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| Local colour |
Spanton (2003) - Heinz Wirthensohn (IM 2233)
Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bg7 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 a6!?
The main move in ChessBase's 2026 Mega database is 7...d5, but the text scores 19 percentage points better, and is preferred by Stockfish18 and Dragon1.
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| How should White respond? |
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8.Ba4
The engines prefer 8.Bxc6!? or 8.Bd3.
8...b5 9.Bc2 Nb4 10.Bb3 d5 11.e5 Ne4 12.Nc3!?
Apparently a novelty. William N Watson (2527) - Mladen Muše (2510), Bundesliga (Germany) 2001, went 12.a4 0-0!? 13.axb5 Rb8 14.0-0 Rxb5 15.Be3, with a slight edge for White, according to the engines (but 0-1, 27 moves).
12...Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nc6
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| White has a backward c pawn, but one of Black's advanced knights has been exchanged, and the other has been driven back without loss of tempo, leaving White with a lead in development |
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14.0-0 0-0 15.Be3 Bg4 16.h3 Bxf3!? 17.Qxf3 e6
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| Black has exchanged off his bad light-square bishop, and set up a central pawn-chain on the light squares, but in the process has ceded the bishop-pair |
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18.Qe2
The engines reckon White has a slight edge after 18.g3!?, eg 18...Na5 19.h4 f6 20.Qg4 Qe7 21.exf6 Qxf6 22.Bf4 Rac8 23.Rac1 Nxb3 24.axb3, but they pretty soon come to see the resulting position as equal.
18...Na5 19.Rfb1 Rc8 20.Bd2 Nc4 21.Bxc4
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| How should Black recapture? |
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21...bxc4
The engines reckon 21...Rxc4 completely equalises.
22.Rb4
White has a slight edge after 22.Bc1!?, according to the engines, but after 22...Qa5 23.Qb2 Ra8!? 24.Qb4 Qxb4 25.Rxb4 f6!?, their evaluations suddenly and dramatically diverge, with Stockfish18 calling the position equal, while Dragon1 reckons White is at least slightly better, and may even have the upper hand.
22...Rb8 23.Rab1 Qc7 24.Bc1 Rxb4 25.Rxb4 Rb8 ½–½
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| How would you assess the final position? |
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HW said: "White is slightly better." But the engines agree the game is completely equal. After, for example, 26.Qb2 Rxb4 27.Qxb4, White's queen is more active, but Black has the technically better bishop, and it can be immediately activated with 27...Bf8, without much chance for either side to make progress.
TEAM RESULT
| Bo. | 13 | England 3 | Rtg | - | 9 | SG Riehen Switzerland | Rtg | 1½:2½ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 |
| 2003 | - | IM |
| 2233 | ½ - ½ | |||||
| 5.2 |
| 1950 | - |
| 2034 | ½ - ½ | ||||||
| 5.3 |
| 1921 | - |
| 1962 | 0 - 1 | ||||||
| 5.4 |
| 1903 | - |
| 1938 | ½ - ½ |
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