Lessons From Coulsdon

Spanton (1965 ECF/1747 Fide) - Somulpillai Gengadharan Selvarattinam (1540 ECF/1500 Fide)

Coulsdon Late Summer U2000 Round 1

Pribyl System

1.d4 c6 2.e4 Qc7!?

This weird-looking move has been played by grandmasters. The idea, I guess, is to provoke White into over-expansion in the centre.

3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3

This is how Frederick Yates handled the position against Joseph Blackburne at the 1913 British championships in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Yates went on to win in 49 moves. In more modern times Peter Leko and Alexei Shirov have preferred 4.f4.

Position after 4.Nf3

This position is classified by ChessBase as a Caro-Kann: Advance Variation - one of ChessBase's weirder classifications -  but the position really has much more in common with the Pribyl System in the Pirc, and even more so later when Black plays ...Nf6.

4...Bg4 5.Bc4 e5 6.Be3 Nf6 7.a4 Be7 8.h3 Bxf3!?

Both games to reach the position after 8.h3 in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database saw 8...Bh5. However capturing on f3 is quite typical in this sort of set-up.

9.Qxf3 Nbd7 10.a5

Gaining more queenside space. Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 like 10.d5!?, which looks somewhat odd when White has the bishop-pair, including a bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal, but the engines clearly reckon space gained in the centre is worth allowing the centre to be closed.

10...exd4!?

The engines prefer this to allowing 11.d5!? after, say, 10...0-0.

11.Bxd4 Ne5

White is losing the bishop-pair but will have more central space and a target at d6.

12.Qe2 Nxc4 13.Qxc4

White has a slight edge, according to the engines, but there would be a lot of play left after, for example, 13...0-0.

13...d5? 14.exd5 Qf4 15.0-0 Bd6?

A crude threat that only makes matters worse.

16.Rfe1+ Kf8 17. g3 Qg5 18.dxc6 Rc8 19.Bxf6 gxf6!?

This smacks of desperation, but the engines slightly prefer it to 19...Qxf6.

20.Ne4 Qe5 21.Nxd6 Qxf6 22.Rad1 Qxc6 23.Qb4+ Kg7 24.Rd4 h5 25.c3 Rhg8?

This lets a white rook into the seventh. Better is 25...Rhe8.

26.Re7 Rge8 27.Rde4 Rxe7 28.Rxe7 Qf3?

Counterplay with 28...Rd8, or defence with 28...Rc7, is better.

29.Qxb7 Qd1+ 30.Kg2 Rf8 (1-0, 62 moves)