New London
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 Bd6 4.Bxd6
The mainline in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database runs 4.Bg3 Nf6 5.Nd2 0-0 6.Bd3 c5 7.c3 Nc6 8.Ngf3 b6 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.f4!? Ne7 11.Qf3!? Nf5 with equality, according to Komodo14.1, but with a slight edge for Black, according to Stockfish16.
4...cxd6!?
Much more popular in Mega23 is 4...Qxd6, after which 5.Qg4!? g6 does not do Black's remaining bishop any favours.
5.c4
5.Qg4!? is also possible here. The engines agree Black is fine after both 5...g6 and 5...Kf8!?, but are not so sure about 5...Nf6.
5...Nf6 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Bxc4
 |
| How should Black continue? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
7...d5!?
This gives Black an equal share of the centre, but strong players have tended to prefer castling. The point, presumably, is that after ...
8.Bd3
... the position is symmetrical, apart from White having the better bishop. The engines agree White is therefore slightly better.
8...Nc6 9.Rc1 0-0 10.Nf3 Bd7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Ne8
Possibly better is the engines' 12...Ne4!?, and if 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Bxe4 then 14...Qa5+ 15.Qd2 Qxe5. White can try 15.Rc3!?, when 15...Qxe5?! is probably good for White after both 16.Bxh7+ and 16.Bxb7. However Black has 15...Bb5 and 15...Rfd8, both with sufficient compensation for a pawn, according to Stockfish16, although Komodo14.1 disagrees.
13.h4!?
 |
| How should Black meet White's aggressive play? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
13...f5
The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 13...Rc8 (Stockfish16) or 13...f6 (Komodo14.1).
14.g4
The engines much prefer 14.Qb3 or14.Ne2!?
14...f4
Here they suggest 14...Bc6 or 14...d4!? with maybe an edge for Black.
15.Qc2
This looks natural, but withdrawing the bishop, for example to b1, is the engines' choice.
 |
| What should Black play? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
15...fxe3!
Seeking to open lines to the white king. If 15...g6 or 15...h6, the engines reckon 16.Qd2!? gives White an advantage.
16.Bxh7+?!
Black only has a slight edge after 16.fxe3 Qc7, according to the engines.
16...Kh8 17.fxe3 Qb6
 |
| How should White meet the threat to e3? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
18.Rh3
This comes to be Stockfish16's top choice, at least for a while, although Komodo14.1 prefers 18.Ke2. The latter can be met by 18...d4, so eventually both engines agree 18.Qd3!? is best, but also agree Black is winning after 18...Qxb2.
18...Bb5?
Black is winning after 18...d4 19.exd4 Qxd4, according to the engines. Certainly there is no doubt who has the more vulnerable king.
19.Nxb5 Qxb5 20.Bd3
The engines reckon this is an only-move.
20...Qb4+ 21.Qd2 Qxg4 22.Rh1?
White is winning after 22.Qe2!, according to the engines, thanks to 22...Qxh3? losing to 23.Qh5+ Kg8 24.Bh7+ Kh8 25.Bg6+ Kg8 26.Qh7#. Better is 22...Qxe2+ 23.Kxe2, but the engines reckon White is winning easily, mainly due, I believe, to the difficulty of getting the knight into play, eg 23...Rf7 24.Bg6 Rd7 can be met by 25.h5 Kg8 26.h6 gxh6 27.Rch1, when Black's exposed king and lack of piece-coordination is disastrous. So the engines suggest 22...Rf4!, eg 23.exf4 Qxh3, when Qh5+ no longer leads to mate, but they agree White has a large advantage.
22...Qg3+ 23.Kd1 Rf2?
The engines like 23...Qxe5.
 |
| White to play and win |
*****
*****
*****
*****
24.Be2
Missing the stunning 24.Qxf2! Qxf2 25.Rf1, when the threat of Rf8# forces Black to play 25...Qxf1. After 26.Bxf1 the engines reckon White is winning, again largely, I presume, because of the restriction of the knight, eg 26...g6 is met by 27.Bd3, when 27...Kh7 is hit by 28.h5, and 27...Kg7 runs into 28.Ke2 followed by Rg1.
24...Qxe5 25.h5 Nd6 26.h6 g5 27.Qc3!?
Wisely baling out into a pawn-down ending.
27...Qxc3 28.Rxc3 Ne4 29.Rc7
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
29...Rxe2?
Despite first appearances, this does not win a piece. Best, according to the engines, is 29...Raf8 with a large advantage, and if White should regain his missing pawn with 30.Rxb7 then 30...Rxe2! does work.
30.Kxe2 Ng3+ 31.Kf3 Nxh1 32.Kg2 Rf8 33.Kxh1 Rf6 34.Rxb7
The engines reckon White equalises with 34.Kg2 Rxh6 35.Re7!, eg 35...Kg8 36.Kg3 Kf8 37.Rxb7.
After the text Black has ...
34...Rxh6+ 35.Kg2 Rh7
...when the black king activates.
36.Rb8+
Note that 36.Rxh7+?? loses by a tempo after 36...Kxh7 37.b4 Kg7 38.b5 Kf7 39.a4 Ke7 40.a5 Kd6 41.b5 axb6 42.a6 Kc7 etc.
36...Kg7 37.b4?
Correct is 37.a4 Kf6 38.a5 with good drawing chances, eg 38...Rc7!? (best try, according to the engines) 39.b4 (39.a6? Rc6) a6 40.Rb6 Rc4 41.Rxa6 Rxb4, when White's passed a pawn seems to give enough counterplay.
37...Kf6 38.a4 Ke5?!
Almost certainly better is 38...Rh4.
39.b5?
39.a5 seems better, but still losing.
39...Kd6?
Winning is 39...Ke4.
40.a5 Rc7 41.a6 e5 42.Kf3 Rd7 43.b6 axb6 44.Rxb6+ Kc5 45.Rg6 e4+ 46.Ke2 Rc7 47.Kd2 g4!? 48.Ke2
Also drawing is 48.Rxg4.
The game finished:
48...g3 49.Kf1 Kc4 50.Rd6 Kd3 51.Rxd5+ Kxe3 52.Ra5 Kf3 53.Rf5+ Ke3 54.a5 Kf3 55.Rf5+ Kg4 56.Ra5 Rf7+ 57.Kf1 Ra7 ½–½
FULL TEAM RESULT
Israel v England 3
Israel v England 3
Nathan Birnboim (2357) 1-0 Richard Freeman (1987)
Malkiel Peretz (2158) = David Tucker (1898)
Moshe Gal (2106) = Tim Spanton (1800)
Abir Har-Even (1980) 1-0 Robert Kane (1723)
Malkiel Peretz (2158) = David Tucker (1898)
Moshe Gal (2106) = Tim Spanton (1800)
Abir Har-Even (1980) 1-0 Robert Kane (1723)
.....................................3-1................................
No comments:
Post a Comment