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| Main playing-hall |
FACED my second Czech in the first of today's double-round games.
Spanton (1736) - Petr Malinovský (1987)
Sicilian Accelerated Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Nxc6!? bxc6 7.Bxc4 d6
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| 7...d6 is Black's commonest response to White's somewhat unusual variation |
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8.0-0 Qc7 9.Be3 Nf6 10.h3 0-0 11.Qe2
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| Now White has connected rooks, how should Black proceed? |
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11...Nxe4!?
This may be a novelty. Known moves are 11...Bb7 and 11...Rb8.
12.Nxe4 d5 13.Bd3
Giving up a sound pawn. Perhaps best is 13.Nc5!? dxc4 14.c3, when Black has the bishop-pair as well as being a pawn up, but the extra pawn is doubled and isolated.
13...dxe4 14.Bxe4 Bxb2 15.Rab1 Bg7 16.Qf3 Bd7
Probably not 16...Bb7?! 17.Rxb7! Qxb7 18.Bxc6, but both 16...Ba6 and 16...Be6!? seem viable.
17.Rfd1 Rac8 18.Bc5 Be6!?
Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1 like this.
19.Qa3 Rfe8 20.Rb4 Bd6 21.Ra4!? Bxe4
The engines prefer 21...a5.!?
22.Rxe4 e6 23.Qxa7!?
The engines agree this is best.
23...Qxa7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Rd7 Red8 26.Rxd8+ Rxd8 27.Rc4 Ra8 28.Be3 Rxa2 29.Rxc6 Ra1+
PM offered a draw.
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| How would you assess this rook-and-bishop ending? |
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White's passed pawn may give practical chances, but the engines reckon the position is completely level.
30.Kh2 Be5+ 31.f4 Bf6 32.Kg3 h5 33.Kf3 Ra3 34.Ke2 Rc3?
White has much better chances of using the passed pawn with rooks off the board.
35.Rxc3 Bxc3 36.Kd3 Bb2 37.Ke4?
This gives away White's advantage, according to the engines. The correct plan is to send the king to the queenside via c4 and b5 to gain as much space as possible before the black king gets there.
37...Kf8 38.Bd4 Ba3 39.c4 Ke7 40.Be5 Bc5 41.Bd4 Bd6 42.c5 f5+!? 43.Ke3 Bc7 44.h4!?
Not 44.Be5? Bxe5 45.fxe5 g5, which wins for Black. The text makes Be5 possible, but it is risky putting pawns on dark squares as they can become targets. Having said that, the engines are fine with the move.
44...Kd7 45.Be5 Bd8 46.g3 Ba5 47.Bd4
White seems to be holding the draw after this, but the engines point out 47.Kd4!?, the point being 47...Be1 48.Bf6 Bxg3 49.Ke5 Bf2 50.c6+ draws, as does, according to the engines, 50.Bg5!?, eg 50...Bxc5 51.Kf6 etc.
47...Kc6 48.Ke2 Bb4 49.Kf3 Bxc5
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| What should White play? |
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50.Bf6
The engines show the pawn-ending after 50.Bxc5! is drawn, eg 50...Kxc5 51.Ke3 Kc4 52.Kd2 (amazingly, at least to me, all king moves to the second rank seem to draw) Kd4 53.Ke2 Ke4 54.Kf2 Kd3 55.Kf3 etc, and if 55...Kd4 56.Ke2 e5 then 57.fxe5 Kxe5 58.Ke3 draws.
50...Kd5
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| Stockfish16 reckons the ending is still drawn, but Komodo14.1 gives Black the upper hand |
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I suspect Stockfish16 my be objectively correct, but Komodo14.1's evaluation is more relevant in a practical game between humans.
51.Bg5 Bd4 52.Bh6 Kc4 53.Bg5 Kd3 54.Bh6 Kd2 55.Bf8 Ke1 56.Bh4+ Kf1 57.Ba5 Kg1 58.Be1 Kf1 59.Bb4 Bf2 60.Bc3 Ba7 61.Bb4 Bd2 62.Ba5 Kg1 63.Bd2 Kh2 64.Be1 Kh3 65.Bd2 Bb2
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| White to play and hold the draw |
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66.Be3?
The bishop should stay on the e1-a5 diagonal, preventing progress, eg 61.Be1 e5 (this has to be tried eventually as the black king cannot escape confinement) 62.fxe5 Bxe5 63.Bf2 Bc7 64.Be1, and Black cannot make progress. After the text White is lost.
66...Bc3 67.Kf2
Or 67.Bf2 Bb4, after which either the white king or bishop has to give way.
67...Kg4 68.Kg2 e5
With the black king so much better placed, this push now works.
69.fxe5 Bxe5 70.Bf2 f4 71.gxf4 Bxf4 72.Be1 Bd6 73.Bf2 Be7 74.Be1 Bxh4 75.Bd2
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| A modicum of care is still needed as Black has the wrong-coloured bishop for promoting the h pawn |
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75...Bg5 76.Bc3 Bf4 77.Bf6 Kf5 78.Be7 Be5 79.Bh4 Bf6 80.Be1 g5 81.Bd2 g4
An only-move, but obvious.
The game finished:
82.Be1 h4 83.Bf2 Ke4 84.Be1 Be7 85.Bf2 Bg5 86.Be1 Ke3 87.Bf2+ Ke2 88.Bc5 h3+ 89.Kh1 g3 90.Kg1 Be3+ 91.Kh1 g2+ 92.Kh2 g=Q+ 93.Kxh3 Bxc5 0-1
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