Sujan Nargund (1480 Fide/1580 ECF) - Spanton (1858 Fide/1919 ECF)
French Tarrasch
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 a6!?
There are five much-more popular moves in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database. The text first appears in a 1948 game, but was later tried by, among others, Mikhail Botvinnik.
4.Ngf3 c5
One of the ideas behind 3...a6!? is to play ...c5 without allowing the reply Bb5+.
5.exd5 exd5 6.Be2
A little-more popular in Mega23, but less successful percentage-wise, is 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nb3 Bb6 8.Bd3 Qe7+ 9.Qe2, with White maybe having a slight edge, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1.
6...Nc6
The main move in Mega23 is 6...c4!?, but 6...Nf6 and the text are also popular.
7.c3!?
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| 7.c3!? may be a novelty, but has a drawback, as will become clear, although the position after it has been reached 14 times in Mega23 via other move-orders |
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7...Nf6 8.0-0 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bd6
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| The pawn-structure is more-or-less equal, but the black queen's knight and king's bishop are better placed for it than their white counterparts |
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10.Re1 0-0 11.Nb3!?
Ukrainian grandmaster Yuriy Kryvoruchko played 11.Nf1 in a 2008 rapid game, but the engines prefer the text.11...Ne4 12.Bd3 Re8 13.a3!?
Presumably played so Qc2 cannot be met by ...Nb4.
13...Bg4
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| How should White proceed? |
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14.Be2?!
Although this is the third time the white king's bishop has moved, breaking the pin on the king's knight seems a natural thing to do. The engines suggest 14.Be3.
14...Qf6
The other obvious queen move, 14...Qc7, can be met by 15.g3. Black is better after both moves, but the engines point out the strength of 14...Bxf3! 15.Bxf3 Bxh2+ 16.Kxh2 (less damaging, according to the engines, is 16.Kf1!?, but that leaves Black up a pawn and with a continuing attack) Qh4+ 17.Kg1 Qxf2+ 18.Kh2 Qg3++ 19.Kg1 Nf2 with very strong play.
15.h3?!
Another natural-looking move, but again it allows a strong sacrificial combination, and this time I find it.
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| Black to play and win |
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15...Bxh3!
The start of a double-piece sacrifice.
16.gxh3 Qg6+ 17.Kh1??
This allows mate-in-one. Critical is 17.Kf1.
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| Position that would arise after 17.Kf1 |
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I had planned 17...Nxf2! (the engines reckon 17...Qf5 is also good) 18.Kxf2 Qg3+ 19.Kf1 Qxh3+, after which, materially, Black only has three pawns for bishop and knight, but the attack is winning, eg 20.Kg1 Qg3+ 21.Kf1 Re6 22.Qd3 Qh3+ 23.Kf2 Bg3+ 24.Kg1 Bxe1 25.Nxe1 Rg6+ 26.Kf2 Qh4+ 27.Ke3 Qg5+ 28.Kf2 Qg1+ 29.Kf3 Qg3#.
The game finished with a much quicker mate:
17...Nf2#
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