PLAYED today.
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| Tower of St George's Church, Jesmond |
Spanton (1949 ECF/1852 Fide) - Zak Tomlinson (1893 ECF/1767 Fide)
1.Nc3
1.Nc3 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
This is the main move in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database, ahead of 4...Bc5, 4...Nxd4 and 4...Bb4.
5.Bg5
5.e4 transposes to the Scotch Four Knights; the text keeps the game in independent lines.
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| How should Black respond? |
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5...Be7?!
5...Be7?!
This is the second-most popular continuation in Mega22 and has been played by grandmasters, but is probably a mistake. Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 prefer 5...Bb4, which is the commonest move. After 6.Nxc6 the engines reckon 6...bxc6 7.Qd4 Qe7 and 6...Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 bxc6 may give White a slight edge.
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| White to play and gain a sizeable advantage |
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6.Nf5!?
An easy move to miss, but now White has the upper hand, according to the engines.
6...0-0
Dmitry Andreikin (2720) - Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2710), World Blitz Championship (Berlin) 2015, saw 6...Rg8?!, when the engines reckon 7.Nxe7 Qxe7 8.Qd2 is positionally winning. The game went 7.e3 d5 8.Nxe7 Nxe7 9.Qd4 Be6 10.0-0-0 (1-0, 31 moves). Stockfish15 gives best-play as 6...h6!? 7.Nxg7+ Kf8 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.Nh5 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qg5 11.Ng3 d6, albeit giving White the upper hand. Komodo13.02 fluctuates between the text, 6...h6!? and 6...d5!?
7.Nxe7+ Qxe7
7...Nxe7 8.Bxf6 gxf6 is not an improvement.
8.Nd5 Qe5 9.Nxf6+!?
The engines strongly prefer 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.e3.
9...gxf6 10.Bh6 Re8
Possible is 10...Qxb2 as 11.Bxf8?? loses to 11...Qc3+ etc. However 11.Rb1 Qc3+ 12.Bd2 leaves White with the bishop-pair and safer king - more than enough compensation for a pawn, according to the engines.
11.e3 d6
The engines prefer this to 11...d5. Note that 11...Qxb2?? is a blunder thanks to 12.Qg4+ and 13.Qg7#.
12.Bd3!?
Continuing to offer the b pawn. The engines prefer the more-cautious 12.c3.
12...Ne7
12...Qxb2!? 13.0-0 f5 looks risky but Komodo13.02 reckons it may give Black a slight edge, although Stockfish15 disagrees.
13.0-0 Ng6
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| How should White continue? |
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14.f4!?
Offering a pawn that can be captured with check. In return White gets the f1 rook into play and threatens to gain space with f5. The move briefly becomes Stockfish15's top choice, but the engine quickly switches to 14.b3 or the odd-looking 14.Rc1!? Komodo13.02 likes 14.c3 and also 14.Rc1!? One line given by them after 14.Rc1!? runs 14...f5 15.b3 Bd7 16.Qf3 Bc6 17.Qh3, but I am still none-the-wiser about the point of Rc1. Note that in this line 17.Qxf5 can be met by 17...Qxf5 18.Bxf5 Bxg2!, when Black is fine.
14...Qxe3+
The pawn has to be accepted.
15.Kh1 f5
Forced, as Black has to stop the white f pawn advancing further.
16.Qh5 Qe6 17.Rf3 Bd7 18.Raf1 f6 19.Rg3 Qf7
The engines reckon 19...Kh8 gives a roughly equal game.
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| White to play and win |
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20.Bxf5
I rejected 20.Bc4! because of 20...Be6 (20...Qxc4?? allows a quick checkmate after 21.Rxg6+) 21.Bxe6 Rxe6 (21...Qxe6?? 22.Rxg6+ similarly leads to mate) 22.Qxf5, thinking White has little. But White's threats continue, eg the engines reckon Black has to try 22...Kh8, but 23.Qb5 is very strong, and if then 23...c6 White has 24.Qb4, when 24...f5 25.h4 Rg8 26.Re1 is winning as 26...Rxe1+ 27.Qxe1 leaves Black too vulnerable on the long dark diagonal.
20...Bxf5 21.Qxf5 Kh8
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| Black's last move was forced, but the weakness of the black king means White still has an advantage |
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22.Qd3
The engines reckon 22.Qh5 is best, but the text also keeps Black under pressure.
22...Rg8 23.Qd4?!
But this seems to let the advantage slip. Best may be the consolidating 23.b3.
23...Nf8?!
Both 23...Ne7 and 23...Rae8 give Black what looks to be a decent game.
24.Rxg8+ Kxg8 25.f5 Nd7 26.Rf3 Kh8 27.Rg3 Rg8 28.Rxg8+ Kxg8 29.h3
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| ZT offered a draw as he played ...b6 - how would you assess the ending? |
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A queen often does better with a knight than with a bishop, mainly because a queen and knight complement each other while there is duplication with a queen and bishop. But that is largely irrelevant here as as Black's king is chronically weak. According to the engines Black should have grabbed a pawn with 29...Qxa2!?, although they favour White after 30.Qc3.
29...b6? 30.c4?!
This is enough for an advantage, but more convincing is the engines' 30.Qg4+ Kh8 31.Qe4, when the threat of 32.Qa8+ cannot be satisfactorily met, eg the desperate 31...Nb8 32.Qb7 Qe8 gets a draw by perpetual if White plays the greedy 33.Qxc7?, but 33.Bd2 or 32.Bf4 leaves Black unable to defend both the c and a pawns.
30...Ne5 31.b3 a5
Possibly better is 31...Qe8, although play would be similar to the game.
32.Qe4 Qe8 33.Kh2 c6?!
The engines suggest 33...Qc8!?, but Black is passive, and the engines agree White is better, eg 34.g4!? Nf7 35.Bf4 Qd7 36.Kg3!?, when Black is not immediately losing but White has the better pawn-majority, is more active and has the safer king.
34.Qe3 Qd7?!
Not 34...Ng4+?? 35.hxg4 Qxe3 as White has the backward-bishop capture 36.Bxe3. However almost certainly better is 34...Qh5 35.Qg3+ Kf7 36.Qg7+ Ke8 37.Qg8+ Kd7 38.Qxh7+ Kc8 39.Qh8+ Kb7 40.Qg7+ Kc8, but 41.Be3 is winning, according to the engines.
35.Qxb6 Qxf5 36.Qd8+ Kf7 37.Qf8+ Kg6
Not 37...Ke6?? 38.Qe8#.
38.Qg7+ Kh5 39.g4+ Nxg4+ 40.hxg4 Qxg4 41.Qxg4+ Kxg4 42.Bd2 (1-0, 54 moves).
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