Spanton (1974) - Alvin Kissoon (1951)
Nimzowitsch Defence
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3!?
This is much more popular in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database than the 'obvious' 2.d4.
2...d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 5.d5 Nb8
Magnus Carlsen has played the text. Komodo13.02, but not Stockfish15, prefers 5...Ne5 6.Nxe5 dxe5, although reckoning both 7.f3 and 7.Be3!? (the latter is not in Mega23) give White the upper hand.
6.h3!?
This somewhat slow play seems OK in this position which, if not closed, is not open either. The idea is to restrict the black light-square bishop. Garry Kasaprov in a 2015 blitz game preferred 6.Be2.
6...Bg7 7.Be3 a5!?
I hesitate to call this a novelty as it would be surprising if it had not been played before, but the move is not in Mega23. Pushing the a pawn two squares allows the queen's knight to be redeveloped via a6, and prepares a queenside attack in case White castles long. However the move is not liked by the engines, which prefer 7...c6 or 7...0-0.
8.Qd2 Na6 9.Bh6 0-0 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.Qd4!? e5
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| How should White respond? |
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12.Qe3?
This throws away most of the advantage White has built up thanks to Black's somewhat unorthodox opening play. Better is 12.dxe6, when AK in the postmortem said he intended 12...Nb4 followed by hitting the queen with 13...Nc6. After the text Black has a good King's Indian formation in which the bad black dark-square bishop has been exchanged and White's queenside counterplay is yet to develop. The engines reckon the position is equal.
12...h6 13.Be2 Nb4
The engines prefer attacking White's centre with 13...c6.
14.Rc1
And here they reckon White should take the plunge with 14.0-0-0.
14...Nh7
Perhaps 14...Nh5 is more in keeping with the King's Indian theme.
15.a3 Na6 16.0-0 f5 17.Bxa6!?
Uncramping the white kingside, but the engines prefer 17.exf5.
17...f4 18.Qd3 Rxa6 19.Nh2
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| How would you assess the position? |
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Unclear was my verdict during the game. Stockfish15 reckons Black has a positionally won game, while Komodo13.02 for quite some time rates the position as completely equal, before switching to giving Black a slight edge.
19...g5 20.Qe2
This implies 18.Qd3 may have been a waste of a tempo, but it is not clear 20.Qe2 is necessary, eg White could initiate queenside play with 18.Nb5.
20...Qe8?!
The engines much prefer getting the knight back into play with 20...Nf6.
21.Nb5 Qf7 22.Qc4?
Much better is 22.c4.
22...c5
This snuffs out White's queenside play as 23.dxc6?? drops the queen, but even stronger, according to the engines, are 22...Bd7 and 22...Nf6, one point being 22...Nf6 23.Nxc7?! can be met by 23...Rc6!
23.Qe2 Bd7 24.c4 Bxb5?!
A rule-of-thumb in King's Indian-type positions is Black's kingside attack cannot succeed without the light-square bishop, so the bishop should probably have been left on c8, at least in the short term, and almost certainly not swopped for a knight that looks to have nuisance value but can hardly help its king.
25.cxb5 Raa8 26.Rc3 b6 27.Rfc1 Nf6 28.Nf1
25.cxb5 Raa8 26.Rc3 b6 27.Rfc1 Nf6 28.Nf1
The knight heads for c4.
28...a4 29.b3!?
This may be premature. The engines suggest 29.Nd2, and if 29...Qd7 then possible is 30.b3!? axb3 31.Rxb3, allowing 31...Ra4 to be met by 32.Nc4.
29..axb3 30.Rxb3 Ra4 31.Rc4 Rfa8 32.Rxa4 Rxa4 33.Nd2 Qa7?!
This is probably a waste of time as the queen cannot stay on the a file in the long term. Instead 33...Rd4 is hard to meet, eg 34.f3?! Qa7 wins for Black, according to the engines, one line running 35.Rd3 Qa4 36.Rxd4 Qxd4+ 37.Qf2 Qc3 38.Nb1 Qb3. White seems to need to find 34.Rd3!? - equal, according to Stockfish15, but Komodo13.02 gives Black the upper hand.
34.Nc4
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| The white knight protects a3 and, indirectly, e4, while attacking b6 and d6, giving White an advantage |
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34...Ne8 35.Rc3 Qc7 36.Qg4 Nf6 37.Qf5 Ra8 38.f3 Rf8 39.Qe6 Ne8 40.a4 Qd8 41.Ra3?
Too slow. White has a large advantage after 41.a5.
41...h5
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| How should Black's threat to trap the white queen be met? |
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42.h4?
Both engines give 42.Nxb6! Qxb6 43.Qd7+ as equal, eg 43...Kh8 44.a5 Qc7 45.Qxc7 Nxc7 46.Rb3 Rc8 47.b6 Na6, after which neither side can apparently make progress. Stockfish15 also gives 42.a5!? Rf6 43.axb6 Rxe6 44.dxe6 as equal, an assessment which Komodo13.02 comes to agree with after being shown the line.
42...gxh4??
Losing, whereas 42...g4 43.fxg4? Rf6 traps the queen, forcing White to instead sacrifice the knight on e5, d6 or b6 for inadequate compensation.
43.a5 bxa5
Or 43...Rf6 44.Qh3, when Black again has to deal with the double attack on b6.
44.Rxa5 Rf6 45.Ra7+ Kh6 46.Qg8 Rg6 47.Rh7+ Kg5 48.Qh8 1-0
*Battersea won the match 3-2.
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