Czech Seniors Open Championship Round Five

Olomouc holds an annual flower festival, and the city is home to a rosarium and other floral displays 

Spanton (1852) - Jiří Řehák (1749)

1.Nc3

1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4

How should Black respond to White's unusual opening?

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4...d5?!

This natural-looking gain-of-space in the centre may be a mistake. The mainline in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database runs 4...Nf6 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd4 Be7 8.e4 with at least a slight edge to White, according to Stockifsh15, although Komodo13.02 calls the position more-or-less equal. Also popular is 4...Bc5 5.Nf5!? Qf6 6.e4 Nge7 7.Ne3 d6, when the engines give White at best a slight edge.

5.Bf4!?

This is difficult to meet, eg 5...Bd6 can be answered by 6.Nxd5 or 6.Bxd6 Qxd6? (6...cxd6 is better, but very good for White after 7.Nxd5) 7.Ndb5 Qd8 8.Nxd5. Most popular in Mega22 is 5...a6, but 6.e4 seems strong, eg 6...Nf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Qd4!

5...Nxd4 6.Qxd4

White's lead in development is positionally decisive, according to Stockfish15, although Komodo13.02 gives White 'only' the upper hand

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6...c6 7.e4 Nf6 8.exd5 Bd6!?

Best, according to the engines, is 8...Nxd5, but White is well on top, eg 9.0-0-0 Be6 10.Bc4 Nb6 11.Nb5! Qxd4 (11...cxb5 12.Bxb5+ Nd7 13.Rhe1 is overwhelming) 12.Nc7+ Ke7 13.Rxd4 Rd8 14.Bg5+ f6 15.Rxd8 Kxd8 16.Nxe6+ and Bxf6. An interesting try is 8...Be6, taking advantage of the pinned d pawn, but the engines reckon 9.Bc4 wins.

9.Qe3+

White has several pleasant choices but the engines agree this is best.

9...Kf8

Not 9...Qe7? 10.Bxd6 nor 9...Be7? 10.d6 nor 9...Kd7? 10.dxc6+ bxc6 11.0-0-0.

10.Bxd6+!?

Best is probably 10.dxc6.

10...Qxd6 11.dxc6 bxc6

The engines prefer 11...Bg4!?, eg 12.Be2 Bxe2 13.Nxe2 Re8, but White is a pawn up with play not all that dissimilar from the game.

12.Rd1 Qe7 13.Qxe7+ Kxe7 14.Be2 Rhe8 15.0-0 Rab8 16.b3 Be6 17.Rfe1 Kf8 18.h3!?

White's is advantage is so great - Black has no real counterplay - that it is possible to take time out to cover the g4 square and protect against back-rank mating accidents.

18...Bf5 19.Rd2 Ne4 20.Nxe4 Bxe4 21.Red1 Bd5 22.c4 Be6 23.Bf3 c5?!

The engines' 23...Rb6 may be better as after the forcing ...

24.Bc6 Rec8 25.Bd7

... the engines reckon Black has nothing better than ...

25...Rc7 26.Bxe6 fxe6

Now ...

27.Rd8+ Rxd8 28.Rxd8+ Ke7 29.Ra8

... brings about a rook-and-pawn ending.

How would you assess this ending?

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Not all rook-and-pawn endings are drawn, and this one certainly is not as Black's three isolanis, together with being a pawn down, add up to an easy win for White.

The game finished:

29...Kd6 30.Kf1 Re7 31.Ke2 Kc6 32.Rd8 Kc7 33.Rd3 a5 34.Ke3 Rf7 35.f4 Rf8 36.Ke4 a4 37.Rg3 g6 38.h4 Kc6 39.Rd3 h5 40.Rg3 Rf6 41.bxa4 1-0