Benidorm (Meliá) U2000: Game Nine

Spanton (1895) - Juan Pablo García Bueno (1778)

Veresov

1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bg5 h6!? 4.Bh4!?

The mainline in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database runs 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.Qf3!? 0-0 8.Nge2 with an equal position, according to Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02. Mikhail Tal - Efim Geller, Candidates (Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean) 1962, continued 8...Re8 9.0-0-0!? b5 10.g4 with an unclear position (0-1, 42 moves).

4...c5!?

This sharp and little-played move is liked by the engines.

5.Bxf6!? gxf6!?

All three games in Mega22 to reach the position after 5.Bxf6!? saw 5...exf6, but the engines prefer the text.

6.e4 dxe4 7.dxc5 f5!?

The engines prefer this over exchanging queens on d1 and over avoiding an exchange with 7...Qa5, which was played against me last month at Brno.

8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.0-0-0+ Bd7 10.g4!?

This looks illogical but is liked by the engines, along with 10.f3.

10...fxg4 11.Nxe4?!

But the correct follow-up, according to the engines, is 11.h3!?, and if 11...gxh3 then 12.Nxh3 with good compensation for a pawn.

11...Kc7

How should White meet the coming threat on the long light diagonal?

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12.f3?

Probably best is 12.Bc4, although Black is at least slightly better.

12...h5!?

Black is on top after this, but probably stronger is 12...Bc6.

13.Bd3?!

White should probably play 13.h3, but Black has a large advantage, eg 13...f5 14.Nc3 g3.

13...Nc6 14.fxg4?!

Opening the long light diagonal for the Black light-square bishop and enabling Black to half-open the h file is very unlikely to be good, but White is in trouble anyway.

14...hxg4 15.Ne2 f5 16.N4c3 Rd8 17.Nd5+ Kc8 18.b4 e6 19.b5!?

White is lost whatever is played.

19...Ne5 20.Ndc3 Bxc5 21.Kb2 a6 22.bxa6 Nxd3+ 23.Rxd3 bxa6 24.h3?!

Probably better, but still losing, is 24.Nf4.

24...Bc6 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 0-1