Lessons From North Shields III

Kevin P Millward (2088 ECF/1939 Fide) - Spanton (1965 ECF/1747 Fide)

Northumberland Open Round 3

New London

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nd2

Note there is no chance for White to grab a pawn as 5.dxc5?! runs into 5...e5 followed by ...Bxc5.

5...e6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Bg3

How theory grows - there are more than 4,000 games with this position in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database

7...cxd4!?

But this is not a popular response. Normal is 7...0-0.

8.exd4 Qc7

This is the point of my last move - reaching a position in which Ne5 is not possible.

9.Bd3 Nh5!?

This is Komodo12.1.1's top choice, at least for a while. Samuel Tinsley - Francis Joseph Lee, London 1899, saw 9...Bd7 10.0-0 Bxg3 11.fxg3!? with a draw in 54 moves.

10.Bxd6 Qxd6 11.0-0 Nf4 12.Bb1 b6 13.g3

How should Black proceed?

*****

*****

*****

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13...Nh3??

Wildly over-optimistic. Komodo12.1.1 and Stockfish14 give 13...Nh5 14.Re1 g6 15.Ne5 0-0, albeit preferring White.

14.Kg2 e5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Re1

The engines reckon 16.dxe5 is even stronger.

16...Be6 17.Rxe5 0-0-0 18.Qe2 h5 19.Rxe6 fxe6 20.Kxh3 h4 21.g4 (1-0, 39 moves)