Andrew Stone (2153) - Spanton (1965)
Réti1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 d4!?
This is fifth-most popular in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database, but has been played by grandmasters, including Magnus Carlsen.
4.Bg2 Nc6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.e3 Be7 7.exd4 Nxd4 8.Nc3 0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position? |
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The key to the position seems to be the d pawn. If White can get rid of its backwardness by advancing it to d4, White should be doing well. If Black can keep a piece at d4, or at least replace it with a pawn, Black should at worst have the slight disadvantage that comes with moving second.
9.d3 Re8?
This may be a novelty, and not a good one as it flies in the face of the previous note. Better is 9...Nxf3+ or 9...c5, and even 9...Bc5!?, although the latter involves giving up the bishop-pair after 10.Nxd4 Bxd4 11.Ne2!? (or letting White play 12.d4 after 11...Bb6).
This may be a novelty, and not a good one as it flies in the face of the previous note. Better is 9...Nxf3+ or 9...c5, and even 9...Bc5!?, although the latter involves giving up the bishop-pair after 10.Nxd4 Bxd4 11.Ne2!? (or letting White play 12.d4 after 11...Bb6).
10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Be3 Qd8 12.d4 c6 13.Qe2 Qc7 14.Bf4 Bd6 15.Bg5 Be7 16.Rad1 Bd7 17.Rfe1 Rad8
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| How big is White's advantage? |
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Black has no weaknesses per se, but White's extra space gives much greater freedom of movement and makes it harder for Black to get counterplay. Stockfish17 and Dragon1 give White the upper hand.
18.Bf4 Bd6 19.Be5!? Bc8 20.Bxf6!?
The engines reckon this is premature, preferring 20.a3, eg 20...a5 21.h4!? f6 22.f4 Qe7 23.g4!?, awarding White the upper hand.
20...gxf6 21.Ne4 Be7 22.Qg4+ Kh8 23.Qh5 f5
The engines suggest 23...Rg8 or 23...Kg7!?
24.Ng5 Bxg5 25.Qxg5 Qe7 26.Qe3 Qf6
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| Black has beaten off the attack, but at the cost of contracting pawn weaknesses and a very bad bishop |
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27.Rd2 a6!? 28.Red1 Kg7
This may have been a good time to seek to free the light-square bishop with 28...e5!? After 29.dxe5 Rxd2 30.Qxd2 Qxe5 White is obviously better, but only slightly, according to the engines. Alternatively 29.d5 leads to a different sort of play, but again is probably slightly better for White.
29.f4!
The engines agree that this move, making an ...e5 break difficult to achieve, is best.
29...Re7 30.Qa3 Red7 31.Qc5 h5!?
Striving for kingside counterplay.
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| How should White respond? |
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32.h4!?
This is Stockfish17's top choice, and it comes to be Dragon1's, although for quite some time the latter prefers 32.a4. The text prevents ...h4 and fixes the black h pawn on a light square, but is double-edged because it weakens g3.
32...Kh6!? 33.Bf3 Qg7 34.Kf2!? Rg8 35.Rg1 Rgd8 36.Ke3 Rd6 37.Rdd1 R6d7 38.Rg2 Rd6 39.a4 R6d7 40.a5 Rd6 41.Rdd2?!
The engines reckon White keeps the upper hand with 41.Rgg1, and even with 41.Rgd2!?, the point about the latter being 41...Qxg3?? fails to 42.Rg2 Qxh4 43.Qe5 with unstoppable mate.
41...Qf6?!
Missing the chance to more-or-less equalise with 41...f6, when 42...e5 is threatened.
42.Rd3 Qg7 43.Be2 R6d7
The move ...f6 is no longer so effective as the protected state of the white rook on the d file means a quick ...e5 is not threatened.
44.Qe5 Qxe5?!
Probably keeping queens on, as John Carlin (2298) suggested afterwards, is better, although 44...f6 45.Qc5 leaves White with the upper hand, according to the engines.
45.dxe5
The engines slightly prefer 45.fxe5!?
45...Rxd3+?
Much better is 45...c5, with decent chances to hold.
46.Bxd3 c5 47.Rd2 Rg8 48.Kf2 Rd8
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| How should White proceed? |
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49.Rd1
The engines reckon White is winning after protecting the rook with 49.Ke1!? (49.Ke3!? also seems to win), eg 49...Rg8 50.Be2!, when 50...Rxg3?! is met by 51.Rd8, winning the black bishop.
49...Rd4 50.Be2 Rxd1 51.Bxd1 Bd7 52.Ke3 Be8 53.b4!? cxb4?
Black has good drawing chances after 53...Bc6!
The game finished:
54.Kd4 Kg7 55.Kc5 f6 56.Kxb4 fxe5 57.fxe5 f4 58.gxf4 Kg6 59.Bc2+ Kf7 60.Be4 1-0
Battersea defaulted on bottom board, losing the match 5-0.
Battersea defaulted on bottom board, losing the match 5-0.
MY BATTERSEA SEASON 2024-5
DATE.....EVENT...........................COL..RATING..OPP'S RATING..SCORE..SEASON PERF
12/9/24 Central London League W 1933 1886 1 2286
26/9/24 Central London League B 1933 2112 1 2399
15/10/24 Club Championship W 1968 1578 1 2259*
31/10/24 Central London League B 1968 1867 0 2061*
19/11/24 London League W 1957 1991 1 2127*
21/11/24 Central London League B 1957 2035 = 2112*
27/11/24 London League W 1957 1723 = 2056*
12/12/24 Central London League B 1965 2153 0 2018*
*My season's performance is slightly better than this, the point being my win against the 1578 counts as a 1978 performance, which lowers my average despite me winning the game.
A hyper modernist knows that the d4 pawn will advance when the time is right, the ..c8 bishop proves to be a long term problem, RR
ReplyDeleteHow true! But if I had only done better at move nine ...
ReplyDelete