Learn From The Greats (part nine)

Sebastian Bogner (2511) - Spanton (2034)
Liechtenstein 2009
Chigorin Defence
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 5.gxf3 Qxd5 6.e3 e5
Chigorin played 6...e6!? in a draw against Steinitz at London 1899.
7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3

Black's ninth move is critical for how the game will develop

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9...Qd6
I have six opening books that are either solely about the Chigorin or devote a substantial portion of their text to it. Most firmly state, or at least imply, that 9...exd4 is inferior.
Chris Ward in Unusual Queen's Gambit Declined (Everyman 2002) states: "This type of knights versus bishops scenario has been hotly debated over the years. One thing that seems to have been concluded is that 9...exd4 shows Black's hand unnecessarily early … The premature pawn-trade enables [White] to utilise the queenside files far more easily."
Gary Lane in Ideas Behind Modern Chess Openings: Black (Batsford 2005): "I like [9...Qd6] which keeps all options open. 9...exd4 is the main alternative but is less flexible as it releases the tension in the centre."
Valery Bronznik in The Chigorin Defence (Schachverlag Kania 2005) treats 9...Qd6 as the main line, while also taking a look at 9...exd4, 9...Nge7 and 9...Nf6.
Christoph Wisnewski in Play 1...Nc6! (Everyman 2007) writes of the diagram position: "Black's foremost concern should be to stop a possible pawn-advance, and 9...Qd6! does the trick." He adds: "9...e4? does not work because of 10.Bg2. Neither does 9...Nf6?!, as after 10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Rb1 b6 13.Bb4 White was better in A. Saidy - M. Al Modiakhi, Las Vegas 2001. Finally, 9...exd4, although examined by Bronznik, is completely out of the question. Why release the tension and open the position for the pair of bishops?"
Angus Dunnington in The Chigorin Queen's Gambit (Batsford 1996) says: "The exchange [9....exd4] allows White to rid himself of the c3 pawn and opens the e1-a5 diagonal for the bishop and the c file for the rook. Black also gives up an influential central pawn. However, the queen does not have as much scope on d6 as it does on d5, and Black's ninth move loses time. The choice is really just a matter of taste."
So that is four experts for 9...Qd6 and only one willing to give equal standing to 9...exd4.
Then along came The Chigorin Defence According To Morozevich (New In Chess 2007). The book is credited to "Alexander Morozevich & Vladimir Barsky." But the format suggests it was written by international master Barsky and then submitted to grandmaster Morozevich for a once-over. The book concentrates on 9...Qd6, but there is a section in italics directly attributed to Morozevich that runs in part: "As a result of theoretical investigations and practical tests I have come to the conclusion that the most promising continuation for Black is 9....Nf6!?, which has not been employed much in practice."
As might be expected, Morozevich's verdict sparked an explosion of interest in 9...Nf6, with the main line established as 10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Rb1 b6 13.Bb4, which the analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo10 reckon gives White the upper hand.
10.Rb1 0-0-0?!
Normal is 10...b6.
Morozevich, writing in general about the diagram position, states: "The plan with ...0-0-0 seems rather dangerous to me, since White has the b file which his queen and rook can quickly occupy. I do not believe in this plan, and I myself have never castled queenside."
11.Qb3 b6 12.Qxf7 Nh6 13.Qc4
13.Bh3+!? seems to have been a novelty when it was played in Atila Gajo Figura (2074) - Spanton (2148), Lechenicher SchachServer Preliminaries 1999 (corr). The game continued 13...Kb8 14.Qxg7 exd4 15.cxd4 Qd5 16.Rc1 Rhe8, and now the future IM played 17.Rc3? (the engines reckon Black has full compensation for his material deficit, but no more, after 17.e4 or 17.Rg1), but after 17...Nf7 18.Rxc6 (forced) Qxc6 19.Qxf7 Rxd4, Black was well on top (0-1, 74 moves).
13...Rhf8 14.Bd3 Rxf3
Stockfish10's 14...Nf7!? 15.Be4 Nb8 may be an improvement but still looks good for White.
15.Be4 Rf6 16.d5?!
Stronger, according to the engines, is 16.Qa6+.
16...Na5?
Better is 16...Nb8, as played in Cyril Marzolo (2393) - Igor Miladinović (2607), French Team Championship (Gonfreville) 2006. After the further 17.Rf1 Rdf8 18.f3 Nf5 19.Ke2 Qd7 20.Bxf5 Rxf5, Black was at least equal (½–½, 44 moves).
17.Qa6+ Nb7
I had missed that 17...Kb8?? drops a piece.
18.c4 Kb8 19.Bb4 c5??
The engines give the better, but still miserable, 19...Qd7 20.c5 Qc8.
20.dxc6 Nc5 21.c7+ Kxc7
Black loses a piece after 21...Qxc7 22.Bxc5.
22.Qxa7+ Kc8 23.Bb7+ Kd7 24.Bd5+?
24.Rd1 wins instantly.
24...Ke8 25.Bxc5 Qxc5 26.Rb5 Qe7 27.Qxe7+ Kxe7 28.Ke2
Materially Black is only a pawn down, but White is positionally better too.
28...Rdf8 29.Rf1 Ng4 30.f3 Nxh2!?
This is Komodo10's choice, but that only shows how bad Black's position is as now the knight gets trapped.
31.Rf2 Rh6 32.Be4 Rff6
The e5 pawn cannot be saved.
33.Rxe5+ Re6 34.Rg5 1-0
LESSONS FROM THIS GAME
Whatever the merits of Black's ninth-move choices, none of it matters if Black goes on to commit tactical howlers.

More Double Trouble

FOR the second time in this year's Olomouc seniors, I was double-upfloated as Black against a titled player.
In round five it was against the top seed; today in round eight it was against the second seed.
Sergej Shilov (FM2129) - Spanton (1881)
Chigorin
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c4 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 5.gxf3 Qxd5 6.e3 e5 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Nf6!?
This has been recommended by Chigorin-guru Morozevich, although it is the first time I have played it. More common in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database are 9....Qd6 and 9...exd4.
10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Nb8
Nigel Short is among those who have played the more popular 11...Ne7.
12.Rb1 b6 13.Rg1!?
This may be a new move; it is the choice of the analysis engine Stockfish10, although Komodo9 narrowly gives the nod to 13.Bb4.
13...g6 14.Bb4 c5 15.dxc6!?
Opening lines for the bishops, but the engines prefer to keep the protected passed pawn with 15.Bc3.
15...Qxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Nxc6 17.Ba3 Rd8 18.Bd3

Black faces a tricky task as White's bishops and better development more than outweigh his inferior pawn-structure

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18...e4!?
I rejected the engines' 18...Nd7 because of 19.Bd5, when Stockfish10 gives 19...Na5 20.Bd5 Rc8. White then has a pleasant choice between winning a pawn with 21.Bxf7+ Kxf7 22.Rxd7+, and Stockfish10's preferred 21.Ke2!? Nxc4 22.Rc1 b5 23.Rgd1 a5 24.Bxc4 Rxc4 25.Rxc4 bxc4 26.Rd6, with plenty of play for being a pawn down (Black still has problems getting his king's rook into play, and the black queenside pawns are very weak).
19.fxe4
The engines prefer this to the alternative capture 19.Bxe4, but even better seems to be a move I did not consider, 19.Bc2! The point is that after 19...Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1, Black cannot play 20...exf3?? because of 21.Ba4 Kd7 22.Bb2. So in this line Black is more-or-less obliged to play 20...Kd8, when 21.fxe4 leaves White a pawn up. Black could instead try 19...Ne5!?, but then 20.Ba4 Nfd7 21.Rd5! is very strong for White, eg 21...Nxf3+ 22.Kd1 Nxg1? 23.Re5#. Black has alternatives in this last line, but none seems good.
19...Ne5 20.Ke2
Black is at least equal after 20.Be2? Rxd1+ followed by ...Nxe4.
20...Nxd3 21.Rxd3 Nxe4 22.Rgd1 Rxd3 23.Rxd3 f5 24.f3 Nf6
24...Nc5?! effectively forces a rook-and-pawn ending, but after 25.Bxc5 bxc5 26.Rd5 Ke7 27.Rxc5, I found it hard to believe Black has much chance of holding the ending a pawn down.
25.c5?!
I intended meeting 25.Rd6 with 25...0-0?! (not 25...Kf7?? 26.Rxf6+!), but Stockfish10 gives 26.Bb2 Ne8 27.Rd7 Rf7 28.Rd8 Re7 29.Ba3 Re6 30.Kd3, when Black is tied up. Better, therefore, seems to be the engines' 25...Nd7, although after 26.Re6+ Kd8 27.Bd6 Black is very passive.
25...Kf7
25...bxc5? loses the a pawn after 26.Bxc5.
26.c6
Not 26.cxb6? axb6 27.Rd6 as Black has 27...Ra8, and if 28.Bb2, then 28...Ne8=.
26...Rc8 27.Rd6 Ne8?!
I rejected 27...Rc7?! because of 28.Bb2? Ne8 29.Rd7+, missing that Black is close to winning after the simple 29...Ke6. However, the engines find 28.e4!, eg 28...Ne8 29.e5!
Best, therefore, seems to be pushing the a pawn to a6 or a5 to stop it being vulnerable to the white rook on White's seventh rank.
28.Rd7 Kf6?!
I thought 28...Kg8!?, which is the engines' choice, was simply not active enough, eg 29.Rxa7 Rxc6 30.Kd3, but the engines reckon White only has a slight edge after 30...Nc7.
29.Rxa7?!
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 29.Rxh7 Rxc6 30.Rxa7 Rc2+ 31.Kd3 Rxh2 (not 31...Rxa2?? 32.Be7+) 32.f4!? I guess the point is that White's pieces are much better coordinated than Black's, and anyway rook and bishop is nearly always a better combo than rook and knight.
29...Rxc6 30.Kd3
The engines prefer 30.Rxh7!? Rc2+ 31.Kd3 Rxa2, although the line is not as strong as first capturing on h7, as given in the previous note.
30...Nc7 31.Bb2+ Ke6 32.Bd4 h5?!
I looked at 32...f4! 33.exf4 but rejected it because 33...Kf5?? loses to 34.Be4. However, the engines show that the correct follow-up is 33...Nb5, when the game is equal.
33.Rb7 b5 34.h4 Kd7?
This loses by force. I did not like the look of 34...Kd6 35.f4, eg 35...Kd5 36.Be5, as Black is losing the b pawn, but the engines reckon White is only slightly better thanks to Black's activity in the line 36...Ne6 37.Rxb5+ Nc5+ 38.Ke2 Kc4.
35.Be5 Kc8 36.Rxc7+ Rxc7 37.Bxc7 Kxc7

White to play and win

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38.e4
The engines reckon this wins, but they are wrong, as we shall see.
Correct is 38.Kd4!, which Komodo9 comes to prefer over the text after a short while. Stockfish10 instantly prefers 38.Kd4!, but only by a narrow margin. After 38.Kd4!, best play proceeds 38...Kd6 39.f4 Kc6 40.Ke5 c5 41.Kf6 Kb4 42.Kxg6 Ka3 43.Kxh5 Kxa2 44.Kg6 b4 45.h5 b3 46.h6 b2 47.h7 b1=Q 48.h8=Q Qb6+ 49.Kxf5 Qxe3. White ends the race a pawn up, and can win in 58 moves, according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase.
After the text, White also emerges a pawn up, but this time the position is drawn.
38...fxe4+
Not 38...f4?? 39.e5, nor 38...Kd6?? 39.exf5 gxf5 40.Kd4.
39.Kxe4 Kd6 40.Kf4 Kc5 41.Kg5 Kb4 42.Kxg6 Ka3 43.f4 Kxa2 44.f5 b4 45.f6 b3 46.f7 b2 47.f8=Q b1=Q+
After 38.Kd4!, Black queens first, but the position is nevertheless a win for White. Here White queens first, but Black queens with check and so is in time to avoid Qa8+ etc.
48.Qf5 Qg1+ 49.Kxh5
White cannot win with a rook's pawn, although both engines believe White is winning, and I was able eventually to claim a draw by threefold repetition (½–½, 66 moves)

Pim O'Clock

THE annual Pimlico Summer congress, held over five consecutive Thursdays, began last night with a full complement of 64 entries.
It is split into three sections - open, U150 and U120 - with a time limit of 75 minutes plus a 15-second increment.
Combined with a 6.30pm start, this means the vast majority of games are over before 9pm.
Paul Carlucci (154) - Spanton (171)
Colle-Zukertort
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6
The fourth-most popular move in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database, and the worst-scoring percentage-wise among the top 10 replies. Nevertheless it has been tried by strong players including Carlsen and Rapport.
3.e3
The Colle route. More popular these days is the London System with 3.Bf4, while 3.c4 transposes into a mainline of the Chigorin.
3...Bg4 4.Be2 Nf6
Rapport and Morozevich have preferred 4...e6, which was played all the way back in 1882 by Winawer in a win over Blackburne. I guess the two moves will normally transpose.
5.0-0 e6 6.b3 Bd6
Morozevich chose 6...Ne7!? in a 1995 rapidplay win against Malaniuk (both players had ratings just above 2600). There are no other examples of the move in Mega19, and analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo9 disapprove, but it is dangerous to rely on engines' positional judgments in the opening.
7.Bb2 0-0 8.Ne5 Bf5!?
There is a lot to be said for 8...Bxe2. It exchanges White's good bishop, but also develops White's queen to a decent square.
 9.c4
An obvious alternative is 9.Nxc6 bxc6, but Black will be able to dissolve his doubled pawns. The engines continue 10.Nd2 (Stockfish10) or 10.c4 (Komodo9), with Black in each case replying 10...c5.
9...Nd7?!
The engines are not keen on this, preferring 9...Ne7 (Stockfish10) or 9...dxc4 (Komodo9). My idea, after a move such as 10.f4, was to evict White's knight with 10...f6, but then 11.Nxc6 bxc6 leaves Black looking vulnerable to a kingside pawn-storm.
10.Nxd7!?
This surprised me. The engines reckon it is enough for a slight edge, but they prefer 10.Nxc6 or 10.f4. Note that after 10.Nxc6 bxc6 White can prevent undoubling by 11.c5!?
10...Qxd7 11.Bd3?!
An old rule-of-thumb has it that when you have a bad bishop - in this case White's dark-square bishop, which is shut in by White's central pawns - you should not trade your good bishop. True, the dark-square bishop is doing a useful job in helping control the e5 square, and the coming exchange develops White's queen to a good square, but I do not believe these factors compensate for White's vulnerability on the light squares.
11...Bxd3 12.Qxd3 f5 13.a3

Black to make his 13th move

The stage is set for a battle of rival attacks - White on the queenside, Black on the kingside. Regardless of the merits of the two attacks, there will always be the realisation in both players' minds that White is playing for a long-term positional advantage while Black is playing for mate.
13...Rf6
I rejected 13...f4 because 14.Nd2 prevents an effective ...f3 as Black is not in a position to sac the exchange with 14...f3? 15.Nxf3 Rxf3?
14.c5!?
This comes to be Stockfish10's choice, at least for a while, but Komodo9 is unimpressed. As usual, pushing on like this is double-edged - it is certainly consistent with White's plan of queenside expansion, and it drives Black's bishop to an inferior square, but it means Black's kingside attack is less likely to be inconvenienced by central counterplay.
14...Be7 15.b4 Raf8
The engines do not like this, but I felt committed to playing on the kingside, and I wanted to be able to meet b5 with ...Nd8 without obstructing the a8 rook's route to joining the attack.
16.f4 h6?!
This may be too slow. I wanted to play 16...g5 but thought White was doing OK after 17.fxg5 Rg6 18.h4? h6 19.gxh6 Rxh6? 20.g3, which may be true. However, 19...Bxh4 is a major improvement.
17.Bc3?!
Komodo9 is happy with this move - for a while it is the engine's second choice - but if the idea is to stop b5 being met with ...Na5, then the idea is misplaced as 17.b5 Na5? 18.Nd2 will leave Black's queenside in disarray after a later Bc3 (indeed Stockfish10 reckons Black's best after 18.Nd2 is to sac a pawn with 18...Nc4 etc). However, having said all that, 17.Bc3?! does make the bishop better-placed for defensive duties on the kingside.
17...g5 18.fxg5?!
It was probably better to leave Black to open lines with an eventual ...gxf4 as g2 will be easier to defend than h2. Black could also push on with ...g4, but then will find it very difficult to open any lines on the kingside.
18...hxg5 19.b5 Nd8 20.Nd2 Rh6 21.Nf3 Bf6

White faces a tricky defence

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22.Ra2?
Best seems to have been 22.Be1. The point is that if play proceeds as in the game with 22...g4 23.Ne5 Bxe5 24.dxe5 Qh7, White defends h2 with 25.Bg3. The text also envisages a defence of h2, but at great positional cost.
22...g4 23.Ne5?!
Komodo9 prefers 23.Ne1 (but not 23.Nd2? Qh7) although Stockfish10 is unsure; either way, Black is well on top.
23...Bxe5 24.dxe5 Qh7 25.g3 Nf7
White's light-square weaknesses (see note to White's 11th move) mean he is lost despite the material balance.
26.e4!?
Objectively this cannot be good, but trying for counterplay may be White's best practical choice.
26...dxe4 27.Qd7 Ng5
Also tempting was 27...Rd8!? but there is no need to complicate.
28.Qxh7+ Rxh7 29.Rd1 Nf3+ 30.Kh1 f4
Simpler is 30...Kf7 (or 30...Kg7), meeting 31.Rd7+ with 31...Kg6, but the text also wins.
31.Be1
This is Stockfish10's choice for a while, but the engines come to agree that best was 31.gxf4, when Black has a pleasant choice between 31...Rxf4, 31...Rh3, 31...g3 and several other moves.
31...Nxe1 32.Rxe1 f3 33.Kg1 Rd8 34.Rf2 Rd4 35.Kf1 Rh5 (0-1, 45 moves)

Assess This Ending

MOROZEVICH had a second interesting ending at the 2001 super-tournament in the Kazakh capital Astana.

White to make his 41st move in Morozevich (2749) - Kasparov (2827)

White is temporarily a pawn up but Black has the more active king and bishop. What should the result be - a definite win for White; White is better but not necessarily winning; draw; Black is better but not necessarily winning; a definite win for Black?
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"All White's pawns are horrible and so his position should be lost," write IM Vladimir Barsky and GM Alexander Baburin in the October 2001 edition of Chess Life.
41.Bc4 Bxe4
In ChessBase's 2019 Mega database, GM Ľubomír Ftáčnik (or is it Luc Winants? Both are separately credited as annotating the game) comments: "Despite equality in the number of pawns, (the) endgame is very difficult for White (as) Black enjoys (the) better pawn-structure and more-active king."
42.Re2 f5 43.Bd3 Kf4 44.Bxe4 fxe4 45.Rf2+ Ke3 46.Rf8 e5
Barsky & Baburin give this an exclamation mark but (with the help of Komodo9 and Stockfish10) it is far from clear that the text is any better than getting on with it with 46...Ke2.
47.Re8 Rc7 48.Rxe5
Barsky & Baburin give this a question mark, saying White should have activated his king with 48.Kg3. The analysis engines disagree.
48...Kf4
This gets an exclamation mark from Barsky & Baburin. Stockfish10 agrees immediately that it is the best move, and Komodo9 follows suit if given enough time. However, the engines agree 48...Rxc2+ also wins easily.
49.Rb5 Rxc2+ 50.Kg1 e3 51.Rxb4+ Kf3 52.Rb1 Rg2+ 53.Kh1
If 53.Kf1 then 53...e2+ 54.Ke1 Rg1+.
53...e2 54.a4
The sort of despairing move I have played many times - it clearly does not achieve anything, but what else can White do (apart from resign)?
54...Kf2 55.a5 Rg5 56.Kh2 Rxa5 57.h4 Ra3 0-1
Getting back to the question I posed at the start, the engines (as well as Barsky and Baburin) reckon the diagrammed position is definitely won for Black.

Win Or Draw?

HERE is an interesting rook-and-pawn ending from a super-tournament played in 2001 in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Black to make his 55th move in Shirov - Morozevich

"All rook endings are drawn" is a well-known aphorism by Tartakower, or was it Tarrasch? It certainly sounds more like the former to me.
Anyway, more to the point, is this endgame a win for White or a draw?
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55...Kb4?
This looks natural, but Black lost a second pawn after 56.Rb6+ Kc5 57.Rxh6, and eventually the game.
Later, according to IM Vladimir Barsky and GM Alexander Baburin, writing in the October 2001 edition of Chess Life, Morozevich was told by Ablai Mirzahmetov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, that children in the audience nearly screamed out the saving move 55...Rxh5! (this draws because 56.Ra5+ Kb4 57.Rxh5 is stalemate).
Morozevich apparently replied: "Next time they should scream louder."
Would I have done better than grandmaster Morozevich? Well, immodest as it may seem, I might well have done as a very similar idea occurred in my game against the Turkish player Burak Akguc (unrated at the time, but now 2120) at the 1997-8 Hastings Challengers'.

White has just played 49.Ke3xf4? in Akguc - Spanton (2065)

BA should have played 49.gxf4! as 49...Rxb4 50.Rxa7 Kxh4 wins for White after the only-move 51.Rh7+, according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase.
After the move played, 49.Kxf4?, the game finished:
49...Rxb4+ 50.Kf5 Rb5+ 51.Kf4
Or 51.Kf6 Rf5+! etc.
51...Rb4+ 52.Ke3 Rb3+ 53.Kf2 Rxf3+! ½–½