Board Four
Bird's Opening
1.f4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.d4!?
This was played by Savielly Tartakower in the stem game at Berlin 1920, and continues to be popular, but the main move in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database is 4.Be2.
4...cxd4 5.exd4 Nf6
Tartakower's opponent, Paul Leonhardt, preferred 5...d6, and the game continued 6.Bd3 Qb6!? 7.c3 Nh6!? 8.0-0 0-0 9.Kh1 Bf5 10.Bxf5 gxf5!? 11.Qe1 with maybe a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1, although their evaluations fluctuate (1-0, 50 moves).
6.Bd3 Nc6 7.c3 d5 8.0-0 0-0
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| There are 87 games with this position in Mega23 - who stands better? |
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White has more kingside space, thanks to the pawn at f4, but that pawn is helping make the white dark-square bishop bad. Black has the long-term plan of a queenside Minority Attack, but in the short-term White can hope to generate kingside attacking chances. The engines reckon the position is equal.
9.Qe1
More popular in Mega23 are 9.Ne5 and particularly 9.Nbd2.
9...Bf5!?
The engines quite like this. The point is that, as in the Tartakower-Leonhardt game, after ...
10.Bxf5 gxf5
... Black has control of e4 and has shut in White's remaining bishop. On the other hand Black's kingside pawn-structure has been broken up.
11.Ne5 e6 12.Nd2 Qe7 13.b3 Nxe5!?
The engines reckon Black is at least equal after 13...Rfc8.
14.dxe5!?
The engines prefer 14.fxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4, when Black is in big trouble after 15...fxe4? 16.Qg3 (or 16.a4). Instead they reckon 15...dxe4 may give White a slight edge.
14...Qc5+ 15.Qf2?
White had to play 15.Kh1.
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| How should Black proceed? |
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15...Qxf2+
This is enough for a slight edge, but winning is 15...Qxc3! I rejected it because of 16.exf6?! Qxa1? 17.fxg7, which after 17...Rfc8 is completely equal, according to the engines. I missed that Black has 16...Bxf6!, threatening to win the white queen with 17...Bd4. After 17.Nf3 Qxa1 18.Ba3 Qc3! (only move) 19.Rc1 Qd3 20.Bxf8 Kxf8 the position is still quite sharp, but Black is two pawns up and should win, according to the engines.
16.Rxf2 Ne4 17.Nxe4 fxe4 18.Be3 f6 19.Bd4 fxe5 20.fxe5 Rxf2 21.Kxf2 Rf8+ 22.Ke2 a6
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| After a flurry of exchanges, the game has reached a rook-and-bishop ending - how would you assess it? |
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The white e pawn is weak but White has a 2-1 kingside pawn-majority and can create active play in the centre with 23.c4, or 23.Rd1 with c4 to come. White also has the more-active king, and these factors combine to offset Black's protected passed pawn, according to the engines, which reckon the position is completely equal.
23.Rf1?
But this causes White problems.
23...Rxf1 24.Kxf1 Kf7
Restraining White's queenside by 24...b5?! allows complete equality with 25.Kf2, according to the engines.
25.c4
Probably not 25.g4?! as then Black does have time for 25...b5.
25...Kg6 26.g4 dxc4
Not 26...Kg5 27.h3 Kf4? as White wins with 28.cxd5, eg 28...exd5 29.e6 Bf8 30.Bf6.
27.bxc4 Kg5 28.h3 Kf4 29.Kf2 Bf8
Not 29...Bxe5?? 30.Be3#.
30.a4 Be7
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| How can White save the game? |
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31.Be3+! Kxe5 32.Kg3
The point of White's positional pawn sacrifice: White gets to activate his kingside majority.
32...Bb4 33.Kh4?
Correct is 33.h4 or 33.Kf2.
33...Kf6?
The engines show there were two winning moves: 33...Be1+ and 33...b6!? After 33...Be1+ 34.Kg5 Black has 34...Bg3!, eg 35.h4 h6+! 36.Kxh6 Bf4 etc, while 33...b6!? threatens 34...Bc5, and if 34.Bxb6 Black has 34...Kf4 etc.
After the text the game virtually never varies from complete equality.
34.Kh5 Bf8 35.h4 e5 36.Bb6 Ke6 37.Be3 Kf7 38.g5 Bb4 39.Kh6 Kg8 40.g6 Bf8+
Not 40...hxg6?? as the white h pawn is too strong.
41.Kg5 Be7+ 42.Kf5 hxg6+ 43.Kxg6 Bxh4 44.Kf5 Bg3 45.Kxe4 Kf7 46.Kd5 Ke7 47.Bc5+ Kd7 48.Bd6 Bh2 49.Bb8
Also drawing is 49.Bxe5.
49...Bf4 50.Bd6 Bh2 ½–½
FULL TEAM RESULT (England 2 had white on odd boards)John M Quinn (2077) ½–½ Hans Singer (FM 2144)
Geoffrey H James (2082) 1-0 Lambert Danner (1967)
Brian Valentine (1907) 0-1 Wolfgang Weinwurm (2049)
Tim Spanton (1850) ½–½ Ferdinand Strobel (FM 1952)
Match drawn 2-2.
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