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| Remains of the main gatehouse at St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth |
Spanton (1972 ECF/1860 Fide) - David S Tucker (2009 ECF/1908 Fide)
Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6
This is quite a popular alternative to the mainline 4.0-0.
4...bxc6
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| The position after 4...bxc6 is strongly imbalanced |
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White has given up the bishop-pair, promoted the black b pawn to a nearer-the-centre c pawn and given Black a half-open b file. White's only compensation, it might seem, is that Black has doubled c pawns. But White also hopes to play against the black light-square bishop, trying to prevent it getting effectively into the game. Meanwhile Black wants to open the position for his bishops. All in all the 4.Bxc6 lines are thought to make for a more positional struggle.
5.0-0 Ne7
The knight is headed for the g6 square, which is why many whites prefer to play 5.d3 and delay castling, intending to meet ...Ng6 with h4!?
6.d3 Ng6 7.e5!?
White's most popular move by a long margin in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database is 7.Ng5, although Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 reckon Black is at least equal after 7...f6. The text stops ...e5, after which Black would have good chances of developing the light-square bishop effectively on the c8-h3 diagonal.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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7...d5?!
The engines are OK with this, although they prefer 7...f6. Nevertheless it is probably a positional mistake with long-term consequences.
After ...
8.exd6 Bxd6
... the centre is opening up, but the black c pawns are isolated as well as doubled.
9.Nc3 0-0 10.Ne4 Be7 11.Be3?!
This has been played by a 2232 but is probably a mistake. The engines recommend 11.Re1 or 11.b3, with Komodo12.1.1 giving White a tiny edge but Stockfish14.1 claiming equality.
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| How should Black respond? |
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11...f5!
Black could give up one of the doubled pawns with 11...c4!? 12.dxc4, when the bishop-pair and Black's kingside pawn majority give a fair bit of compensation for a pawn, but the text is better.
12.Nc3
Not 12.Nxc5?? f4 etc.
12...f4?!
This expands with gain of tempo, but White regains the e4 square for the queen's knight, and that is probably more important. Soon Wei Yee (2232) - Oliver Dimakiling (2369), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 2013, saw the superior 12...e5!? White went after the c5 pawn anyway with 13.Na4, when 13...f4!? (the engines slightly prefer 13...c4 14.dxc4 Qc7) 14.Bxc5 Bg4 gave Black lots of pressure for a pawn. White went wrong immediately with 15.Qe2?, when 15...Bxc5 16.Nxc5 Nh4 gave Black a big attack (0-1, 43 moves).
13.Bd2 e5 14.h3 Bf5
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| How would you assess this imbalanced position? |
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Black has activated the light-square bishop, has more space on the queenside, in the centre and especially on the kingside, and has prospects of a kingside attack. But White can plonk a knight on the e4 square, from where it will help defend the kingside and attack the weak c5 pawn. White will also have pressure down the e file against the weak e pawn. The engines reckon White is slightly better.
15.Re1 Bd6
Probably better is the engines' 15...Qd7!?, offering the e pawn. After 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Bd6 Black has the kind of position made for a bishop-pair. Indeed after 18.Re1 Black gets the pawn back immediately with 18...Bxh3! as 19.gxh3?? Qxh3 is hopeless for White. The engines instead reckon 15...Qd7 should be met with 16.Qe2, giving an unclear position but possibly slightly favouring White.
16.Ne4 Bxe4?!
The old rule - if you have a bad bishop, do not exchange your good one - comes into play here. After the text Black is very unlikely to generate a winning kingside attack. However the engines cannot find a good move for Black, eg one suggestion, 16...Be7, holds in the short term but lets White build up against Black's weaknesses.
17.Rxe4 Rf5 18.Bc3 Qf6 19.Qe2 Re8
The engines prefer moves such as 19...Qf7, 19...Rf8 and 19...Nh4, but reckon Black is lost.
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| How should White proceed? |
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20.d4!?
20.Ra4 is also strong, according to the engines, but the text forces an immediate crisis.
20...cxd4 21.Nxd4 Rg5 22.Nf3
Not 22.Nxc6?? Nh4 etc.
22...Rf5 23.Qc4+ Qe6 24.Qxc6
Thanks to the continuing pin along the e file, White can win the exchange with 24.Qxe6+ Rxe6 25.Nd4, although 25...exd4 26.Rxe6 dxc3 27.Rxd6 cxb2 28.Rb1 Rb5 muddies the waters a little.
24...Rc8 25.Qa6 Qd7 26.Rd1 Rc6 27.Qe2 Qe6?
Best is 27...Qc8, according to the engines, although they reckon White is winning easily.
28.Nd4 1-0
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