 |
| Popular with chess players? |
Spanton (1889) - Paul Bridges (1754)
Sicilian ...e6
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3!?
There are many more-popular moves but Fischer, Kasparov and Carlsen are among those who have tried the text, so who cares if engines are unimpressed?
3...Nc6 4.Bg2 d6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Qe2
The mainline in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database runs 6.Re1 Be7 7.c3 0-0 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4, which Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon slightly favours White.
6...Qc7!?
The engines prefer 6...Be7 - there are 600 examples of the move in Mega22.
7.c3 e5
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
8.d4!?
There is one example of this positional pawn sac in Mega 22; the engines like 8.Na3.
8...exd4
Qingyu Yuan (2373) - Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627), Chess.com Blitz 2021, saw 8...cxd4 9.cxd4 exd4 10.Na3 Be7 11.Nb5 Qb6 12.Rd1, when 12...Bg4 would have given Black a good game. Abdusattorov played the inferior 12...0-0?, but won anyway.
9.cxd4 Be7?!
Black almost certainly has to play 9...cxd4, transposing to the above-mentioned game. After the text White gets a strong initiative.
10.dxc5
The engines reckon 10.d5 is even stronger, but arguably it is a matter of taste.
10...dxc5 11.Bf4 Qb6 12.Nc3 0-0
The engines prefer 12...Be6 but reckon White is winning (Stockfish15) or at least has the upper hand (Komodo13.02) after 13.Rad1.
13.Nd5 Qa5
Black loses a piece after 13...Nxd5?? 14.exd5.
14.Rfd1
Possibly even stronger is 14.Bc7, eg 14...Qa4 15.b3 Qa3 (15...Qxe4?? 16.Nxf6+ etc) 16.Nxe7+ Nxe7 17.Bd6 Re8 18.Qc2.
14...Bd8 15.Bd2 Qa4 16.b3 Qa3
16...Qxe4?? loses the queen thanks to 17.Nxf6+.
17.Bc3 Nd7
Avoiding a smashed kingside.
18.Ne1!? Nde5
The engines prefer giving up a pawn by 18...Nd4, but agree White is winning.
19.Nc2 Qa6 20.Qxa6 bxc6
 |
| There is no longer any question of a white mating attack, but White retains a large advantage |
*****
*****
*****
*****
21.Nce3 f6 22.f4 Ng6 23.Nc4 Rb8 24.Rac1 Bb6 25.h4 Nge7 26.Kh2!?
The engines reckon there is no need for this safety-first move, but it reduces the odds of accidents.
26...Nxd5!?
The engines at first slightly prefer 26...Be6, although Komodo13.02 comes to favour the text.
27.cxd5 Nd8 28.Re1 Nf7 29.d6 Rd8
 |
| How should White continue? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
30.Re7?
This throws away most of White's advantage. Obvious and good is 30.Rcd1.
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
30....Kf8?
Correct is 30...Nxd6, when 31.Bd5+ can be met by 31...Kf8. Best may be 31.Nxd6, eg 31...Rxd6 32.Re8+ Kf7 33.Rce1, but Black defends with 33...Bd8.
31.Rce1 Nxd6 32.Nxd6 Rxd6 33.Re8+ Kf7 34.h5!?
I thought this led to a mating net, and I was more-or-less right, but simplest is 34.R1e7+ Kg6 35.Rg8 etc.
 |
| How should Black respond? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
34...Re6
The engines agree with my calculations that Black's objectively best chance is 34...Bd8, when I intended 35.Ba5!?, eg 35...Bb7 (35...Bxa5 36.R1e7#) 36.Bxd8 Rbxd8 37.R1e7#.
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
35.Bc6??
White has a simple win with 35.R1xe6 Bxe6 36.Rxb8.
35...Rxe1 36.Rxe1 Bg4?!
PB offered a draw in my time.
The text looks aggressive, but 36...Bb7 is a better way to achieve a draw, although I intended to play on with 37.Bd7.
37.Bd5+ Kf8 38.h6
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
38...Re8??
In the postmortem PB suggested 38...Rd8, but White still has at least a slight edge after 39.hxg7+ Kxg7 40.Re7+.
39.hxg7+ 1-0
No comments:
Post a Comment