Pavel Kirs (1585) - Spanton (1895)
Seniors 50+
1.b3/Nimzowitsch-Larsen/Colle-Zukertort/Réti?1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.d4
The opening began as a Nimzowitsch-Larsen but is now much more of a Colle-Zukertort, although ChessBase from move four calls it a Réti. Indeed it is only after ...
5...e6
... that ChessBase categorises the opening as part of the Colle complex.
6.Be2 Bd6 7.0-0 Qe7!?
Hinting at both queenside castling and ...e5.
8.Nbd2 0-0 9.c4 c6 10.Ne5 Ne4 11.Nxe4 Bxe4 12.Bd3!?
This may be a novelty. Seyed Khalil Mousavi (2475) - Kevin Bordi (2288), Chess.com Blitz 2019, went 12.a4 f6 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.f3 Bg6 15.Bd3 Qc7 with equality, according to Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 (but 1-0, 60 moves).
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| How should Black react to White's apparent attempt to hoover pieces off the board? |
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12...Bxe5!?
Part of a plan to end with good-ish knight against a bad bishop. The engines suggest 12...Rad8.
13.dxe5
Not 13.Bxe4? Bxh2+! 14.Kxh2 Qh4+ etc.
13...Bxd3 14.Qxd3 dxc4
Securing a farside pawn-majority.
15.Qxc4 Rfd8 16.Rad1 Nb6 17.Qc1!?
This 'long retreat' prepares Ba3-d6.
17...Rd5 18.Rxd5 exd5!?
Rival pawn-majorities normally favour a bishop over a knight, and here the technically-bad bishop threatens to become active now the e5 pawn is not blockaded.
19.f4!?
Another white pawn on a dark square, but now the white rook can join in the promising-looking white kingside play.
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| Who stands better, and by how much? |
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The position is completely equal, according to the engines. However it is also very imbalanced, making the position tricky to assess and to play - White has kingside attacking chances; Black has queenside counterplay.
19...Rac8 20.Rf3 c5 21.Rg3 d4?!
My originally intended 21...c4 is almost certainly better.
22.exd4 cxd4 23.Qa1?
White is on top after 23.Qd2 or 23.Qd1.
23...Nd5 24.Bxd4?!
The engines suggest 24.Qf1, but have Black well on top.
24...Nxf4 25.Qf1
The engines flick between this and 25.Qd1, but both meet with the same refutation.
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| Black to play and win |
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25...Rc1! 0-1
White could play on with 26.Qxc1 Ne2+ 27.Kh1! Nxc1 28.Rc3, when the threat of back-rank mate means Black wins the knight but is still comfortably losing, according to the engines.
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