Spanton (1915) - Michał Nisztuk (1696)
Spanish Berlin
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Qe2!?
This is fourth-most popular in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database, behind 4.Nc3, 4.d3 and especially 4.0-0.
 |
| How should Black respond? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
4...Bc5!?
It is Black's ability to develop the king's bishop actively, without worrying about a quick d4 (after c3), that has been cited as the drawback to White's fourth move. The point is that with the queen having left the d file, a d4 thrust requires extra preparation. Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 also like 4...Bd6!?, when the main line in Mega26 runs 5.c3 0-0 6.d3 (the point here being that 6.d4?! runs into 6...exd4 7.cxd4 Nxe4!) Re8, with an equal game, according to the engines.
5.Bxc6!?
 |
| How should Black recapture? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
5...dxc6?!
Recapturing with the d pawn in the Spanish is so common that it can become 'automatic', but here it is probably a mistake. After 5...bxc6 6.Nxe5 Qe7, Judit Polgár (2630) - Jan Smejkal (2510), Olympiad (Moscow) 1994, went 7.Nd3 Ba6!? 8.Nc3 0-0 9.b3!? Rfe8 10.f3 Nd5! 11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.Bb2 dxe4 13.fxe4 Qxe4 14.Qxe4 Rxe4+, with the upper hand for Black, according to the engines (but ½–½, 41 moves).
6.Nxe5 Qd4
The engines prefer the less-popular, albeit from a small sample size, 6...Qe7, but again the answer is 7.Nd3, when there is no ...Ba6 available.
7.Nd3 Bb6
The blunder 7...Nxe4?? has been played, but loses to 8.Nxc5.
8.Nc3 0-0 9.0-0?!
The engines suggest 9.f3, when Francisco Vallejo Pons (2707) - Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2689), World Blitz Championship (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) 2017, continued 9...Re8 10.b3 c5 11.Bb2 c4!? 12.Nf2!? Nd5!? 13.Na4, with a winning advantage for White, according to the engines, although the game was drawn. The engines also like an apparent-novelty in 9.a4!?, the idea being to play 10.f3 after 9...a5.
9...Bg4
The engines reckon 9...Re8!?, which has been played in two games between unrateds, gives equality.
10.Qe3 Qd7
The engines prefer 10...Rfe8!?, which was played in Nitai Leve (2128) - Ivan Ivanišević (2606), Chess.com Blitz 2021, although they reckon 11.Rfe1 would have given White the upper hand. Instead the game went 11.Qf4? Nxe4! 12.Qxg4 Nxc3 13.Qxd4 Ne2+, leaving Black with what the engines reckon is a winning advantage (but 1-0, 86 moves).
11.Qg3 Nh5!? 12.Qh4 Nf6
Black has nothing better, but the engines reckon the waste of time with the knight has not harmed Black much (Black was already in a bad way).
13.Ne5 Qe6 14.Nxg4 Nxg4 15.d3 Bd4?!
But this achieves nothing. Much better is 15...f5.
16.h3 Ne5 17.Ne2 Bc5
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
18.Nf4
The engines like 18.Qg3, but not 18.d4?! Qc4.
18...Qd7 19.Be3 Be7 20.Qg3 Bd6 21.d4 Ng6 22.e5 Be7 23.Nxg6!?
The engines are OK with this, but it offers Black practical chances, so 23.Rad1 was more prudent.
23...fxg6!?
Taking with the h pawn is marginally preferred by the engines, but half-opening the f file is a very human thing to do when a pawn down.
24.Rad1 Rf5 25.Rd2 Raf8 26.Rfd1 Rh5!? 27.Qg4 Qd5 28.b3
Preparing c4.
28...b5 29.Qe2 Bb4 30.Rd3
There is nothing wrong with 30.c4.
30...Be7 31.Rc1 Rhf5 32.c4 bxc4 33.bxc4 Qe4
 |
| What should White play? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
34.Rf1
This stops Black's threatened 34...Rxf2! But even stronger is 34.f3! as 34...Rxf3!? 35.gxf3 Rxf3 is not as dangerous as it looks at first sight, eg 36...Rg3+ is not much of a threat as it can be met by 37.Kg2.
34...c5 35.f3 Qb7!?
This is best, according to the engines, even though it allows ...
36.Rb3
... after which Black's attacking chances are negligible.
36....Qa6 37.g4 R5f7
The engines prefer 37...cxd4!?, but after 38.gxf5 dxe3 39.Qxe3 gxf5 40.Rb2 White is the exchange up and has a powerful passed pawn.
38.d5 Rd8
Threatening 39...Rxd5!
39.Re1 h5 40.Kg2 Qa5!?
The engines do not mind this, even though it allows ...
41.Rb5 Qa6 42.Bxc5
... which only goes to show how bad Black's position was anyway.
... which only goes to show how bad Black's position was anyway.
42...Bg5?!
It is objectively better to swop bishops as Black has no satisfactory answer to White's next.
43.e6
The attacked rook does not have a good square available.
43...Rf4 44.Be3 Bh4!? 45.Bxf4 Bxe1 46.Bxc7!? Re8 47.d6 Bh4 48.g5 Kh7!? 49.e7 Qc6 50.Qe4 Qa6!? 51.Qxh4 Qxa2+ 52.Qf2 Qxc4 53.Rb8 1-0
No comments:
Post a Comment