Spanton (1858) - Stanislav Sysala (1690)
French Burn
1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.e4 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Nxf6+!?
The main move is 6.Bxf6, when the commonest reply in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 6...Bxf6, although fashionable recently has been 6...gxf6!?, Black accepting a damaged pawn-structure in return for keeping the bishop-pair. The variation with 4...dxe4 is named after Hull's Amos Burn, and the two games in Mega 23 in which he reached the position after 6.Bxf6 saw him recapture with the g pawn, which was normal in the early days of the variation, until supplanted by the bishop recapture.
6...Bxf6
Here 6...gxf6!? makes less sense on the face of it as White has not given up bishop for knight. However it has been played by grandmasters, and scores 51% in Mega23, just one percentage point less than the text, both scores being good for Black.
7.Bxf6 Qxf6
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| After the flurry of exchanges on f6, how would you assess the position? |
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Black has the only developed piece but White has a fourth-rank central pawn against a third-rank one. Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 reckon White may have a slight edge.
8.Bd3!?
Setting a rather transparent trap. The mainline in Mega23 runs 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bd3 c5, which transposes to the game.
8...0-0
Guess how many players in Mega23 fell for 8...Qxd4?? 9.Bb5+ etc?
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None.
9.Nf3 c5 10.0-0 Nc6!?
The engines prefer 10...cxd4, which may have been first played in Gyula Breyer - Savielly Tartakower, Gothenburg (Sweden) 1928. After 11.Nxd4 Rd8 12.Nb5 Nc6 Black was slightly better, according to the engines, although a draw was quickly agreed.
11.dxc5!?
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| How should Black respond? |
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11...Ne5?
Critical is 11...Qxb2, when 12.Bxh7+? Kxh7 13.Ng5+ fails to 13...Kg8! as 14.Qh5 is simply met by 14...Qxc2. Instead Fred Yates - Tartakower, Merano (Italy) 1926, went 12.Qd2 Qf6 13.Ng5 g6 14.Rab1 with a slight edge for White, according to the engines (½–½, 33 moves). Also better than the text is 11...Qe7!?
12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.b4
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| Not only is White a pawn up, albeit a doubled one, but Black has problems completing development |
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13...a5
Both 13...Bd7? and 13...Rd8?? are met by 14.Bxh7+ etc.
14.a3 axb4 15.axb4 Bd7? 16.Rxa8 Rxa8 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qxd7 Qf4 19.Rb1
Not 19.Qxb7? Rb8 etc.
19...Ra2
There is no back-rank mate after 19...Qxb4?? 20.Qd3+ and 21.Rxb4.
20.g3 Qf6 21.Qxb7 1-0
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