Ilkley Game Four

Spanton (1952) - Robert A Newton (1937)

U2000

Modern Defence

1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Nbd7

4...Nf6 would be a transposition to the Pirc; the text keeps the game in independent lines.

5.Be2 c6 6.a4 Qc7 7.a5!?

Castling is normal.

7...Ngf6 8.h3 0-0 9.Be3

The moves may have appeared somewhat random, or perhaps lacking planning, but the game has reached a position occurring 163 times in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database

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9...h6!?

The mainline runs 9...e5 10.dxe5 dxe5, when Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 reckon 11.Bc4!? or 11.0-0 gives White at least a slight edge. One point of the text is to prevent 10.Qd2 followed by 11.Bh6.

10.Qd2 Kh7 11.0-0 a6 12.Rfd1 Ng8?!

The engines strongly dislike this retreat.

13.d5 c5 14.Qc1!?

Planning to re-route the king's knight to c4.

14...Rb8 15.Nd2 Ndf6 16.Nc4 Ne8?!

Another retreat strongly disliked by the engines.

17.Qd2 f5 18.Bd3 fxe4 19.Bxe4 Ngf6 20.Bd3 e5 21.Rf1

21.dxe6 Bxe6 22.Nb6 also leaves White on top, according to the engines.

21...Qe7 22.Rae1 Bf5 23.f4 Bxd3 24.Qxd3

The engines slightly prefer 24.cxd3!? to prevent Black's next move.

24...e4 25.Qd2 Rd8 26.g4 Nc7 27.Rd1 Nb5!? 28.Nxb5?!

The engines reckon much better is 28.Ne2, in effect asking Black what the knight is doing out on a limb on the queenside. Stockfish15 reckons 28.Ne2 gives White a won game, but Komodo13.02 allows White only a slight edge, suggesting the game is hard to evaluate, with positional factors dominating over the engines' strongpoint of tactics.

28...axb5 29.Na3 Qd7 30.Qe2 b4

The engines' 30...h5! initiates immediate kingside counterplay.

31.Nc4 Qf7 32.Qd2

Even stronger, according to the engines, is 32.f5 g5 33.Qd2.

32...h5 33.g5!?

The engines prefer 33.f5 hxg4 34.Qg2, claiming a slight edge for White.

33...Ng8 34.f5!? gxf5 35.Bf4 Qg6 36.Qh2 Rf7 37.h4?

Better is 37.Qg3, or even Komodo13.02's 37.Bxd6!?, the point of the latter being 37...Qxg5+ 38.Kh1 seems to leave White better coordinated.

37...Ne7?!

Almost certainly stronger is 37...Nf6 (or 37...Nh6) with ...Ng4 to come.

38.Bxd6 Bd4+ 39.Kh1 Nxd5 40.Bxc5!? Bxc5 41.Ne5 Bd6 42.Rxd5 Bxe5 43.Qxe5 Rxd5 44.Qxd5 f4

After a brief flurry of tactics we have a late-middlegame in which White has the better overall pawn-structure, but Black has a dangerous pair of passed pawns

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45.Qe5?

Both 45.Kg2 and 45.c4 are much better, according to the engines.

45...f3 46.Kg1 Qf5 47.Qxf5+ Rxf5 48.Kf2

There is nothing better.

48...Rxa5?

White is reduced to losing passivity after 48...Rf4.

49.Ke3 Re5 50.Rd1 Kg6 51.Kf4?!

White seems to have a comfortable draw after 51.Rd8 or 51.Rd7.

51...Re6 52.Re1??

Pushing the c pawn one or two squares holds, according to the engines.

52...f2 53.Rf1 e3 0-1

Northumbria Challengers (U2000 Fide) Round Two

FACED today the Iranian whom I was paired against yesterday evening but who arrived after the default time - we were both repaired last night and won our games.

Queen Street

Spanton (1949 ECF/1852 Fide) - Mohammad Hossein Mozaffari (2013 ECF/1622 Fide)

Modern Defence

1.Nc3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 b6!?

There are in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database 241 examples of this move, which was a favourite of grandmaster Gata Kamsky.

4.f4 Bb7 5.Nf3 d6

Kamsky has three games in Mega22 with 5...e6.

6.Be2 Nd7 7.Be3 Ngf6 8.e5 Ng4 9.Qd2 c6?!

Probably better is 9...e6, although Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02 prefer White after 10.0-0-0 or 10.h3.

10.e6!?

Also strong, according to the engines, is 10.0-0-0.

10...fxe6 11.Ng5 Nxe3

What should White play?

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12.Qxe3

This obvious move is also probably best. After 12.Nxe6?! Nxc2? 13.Qxc2 Qc8 14.Nxg7+ Kf7 both 15.Nh5 and 15.Ne6!? are strong, eg 15.Ne6!? Kxe6 16.f5+!? with a powerful attack. But instead of capturing on c2, Black should capture on g2, eg 12...Nxg2+ 13.Kf2 Qb8 14.Kxg2 Bf6, when the engines reckon White does not have enough for a pawn.

12...Nf8 13.0-0-0

Developing the queen's rook and getting the king to safety while at the same time protecting d4.

13...Bc8 14.Bg4 Bh6?!

If 14...e5?! then 15.Bxc8 exd4 16.Rxd4! Rxc8 (not 16...Bxd4? 17.Qxd4 Rg8 18.Bb7) 17.Rdd1 gives White more than enough for a pawn, according to the engines. But they reckon even better for White is 15.Bf3!?, eg 15...exd4 16.Rxd4! bb7 17.Rhd1! However the engines reckon 14...d5 and 14...h6 give Black better chances than the text.

15.Nxe6?

This swops the f4 pawn for the e6 pawn, which is a bad bargain in itself, but the error is compounded by letting Black exchange two back-row pieces for two active White ones. Better moves include 15.h4, 15.Rde1!? and 15.Kb1.

15...Nxe6 16.Bxe6 Bxe6 17.Qxe6 Bxf4+ 18.Kb1 Qd7 19.Qe4 0-0 20.g3?!

The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 20.d5, when 20...c5 21.Qe6+ Qxe6 22.dxe6 gives White a great square at d5 for the knight. If 20...cxd5 then 21.Nxd5 more or less equalises, according to the engines.

20...Bh6

Even stronger, according to the engines, is 20...d5.

21.Rde1!?

The wrong rook? Maybe - the engines disagree, but they do agree that slightly better is 21.d5.

21...Rae8 22.d5 c5 23.Ref1?!

I was worried about lines with ...Bd2, eg 23.Rhf1? Bd2 forces 24.Rxf8+ as 24.Rd1?? loses to 24...Rxf1 25.Rxf1 Bxc3 26.bxc3 Qb5+ etc, but almost certainly better is 23.Qe6+ Qxe6 24.Rxe6, albeit Black's long-term chances must be promising.

23...Bg7 24.Ne2!?

Maybe better is 24.Qe2, but Black is well on top.

24...Be5

Even stronger seems to be 24...Qb5, and the engines suggest meeting 25.b3 with 25...Qb4!?, eg 26.Qxb4 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 cxb4, although there is a long way to go before Black can realise his pawn advantage.

25.h4

The engines prefer 25.Nf4!?, although the simplification arising from 25...Bxf4 26.Rxf4 Rxf4 leaves White facing a long struggle for a half-point.

25...e6?!

Probably better is simplification through 25...Rxf1+ 26.Rxf1 Rf8.

26.dxe6

26.h5!? may be better.

26...Qxe6 27.Rxf8+ Kxf8 28.Rf1+

'Obvious', but 28.h5!? may be slightly more promising.

28...Kg7 29.c4 h6 30.Rd1

The engines suggest 30.Kc2!?, 30.b3 or 30.Nf4, albeit in each case having Black winning.

30...Re7 31.Rf1 Qh3!? 32.Qf3 Qf5+!? 33.Qxf5 gxf5 34.Rxf5 Bxb2 35.Nf4 Be5 36.Nd5

The engines like 36.Kc2!?, and if 36...Bxf4 then 37.gxf4!?, but that leaves White not just a pawn down but with four isolanis.

36...Rf7 37.g4?

This makes it too easy.

37...Kg6?

Throwing away Black's advantage. Winning is 37...Rxf5 38.gxf5 h5 as the h4 pawn must fall.

38.h5+ Kg7 39.a4

White remains a pawn down but the position is equal, according to the engines

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39...Rb7

Black's king is trapped in its own half of the board after 39...Rxf5 40.gxf5.

40.Rf3 Rf7 41.Rxf7+ Kxf7 42.Kc2 Ke6 43.Kd3 Bf6 44.Ke4 Bd8 45.Nf4+ Kd7?!

Ceding space can be dangerous. The engines give 45...Kf6 46.Kd5 Be7 (not 46...Kg5?? 47.Ne6+).

46.Kd5 Bf6 47.Ne6

How should Black proceed?

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47...Be5?

47...Be7 and 47...a6 seem to hold.

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48.Nf8+?

Missing a win with 48.g5 hxg5 49.Nxg5, eg 49...Bf4 50.Nf7 Ke7 51.Nxd6! Bxd6 52.h6 Kf7 53.Kxd6 etc.

48...Ke7 49.Ne6 Kf6 50.Nd8 Kg5

White to play and draw

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51.Nc6?

51.Nf7+ Kxg4 52.Nxh6+ draws.

Black to play and win

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51...Kxg4

This looks natural but the engines' 51...a5! seems the only way to win, the point being White has not enough time to create a dangerous queenside passer before Black's h pawn queens.

52.Nxa7 Kxh5 53.Nc8 Kg4 54.Nxb6 Bc3

White to play and draw

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55.Kxd6?

There seem to be two drawing moves.

A: 55.Ke4, eg 55...h5 56.Nd5 Ba5 57.Nf6 Kg5 58.Nxh5!? Kxh5 59.Kd5 etc.

B: 55.Kc6!?, eg 55....h5 56.Nd5 h4 57.Nxc3 h3 58.Nd5 h2 59.a5 h1=Q 60.a6 Qa1 61.Kb7 Qb2+ with complete equality, according to the engines, although hair-raising to play over the board.

55...h5 56.Nd5 h4 57.Ne3+

Or 57.Nxc3 h3 58.Kxc5 h2 59.a5 h1=Q 60.Nd5 Qg1+ 61.Kb5 Qa7, when the black queen has got in front of the white pawns and, unlike example B in the previous note, the white pieces are not well-enough placed to support them.

The game finished:

57...Kf3 58.Nf1 Kg2 59.Ne3+ Kf3 60.Nf1 h3 61.Kxc5 Kf2 62.Nh2 Be5!? 63.Ng4+ Kg3 64.Ne3 Bf4 65.Nf5+ Kg4 0-1

English Seniors 65+ Round Seven

Spanton (1972 ECF/1860 Fide) - Chris Bellers (1977 ECF/1918 Fide)*

King's Fianchetto Defence

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5!?

The main move is 3...d6, making the opening a Modern Defence.

4.dxc5!?

This is Komodo12.1.1's choice; Stockfish14.1 prefers 4.Be3.

4...Bxc3+!?

The main line in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database runs 4...Qa5 5.Bd2 Qxc5 6.Nd5 Na6 7.Nf3 e6 8.Bc3 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3, which the engines reckon leaves White well on top.

5.bxc3

The second time in this tournament I have contracted triple isolated pawns.

5...Qa5 6.Qd4 Nf6 7.e5?

Weak, although it has been played by a 2431, albeit at blitz. Most popular in Mega22 is 7.Qb4.

7...Nc6 8.Qc4 Nxe5

Interesting is 8...b5!?, when 9.cxb6?! Ba6 10.Qb3 Qxe5+ looks good for Black, but the engines reckon White improves with 9.Qd3 Nxe5 10.Qe3, albeit still preferring Black.

9.Qb4 Nc6

The engines slightly prefer 9...Qc7!?, one point being the natural-looking 10.Bf4?? loses to 10...Nd5, eg 11.Qe4 Nxf4 12.Qxf4 Nd3+ etc.

10.Qxa5 Nxa5

How would you assess this imbalanced position?

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White has the bishop-pair on a relatively open board but the triple isolanis are a major weakness. Black is ahead in development, but in order to develop Black's remaining bishop he will have to play either ...b6 or ...d6, allowing White to convert the triple isolanis into 'merely' doubled pawns. Stockfish14.1 gives Black a slight edge; Komodo12.1.1 also prefers Black, but only just.

11.Bd3 0-0 12.Nf3 d6?!

The engines much prefer 12...b6, despite the weakness of the new b pawn after 13.cxb6 axb6. One plausible continuation is 14.Rb1 Ba6! 15.Rxb6 Bxd3 16.cxd3 Nd5 17.Rb2 Nxc3, when White no longer has the bishop pair or tripled/doubled pawns, but instead has weak a and d pawns.

13.cxd6 exd6 14.0-0 Re8 15.Bd2!?

The engines prefer the more-active 15.Bf4 d5 (not 15...Nd5 16.Bxd6 Nxc3?? 17.Bb4) 16.Nd4.

15...Be6 16.Nd4 Bc4 17.Rfe1

17.Nb5!? Bxb5 18.Bxb5 confirms White's bishop-pair but Black is at least equal after 17...Rec8, according to the engines.

17...d5 18.Nb5

The engines prefer 18.f3!? to keep out the black king's knight.

18...Bxb5 19.Bxb5 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1?

This 'automatic' recapture is inferior to 20.Bxe1, after which the game is dead-equal, according to the engines.

20...Ne4 21.Re2 Rc8 22.Be1!? Rc5!

This comes to be the engines' top choice. The point is 22...Nxc3 23.Re8+ Rxe8 24.Bxe8 gives White drawing chances based on the power of the two bishops.

23.Ba4?!

Almost certainly better is 23.Bd3 Nxc3 24.Re8+ Kg7 25.a3, preserving the bishop-pair.

23...Kg7?

Over-finessing. Black is winning (Stockfish14.1) or at least has the upper hand (Komodo12.1.1) after 23...Nxc3 24.Bxc3 Rxc3.

24.Kf1?

24.Re3 more-or-less equalises.

24...Nxc3 25.Bxc3+ Rxc3 26.Rd2 Rc5 27.Bb3!

Rook and bishop nearly always make a better team than rook and knight, but here keeping minor pieces on makes it easier for Black, eg 27.Bd7? Nc4 28.Re2 Na3 costs White a second pawn.

27...Nxb3 28.axb3 Kf6 29.Ke2 Ke5 30.Kd3 a5?

Letting the white rook onto the back rank is a mistake.

31.Re2+ Kd6 32.Re8 Rc7 33.Rd8+ Rd7 34.Ra8 b6 35.Rb8 Kc7 ½–½

Black is slightly better but winning chances are few, although I would certainly have played on for at least a few moves in my opponent's shoes.

*Colours corrected 11/5/22.