It takes place on 10 Wednesday afternoons, the time control being 90 minutes with a 30-second increment.
Sicilian Alapin
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 cxd4 7.cxd4 e6
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| Holding back on the development of Black's kingside pieces for so long is slightly unusual; nevertheless the position occurs 4,444 times in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database |
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8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3
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| Where should Black's queen go? |
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9...Qd7
Most popular in Mega25 is 9...Qa5, when the main line runs 10.h3 Bh5 11.Be3 Be7, with Stockfish17 and Dragon1 reckoning White is at least slightly better.
10.h3!? Bh5
The engines prefer 10...Bxf3!? 11.Bxf3 Nxd4 12.Bxb7, claiming equality after both 12...Qxb7 and 12...Rd8.
11.Be3 Be7
Black should play more actively, according to the engines, with a move such as 11...Bd6.
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| How should White proceed? |
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12.Ne5
The engines reckon 12.g4!? Bg6 13.Ne5 gives White the upper hand.
The engines reckon 12.g4!? Bg6 13.Ne5 gives White the upper hand.
12...Nxe5?
This transforms White's isolani into a space-gaining spearhead at e5. Correct is 12...Bxe2, eg 13.Nxd7 Bxd1 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Rfxd1, when the engines reckon the game is completely equal, although Black's position is probably easier to play. Better for White is 13.Qxe2, with what the engines reckon is a slight edge.
13.dxe5 Bxe2
The commonest move in Mega25 is the blunder 13...Qxd1??, when 14.Bxd1 Bxd1 15.exf6 wins a piece.
14.Qxe2 Nd5 15.Nxd5?!
This is the commonest move in Mega25, but it largely lets Black off the hook. Instead 15.Qg4!? leaves Black without a good answer, eg 15...Nxc3 16.Qxg7! Ne2+ 17.Kh1 0-0-0 18.Qg4 Nd4 19.Rfd1 etc.
15...Qxd5 16.f4
The engines reckon 16.Bf4, and possibly 16.Bd2!?, give a slight edge.
16...0-0 17.Rfd1 Qa5!?
Apparently a novelty, and seemingly better than the known 17...Qe4 and 17...Qc6?
18.b3
Freeing the white queen's rook from defending a2. More promising, at first glance, is 18.Rd7 Bc5 19.Rxb7, but 19...Rfb8 gives Black full compensation for being, at least temporarily, a pawn down.
18...Rfd8 19.Rd2 Bb4 20.Rad1??
A hard-to-explain oversight.
20...Bxd2 21.Rxd2 Rxd2 22.Qxd2 Qxd2 23.Bxd2 Rd8 24.Be3 b6 0-1
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