Spanton (2011) - Stanisław Tomalak (1750)
Philidor/Pirc
1.Nc3 Nf6 2.d4 d6 3.e4 Nbd7 4.f4 e5!?
 |
| Technically the opening is considered to come under the Pirc banner, but the idea of playing ...e5, while allowing White to deprive Black of castling rights, is common in the Philidor, although the Philidor arises after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6, usually ruling out an early f4 |
*****
*****
*****
*****
5.dxe5!?
Theory considers 5.Nf3 a more promising way of trying for a significant advantage.
5...dxe5 6.fxe5 Nxe5 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8
 |
| There are 356 examples of this position in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database - who stands better, if anyone, and by how much? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
Both Stockfish17 and Dragon1 reckon the position is equal - indeed Stockfish17, at least for a time, has Black 0.04 ahead. I guess the point is that losing castling rights is not such a big deal with queens off the board, and Black has a slight lead in development, while White has an isolated pawn.
8.Bf4
This is the most popular continuation in Mega25, but the strongest players have tended to prefer 8.Bg5 or 8.Nf3.
8...Bd6 9.0-0-0 Ke7 10.Nf3!?
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
10...Nxf3!?
Dragon1 at first regards this as a mistake, while Stockfish17 is happy enough with it. However, given enough time, both engines come to award White a slight edge, whereas they reckon winning the bishop-pair with 10...Nd3+! keeps the game equal.
11.Bxd6+ cxd6 12.gxf3 Bd7
The engines suggest 12...Be6!?, and if 13.Nb5 then 13...Rhd8 or 13...d5.
13.Bg2!?
A 'mysterious' bishop move, but there really is not a great alternative destination for White's light-square bishop.
13...Rhd8 14.Rhe1 Bc6
 |
| What should White play? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
15.Nd5+?!
White is at least slightly better after 15.Rd4 or 15.f4, according to the engines.
15...Bxd5
More-or-less forced, but good.
16.exd5+ Kf8 17.Re2?!
Stockfish17 suggests getting the bishop on on decent diagonal with 17.Bh3, while Dragon1, with a similar idea in mind, prefers 17.Bf1!?
17...Re8 18.Rxe8+ Rxe8 ½–½
I could not justify playing on. White's only decent move, according to the engines, is 19.c4, although they reckon that leaves Black with the upper hand (Dragon1) or at least a slight edge (Stockfish17), while they reckon every other move gives Black a positionally won game.
No comments:
Post a Comment