Federico Bastianello (2002) - Spanton (1974)
Nimzowitsch-Larsen
1.b3
Pushing the b pawn one square on move one is rarer than one might imagine from its reputation as a 'nuisance' opening. I have faced it 19 times (ignoring casual games), and that number would be a lot lower if I had not had black against Ian Calvert on six occasions. My score of +5=6-8 is a not-very-good 42%. When a sample size is small, I think it is often more relevant to use a merit-points system I devised for comparing opening performance over many years when ratings fluctuate. You score a merit point if you beat someone higher rated, or draw with someone at least 160 elo higher, and a demerit if you lose to someone lower rated, or draw with someone at least 160 elo lower. On those rare occasions when my opponent has the same rating as me, both a merit and a demerit are possible. By this system my score against 1.b3 is 3-4, which again is nothing to shout about.
Black has a wide choice of replies to 1.b3, but I have come to believe there are three main plans:
A) Blockade. Black plays 1...e5 - the most popular move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database - and sets out to blunt the white dark-square bishop, which can be expected to go to b2. This is similar to a common plan against White's kingside fianchetto, ie to play ...d5 and ...c6. A major difference is that ...f6 compromises Black's kingside, and indeed ...f6 is rarely part of Black's plan. The mainline in Mega23 runs 1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 (fighting for the e5 square) Bd6!? 5.Na3 Na5!? 6.Be2!? a6 7.0-0 with an unclear and strategically complicated position.
B) Counterplay. White's first move is about dominating the central dark squares, ie d4 and e5. Black can, as it were, ignore this and play to dominate the central light squares, ie d5 and e4. This is the plan I adopted in the game.
C) Symmetry. Black copies White's moves until the opportunity arises to vary favourably. This is based on the idea that moving second can be advantageous in chess since the opponent has to commit first. It is not very practical to try this against 1.e4 or 1.d4, but it is reasonably popular against the English, and can also be used against the Nimzowitsch-Larsen. The mainline of this system in Mega23 goes 1...b6 2.Bb2 Bb7 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Be2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.c4 c5 8.d4, and now Black usually varies with 8...cxd4, meeting the main recapture 9.Nxd4 with 9...a6!?, although Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon White has a slight edge. Note that Black can maintain the symmetry for at least one more move with 8...d5!?
1...d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Nh4!?
The main move in Mega23 is 5.Be2, but the engines prefer the text, with Stockfish15 claiming it gives White a slight edge (Komodo13.02 disagrees).
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| How should Black reply? |
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5...Bg6
5...Bg6
All four games to reach the diagram in Mega23 saw the text played, but there is something to be said for 5...Bg4!?, as will soon become clear.
6.f4!?
Two of the four players in Mega23 played this. The engines prefer winning the bishop-pair with 6.Nxg6, meeting 6...hxg6 with 7.g3!?, while the strongest of the four players, a 2440, effectively ignored what was happening on the kingside by continuing 6.c4!?
6...Bh5!?
By no means forced, especially as after ...
7.Be2 Bxe2 8.Qxe2
... White has gained a tempo (6.f4!?) on the line 5...Bg4!? 6.Be2 Bxe2 7.Qxe2. However it is by no means certain the tempo is a useful one, although playing f4, to help control e5 and possibly half-open the f file, is thematic in the Nimzowitsch-Larsen.
8...e6
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| There are 15 games with this position in Mega23, and in all but one of them it is Black to play |
*****
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9.d3 Bd6 10.Nf3!?
This stops a quick ...e5, but that is probably not a big threat, eg 10.0-0 e5?! 11.Nf5 justifies White's flanking manoeuvre with the king's knight.
10...Qe7 11.Ne5 Bb4+!?
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| How should White meet the check? |
*****
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12.Nd2
Stockfish15 marginally prefers 12.c3, although Komodo13.02 reckons the text gives White a slight edge.
12...Ba3 13.Bxa3 Qxa3 14.Ndf3 Qb4+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Nd7 18.Nxd7 Kxd7
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| After an interesting opening, the game has quickly liquidated to an unusual ending with all the rooks and pawns still on the board, but nothing else (apart from kings) |
*****
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There are 3,221 examples of this ending in Mega23, meaning it occurs 0.03% of the time. Usually, as far as I can tell from looking at sample examples, the ending arises with at least one half-open file. The absence of such a file makes a draw more likely.
The game finished:
19.g4 h5 20.g5 g6 21.h4 a5 22.a4 Kd6 23.c4 Ra6 24.Kc3 c5 25.e4 dxe4 26.dxe4 Rd8 27.Rad1+ Ke7 28.Rxd8+ Kxd8 29.Rd1+ Ke7 30.e5 Rc6 ½–½
Pimlico Knights won the match 3.5-1.5
Pimlico Knights won the match 3.5-1.5
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