Philip Neatherway (1835 ECF/1804 Fide) - Spanton (1940 ECF/1911 Fide)
Sicilian Accelerated Dragon
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3 d5!?
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| 8...d5!? is the 'new' move I blogged about last month while playing at the world team 65+ championship in Albania |
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9.Nxc6!?
Varying from Neatherway (1806) - Jacques Parry (1596), London Classic Open 2017, which went 9.exd5 Na5 10.d6?!, when the simple 10...Qxd6 would have given Black a slight edge, according to Stockfish17.1 and Dragon1 (they also like 10...Ng4!?).
The main line in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database runs 10.0-0 Nxb3 11.Nxb3 b6 12.Qd2 Bb7 13.Rad1 Qd7, when Black has sufficient compensation for a pawn, according to the engines, but the whole variation is in its (relative) infancy, and a consensus has not emerged as to how White should proceed.
9...bxc6 10.exd5 cxd5 11.0-0!?
After 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Bxb2 Black has at least equalised, according to the engines, and if 12.Bxd5, they reckon both 12...Bxb2!? and 12...Qa5+ at least equalise.
11...Bb7 12.h3!?
This may be too slow. The engines do not agree on how White should play, but they suggest 12.Bd4, 12.Re1 and 12.Na4!?
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| The position after 12.h3!? was also reached in Chinmay Kulkarni (2215) - Dammaraju Gukesh (2320), Aeroflot Open B (Moscow) 2018, but there it was White to play as the game followed a different variation in which Black plays ...d6 and later ...d5 (1-0, 30 moves) |
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12...e5!?
This may be a novelty, and anyway is probably an improvement on the known move 12...Qa5.
13.Bg5
The engines suggest attacking Black's centre immediately with 13.f4!, when their main line runs 13...d4 14.fxe5 dxe3 15.exf6, and either 15...Bh6 or 15...Qb6!?, claiming Black has more than enough for a pawn. Also possible is 13.Bc5, as long as White does not meet 13...Re8 with 14.Ba4?!, when Black has 14...d4! as 15.Bxe8 Qxe8 16.Ne2 fails to 16...Qc6!
13...d4 14.Ne2 Qb6 15.Ng3 Qc6 16.f3 Nd5 17.Bxd5!?
The engines do not like this, preferring 17.Qd2.
17...Qxd5 18.c3 d3!?
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| The d pawn may never queen, but it is unlikely to be endangered either as Black has the only light-square bishop |
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19.Qd2 f6 20.Be3
The engines prefer getting rid of the bishop-pair with 20.Bh6.
20...f5 21.Bf2 h5!? 22.Rfe1 Kh7 23.Nf1 Bh6 24.Be3 f4!?
The engines agree both the text and 24...Bg7!? are better than swopping bishops.
25.Bf2 Rfe8 26.Rad1 Red8?!
This gives away much of Black's advantage, according to the engines. They prefer offering the a7 pawn with 26...Rad8, meeting 27.Bxa7 with 27...g5!?, 27...Rd7 or 27...Qxa2, eg 27...g5!? 28.Nh2 Bg7!? 29.Ra1!? Qa5 30.Bf2 e4!? 31.fxe4 Bxe4, when they reckon Black has a positionally won game.
27.Nh2?!
This does not seem to achieve anything, whereas the engines' 27.c4!? offers counterplay, eg 27...Qd6 28.Qa5, with pressure. Perhaps Black should try 27...Qxc4, but 28,Rxe5 Rd7 29.Qa5 again offers counterplay.
27...a5 28.c4!?
With the same idea as at move 27, but the inclusion of Nh2 and ...a5 favours Back.
28...Qd6 29.Qc3 Bg7 30.Qb3
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| How should Black proceed? |
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30...Rd7
The engines give 30...Rab8!?, and if 31.Ba7, then 31...e4! 32.Bxb8 Rxb8, when Black has obvious compensation for the exchange, and, they reckon, is winning comfortably.
31.c5 Qd5 32.Qxd5 Rxd5
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| How would you assess this queenless middlegame? |
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White's queenside pawns give counterplay, but Black's extra space, bishop-pair and dangerous passer on d3 add up to a winning advantage, according to the engines.
33.Nf1 Ba6
The engines give 33...g5 34.Nd2 g4!? 35.fxg4 hxg4 36.hxg4, after which Black's central pawn-mass is very threatening.
34.Nd2 Rb8 35.b3 a4?!
The wrong plan, according to the engines. They give 35...g5, and if, as in the game, 36.Re4, then 36...g4!? 37.hxg4 hxg4 38.g3!?, awarding Black at least the upper hand after 38...gxf3 or 38...Rf8. Perhaps 36.Nc4 is better, but then 36...a4, among other moves, also gives Black at least the upper hand, according to the engines.
36.Re4 axb3 37.axb3 Bf8 38.Ra4 Bb7?!
Probably better is 38...Bb5.
39.b4
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| White is winning (Dragon1) or at least has the upper hand (Stockfish17.1) |
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39...Bc6 40.Ra7+
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 40.Ra6!?, eg 40...Bb5 41.Ra5 Rdd8 42.Ne4 Kg8 43.Ra7 Bg7 44.Be1!? Ra8 45.Rxa8 Rxa8 46.Nd6 Bc7 47.Rxd3.
40...Kh6 41.Rb1 Rd7 42.Ra6
White is at least slightly better after 42.Rxd7 Bxd7 43.Ne4, according to the engines.
42...Bb5 43.Re6 Re7 44.Rxe7
PN offered a draw.
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| Objectively speaking, should Black accept? |
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Black has the bishop-pair, but White has a connected pair of passed pawns. However, both Black's passer and the white duo are easily blockaded, and the position is equal, according to the engines.
44...Bxe7 45.Kf1?!
But the position is not equal anymore. White should almost certainly have stopped Black taking the open file. After 45.Ra1, the engines reckon the position is completely equal, one sample line running 45...Bc6 46.Ra6 Bd5 47.Ra7 Bf8 48.Rd7 Bc6 49.Rxd3 Rxb4.
45...Ra8 46.Ke1?
Immediate king centralisation is not right in this situation. The engines suggest improving the knight with 46.Ne4, meeting 46...Ra3 (46...Ra2?? 47.Nc3) with 47.Ke1, when they agree Black has a slight edge, but no more.
46...Ra2
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| PN spent about 21 minutes on his next move, thus flouting grandmaster John Nunn's 20-minute rule |
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Nunn wrote in Secrets Of Practical Chess (Gambit 1998): "When analysing a given position, it is fair to say that one almost always sees more in the first five minutes than in the next five minutes. The five minutes after that is even less productive, and so on. I have observed that if a player spends more than 20 minutes over a move, the result is almost always a mistake. The normal decision-making process should not take longer than this, even in fairly complex situations."However, the move my opponent came up with is, for a while, the top choice of Stockfish17.1, although not of Dragon1.
47.c6!?
The engines come to more-or-less settle on 47.Rd1, but continue 47...Ba4 48.Rb1 Bb8!?, eg 49.Ne4 g5 50.g4!? fxg3 51.Bxg3 g4! 52.hxg4 hxg4 53.Bxe5 Re2+ 54.Kf1 gxf3 with what they reckon is a large advantage for Black. Note that 47.Ne4, trying to get the same sort of position as in the line 46.Ne4 Ra3 47.Ke1, runs into 47...Re2+, with fatal consequences whichever way the king moves, eg 48.Kf1 Rc2 49.Ke1 g5, when one line continues 50.Rd1 g4!? 51.hxg4 hxg4 52.Rd2 (52,fxg4? Re2+) Rc1+!? 53.Rd1 Rc4 54.Rb1 g3 55.Bg1 Rc2 56.Nd2 e4! 57.fxe4 Bf6. These are long, and not simple, lines, but the engines' verdict always strongly favours Black.
47...Rc2?!
There is no need for this 'cleverness'; 47...Bxc6 is both simple and good.
48.Bc5!?
This seems White's best try.
48...Bxc5
Apparently much stronger, but also more complicated, is the engines' 48...Bh4+!? 49.Kd1 Ba4 50.Rb3!? e4!? (50...Bxb3? 51.Nxb3, when 51...Bd8 is forced, but 52.Nc1!? completely equalises, according to the engines) 51.fxe4 f3! 52.gxf3 Bg5 53.c7 Rxd2+ 54.Ke1 Bd7 55.b5 Be6 56.Rc3 Rc2!? 57.Bf8+ Kh7 58.Rxd3 Bh4+ 59.Kd1 Rxc7, after which Black is winning on material.
49.bxc5 Bxc6 50.Rb3 Rxc5 51.Rxd3
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| How would you assess this rook-and-minor-piece ending? |
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Black is a pawn up, and has the generally better minor piece for cooperating with a rook, but all the pawns are on one side of the board. Stockfish17.1 for quite some time gives Black only a slight edge, while Dragon1 reckons Black has the upper hand. However, given longer to calculate, the engines reverse their positions, with Stockfish17.1 giving Black the upper hand, but Dragon1 calling White only slightly worse.
51...Bb5 52.Rd6 Rc1+ 53.Kf2 Rc2 54.Rd5 Bc6 55.Rd6 Kg7
Nevertheless, it is one of those positions where the better side can keep probing, knowing there should only be two possible outcomes (short of Black falling for a knight fork).
56.Ke1 Kf7 57.Kd1 Rc3 0-1 (Time)
PN said afterwards he thought White is lost. However, the engines disagree, but only if White plays 58.h4!, when they reckon Black probably has just a slight edge. Other plausible moves seem to lose, eg 58.Ke1 g5!? 59.Kf1 g4!? 60.hxg4 hxg4 61.fxg4 Rc1+ 62.Kf2 Ke7 63.Rd3 Rc2 64.Kg1 e4 etc.
Wessex B won the match 3.5-2.5, finishing 13th of the 30 teams that entered Division Four.
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