1.Nc3/Owen's Defence/Hippopotamus
1.Nc3 e6 2.d4 b6 3.e4 Bb7 4.Bd3 Ne7
Probably not 4...f5?! 5.exf5 Bxg2?! 6.Qh5+ g6 (6...Ke7? Qg5+ and Qxg2) 7.fxg6 Bg7 (7...Nf6? 8.g7+ Bxh1 9.Qxh7) 8.gxh7+ Kf8, after which 9.hxg8=Q+?! is most popular in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database, but Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 reckon White should get on with development, eg 9.Nf3!? Nf6 10.Qh4 Bxh1 11.Ne5!, as in Michael Yeo (2170) - Arnold Mundal (1937), European Team Senior Championship, Dresden 2013, which finished quickly: 11...Nc6 12.Bg5 Qe8 13.Bxf6 Nxe5 14.Bxg7+ Kxg7 15.dxe5 Qf8? 16.Qg5+ 1-0.
5.Nf3 g6 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.Qd2 h6 8.Be3 d6 9.0-0-0!?
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| As is fairly well-known, it can be dangerous to castle early in closed positions, and while this position is not closed it is certainly not open either - however Black cannot easily castle kingside without losing the h6 pawn, so I decided castling long was OK |
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9...Nd7 10.h4 a6
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| Black's setup with fianchettoed bishops and the knights on d7 and e7 is known as the Hippopotamus - the engines reckon White is slightly better |
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11.Rhe1 Nf6 12.Nh2
Not just preventing ...Ng4, but also preparing kingside expansion.
12...Qd7 13.Kb1 b5 14.f3 0-0-0
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| How would you assess the position now both sides have castled? |
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White's extra space gives more manoeuvring room, and the white king is probably safer, but pieces and pawns are yet to come into action and there are lots of ideas available to both players. The engines reckon White has the upper hand.
15.g4 h5 16.g5 Ne8 17.f4?!
The engines much prefer 17.Ne2 or 17.Be2.
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| Black to play and at least equalise, according to the engines |
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17...Kb8
The engines give 17...d5!?, and if, as happens in the game next move, it is met by e5, then 18...c5!? seems to work as 19.dxc5!? runs into 19...d4, although this is not completely clear after 20.Be4 Bxe4 21.Nxe4 dxe3 22.Qc1. Instead of 18.e5, which is liked by Komodo14.1, albeit with the intention of meeting 18...c5!? with 19.a3 or 19.Bf1, Stockfish16 gives 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5, but claims Black is slightly better (Komodo14.1 reckons the position is equal). Some of the lines are quite sharp, and especially seem so after the quiet start to the game, but 17...d5!? seems promising.
18.Qf2 d5 19.e5 Nc6
Not 19...c5? 20.dxc5 d4 as White has 21.Be4.
20.Bd2
To discourage ...Na5.
20...Bf8
Black can play ...Na5 as a positional pawn sacrifice, but 21.Nxb5 Nc4 22.Nc3 almost certainly leaves Black with insufficient compensation.
21.Nf3 Ng7 22.Ne2 Rc8 23.Nc1 Nb4!? 24.Bxb4 Bxb4 25.c3 Be7 26.Nb3 Qc6!? 27.Na5 Qb6 28.b4 Bc6 29.Qe2 Bd7
Threatening to relieve some of the pressure with 30...c5!
30.Nb3 Rhd8 31.Kb2 c6 32.Ra1 Rc7 33.a4 Ra7 34.Ra2 Rc8?!
Probably better is 34...Kc7, meeting 35.Rea1 with 35...Rda8.
35.Rea1 Rcc7 36.Nc5 Kc8
Not 36...Bxc5? 37.dxc5 Qb7 38.axb5 etc.
37.Nd2 Kd8 38.Ndb3 Bc8 39.Na5 Ke8?!
The engines reckon Black should play something like 39...Bd7, but reckon White is positionally winning. The text allows a combination.
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| White to play and win |
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40.Nab7?
Very strong is 40.Nxc6!, eg 40...Rxc6 41.axb5 Rcc7 42.Na4 and 43.b6. Other moves, for example 40.Ra3, maintain White's pressure.
40...Raxb7!?
If 40...Bxb7? then 41.a5 traps the black queen, although after 41...Qxc5 it is not clear if White can break through, But better than the text, which allows White an extra option, may be 40...Rcxb7 41.Nxb7 Bxb7, which is a transposition to the game.
41.Nxb7
White may have an edge after the engines' 41.axb5!? Rb8 42.Nxa6 Bxa6 43.Rxa6 Qb7 44.bxc6 Rxc6 45.Ra7 Qc8 46.Ba6.
41...Rxb7 42.a5 Qd8 43.Qc2 Nf5 44.Bxf5 exf5 45.Re1 Be6 46.Raa1 ½–½
The engines reckon Black has the upper hand, but there seems no way for Black to break out of the pawn-chain.
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