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| In the centre-background is the main entrance to the Kurhaus, where the tournaments are being run |
MY opponent in round six was someone I have played the last three times the Bad Wörishofen congress was held, ie from 2018-20.
In those games he out-rated me by 77 elo, 89 elo and 111 elo respectively, but I won all three games.
This year I out-rated him by 94 elo.
Boris Litfin (1818) - Spanton (1912)
U2000
Vienna Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4!?
This pseudo-sacrifice used to be highly topical, but more popular in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database are 3...Nc6 and 3...Bc5, both of which are preferred by Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1.
4.Qh5
4.Nxe4 is met by 4...d5, while 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.Nxe4 is tricky, but should be better for Black after 5...d5.
4...Nd6 5.Bb3 Be7
Black can try to hold on to the extra pawn with 5...Nc6, but modern-engine analysis, I believe (I have not seen it), reckons White can emerge from the complications after 6.Nb5 with a large advantage.
6.Nf3
Less popular, but possibly slightly better, is 6.Qxe5!?, when the main line runs 6...0-0 7.Nge2 Nc6 with at least equality for Black.
6...Nc6 7.Nb5?!
This was played in Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) - Anish Giri (2782), Chess.com Blitz 2018, but seems overly optimistic. White should almost certainly settle for 7.Nxe5 g6 8.Nxc6 dxc6 9.Qf3 with approximate equality.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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7...g6!
7...g6!
All four games in Mega22, including Mamedyarov - Giri, saw 7...0-0, but the engines agree the text is considerably stronger (by about 2.2 pawns, according to Stockfish14.1; by about 0.8 of a pawn, according to Komodo12.1.1).
8.Nxd6 Bxd6
The point is that after 7...0-0 8.Nxd6 Black is forced to recapture by 8...cxd6, when the black pawns are disrupted and development is delayed, as 8...Bxd6? fails to 9.Ng5.
9.Qg4 Be7 10.d3 d6 11.Qg3 Na5 12.Bd2
Possibly better is the engines' 12.Bd5!? c6 13.Bxf7+! Kxf7 14.b4, albeit they reckon Black has at least a slight edge.
12...Nxb3 13.axb3 Bd7 14.h4 f5!? 15.Bh6 f4 16.Qh2 Bg4 17.Nxg5 Bxg5!?
White gets opposite-coloured bishops, but they will only likely become a drawish factor in an ending, rather than in a middlegame.
18.Bxg5 Qd7
Threatening to win the white bishop with 19...h6
19.Bh6!?
19.f3 may be better, but Black is still well on top, according to the engines.
19...Qc6 20.f3 Bf5 21.0-0!? 0-0-0
Playable, according to the engines, is 21...Qxc2!?, but it is exactly the type of greedy move an attacking player a pawn down is hoping for.
22.Kh1
Not 22.Rxa7?? Qb6+ etc.
22...Kb8
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| How would you assess this opposite-side castling position? |
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Black is a pawn up, but that is not particularly relevant in such an unclear position. White arguably has the safer king, despite the ragged structure of the pawns in front of the white king, but the most-important factor, I believe, is the lack of coordination between the white pieces. Stockfish14.1 reckons Black is winning; Komodo12.1.1 gives Black the upper hand.
23.b4!?
Playing for complications.
23...Qxc2 24.Qg1 b6 25.Rfc1 Qxd3 26.Bg7 Rhg8 27.Bf6 Rdf8 28.Rxc7!?
White is lost anyway, but this does not help, if Black keeps a cool head.
28...Kxc7 29.Rxa7+ Kc6
Clearly not 29...Kb8?? 30.Qxb6+ Kc8 31.Qxc7#, and Black is also mated after 29...Kc8?? 30.Qxb6.
30.Qc1+ Qc2 31.Qf1 Qb1 32.b5+ Kd5 (0-1, 45 moves).
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