Board Three
Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Qb6?!
This is the main move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database - it occurs 225 times in 469 games - but may be a mistake. Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 suggest 6...Nf6.
7.Nc3!?
White can duck out of the complications with 7.Bxc6, but the text is almost certainly stronger.
7...a6!?
The main move in Mega23 is 7...Nxd4, but 8.Nd5 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 gives White huge compensation for a pawn, as in my recent game at the Amateur Chess Organization's world amateur championship in Kos.
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| After 7...a6!? how should White proceed? |
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8.Nd5?!
The engines strongly dislike this move. True it drives the black queen back to d8, but White will then have to spend a tempo moving the light-square bishop, after which Black will be able to grab a share of the centre by hitting the knight. The engines prefer 8.Be2 or 8.Ba4.
8...Qd8 9.Be2 e6 10.Nc3
White's loss of time can be gauged from the fact that in eight of the 10 games to reach this position in Mega23 it is White to move.
10...d5 11.e5 Nge7 12.0-0 Nf5 13.Be3
The engines do not like this, claiming White has an edge after 13.g4!? Nh4 14.Nxh4 Qxh4 f4.
13...0-0
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| How would you assess the position now both sides have castled? |
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It looks like a French Defence, except Black has fianchettoed the king's bishop. The black light-square bishop is bad and White has more space in the centre, but White's centre is under pressure. The engines reckon the position is equal.
14.Qd2 Nxe3!? 15.fxe3 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Rad1
Reinforcing d4 to make it possible to push White's e pawn.
17...Bg7!?
This is the engines' top choice.
18.e4!?
This allows Black to open lines in the centre, which is normally what the player with the bishop-pair wants, but here the issue is complicated by White's lead in development as the player behind in development normally wants to keep lines closed.
18...Qd6?!
It is not clear that opening lines with 18...dxe4 is best, but the text lets White keep lines closed with tempo and gain space into the bargain.
19.e5 Qe7 20.Na4 Bd7!?
The engines prefer this to 20...b5 21.Nb6 Rb8 22.Nxc8 Rbxc8, which they reckon leaves White with the upper hand.
21.Nc5 Rab8?!
Possibly better is 21...Be8, but probably best is 21...Bxe5!?, the point being 22.Nxd7? runs into 22...Bf4, so Black should play 22...Nxe5, although the position is unclear. Stockfish16 gives 23.Rfe1 Nc4 and either 24.Qc3 or 24.Bxc4 dxc4 25.Qc3, in both cases claiming equality. Komodo14.1 suggests 23.Nxb7 Ba4 24.b3 Qxb7 25.Qe3!?, claiming a slight edge for White.
22.Rc1 Nd8 23.Bd3 Rc8 24.Rc2 Bb5!?
Black swops off his bad bishop, while contracting doubled b pawns (and giving up the bishop-pair, but the closed centre hinders the effective deployment of bishops, at least in the short and medium term).
25.Bxb5 axb5 26.Rfc1 Nc6 27.b4 Nd8 28.Rc3 Rc6
The engines are not keen on this, claiming Black is at least equal after 23...Nf7.
29.R1c2 Nf7 30.Qe2 b6?!
Probably better is the engines' 30...Ng5 31.Nxg5 Qxg5.
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| Can White win a pawn? |
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Yes. I rejected 31.Qxb5 because of 31...Rfc8, missing White has 32.Na4.
31.Nd3?
Now Black gets the c4 square.
31...Rc4 32.a3?!
Probably better is 32.Nb2!?, the point being 32...Rxb4?! is met by 34.a3 Rc4 35.Nxc4 bxc4, when the engines reckon Black does not have enough for the exchange. Black can meet 32.Nb2!? with 32...Rxc3 for what the engines assess as equality, but they prefer sacrificing the exchange in another way with 32...Qxb4!? 33.Nxc4 bxc4, when they reckon, if anyone is better, it is Black.
32...Rfc8 33.Qe1 Qc7 34.Rxc4 bxc4
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| Black has gained a protected passed pawn, as in the last note, but without sacrificing the exchange |
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35.Nf4 Qe7 36.Ne2 Ng5 37.Nxg5?!
Probably better is 37.Nd2, but the engines still reckon Black has at least a slight edge.
37...Qxg5 38.Nc3?!
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| The knight may look like a good blockader, but it is unstable, d4 is weak and the white king is exposed, so the engines' 38.Qg3 is probably better |
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38...Bh6 39.Re2 Qf4 40.Qd1 Rf8 41.a4 Qf5 42.Nb5
This allows a pretty finish, but the engines reckon White is the equivalent of being more than a rook down anyway.
42...Be3+! 0-1
FULL TEAM RESULT
England 3 v SK2023
Richard Freeman (1987) 0-1 Jens Kølbæk (2148)
David Tucker (1898) 0-1 Jørgen Jørgensen (2107)
Tim Spanton (1800) 0-1 John Mortensen (2038)
Robert Kane (1723) 0-1 Steffen Cordes (1950)
England 3 v SK2023
Richard Freeman (1987) 0-1 Jens Kølbæk (2148)
David Tucker (1898) 0-1 Jørgen Jørgensen (2107)
Tim Spanton (1800) 0-1 John Mortensen (2038)
Robert Kane (1723) 0-1 Steffen Cordes (1950)
.................................0-4....................................
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