Stephan Schliebener (2145) - Spanton (1731)
QGD Exchange
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 c6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.Nge2 Nf8!?
Castling is very much the main line, but the text has also been played by grandmasters.
9.Qc2 Ne6 10.Bxf6!?
The main move in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database is 10.Bh4. The idea of capturing on f6 is to accelerate White's queenside minority attack.
10...Bxf6 11.b4
Almost certainly not 11.Bxh7?! g6 12.Bxg6+ fxg6 13.Qxg6+ Ke7, when it is hard to believe in White's attack.
11...a6 12.a4 g6
This enables castling, and at the same time is preparation for an exchange of light-square bishops.
13.0-0 0-0 14.Qb3 Ng7
My main analysis engines reckon Black is slightly better after 14...Be7 (Komodo12.1.1) or 14...a5!? (Stockfish14).
15.b5 axb5
The engines slightly prefer 15...a5!?
16.axb5 Bf5 17.Nf4 Bxd3?!
Good for White seems to be 17...g5?! 18.Rxa8 Qxa8 19.Bxf5 Nxf5 (19...gxf4?! 20.Bb1 is worse, according to the engines) 20.Nd3, but the engines also dislike the text.
Komodo12.1.1 suggests 17...Qd6 18.Bxf5!? Nxf5 19.Nd3 Rfc8, claiming equality.
Stockfish14 gives 17...Rxa1!? 18.Rxa1 g5!? 19.Bxf5 gxf4, claiming a very small edge for Black.
18.Nxd3 Ne6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Na4 Qa5!?
The engines prefer 20...Be7, when Komodo12.1.1 reckons the position is roughly equal, but Stockfish14's verdict of a slight edge for White is how I would assess it.
21.Qb6 Ra6?!
The engines prefer the sensible, albeit passive, 21...Rfc8.
22.Qxa5 Rxa5 23.Nb6
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| Can you find a winning combination for Black? |
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No.
However, Stockfish14 reckons best-play from the diagram runs:
23...Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Nxd4!?
Komodo12.1.1 prefers 24...Kg7, but then 25.Rc1 is hard to meet, eg 25...Rb8 26.Nd7 when 26...Rc8 fails to 27.Nxf6 Kxf6 28.Nb4. But White should probably avoid 26.Rxc6?!, when the engines give 26...Bxd4!, which draws after 27.exd4 Nxd4 28.Rd6 Nf5 29.Rc6 Nd4 etc. However in this last line White can try 27.Nxd5!? Rb3 28.Ne1, when White is a pawn up but Black is very active and all the pawns are on one side of the board.
25.exd4 Bxd4 26.Ra6 Rb8 27.Ra8
This is the move I missed in calculating my combination.
27...Rxa8
The engines prefer 27...Rf8!? 28.Rxf8 Kxf8 29.Nd7+ Ke7 30.N7e5 Bxe5!? 31.Nxe5 c5, claiming White has the upper hand but is not winning.
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| White only has the upper hand, according to Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 |
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28.Nxa8 Bc3?
Black must lose a pawn, so should activate the king instead of shifting the bishop to no effect.
29.Nb6 Kg7 30.Na4 Bd4 31.Nb4 Ba1 32.Kf1 Kf6 33.Ke2 Ke6 34.Nxc6+ Kd6 35.Nb4 Be5 36.h3
I had hoped for something like 36.Ke3, when 36...Bxh2 37.g3 traps the bishop, but after 37...h5 38.Kf3 h4 39.Kg2? hxg3 40.fxg3 Bxg3 41.Kxg3 the position is drawn. However I missed that White wins by untrapping the bishop with 39.gxh4.
The game finished:
36...Kc7? (White is winning comfortably anyway, but this tired move accelerates the process) 37.Nxd5+ Kc6 38.Nac3 Kc5 39.Kd3 h5 40.Ke4 Bg7 41.Kd3 g5 42.Ne3 f6 43.Nf5 Bh8 44.Ke4 1-0
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