IN this occasional series I am going through my decisive games of 20 moves or fewer.
Halifax Major 1990
King's Fianchetto Opening
1.g3 g6 2.Bg2 Bg7 3.d4 d5 4.Be3!?
This move does not appear in ChessBase's 2025 Mega database.
4...c5!? 5.Nc3!?
Not 5.dxc5?? Bxb2.
5...cxd4
Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 do not like this, preferring 5...Nc6 or 5...e5!?
6.Bxd4 e5 7.Bc5
 |
| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
7...e4?
The engines reckon Black has an edge after 7...Na6 8.Ba3 d4.
8.Qd2?!
White has a large advantage after 8.Nxd5, according to the engines.
8...Be6 9.0-0-0!? Na6 10.Ba3 Nf6 11.f3 Qb6?!
Probably better is 11...Rc8.
12.fxe4 Ng4?
Best, according to the engines, is 12...dxe4, although they reckon 13.Nh3 gives White the upper hand.
13.Nxd5 Bxd5 14.Qxd5 Ne3??
After 14...Rd8 15.Qxd8+ Qxd8 16.Rxd8+ Kxd8 17.Nf3 White is winning, but there is a long way to go before the position becomes resignable.
15.Qd7#
LESSON: king safety is not a paramount concern in a quiet opening, but if such an opening suddenly becomes sharp, beware.
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