The game was held at the league's new venue on the Churchill Gardens estate near Pimlico tube station.
The room has excellent lighting, is reasonably spacious and, by all accounts, there is a good bar downstairs.
Luis Ortiz Sanchez (1962 ECF) - Spanton (1965 ECF)
London System
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6!?
Intending a Chigorin-style set-up. There are more than 15,000 examples of this move in ChessBase's 2021 Mega database, but it scores just 37%.
3.Bf4
3.c4 would be a transposition to a mainline Chigorin Defence.
3...Bg4 4.Nbd2 e6 5.h3 Bf5!?
Normal is 5...Bh5. The text is aimed at discouraging c4 thanks to the threat of ...Nb4.
6.c3
Nevertheless 6.c4!? is possible, although it does not appear in Mega21. The point is that 6...Nb4 is easily met by 7.Rc1 as 7...Nxa2?? fails to 8.Qa4+ etc.
6...Bd6 7.e3!?
A common stratagem in such positions. White reasons that 7...Bxf4 8.exf4 increases White's central control and will likely be followed by swopping off the good black bishop.
7...h6!?
A novelty, or at least a move not in Mega21. The idea is partly to create the possibility of the thrust ...g5, but mainly to give the light-square bishop a refuge at h7 in case of a later Nh4.
8.Bb5 Ng37 9.Qe2!?
White is probably not contemplating queenside castling but rather wants to play Bd3 to get rid of Black's well-placed light-square bishop.
9...a6!?
Bearing in mind the previous note, this move may be superfluous, although the analysis engines Stockfish14 and Komodo12.1.1 do not mind it.
10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Ng6 13.Bxd6 cxd6!?
A multi-functional move that prevents White using the e5 square, half-opens the c file and ensures Black will have a central pawn-majority in the event of White playing e4. The engines reckon White is slightly better after 13...Qxd6.
14.e4?!
Probably better is 14.c4 with equality.
14...dxe4 15.Nxe4
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
15...Nf4
15...Nf4
The engines prefer my original intention of 15...f5!? I rejected it because after 16.Ng3 I did not like the look of the light-square holes around the black king and White's coming pressure down the half-open e file. What I missed is that 16...e5! with an initiative is possible as 17.Nxf5?! is well-met by 17...Nf4 18.Qc2 Qf6, eg 19.Ng3?! can be met by capturing on g2 or h3.
16.Qe3 Nd5 17.Qd2 Rc8 18.c4 Nf6 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.d5?!
Better seems to be the more conservative 20.b3 or 20.Rfe1.
20...Ne5?!
Black has an edge, according to the engines, after 20...exd5, eg 21.cxd5 Ne7 22.Rac1 Ng6 when Black's kingside activity apparently more than makes up for White's central space advantage. White could instead play 20...Qxd5 but 21.Qxb2 seems good for Black, eg 21...Rfb1?! is ineffective after 22.Qf6.
21.Nxe5 dxe5 22.dxe6 Qxe6 23.b3 Rfd8 24.Qe2 Rd4 25.Rad1 Rcd8 26.Rxd4 Rxd4 27.Rd1 Qd6 28.Rxd4 exd4!?
Trying to create winning chances.
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
29.Qd3
29.Qe8+ Kh7 30.Qxf7 d3 31.Qf3? d2 32.Qd1 Qd4 is very difficult - probably lost - for White. However White can improve with 31.Qf5+ followed by giving perpetual check. The text keeps the game alive.
29...Qf4 30.Kf1 Kf8 31.Ke2
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
31...Ke7?
A fundamental misjudgment of the position. Passed pawns are very important in queen-and-pawn endings, but here there is no way for Black to make progress so I should have settled for a draw.
32.Qf3 Qe5+
The engines (rather surprisingly) prefer 32...Qxf3+? but the pawn-ending is hopeless for Black, eg 33.Kxf3 Kd6 34.Ke4 Kc5 35.a3 a5 36.Kd3 and eventually the d pawn will drop.
33.Kd3 b5!?
The engines prefer 33...Qc7 or 33...Kf8, but White is well on top.
34.Qb7+ Kf8 35.Qa8+ Ke7 36.Qa7+ Kf8 37.Qxd4 bxc4+ 38.bxc4 Qf5+ 39.Ke3 Qa5 40.c5 Kg8 41.Qc4 Qe1+ 42.Kf3 Qe5 43.c6 Qf5+ 44.Kg3 Qe5+ 45.f4 Qc7 46.Qd5!?
There seems nothing wrong with 46.Qxa6.
46...g5 47.Qe4 gxf4+ 48.Kg4?!
White is still winning after this, but 48.Kf3 is simpler.
48...Qd6 49.Qe8+ Kg7
 |
| White to play and win |
*****
*****
*****
*****
50.Qd7
This looks natural but the engines reckon White had to find 50.Kf5!
 |
| Black to play and draw |
*****
*****
*****
*****
50...h5+?
'Clever' but wrong. The engines show a draw is to be had by 50...Qe5 or 50...Qc5, eg 50...Qe5 51.h4 (51.c7? h5+ 52.Kh4 Kh6! 53.Qd8 Qe1+ 54.g3 Qxg3#) h5+ 52.Kh3 Qe3+ 53.Kh2 Qg3+, when White cannot escape the checks.
51.Kf5
Not 51.Kxh5?? Qg6+ 52.Kh4 Kh6 etc.
51...Qf6+ 52.Ke4 Qg5 53.c7 Qxg2+ 54.Kxf4 Qxh2+ 55.Ke4 Qe2+ 56.Kd5 Qxa2+ 57.Kd6 Qa3+ 58.Kd5 Qd3+ 59.Kc6 Qb5+ 60.Kd6 Qd3+?
I offered a draw (missing Black's next, and very obvious, move). A better practical try is 60...Qb4+, but it seems White wins by getting shelter for the white king on the queenside, eg 61.Kd5! Qa5+ 62.Kc4! Qa2+ 63.Kb2 Qa2+ 64.Ka5 Qa3+ 65.Kb6 Qb4+ 66.Ka7.
61.Ke7 Qe3+ 62.Kd8 Qg5+ 63.Kc8 Qa5 64.Qc6 Qf5+ 65.Kb7 Qb1+ 66.Ka8 1-0
Pimlico Bishops won the match 5-0 (helped by a Battersea 2 default).
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