Ronald Vögerl (1904) - Spanton (1825)
Mariánské Lázně Seniors 50+Chigorin
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.e3 e5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3 Nf6
This move, which has been recommended by Alexander Morozevich, has replaced 7...Qd6 as the most-popular continuation, the latter having earlier replaced 7...exd4.
8.f3
This and 8.c4 are almost equally common in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database.
8...0-0 9.c4
This scores 65% in Mega22, compared with 53% for the more-popular 9.e4.
9...Qd6 10.d5 Nb8!?
Grandmaster Stuart Conquest has played the more-popular 10...Nd7, the idea being to meet 11.e4 with 11...Ne7!?, facilitating ...f5.
11.Bd3!?
This seems to be a novelty, albeit in a position only occurring six times in Mega22. GM Conquest, this time on the white side, preferred 11.Ne2.
11...Na6 12.Ne2 Nc5 13.Bc2
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| How should Black proceed? |
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13...e4!?
My main analysis engines, Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1, prefer 13...c6 14.e4 b5!?, when play might continue 15.cxb5 cxd5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.0-0 Qb6 18.Rf2!? with an unclear position they reckon offers equal chances.
14.Ng3
Stockfish14.1 gives 14.0-0!? as positionally winning for White, but Komodo12.1.1 reckons White only has a slight edge.
14...Re8?!
The engines reckon Black should attack the white central-queenside with 14...c6 or 14...exf3 15.gxf3 b5.
15.0-0 h5 16.Bc3!
This is the best move in a complicated position, according to the engines.
16...h4 17.Nxe4 Ncxe4 18.fxe4 Ng4!?
Probably objectively better is 18...Nxe4, but then 19.Qh5!? Qg6 (forced) 20.Qxh4 wins a pawn and more-or-less ends Black's attack.
19.e5
Even stronger seems to be 19.Rf4!? as 19...Nxe3 fails to 20.Qd4.
19...Rxe5!
The best chance.
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| How should White proceed? |
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20.c5?
Certainly not 20.Bxe5? Qxe5 21.g3 Qxe3+ 22.Kh1 (22.Kg2? h3+) Nf2+ 23.Rxf2 Qxf2, when Black has won a pawn and still has a strong attack.
But strong is 20.Qd3 as 20...Re4 runs into 21.Rf4 (this is also the answer to 21.Rh5, eg 21...h3 22.Qe4 Bf5 23.Qd4)) f5 22.Raf1, and if 22...g5?! then White wins with a double exchange-sacrifice: 23.Rxg4! Rxg4 24.Rxf5! Bxf5 25.Qxf5.
Also seemingly good for White is 20.Qd4!?
20...Qxc5
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| What should White play? |
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21.Qf3?!
Best seems to be 21.Bd4, although after 21...Qd6 (not 21...Qxd5?? 22.Bxe5 Qxe5 23.Qd8+ ...Qe8 24.Qxe8#) White has a worse version of the position after 19...Rxe5! as 22.Qd3 can be successfully met by 22...Rh5 23.Rf4 h3 since 24.Qe4 Bf5 cannot be met by 25.Qd4, as in the previous note, because the d4 square is occupied. Instead the engines reckon White should play 22.h3, when 22...Nxe3 23.Bxe5 Qxe5 24.Re1 Bxh3! 25.Qd2 Re8 26.Qxe3 Qxe3+ 27.Rxe3 Rxe3 28.gxh3 is a complicated line ending with an imbalanced but apparently equal position.
21...Qxe3 22.Qxe3
This is almost certainly better than 22.Kh1?! Qxf3, when both 23.gxf3 and 23.Rxf3 run into 23...Re2.
22...Rxe3 23.Rae1?!
This looks natural but probably better is the engines' 23.Bd2, although they reckon Black is better after almost any rook move along the e file, providing Black does not fall for 23...Re2 24.Rae1 Rxd2?? 25.Re8#.
23...Bd7 24.Bd4 Ree8 25.h3 Nf6!
Offering back a pawn is better than sending the rook out of play with 25...Nh6.
26.Bb3
White could win back a pawn by 26.Bxf6 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 gxf6 28.Re4, but Black is still better. Similarly Black is better after 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Rxf6.
26...Bb5 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8
Completing development, but possibly better is 27...Ne8, one point being that after 28.Re1 Nd6 Black cannot really play 29.Re7?! as White has 29...Nf5.
28.Rc1 c6 29.a4
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| What should Black play? |
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29...Bxa4!?
The main alternative, according to the engines, is 29...Bd3 30.dxc6 bxc6 31.Bxa7, when White seems to have full compensation for being a pawn down. Indeed the passed a pawn could prove very dangerous, supported as it is by the bishop-pair.
30.Bxa4 Nxd5
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| How would you assess this ending? |
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Black has four pawns and a knight for two bishops, which is a slight material edge, using Larry Kaufman's computerised database analysis of piece values (see: https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-evaluation-of-material-imbalances-by-im-larry-kaufman): 4P + N (worth 3.25 pawns) = 7.25 while 2B (each worth 3.25, but plus 0.5 for being a pair) = 7.
However the pawns are a long way from queening, and on the kingside two white pawns are effectively holding up three black pawns.
The engines at first reckon the position is roughly equal, but come to give White a slight edge. I suspect the fairest answer is unclear, and certainly difficult for both sides to play.
31.Bf2
Not 31.Bxa7? although after 31...Ra8 White has 32.Bxc6 bxc6 33.Bf2. Similarly White has to beware 31...Re4 32.Rd1 Nf4 33.Kf2 Ne6.
31...b6?!
Almost certainly better, as soon will be clear, is 31...a5.
32.Bf2 g5?
Better is 32...Nf4, although White seems to have good play, eg 33.Ra1 Re7, when White can choose between winning a pawn by 34.Bxh4 or 34.Bxb6!?
33.Re1?
Piece exchanges probably favour the player with the extra pawns, but in any case correct is 33.Ba4, after which White has at least the upper hand.
33...Rxe1+ 34.Bxe1 Kf8 35.Ke2 Ke7 36.Kf3 Kd6 37.Bf2?!
Probably better is 37.Bd2 f6 38.Ke4.
37...a5 38.Bb3!?
The engines' 38.Be1!? seems to delay the black queenside more, but that is a hard move to play after having just moved the bishop from e1 to f2.
38...b5 39.Ke4 a4 40.Bxd5 cxd5+
Even stronger sems to be the engines' 40...f5+!?, the point being 41.Kxf5 Kxd5 allows Black to queen with relative ease, eg 42.Be3 a3 43.Bxg5 b4 44.Bc1 c5 45.Kg4 c4 46.Kxh4 a2 47.Bb2 c3 48.Ba1 c2 etc.
41.Kd3 Ke5 42.g4!?
This probably does not help but White is lost anyway.
42...f5 43.Bd4+ Kf4 44.Be3+ Ke5
Not 44...Kg3?? 45.gxf5.
45.Bxg5
Or 45.Bd4+ Ke6 46.gxf5+ Kxf5 47.Ke3 g4 48.hxg4+ Kxg4 49.Kf2 b4 etc.
45...fxg4 46.hxg4 h3 0-1
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| Winter in Mariánské Lázně is a long way from being over |
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