Josef Vrchotka (1963) - Spanton (1731)
Four Knights
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 c6 11.Qf3
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| Almost 4,300 games reach this Scotch Variation tabiya of the Four Knights Defence in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database |
Much more popular are 11...Be7 and 11...Bd6. The idea of the text, which has been played by grandmasters, is that after 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Qxf6 gxf6, although Black's kingside pawn-formation is smashed, the absence of queens greatly reduces the chances of a mating attack, and Black has the bishop-pair.
12.Bh4?
If White does not want to capture on f6, the best move is 12.Bf4.
12...Bd6?
Black has a winning positional advantage, according to Stockfish14, after 12...g5 13.Bg3 (not 13.Qg3?? Bd6 14.f4 Ng4 etc) Bg4 14.Bc7 (not 14.Qe3?? d4) Bxf3 15.Bxd8 Raxd8 16.gxf3 c5, although Komodo12.1.1 is less enthusiastic.
13.h3 Rb8 14.b3 Be5 15.Be2?
White should play 15.Bg3.
15...Qa5?!
Probably stronger is 15...Rb7 followed by 16...Re7, one point being 16.Ba6?? fails to 16...Rb4.
16.Bg3 Bxc3 17.Bxb8 Bxa1 18.Rxa1
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| How should Black proceed? |
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18...Bxh3?
Black has an edge after the engines' 18...Bg4!
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19.Qg3?
White is better after 19.Be5, the point being 19...Bg4? runs into 20.Qg3, when 20...Bxe2 21.Bxf6 g6 22.Qe3 costs Black the light-square bishop as White threatens mate in three. Instead Black should probably play 19...Be6, but then 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rd1!? is good for White, according to the engines.
Note that 19.Bd6? fails to 19...Bg4.
19...Ne4 20.Qxh3?!
Better, but still good for Black, is 20.Qf4, according to the engines.
20...Rb8 21.Bd3 Qc3?!
This looks aggressive, but it spends a tempo driving the white rook to a better square. Simple and good is the consolidating 21...Nf6.
22.Rd1
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22...Re8!?
The engines flit between the text and 22...Qd4, but not 22...Nf6?? as 23.Bh7+ wins the black queen.
23.Qd7 Nf6 24.Qxa7
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| How should Black proceed? |
*****
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24...Re1+?
This swops an active rook for a relatively passive one, and sets up White with the possibility in some lines of a back-rank mate. The engines reckon Black is much better after 24...Ng4.
25.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 26.Kh2 Qe5+ 27.g3 g6
This seems better than 27...Ng4+?! 28.Kh3 Qh5+ 29.Kg2 Qh2+, when 30.Kf1 g6 (White threatened mate in one) 31.a4 leaves the Black pieces out of position for stopping White's passed pawn.
28.Kg2
Not 28.Qa8+ Kg7 29.Qxc6?? as 30.Ng4+ starts a winning attack, thanks to the weakness of f2.
28...Kg7 29.Qe3 Qd6?!
I rejected Stockfish14's choice, 29...Qxe3!? because a bishop is in its element in an ending against a knight in which there are rival pawn-majorities, and specifically here the knight cannot stop White's passer. However after 30.fxe3 Ke8 the black king can prevent the a pawn queening. A likely continuation is 31.a4 Ke7 32.Kf3, when the engines reckon White has only a slight edge. I suspect this would be a tough position for Black to play, but then so is the game continuation.
If Black does want to keep queens on, a better way than the text is almost certainly the engines' 29...Qc3.
30.a4 Qb4 31.Qf4 Qa5 32.Qd4 c5 33.Qe5 Qb6 34.Be2 c4?!
Probably better is 32...Qa5 or 32...Qb4, but White is on top.
35.Qc3?!
White wins quickly after 35.bxc4 dxc4 36.a5, but not 36.Bxc4?? Qc6+ etc.
35...cxb3 36.Qxb3!?
Creating connected passed pawns with 36.cxb3 is more logical, but the text does have the advantage of ensuring the d pawn does not become a problem for White.
36...Qa5?!
Better seems to be 36...Qd4 and 36...Qa7.
37.Bb5 Qd2?
This achieves nothing. The engines reckon it is a good time to start seeking counterplay with 37...h5.
38.Qd3 Qa5 39.Qd4 h5 40.c3 Qc7 41.Be2 Qd8 42.Bf3!
This is better than 42.c4, when 42...Qe7 43.Bf3 Qb4 is problematic for White.
42...Kg8!?
Freeing the knight but at the cost of losing the d pawn. However the engines reckon all lines are lost for Black.
43.c4 g5 44.Bxd5
White is only one pawn up but has two passers, and there is little Black can do to create chances against the white king.
The game finished:
44...Qe7 45.a5 h4 46.Qe3 h3+ 47.Kxh3 Qd7+ 48.Kg2 Nf5 49.a6 Nxd5 50.cxd5 Qxd5+ 51.Qf3 1-0
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