The game featured a sharp line from the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon in the Sicilian, and I think the line is worth a closer look.
It began 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3.
This usually means a Closed Sicilian, but as has been pointed out by many chess instructors, White is not committed to keeping the position closed (although White has ruled out a Maróczy Bind).
I played 2...g6, partly because I had seen in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database that after 2...Nc6 DF 'always' (seven games out of seven) plays 3.Bb5.
Now 3.Bb5 is not something Black should fear, although my record against it is a disappointing +1=0-3, including two losses to much lower-rated opposition.
But it seemed to make sense to deprive my opponent of the ability to play his 'favourite' variation.
He could have stayed in another type of Closed Sicilian with 3.g3, but instead opened the game with 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4.
After the further moves 4...Nf6 5.Nf3 we reached a position occurring 2,722 times in Mega26.
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| The usual Hyper-Accelerated move-order is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 |
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Following 5...Nc6 6.Qa4 the threat of 7.e5, forcing the black king's knight to move, more-or-less obliges Black to play 6...d6.
But 7.e5 comes anyway, and after 7...dxe5 8.Nxe5 the game remains sharp.
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| The position after 8.Nxe5 occurs 1,784 times in Mega26 |
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On three occasions reaching this position I have continued 8...Bd7, which is easily the main move in Mega26.
The drawback is White can immediately win the bishop-pair with 9.Nxd7, and, although I have drawn this position in correspondence play, I lost with it both times over-the-board, albeit against much stronger opposition.
This time I played the gambit move 8...Bg7!?, expecting 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Qxc6+ Bd7, which occurred in Hanna Kyrjebo (1831) - Spanton (2002), Hastings 2014-5.
That game continued 11.Qf3 0-0 12.Bd3 Qb6 13.0-0 Bc6 14.Qe3 Qb7 15.f3 Rad8, with Black enjoying full compensation for a pawn, according to the engines (0-1, 44 moves).
However DF surprised me with 9.Bb5.
Of course this should not have been a surprise, especially as it is the most popular continuation in Mega26.
One of its points is that unless Black reverts to giving up the bishop-pair with 9...Bd7, Black will either have to give up a second pawn or allow some simplification.
The game continued 9...0-0 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bxc6
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| How should Black proceed? |
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I chose 11...Rb8!?, offering a second pawn, and the continuation can be seen here.
It is the main move in Mega26, but the engines marginally prefer the alternative, 11...Bd7.
After 12.Bxd7 they reckon Black should avoid further simplification, which would occur with 12...Qxd7?! 13.Qxd7, and instead play 12...Nxd7, which looks a little retrograde, but the knight will gain a tempo on the white queen with ...Nb6 or ...Nc5, and Black's dark-square bishop has been unmasked.
The engines continue 13.0-0 Bxc3!? 14.bxc3 Nb6, claiming Black has full compensation (Stockfish17.1) or is no more than slightly worse (Dragon1).
Indeed the engines reckon White should meet 11...Bd7 with 12.0-0, when, to avoid serious disadvantage, the engines agree Black has to play 12...Rc8.
Now 13.Bxd7 should be met, they reckon, with 13...Qxd7!?, not fearing the simplification that occurs with 14.Qxd7 Nxd7.
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| How should White proceed? |
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15.Bd2 might seem natural, but is perhaps too passive. After 15...Nb6 (threatening ...Nc4) 16.Rfd1 Rfe8 17.Be1!? Nc4, the engines give Black full equality.
Instead they suggest 15.Nd5!?, when 15...Rfe8?! 16.c3 is good for White.
However 15...Rxc2 16.Nxe7+ Kh8 leaves Black with great activity. A plausible continuation runs 17.Rd1 Ne5!? 18.Nd5!? Rd8 19.Rb1 h6!? 20.h3!? Nc4 21.Ne3 Rxd1+ 22.Nxd1, after which Black remains a pawn down, but has enough compensation (Stockfish17.1) or is only slightly worse (Dragon1).
The conclusion seems to be that the pawn-sacrifice 8...Bg7!? is a dynamic and fully viable alternative to giving up the bishop-pair with 8...Bd7, even though White retains a slight edge in many lines.
There is certainly much left to explore in the resulting positions.
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