World Senior Teams Round Four

Spanton (England 2 - 1850) - Luigi Santolini (2178)

Board Four

French McCutcheon

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Bd2 Bxc3 7.bxc3!?

This is considerably more popular than 7.Bxc3, after which 7...Ne4 8.Bb4 c5!? 9.Bxc5 (9.dxc5? Nxf2!) Nxc5 10.dxc5 Qc7 is equal, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1

7...Ne4 8.Bd3!?

The mainline in ChessBase's 2023 Mega database runs 8.Qg4 g6 9.Bd3 Nxd2 10.Kxd2 with a slight edge for White, according to Stockfish16, although Komodo14.1 calls the position equal.

8...Nxd2 9.Qxd2 c5 10.Nf3 c4!?

Much more common in Mega23 is 10...Nc6, but the engines prefer the committal text.

11.Be2 Bd7 12.0-0

Now White has castled, how would you assess the position?

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Black has more queenside space and no weak pawns, but a bad bishop. White has more central space, but queenside weaknesses. White's bishop is technically good, but has little scope. Komodo14.1 reckons the position is completely equal, but Stockfish16 gives Black a slight edge.
12...Bc6!? 13.Ne1 Nd7 14.f4 g6 15.Qc1!?

This may be a novelty. Known moves are 15.g4!?, which is Stockfish16's top choice, and 15.Rf3, which was played by a 2210 but is not liked by either engine.

15...Qe7 16.Qb2 Nb6 17.Qb4 Na4 18.Qxe7+ Kxe7 19.Rf3

Now queens are off the board, how would you assess the position?

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The essential features of the pawn-structure have remained the same as in the previous diagram. It is perhaps easier for Black to organise play on the queenside than it is for White to do so on the kingside. The engines reckon Black has the better side of equality.

19...b5 20.Rb1 Rab8 21.Re3 Rb6 22.Nf3 Rhb8 23.a3 h5 24.Nd2 a5 25.Kf2 b4 26.axb4 axb4 27.cxb4 Rxb4 28.Rxb4 Rxb4 29.Ra3!?

It is important to activate the rook, especially as 29.c3? loses a pawn to 29...Rb2 30.Ke1 Rc2 etc.

29...Rb2 30.Bd1 c3?!

A quieter move such as 30...Kd7 seems to maintain equality.

31.Nf3 Bb5 32.Ne1 Kd7 33.Be2 Kc6 34.Ra1 Bxe2 35.Rxa4

White is at least slightly better after 35.Kxe2, according to the engines.

35...Kb5 36.Ra1?

Correct is 36.Ra3 Kb4 and then 37.Ra1, with an equal position.

36...Bg4 37.Ke3 Bf5 38.Rc1?

Horrible passivity. Even worse is 38.Nd3+? Rxc2 39.Rb1+ Ka4, but counterplay with 38.Ra7 offered more hope.

38...Kc4 39.h3

Not 39.Nd3? Bxd3 40.cxd3+ Kb3.

39...Be4 40.g4 h4

White is in zugzwang

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The game finished:

41.Nf3 Bxf3 42.Kxf3 Kxd4 43.Rd1+ Kc4 44.Rc1 d4 45.Ke4 Rxc2! 46.Rxc2 d3 47.Ra2 c2 48.Ra4+ Kb3 49.Kxd3 c1=Q 50.Re4 Qf1+ 51.Kd4 Kc2 52.Re3 Qxf4+ 0-1

FULL TEAM RESULT (Italy had white on odd boards)

Carlos Garcia Palmero (GM 2410) 1-0 John M Quinn (2077)

Roberto Messa (IM 2289) ½–½ Geoffrey H James (2082)

Mario Cocozza (FM 2226) 1-0 Brian Valentine (1907)

Luigi Santolini (2178) 1-0 Tim Spanton (1850)

Italy won 3.5-0.5.

Chess Evolution: The French Defence (part six)

WORLD champions have a strong influence on opening trends, so Lasker's use of 4.Bg5 against the Classical: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 made a big impression on contemporaries.

He played the move three times in his 1908 world championship match against Tarrasch, scoring two wins and a draw.

Here is their third encounter:

Emanuel Lasker - Siegbert Tarrasch

World Championship 1908 Game 11

French McCutcheon

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5

Lasker in his career also played 4.e5, 4.Bd3 and (once) 4.exd5, but the text was overwhelmingly his most-common response to the Classical.

4...Bb4

Tarrasch replied with the McCutcheon in all three games.

5.exd5

Lasker played the somewhat obscure 5.Bd3 in games seven and nine, winning the first but being held to a draw in the second. The main move - then and today - is 5.e5.

5...Qxd5

This active queen recapture is very much in Tarrasch's style of liking piece-play, eg after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 in the Steinitz Variation of the French Classical he advocated 5.Nf3 rather than shoring up the centre with 5.f4.

6.Nf3!?

Lasker three times played 6.Bxf6 in his 1907 world championship massacre of Marshall, but 'only' scored a win and two draws (the match finished in Lasker's favour +8=7-0).

6...c5 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.Qd2

White has given up the bishop-pair but weakened Black's kingside.

8...Bxc3

8...Qd6 was tried in Leonid Totsky (2550) - Sergey Koutsin (2415), Rýmařov (Czechia) 1999, but after 9.a3 Black felt obliged to return the bishop-pair anyway with 9...Bxc3. The further moves 10.Qxc3 Nd7 11.0-0-0 gave White a strong attacking position, according to the analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01 (1-0, 26 moves).

9.Qxc3 Nd7?!

The engines much prefer 9...Qe4+, as played by Vidmar in a draw against Leonhardt at the 1906 German chess championship in Nürnberg.

10.Rd1

The engines reckon even stronger is the messy-looking 10.0-0-0!? Qxa2 11.dxc5!? Qa1+ 12.Kd2.

10...Rg8 11.dxc5 Qxc5 12.Qd2

Lasker believes his king will be safer than Black's, and anyway 12.Qxc5?! Nxc5 frees the black position.

12...Qb6 13.c3 a6 14.Qc2 f5!?

Indirectly protecting h7 and creating a possible central outpost square at e4, but weakening the kingside dark squares.

15.g3 Nc5 16.Bg2 Qc7

Planning to fianchetto his remaining bishop.

17.Qe2 b5 18.0-0 Bb7

How should White proceed?

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19.c4!

The white king looks pretty safe, so Lasker seeks to open lines to get at the uncastled black king.

19...b4 20.Qd2 Rb8

Indirectly defending b4 (21.Qxb4?? loses to 21...Bxf3), but now Lasker invades on the kingside.

21.Qh6 Bxf3 22.Bxf3 Qe5

Indirectly defending h7 (23.Qxh7?? loses to 23...Rh8) and attacking b2, but the key to this position is White's better piece-coordination and Black's unsafe king.

23.Rfe1 Qxb2 24.Qf4 Rc8 25.Qd6 f6

This does not help, but there is no way to save Black's position.

26.Bh5+ Rg6 27.Bxg6+ hxg6 28.Rxe6+ 1-0