French Rubinstein
1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3!?
Keeping pieces on the board. The mainline in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database runs 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Bd3 c5 8.0-0 (8.dxc5 is also very popular) cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bc5 10.Nb3 Bd6, which Stockfish15 calls equals, but is a little better for White, according to Komodo13.02.
6...Be7 7.Bd3 b6 8.0-0 Bb7 9.Re1 0-0
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| Both players have castled - how would you assess the position? |
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White has more space in the centre; Black has a powerful light-square bishop. The engines reckon the position is equal.
10.Ne5?!
This has been played by grandmaster Mikhail Al Antipov (2592), albeit at blitz, but may be a mistake. The engines prefer 10.c3 or 10.Bf4.
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| How should Black reply? |
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10...Nxe5!?
This obvious-looking move seems to be a novelty, or at least it does not occur in any of the 18 games to reach the last diagram in Mega23.
11.dxe5 Qxd5
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| Can you find a defence for White? |
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12.Bf1
Probably not 12.f3?! Bc5+ 13.Kh1 Ng4!, but the engines suggest 12.Qf3!? Qxf3 13.gxf3, although giving Black a slight edge.
12...Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Ng4 14.Rd7!?
This seems better than 14.Bf4 g5.
14...Bc5 15.Nh1
The engines slightly prefer 15.Be2!? Bxf2+ (not 15...Nxf2? 16.b4) 16.Kf1 Bxg3 (16...Nxe5!?) 17.hxg3 Nxe5 18.Rxc7, when having the bishop-pair gives White some compensation for being a pawn down and for having doubled isolanis.
15...Nxe5 16.Rxc7 Be4 17.Ng3?!
Probably stronger is 17.Bf4.
17...Bxc2 18.Bf4!?
Stockfish15 reckons 18.Be3 Bxe3 19.Rxc2 is much less worse for White, but Komodo13.02 narrowly prefers the text.
18...Ng4
Possibly stronger - the engines again disagree - is 18...Nd3.
19.h3?
But they agree this is a mistake, preferring 19.Be2 Bxf2+ 20.Kh1 Bf5 21.Nxf5 exf5, after which Black is two pawns up, but has doubled f pawns, while White has the bishop-pair and a rook on the seventh, which give some compensation.
19...Nf6?!
This is good enough for a large advantage, but better is 19...Bxf2+ 20.Kh1 Be3.
20.Rc1 Nd5?
The simple 20...Bg6 maintains a large advantage.
21.Rxc2 Nxf4 22.Ne4
White is a pawn down, but for practically the first time in the game has an initiative.
22...Nd5 23.Rd7 Bd4 24.a3
Possibly better is 24.Rd2 Be5 25.g3.
24...Rfd8 25.Rb7 Rdb8 26.Rd7 Rf8 27.Rb7
Black should probably play on with 27...h6, preventing Ng5, but instead the game saw:
27...Rdb8 ½–½
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