Benidorm Under 2000 Games: Round Nine

PLAYED on Sunday.

Hikmet Bağcı (1572) - Spanton (1829)

French Winawer

1,e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 b6!?

This move is well-behind 4...c5 and 4...Ne7 in popularity, and is not liked by the analysis engines Stockfish14.1. and Komodo12.1.1. Nevertheless there are 3,761 examples of the text in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database.

5.a3

This and 5.Qg4 are almost equally popular. Both Karpov and Kasparov have faced 4...b6!? One of them replied 5.a3 and the other played 5.Qg4. Contrary to (my) expectation, it was Kasparov who played 5.a3 and Karpov who preferred 5.Qg4.

5...Bf8!?

Position after 5...Bf8!?

Black's play looks strange, certainly at first glance, but it is mentioned approvingly on grandmaster Nigel Davies's French Defence Strategy DVD for ChessBase. The idea is that the black dark-square bishop has induced White to close the centre in a way that makes both players' king's bishops good and queen's bishops bad. Black intends exchanging his bad black light-square bishop for its good white counterpart. Meanwhile the black dark-square bishop defends g7, which otherwise would be vulnerable to an attack from the white queen, which Black does not want to have to meet with ...g6. The drawbacks to Black's strategy are White has gained space and time.

6.f4

Kasparov preferred 6.Nf3, but the text is also popular with grandmasters.

6...Nh6 7.Bd3?!

This is Stockfish14.1's top choice for a while (later the engine switches between the text and 7.Nf3), but is dubious in my opinion as it loses a tempo compared with the line 7.Nf3 Ba6 8.Bxa6 Nxa6 9.Qd3 Nb8, which reaches the same position as occurs in the game but with White rather than Black to move.

7...Ba6 8.Nf3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 c5 10.Be3 c4!?

Pushing on like this is nearly always a controversial decision. I liked the gain of space, supporting Black's long-term strategy of attacking on the queenside, but it takes pressure off the white centre. The engines prefer 10...Nf5 or 10...Nc6.

11.Qd2 Be7 12.0-0 0-0

Position after 12...0-0

The correct middlegame strategies for both sides are fairly clear, I believe. White's central pawns point to the kingside, which is where White has more space, so White should attack there. Black's central pawns point to the queenside, which is where Black has more space, so Black should attack there. Since both kings are on the kingside, the white attack is potentially more dangerous, meaning Black is probably well-advised to (try to) neutralise the white attack before proceeding on the queenside.

13.Ne2 Nc6 14.Kh1 f6 15.h3 fxe5 16.fxe5

The engines prefer 16.dxe5!? Nf5 Bf2.

16...Nf5 17.Bf2 b5?!

With White apparently having no immediate threats on the kingside, I thought I had time to to make a move on the queenside. The engines prefer 17...h5, which I rejected because it weakens g5.

18.g4 Nh4!?

The alternative, 18...Nh6 19.Be3 Nf7, represents a major loss of time.

19.Nxh4?!

Almost certainly better is 19.Bxh4, which not only exchanges White's bad bishop but, after 19...Bxh4 20.g5, traps the black bishop. Black would be obliged to sac the exchange for a pawn with 20...Rxf3 21.Rxf3 Bxg5, when the engines are divided: Stockfish14.1 reckons White is winning; Komdo12.1.1 only gives White a slight edge. I suspect the latter verdict is closer to the truth, but either way it seems clear White has an advantage.

19...Bxh4 20.Be3

Logical, at least from a positional view, is 20.Bxh4, but Black is fine after recapturing; indeed White has to be careful to maintain the balance.

20...Qe7 21.Kg2!?

This is Komodo12.1.1's top choice; Stockfish14.1 prefers 21.Kg1.

21...Rae8 22.Ng1 Qb7

Threatening ...Nxe5 in some lines.

23.Rf3 Rxf3 24.Nxf3 Be7 25.c3 a5 26.Bg5 Bf8!? 27.Qc2 b4 28.axb4 axb4 29.Bd2 bxc3 30.Ng5 g6

A necessary concession. It is a concession because now the f6 square is weak, and the black g pawn makes a target for the white h pawn.

31.Bxc3?

This turns the bishop into a proverbial 'fat pawn'. The engines reckon White has an advantage after the natural 31.bxc3.

31...Bh6 32.Nf3 Rb8 33.h4 Nb4!?

This permits White to (finally) swop off his bad bishop, but the result will be weaknesses at b2 and d4.

34.Bxb4

White can hardly allow ...Nd3.

34...Qxb4 35.Ra2

The engines give 35.Kg3!, the point being 35...Qxb2 36.Qxb2 Rxb2 lets White equalise with 37.Ra8+, eg 37...Bf8 38.Ng5 Rb6 39.Re8 Rc6 40.Nxe6 Kf7 41.Rxf8+ Kf7 42.Rf6+ Kd7 43.Rxc6. Instead they reckon White should play 35...Qe7 or 35...Qb7, with continued play against White's weaknesses.

How should Black proceed?

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35...Qf8!

The queen prepares to invade the white queenside, while at the same time giving the black rook access to b3.

36.Ra3 Qf4 37.Qe3?!

Probably slightly better, but still bad for White, is the engines' 37.Kh3 Bf8 38.Rc3 Bb4 (38...Be7 is also strong) 39.Qc1! Qf7 40.Re3 Rf8.

37...Bf8 38.Ra6 Rb3 39.Qe2 Re3 40.Qc1 h6 41.Rxe6?!

Not much better is 41.gxh6, according to the engines.

41...Qg4+ 42.Kf2 Rxf3+ 43.Qxf3 Qxe6 (0-1, 80 moves)