Spanton (1937) - Francesco Liloni (2165)
Spanish Exchange
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Bg4!?
This is the chief alternative to exchanging queens.
7.Be3!?
The main line in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database runs 7.Qxd8+ Rxd8 8.Nbd2 (two games in Mega25 saw 8.Ne5??, but only one featured the reply 8...Rd1#) Nf6 9.Ne5, with an equal position, according to Stockfish17 and Dragon1.
7...Nf6
More popular is 7...Bxf3!?, damaging White's pawn-structure but giving up the bishop-pair.
8.Nbd2 Qxd4!? 9.Nxd4 0-0-0 10.f3 Bd7
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| How would you assess this position, which occurs 85 times in Mega25, but always with Black to move? |
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With Black to move, the engines reckon the position is completely equal; with White to move, they also reckon the game is equal, but marginally prefer White.
11.Kf2!?
Emanuel Lasker was fond of developing his king like this in the Exchange Variation of the Spanish.
11...c5 12.Ne2 Be7 13.Rhd1!? h5 14.Bg5? Ng4+!
I had seen that 14...Nxe4+?? was a blunder as White recaptures with the queen's knight, but I missed that Black has this other check.
15.fxg4 Bxg5 16.Nf3 Bf6
It may be 16...Be7 is slightly better, so White does not have the move e5 with tempo.
17.gxh5?
Correct is 17.e5. True, 17...hxg4 18.exf6 gxf3 19.fxg7 fxe2?! 20.gxh8=Q? loses to 20...exd1=N+!, but White improves with 20.Rxd7! Kxd7 21.gxh8=Q Rxh8 22.Rh1!?, after which White will regain the lost pawn and have the better of the rook-and-pawn ending. Black in turn can improve with 19...Rh6, gaining a slight edge (Dragon1) or at least the better part of equality (Stockfish17).
17...Bxb2 18.Rab1 Bf6 19.Ng3 Bg4 20.h3!?
Encouraging Black to take the doubled pawn, but at the cost of giving up the bishop-pair. The engines reckon Black gets at least the upper hand after 20...Bxh5 21.Nxh5 Rxh5, but agree it is better to withdraw the bishop.
20...Bd4+?? 21.Rxd4 cxd4 22.hxg4
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| Black's blunder has not only lost two pieces for a rook, but the two pieces were powerful bishops, and the resulting position is not favourable for getting rooks into action |
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22...c5 23.Nf5 Kc7!? 24.a4
There is no point in helping Black activate with 24.Nxg7?! Rdg8 25.Nf5 Rxg5.
24...g6!?
This is the engines' top choice.
25.hxg6 fxg6 26.Ne7 Rhe8 27.Nd5+ Kb8 28.Nf6 Re6 29.e5 Kc7 30.a5 c4!?
This comes to be the engines' top choice.
31.Rd1 b5
The engines suggest 31...g5 and 31...Kc8!? The latter sets a trap in that 32.Rxd4? Rxd4 33.Nxd4 Rxe5 gives Black the open lines the remaining rook wants.
32.axb6+ Rxb6
Not 32...Kxb6 33.Rxd4 Rxd4 34.Nxd4 Rxe5? as White has 35.Nd7+.
33.Rxd4 Rxd4 34.Nxd4
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| The passed a pawn apparently gives Black hope, but White's passed d pawn is also dangerous |
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34...Kd8 35.Ke3 a5 36.Nd5 Rb1!?
The engines agree this is best, even though it costs the a pawn. The point is 36...Ra6 can be met by 37.e6, when the threat is 38.e7+ Ke8 39.Nc7+, forking king and rook.
37.Nc6+Kd7 38.Nxa5 Rc1 39.Kd2 Rg1 40.Ne3 Ke6 41.Naxc4 (1-0, 63 moves)
*At one point there were 51 entries, including two international masters, but only 35 people turned up.
I always find it frustrating when the final moves of an annotated game are missing. The win may be trivial to some but many of us like to see how a won game is brought to an appropriate conclusion and the attempts of the loser to avoid defeat are frustrated.
ReplyDeleteFair point. I usually stop at the point where the loser carrying on (often me) is getting embarrassing. In future I will publish the full score, even if the final moves are unannotated.
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