Dama Negra Game Seven

Spanton (1895) - Dani Odriozola Coscolín (1639)

Sicilian Bb5(+)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 d5

Black immediately challenges White' classical pawn-centre. However, Levon Aronian (2765) - Magnus Carlsen (2882), Sinquefield Cup (St Louis) 2019), went 8...d6!? 9.h3 Nd7!? (Komodo13.02 prefers 9...d5!?) 10.Rd1 a6 11.Bxc6!? bxc6, which Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon is slightly better for White, although the game was drawn after 41 moves.

9.e5 Ne4 10.Nc3 Nxc3

White will get a backward c pawn, but will secure d4. The engines suggest 10...Bf5!?

11.bxc3 Na5 12.Bd2!?

Possibly a novelty. Seven other moves feature in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database, of which the engines like most 12.Bd3.

12...Bd7 13.Bd3 Rc8 14.Rab1 b6

This makes ...Nc4 possible, but so does the engines' choice, 14...Rc7.

15.Rfc1

Stockfish15 loves 15.Ng5!? h6 16.Nf3, claiming it gives White the upper hand, but Komodo13.02 reckons the position is completely equal.

15...Nc4

How should White proceed?

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16.Rb4

The engines much prefer preserving the dark-square bishop with 16.Bf4.

16...Qc7

And they reckon Black equalises with 16...Nxd2!?, even though this is swopping a good knight for a bad bishop.

17.Bg5 Be6!?

Probably not 17...e6?!, but the engines like 17...f6, continuing 18.Bf4 Bg4 19.h3 fxe5 20.hxg4 Rxf4 21.Bxc4 dxc4 22.g3 Rff8 23.dxe5 with what they reckon is complete equality.

18.Nd2 Rfe8 19.Nxc4 dxc4 20.Be4 Qd7

The engines again like ...f6.

21.Rd1 Bd5 22.Qf3 e6 23.Rdb1 Qc6 24.Bxd5 Qxd5?

Better is 24...exd5, and if, as in the game, Rb5, Black gets counterplay against the white centre with ...f6.

25.Qxd5 exd5 26.Rb5 h6 27.Be3 Rcd8 28.a4

The d5 pawn is adequately defended for the present, but White can create a second weakness by attacking b6.

28...Re6 29.g3 Rd7 30.a5 bxa5 31.Rxa5 Kh7?!

The king is almost certainly going to be needed in the centre. The engines suggest 31...f6, but reckon 32.f4 keeps a winning advantage.

32.Rbb5 f6 33.exf6 Rxf6 34.Rxd5 Rxd5 35.Rxd5 Ra6 36.Rc5 Ra4 37.Kg2

Black is 'only' a pawn down, but White has a protected passer and the white king is much more active than its black counterpart

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37...g5 38.Kf3 Kg6 39.Kf4 Kf7 40.Kf5 Ra6

Giving up a second pawn, but 40...Bf8 41.Rc7+ Ke8 42.d5 is not significantly better.

41.Rc7+ K88 42.Rxc4 Rf6+ 43.Ke4 a5 44.Rc8+ Kf7

Now another pawn drops.

The game finished:

45.Ra8 Rc6 46.Kd3 Bf8 47.Rxa5 Be7 48.c4 h5!? 49.Bxg5 1-0