxa5 Nf4 (Komodo12.1.1) or 25...Qd6 26.Bxa5 Nd7 27.Rcg1 Bf6 (Stockfish14).
25...Qd6??
25...Qxb5 wins on the spot.
25...Qxb5 wins on the spot.
26.Bxa5 e5?
Black keeps a large advantage after 26...Nd7, according to the engines.
27.Bxb6 Qxd6 28.Bd7
28.Rxe5 Bd6 29.Re6 Qxb5 30.cxb5 Rxc2 31.Rxd6 Rxa2 32.Rxd4 Rb2 is very drawish.
28...Qb4!
Gaining time by attacking both c4 and e1.
29.Rc1 f4?
It is better to give up the f pawn with 29...Rc7, but better still is the engines' 29...d3! 30.Qxd3 (only move) Rcd8, eg 31.Rcg1 g6 32.Rd1 with a sharp but apparently roughly equal position.
30.Rh3 h6 31.Bxc8 Rxc8
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32.Rh5?
Correct is 32.Qf5. I missed that after 32...Rxc4 White has 33.Rcg1 with what seems to be a winning position.
32...Bf6
The engines reckon Black has more-or-less equal chances with 32...Qa3! 33.Kg2 d3.
33.Qb3?
Very strong is 33.Qg6, the point being that after 33...Rxc4? Black is getting mated, eg 34.Rxh6+! gxh6 35.Qxf6+ Kh7 36.Rg1 etc. Also winning in this variation is 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Rg1 etc.
33...Qd2
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| White to play and lose |
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34.Kg2?? Qe2?? 35.Rc2 Qd1 36.Rb2
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| Black to play and lose |
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36...e4?? 1-0
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