Catalan
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0- 0-0 6.c4 c6
The mainline in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database runs 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4!? 12.Qc1 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Rd1 a5!? 15.Nbd2 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 with maybe a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish15.1 and Komodo14.1.
7.b3 Nbd7 8.Ba3!?
The main move is 8.Bb2.
8...Bxa3 9.Nxa3
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| Black's better bishop has been exchanged, but the white queen's knight is awkwardly placed |
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9...Qa5
The main move in Mega23 is 9...Qe7, while Boris Spassky preferred 9...b6 in a 1967 draw against Paul Keres.
10.Nc2 b6
This may be a novelty. Known moves are 10...dxc4 and 10...Ne4.
11.Re1 Bb7 12.b4 Qa4 13.c5 Ne4 14.Qd3 Qa6?!
I rejected 14...Ba6 because of 15.Qb3, but the engines reckon Black is slightly better after 14...a5.
15.a4 Qxd3 16.exd3 Nef6
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| How would you assess this queenless middlegame? |
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White's greater space and lead in development more than offset the minor irritant of doubled d pawns, according to the engines.
17.Ne5 Rab8?!
SL praised this in the postmortem, but it is strongly disliked by the engines, which give 17...Nxe5 18.dxe5 Nd7 19.d4, albeit preferring White.
18.a5 Nxe5?!
This too is disliked by the engines. Komodo14.1 suggests 18...b5?! (Stockfish15.1 strongly disagrees, and probably rightly) 19.a6 Ba8, claiming Black is only slightly worse. However, Black's light-square bishop is permanently out of the game, and Stockfish15.1 reckons White is winning. The latter engine suggests 19...bxa5 20.Rxa5 a6, but gives White the upper hand.
19.dxe5 Nd7
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| How should White proceed? |
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20.axb6
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 20.cxb6!? axb6 21.a6 with what they reckon is a positionally won game. Stockfish15.1 also likes 20.a6!?
20...axb6 21.d4 Ra8 22.Bf1!?
This comes to be the engines' top choice.
22...b5 23.f4 Rxa1
Black seems to be in big trouble after 23...Ra4?! 24.Rxa4 bxa4 25.b5 or 25.Ra1.
24.Rxa1 Ra8 25.Rxa8 Bxa8 26.g4 f5!?
The engines prefer 26...Nb8 or 26...Bb7.
27.gxf5!?
The engines prefer 27.exf6, claiming Black has the upper hand.
27...exf5
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| Can you find a winning try for White? |
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28.Bd3
The engines suggest 28.Ne3 g6 29.Nxd5!? cxd5 30.Bxb5, awarding White a slight edge. One line runs 30...Nb8 31.Ba4 Nc6 32.b5 Nxd4 with a difficult-to-assess position. The engines reckon White should continue with 33.c6 or 33.Kf2, after which Komodo14.1 is at first more enthusiastic than Stockfish15.1 about White's position, but gradually their evaluations reverse, although both continue to give White more-or-less a slight edge.
28...g6 29.Kf2 Nf8 30.Ke3 Ne6 31.h4 Bb7 32.Be2 h6 33.Ne1 ½–½
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