Spanish Berlin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Bxc6
This is a reasonably popular alternative to 6.Nxe5, after which the commonest continuation in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 6...Be7 7.Bf1!? Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Nf5 11.c3 d5, which Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon slightly favours White.
6...dxc6 7.Nxe5 Be7 8.d4 0-0 9.Nc3!? Nf5 10.d5 cxd5 11.Qxd5!?
All five games in Mega23 to reach the position after 10...cxd5 saw 11.Nxd5, including the only draw in the 1894 match between Carl Walbrodt and Siegbert Tarrasch (the other seven games were won by Tarrasch).
11...c6 12.Qxd8 Rxd8
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| The bishop-pair on an open board helps give Black at least a slight edge, according to the engines |
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13.Nf3
This is the engines' top choice. Certainly not 13.Nxc6? as after 13...bxc6 14.g4 Nd4 15.Rxe7 Nxc2 16.Rb1 Bxg4 White emerges a pawn up.
13...Bb4 14.Bd2 Be6 15.a3 Ba5 16.Rad1 h6 17.Na4
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| How should Black proceed? |
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17...Bxd2
The engines prefer preserving the bishop-pair with 17...Bc7!?, meeting 18.Nc5 with 18...Bd5, when 19.Nxb7?! Rdb8 20.Nc5 Rxb2 gives Black a strong game.
18.Nxd2 b6
VH offered a draw.
19.Nf3 Bd5 20.Ne5 c5 21.Nc3 Bb7 22.Rxd8+!? Rxd8 23.Rd1 Nd4 24.f3 Re8 25.Nc4 Ba6 26.Nd6 Re6 27.Nde4 Bb7
The engines reckon 27...f5 28.Ng3 Kf7 may maintain a slight edge for Black.
28.Kf2 Kf8 29.Rd2 Ke7 30.a4 f5 31.Ng3 g6 32.Nge2 Nxe2 33.Rxe2 Bc6 34.Rxe6+ kxe6 35.f4 a6 36.g3 b5 37.axb5 axb5 38.b3 b4 39.Nd1
Also completely equal, according to the engines, is 39.Na4!? Bxa4 40.bxa4 Kd5 41.Ke3.
39...Kd5 40.Ke2?!
A strange choice when 40.Ke3 is available.
40...Kd4 41.h4!?
Better may be 41.Ne3, but then both 41...Ke4 and 41...Be8!? give Black an edge, according to the engines. However, as should become apparent, the engines may not understand this position.
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| Black to play and win, according to the engines |
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41...Be4
The engines reckon Black is winning after, for example, 41...Bd7, apparently playing for zugzwang, eg 41...Bd7 42.Kd2 Ke4 43.Ke2 Bb5+ 44.Kf2 c4 45.bxc4 Bxc4 46.Ne3 Bb5 47.Nd1 Ba4 48.Ne3 h5 49.Ke2 Bb5+ 50.Kf2 Kd4 51.Nd1 Ba4 52.Ne3 Bc6. However they continue in this vein ad nauseum without being able to make progress, eg 52...Kc3 is a draw after 53.Nd5+, eg 53...Kc4 54.Nb6+ Kb5 55.Nxa4 Kxa4 56.Ke3.
42.Kd2
VH offered a draw in my time.
42..Bf3 43.Nb2 Bc6 44.Nc4 Be8 45.Nd6 Bc6 46.h5?!
Apparently a winning attempt, but the resulting lines seem easier for Black to play.
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| How should Black respond? |
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46...Kd5
Also completely equal, according to the engines, is 46...gxh5!? 47.Nxf5+ Ke4 48.Nxh6 Bd5.
47.Nf7
Not 47.hxg6?? Kxd6 48.g7 Bd5.
47...gxh5+
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| What should White play? |
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48.c4+?
Also bad is 48.Nxh6? as the knight is trapped after 48...Ke6, eg 49.Ng8 Bd5 with ...Kf7 etc to come. However 48.Ne5 seems to hold, as does a king advance to e3 or d3, the point being Black's extra kingside pawn is largely meaningless.
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| Black to play and win |
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48...Ke4?
48...Ke4?
Black wins by diverting the white king with 48...bxc3+, eg 49.Kxc3 Ke4 50.Nd6+ Kf3 51.Nxf5 Kg4 52.Nxh6+ Kxg3 53.f5 bd5 54.f6 Kf4! 55.f7 Bxf7 56.Nxf7 h4, the engines showing the knight cannot intercept the passed pawn.
49.Nd6+ Kf3 50.Nxf5 Bd7
Playing 50...Kg4, which worked in a similar position in the previous note, does not win here, eg 51.Nxh6+ Kxg3 52.f5 Be8 53.f6 h4 (53...Kf4?, a la the previous note, loses to 54.f7 Bxf7 55.Nxf7 as the white king can intercept the passed pawn) 54.Nf5+ reaches the same drawn position that is also reached in the game.
51.Nxh6 Kxg3 52.f5 h4 53.f6 Be8
53...Be6 makes no difference after 54.Nf5+!
54.Nf5+ Kg4 55.Nxh4 Kxh4 56.Ke3 Kg5 57.Ke4 Bf7 58.Ke5 Kg6
Not 58...Bxc4?? 59.bxc4 b3 60.f7 b2 61.f8=Q b1=Q with a tablebase win for White.
59.Kd6 Bxc4 ½–½
*Also transliterated as Grigorian.
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