Fareham Round One
Spanish Exchange
1.e4 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4
The analysis engines Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 strongly prefer 5.0-0, the move popularised by Bobby Fischer. It scores 54% in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, while the text scores 48%.
5...exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 c5
This move first appears in Mega21 from the 1894 world championship between Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker. Steinitz used it to score one of his five wins in the match.
8.Ne2 Bd7 9.Be3
Lasker preferred 9.Nbc3.
9...0-0-0 10.Nbc3
More popular is 10.Nd2!?, the main idea being, I presume, to facilitate queenside castling, which Black now prevents by playing ...
10...Bc6
... more-or-less obliging White to play ...
11.f3
This over-protection of e4 seems best, eg 11.Rd1 can be met by 11...Rxd1+ 12.Kxd1 f5 or 11...Re8 12.f3 f5.
11...b6!?
Part of a plan to fianchetto the dark-square bishop to pressurise the white queenside.
12.Kf2 g6 13.Rad1 Bg7!?
This seems to be a novelty, and one not liked by the engines at first, but Komodo12.1.1 comes to reckon the move is as good as the obvious continuations 13...Rxd1+ and 13...Re8.
14.Rxd8+ Kxd8 15.Rd1+ Kc8 16.Bg5 h6!?
This looks reckless, at first sight, but is probably fine.
17.Rd8+ Kb7 18.Bf4
Stockfish14 reckons 18.Bd2 gives White a sizeable positional advantage - more than half-a-pawn's worth - but Komodo12.1.1 claims dead-equality.
18...g5 19.Bc1 Ne7 20.Rxh8 Bxh8 21.h4
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
21...gxh4!?
The engines give a very narrow nod to 21...Bf6, but strongly dislike 21...f6!? as they reckon 22.g4 gives White the upper hand.
22.Bxh6 Ng6 23.Bg5 a5!?
The engines reckon 23...f6 maintains the balance.
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
24.Nd1
The engines are hot at first for the loosening-looking 24.f4!?, but then their main line comes to be 24...Bd4+ 25.Nxd4 cxd4 26.Nd5 Bxd5 27.exd5 f5 28.a4 c6 29.Ke2 cxd5 30.Kd3 Kc6 31.Kxd4 Kc6, when White has maybe a slight edge but the position looks very drawish.
24...a4 25.c3 b5 26.Be3 Ne5
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
The game finished:
27.Bg5 Ng6 28.Be3 Ne5 29.Bg5 Ng6 ½–½
Clearly not 27.Bxc5?? Nd3+.
I looked at 28.Nf4 but rejected it because of 28...Nxf4 29.Bxf4 Bf6, when the h pawn is no longer endangered and I feared the power of the bishop-pair combined with black queenside pawn-advances.
What I failed to properly consider, as far as I can recall, is 27.Nf4, when the engines reckon White has an edge, but there is a lot of play left.
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