4NCL Final Weekend: Game Three

PLAYED on board three (of six) for Wessex B against Shropshire & Friends in division four of the Four Nations Chess League today.

Richard Bryant (1912 ECF/1835 Fide) - Spanton (1976 ECF/1937 Fide)

Max Lange Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.0-0 Nf6 6.e5

The first four games to reach this position in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database were won by Max Lange with white

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6...d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6

This is the main move, but Dragon1 prefers 8...Kf8!?

9.Ng5!?

Lange - Eugen von Schmidt, Magdeburg 1853, went 9.fxg7 Rg8 10.Ng5 Qe7?! (probably better is 10...Qd5) 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Qh5+ Kd7 13.Bh6, when material is level, but Dragon1 and Stockfish17 reckon White is winning (1-0, 23 moves).

9...Qd5
Not 9...Qxf6? 10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.Qh5+ and 12.Qxc5.

10.Nc3!? Qf5

Not 10...dxc3?? 11.Qxd5 as the e6 bishop is pinned.

11.Nce4 0-0-0

Probably not 11...gxf6?! 12.g4!? Qg6 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Nxc5.

12.Nxe6

The main line in Mega25 runs 12.g4!? Qe5!? (12...Qd5? 13.fxg7 Rhg8 14.Nf6) 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.fxg7 Rhg8 15.Bh6 d3 16.c3, with at least a slight edge for White, according to the engines.

12...fxe6 13.fxg7?!

White should probably transpose to the previous note with 13.g4!? Qe5 (forced) 14.fxg7.

13...Rhg8 14.Bh6?!

More common is 14.Nxc5 Qxc5, and now 15.Bh6 or 15.Qg4.

The engines suggest an apparent-novelty, 14.Ng3!?, but reckon 14...Qf6 leaves Black with the upper hand.

How should Black proceed?

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14...Bb4!?

How should White respond?

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15.Qf3!?

This is not satisfactory for White, but it seems there is no good answer.
Csaba Papp Zoltán (2350) - Zoltán Schlusnik (2265), Hungarian Team Championship 1998, saw 15.Re2 Qg6 16.a3 d3 17.cxd3 cxd3 18.Re3 Qxh6 19.axb4 Qxg7, with a winning advantage for Black, according to the engines (0-1, 35 moves).

Petr Buchníček (2270) - Stanislav Marek (-), Slovak Championship (Prešov) 1997, went 15.Ng3 Qg6, after which White faces ruinous material loss (0-1, 24 moves).

Both 15.Bd2 and 15.Nd2 can be met by 15...c3, again with a winning position for Black.

15...Qxf3 16.gxf3 Bxe1 17.Nf6?!

This probably makes matters worse. Best, according to the engines, is 17.Rxe1, when Black has several strong moves, including 17...Rfd8!?

17...Ne5 18.Nxg8 Rxg8 19.Bf4 Nxf3+ 20.Kf1

Or 20.Kg2 Nh4+ 21.Kh3 (21.Kg3 Nf5+) Ng6.

20...Bd2!? 21.Bg3 Bh6 22.Ke2 Ng5

Black is knight and pawn up, and about to win a second pawn

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23.Be5 Bxg7 24.Bxg7 Rxg7 25.Rg1 e5 26.h4 Ne6 27.Rxg7 Nxg7 28.Kf3 Kd7 0-1

Wessex B won the match 4-1 (Shropshire & Friends suffered a -1 penalty for defaulting late on bottom board).