Hello all.
An annotated game featuring an Exchange Variation on e5. Instructive value
especially for those wishing to win as Black and feel frustrated by the early
Queen swap.
Regards,
Tyson
Text begins:
[Event "BRISTOL LEAGUE"]
[Site "SOUTH BRISTOL A V CLEVEDON A"]
[Date "10-09-2015."]
[White "EGGINTON D
[Black "TYSON MORDUE"]
[Time Control "90/90"]
1.Nf3 d6
My first competitive game in nearly a year and an unexpected opponent. Is he
willing to transpose into a Sicilian with 2 e4 c5? This happened with one
opponent whose first remark after the game was "I didn't know you played the
Sicilian!" Mmm.
2.d4
No, apparently not. Looks like a King's Indian Defence or a Pirc then.
2...Nf6
3.c4 g6
4.Nc3 Bg7
5.e4 O-O
Five standard moves of a King's Indian Defence but my opponent had taken
fifteen minutes to play them. Encouraging.
6.Be2 e5
7.O-O Na6
8.dxe5
Declining to go to any of the complicated systems with 8 d5 or 8 Be3 and
heading straight for an exchange of Queens. I've had lots of opponents do this
and rarely got into bother. In his books on the KID Joe Gallagher is scathing
about players who play the exchange lines and insists that KID exponents should
offer them no respect at all!
From a practical viewpoint on the night I didn't have to concern myself with a
tense and complicated middle-game. Instead a Queenless middle-game arises where
there is an obvious outpost on d4 for me to target. White doesn't have a
corresponding outpost on d5 because I can play .c7-c6 to control it. However,
if I do then I must be aware of White building with a2-a3, b2-b4 and c4-c5 and
getting control of d6 in return.
8...dxe5
9.Qxd8 Rxd8
10.Be3
If White tries winning a Pawn with 10 Nxe5 it's no good after 10...Nxe4 11 Nxe4
Bxe5 with easy equality for Black. This line can also happen at move 7 without
7 0-0 Na6.
The trick is to know what to do if White desperadoes his e5 Knight by playing
Nxf7 hitting the d8 Rook and hoping to win a Pawn I've seen this twice in Minor
tournaments after 1.d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5 Nf3 O-O 6 Be2 e5 7 dxe5
dxe5 8 Qxd8 Rxd8 [This is the game without 0-0 for White and ...Na6 for Black]
9 Nxe5 Nxe4 10 Nxf7?? In this position Black eliminates the c3 Knight with
check by 10...Bxc3+ because the White King is still on e1. After 11 bxc3 Kxf7
Black is a simple piece for Pawn up.
In the game line (1.d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5 Nf3 O-O 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0
Na6 8 dxe5 dxe5 9 Qxd8 Rxd8) after 10 Nxe5 Nxe4 11 Nxf7 the interposition
11...Bxc3 is not check so Black must capture on c3 with the Knight instead. The
line (carnage?) goes on 11...Nxc3 12 Nxd8 Nxe2+ 13 Kh1 Nxc1 14 Raxc1 (not 14
Rfxc1?? Bxb2 forking the Rooks.) and now 14...Nc5! Black has two pieces for a
Rook and Pawn but the d8 Knight is trapped and the Black pieces have a lot of
activity. White is already losing.
After 9...Rxd8 I checked my database and was startled to see only three games,
all Black wins! Two of them continued 10 Bg5 Re8 11 Rfd1 (Hogberg-Laveryd,
Swedish Champ 2 1996 and Katuzian-Kostiuk, Kharkov 2000) and the third was
Martin-Mestel, British Champ 1990 with 10 h3. I'll let the results speak for
themselves.
Oddly enough ChessMaster 9000 (CM9000) rapidly settled on a continuation of 10
Be3 b6 11 Rad1 Bb7. This is all understandable but it has a serious positional
flaw. The game is a competition between the respective potential outposts on d4
and d5. I've already pointed out Black's .c7-c6 controlling d5. However, he
must maintain a Pawn on b7 to defend the one on c6 otherwise White advances
b2-b4-b5 and liquidates the c6 Pawn, regaining control of d5.
Black has other choices such as 10...c6 (early control of d5), 10...Bg4 (to
eliminate the White Knight that controls d4 and that's why Martin played 10 h3
against Mestel), or 10...Nb4 (threatening 11...Nc2 and angling for .Nb4-c6-d4).
I thought my aggressive choice would get my opponent thinking again - it did!-
and it gave me the chance to regroup my pieces.
10...Ng4!?
11.Bg5 f6
This gives solid protection to the e5 Pawn. On the downside it seems like it
blocks the Bishop's effect on d4 and takes away a retreat square from the g4
Knight. This doesn't matter. Both pieces were set for regrouping anyway and
White is actually giving me tempi to do that!
12.Bd2
The major alternative is 12 Bh4 but Black may continue 12...g5 forcing 13 Bg3
and the Bishop risks being stranded here for a while. Dave is playing
conservatively and intends bringing his Bishop back to e3 shortly.
12...c6
An alternative was 12...Bh6 to try to swap the dark-squared Bishops but I
thought it more prudent to take control of d5 before rearranging my pieces.
13.h3
It's a Pawn to Rook Three. You can regard it as a necessity to get it out of
White's half of the board with tempo, or you can regard it as a loss of tempo
because Black was going to play .Nh6 anyway. It can also be a weakening move
because later on Black may be playing .Nf4 and you can't oust it with g2-g3
because h3 is then en prise. This motif is a feature of the Simagin variation
of the KID which I occasionally play.
CM9000's suggestion was 13 Rfd1 but, as you'll see shortly, part of my
regrouping as Black is .Bg7-f8-c5. Of course the object is extra control of the
d4 square but this just happens to inconveniently attack f2 as well. I suppose
you can take Andrew Martin's approach against Mestel above and say that if it's
necessary then play it now.
13...Nh6
14.Be3
So we are three moves on from the last time White played Be3. During that time
he's thrown in h2-h3, which could possibly regarded as a weakening move, while
Black has switched his Knight from f6 to h6 and solidified his e5 Pawn by
playing .f7-f6. Visually this doesn't look good for Black.
However, this is all part of my plan. The Knight is going to f7 and if there's
an exchange of Rooks on d8 then the steed will recapture and then go to e6 to
control d4. Meanwhile my now-blocked King's Bishop is going, as already pointed
out in the previous note, via f8 to c5 to contest White's dark-squared Bishop.
This is necessary because an exchange of Rooks on d8 may, in some positions,
divert the a8 Rook from the defence of the a7 Pawn.
CM9000 claims that White consistently has a plus of about +0.66 around here.
That's based on having the initiative due to better development, but
initiatives can easily evaporate. On the other hand Black can claim an
advantage due to the permanent weakness of the d4 square and the potential one
of the f4 square.
Another point to bear in mind is that I've decided to play for a win because my
opponent is playing very slowly. He's already twenty minutes down on the clock.
If I'm playing for a win then I don't want any unnecessary liquidation of the
pieces. To some extent I want to keep the position strategically complicated.
Now there's only one open file in this position and the natural thing to do is
to oppose Rooks there with the consequence that all of them get swapped off.
I'm happy to swap off one pair because doubled Rooks on the d-file could be a
problem - my second rank is now wide open and the arrival of a Rook at d7
firing left and right would be very awkward - and then I can try to control all
the potential entry points for my opponent's single Rook. At some point I will
open a file elsewhere for my own Rook and achieve counterplay.
Everything I've written about in the last few notes comes to pass. The main
point was that I had belief in the lasting value of my potential outposts on d4
and f4. An apparent slowness in development wasn't going to stop me from
executing my strategic plan.
14...Bf8
15.Rfd1 Nf7
16.a3
Intending the advance b2-b4 and then c4-c5 then switch a Knight to c4 and into
d6. Black must use the c5 square right now.
16...Bc5
17.Bxc5?
A natural move but a critical decision and probably an error. Having emphasised
that I'm playing to exploit potential outposts on d4 and f4 Dave could play 17
b4 and after 17...Bxe3 18 fxe3 he is controlling the said squares. This is, of
course, at a severe cost to his Pawn structure. CM9000 evaluates this position
as almost equal. However, weak Pawns are really only weak if they can be
attacked and that's not so easy for Black to organise here.
CM9000 suggests that 17 Bd2 and following up with 18 b4 will maintain White's
advantage. I'd seen this and I was prepared to put my Bishop on d4 in that
line. I think Black then has a comfortable game, particularly as his move
in-between ought to be 17...Be6.
17...Nxc5
18.b4 Ne6?
Much better is 18...Nb3. If then 19 Rxd8+ Nxd8 20 Rd1 Ne6 ensures that a Knight
gets to d4. If instead 19 Rab1 then the immediate 19...Nd4 is also okay for
Black.
19.Rxd8+ Nfxd8
20.Rd1 Kf7
21.c5 Ke7
Now Black's King controls all the White Rook's entry points. One can argue that
it doesn't control d6 but if White plays the immediate 22 Rd6 then 22...b6
undermines it. White could try 23 Na4 to stop a collapse but he needs to be
aware that if Black captures twice on c5 the Rook is simply loose.
The attempt to switch a Knight to d6 with 22 Nd2 simply allows 22...Nd4. In the
game White puts his Bishop on c4 instead which threatens to take off one of my
Knights. I'd much rather swap my ineffectual Bishop for his so I hop into one
of my objective outposts, namely f4, and prepare .Be6.
This begs the question can White play 22 g3 to stop invasions on f4? Well, I'd
regard this as a pass move and I was seriously considering if my principal
breakout move worked here. It's 22...a5. Remember that I mentioned opening an
alternative file earlier. I was afraid of the reply 23 Na4 particularly as now
Nxc8 is check. However, CM9000 produces 23...axb4 24 Nb6 Rxa3 25 Nxc8+ Ke8 and
then evaluates the position in Black's favour! Next it opts for the perpetual
check with 26 Nd6+ Ke7 27 Nc8+ etc. Strange. I hadn't got around to checking
this line in depth before Dave played his move.
22.Bc4 Nf4
At this point I felt I'd secured equality and was heartened by the fact my
opponent only had half an hour left for the rest of the game. I was still
trying to work out if .a7-a5 was on when my opponent played his move.
CM9000 is considering the crazy 23 Bg8 and if I ever thought White was able to
take on h7 without getting his Bishop trapped - which I don't - I'd just play
23...h6. A more serious move is 23 Kh2 preparing g2-g3 in better circumstances,
maybe after Bf1. Dave thought he could just get around the problem of his loose
h Pawn in simpler fashion.
23.h4? Bg4
Now White is in serious trouble. There is no way he can avoid the doubling of
his f-Pawns as 24 Be2 allows 24...Nxe2+ 25 Nxe2 Bxf3. It's worth pointing out
that after 26 gxf3 Ne6 if White then chose to play 27 Rd2 then we'd have the
same position as in the game. There's no need to play 27 Rd2 while the text
move is an immediate unpin, but to no respite.
In the note to my 21st I wrote that I'd happily swap my Bishop for White's. I'm
even happier to swap it for a White Knight and damage his Pawn structure as
well. This is reacting to changed circumstances. It always pays to readjust if
your opponent does something unexpected.
24.Rd2 Bxf3
25.gxf3 Nde6
Black Knights on d4 and f4 will be more than White can stand. Dave takes the
opportunity to swap one off but that's the end of whatever dreams his Bishop
had. However, after 26 Ne2 Nxe2+ followed by 27...Nd4 White has to start
worrying about Good Knight v Bad Bishop endgames, which is a bit odd
considering his Queenside Pawns are all on dark squares.
This is the point in the game where we discover that White's advanced Queenside
Pawns are not a strength but a weakness.
26.Bxe6 Nxe6
27.Ne2
To cover the two outpost squares, but now Black takes the initiative with the
move I'd been looking to play move 22.
CM9000 points out 27 Na4 to hinder .a5 because of Nb6-c8+-d6, but also refutes
it with 27...Nd4 28 Kg2 Nb5! 29 Rd3 Rd8 when White must cede the d-file or drop
the a3 Pawn.
27...a5!
CM9000 says 27...b6 is good as well but modern chess strategy says attack the
base of the Pawn chain. Yes, that base will shortly be promoted from a3 to b4
but Black threatens 28...axb4 29.axb4 Ra1+ 30 Kg2 or h2 Rb1 hitting the Pawn
from behind. Also .a5 means my Rook comes into action vertically rather than
horizontally and is a clear sign that my opponent, despite having had my Rook
bottled up for the entire game so far, has been outplayed.
I must also admit that playing .a7-a5 felt good, and much better than .b7-b6.
Note that even if the White Knight were still on c3 to support b4-b5 that move
would leave the c5 Pawn en prise, which is why it was important for Black to
get a Knight on e6 before playing .a5.
28.Kg2
Note that putting the Knight back on c3 doesn't help. After 28 Nc3 axb4 29 axb4
Ra3 the Knight is pinned to the loose Pawn on f3, while 30 Rc2 Nd4 31 Rc1 and
30 Rd3 Nf4 31 Re3 both lose to 31...Rxc3 and 32...Ne2+.
28...axb4
29.axb4 Ra1
30.Rb2 Re1
Quickly played and emphasising that Black now has both the advantage and the
initiative. Dave had about 22 minutes left while I had over 40.
Let's take positional stock. White's Pawn structure is static and riddled with
weaknesses. Black's own structure has some flexibility and he can produce a
passed Pawn on the Kingside by playing .h7-h5 and then g6-g5. Piece for piece
each of Black's is better than its counterpart. Particularly Black's King is
eager to get to either c4 (via e6 and d5 if circumstances permit) or take the
long walk to b5 via b8. Ambitious but possible.
So Black has plans while White looks badly short of moves. One move he can't
play is 31 b5 hoping for 31...cxb5 32 Nc3. Instead it immediately loses to
31...Rxe2! and if 32 Rxe2 Nf4+ 33 Kf1 Nxe2 34 Kxe2 cxb5. After 35 Kd2 Kd7 36
Kc3 Kc6 37 Kb4 h5 proves Black can win the Pawn ending on either side of the
board.
Instead after 31 b5 Rxe2! 32 Rxe2 Nf4+ 33 Kf1 Nxe2 White can try the
zwischenzug 34 bxc6 - hoping for 34...bxc6 35 Kxe2 - but Black has 34...Nd4 35
cxb7 (35 c7 Kd7) 35...Nc6 remaining a piece up with an easy win. A nice little
Knight gallop.
31.Kg3 h5
CM9000 suggests first 31...Rh1 with the plan of 32...g5 33 hxg5 fxg5 then 34
.Nf4 threatening 35...Rh3 mate forcing 34 Nxf4+ exf4+ 35 Kg2 Rxh4 winning a
Pawn. A bit cumbersome especially when you wonder how quickly the Rook gets
back into play.
However, the text is almost zugzwang. For example, White can't go back with 32
Kg2 because 32...Rxe2 leads to a winning Pawn ending after 33 Rxe2 Nf4+ 34 Kf1
Nxe2 35 Kxe2 g5. If White exchanges on g5 then Black's King takes the
aforementioned walk to b5 while White's has to cover the h Pawn. Otherwise
Black can make progress on the Kingside where White is hampered by his doubled
Pawns. One line is 36 Kf1 Kf7 37 Kg2 Kg6 38 Kh3 f5! (to expose the Pawn on e4)
39 hxg5 Kxg5 40 Kg3 fxe4 41 fxe4 h4+ 42 Kh3 Kh5 43 Kh2 Kg4 44 Kh3 Kf3! 45 Kxh4
Kxf2 46 Kg4 Ke3 47 Kf5 Kd4 winning. Once again this is all calculable despite
the length of the variation. Never be deterred from working out deep lines if
all the moves are easy to calculate. This applies particularly in Pawn endings.
The alternative 32 Kh3 is a blunder after 32...Rxe2 and 33...Nf4+ while 32 Nc3
just cedes more ground after 32...Nf4. Horizontal Rook moves allow 32...Rb1
winning the b4 Pawn so that leaves 32 Kh2 after which I'd have probably
continued with 32...g5 or 32...f5. Instead Dave thought for a few minutes and
played .
32.f4?
My first thought was that I'd made a tactical oversight, then I realised what
Dave must have missed in turn.
32...exf4+
33.Nxf4 Rxe4!
What Dave must have missed was although 31...h5 weakened g6 he can't exploit it
with 34 Nxg6+ because 34...Kf7 simply traps the Knight - if 35 Nh8+ Kg7 the
steed has galloped into a dead end. It is possible to save it with 35 f3 Rc4!
(the simplest move keeping pressure on the weak Pawns) 36 Nh8+ Kg7 37 Re2 (upon
36 Re2 Black just takes on b4) 37...Nd4 38 Re8 but then his pieces are tied
down while Black picks off the White Pawns like ripe apples.
The alternative is obviously swapping Knights and playing the Rook ending, but
after 34 Nxe6 it's Black's turn for a zwischenzug with 34...Rg4+! This forces
35 Kh3 to hold the h4 Pawn and after 35...Kxe6 the Black King canters to c4 to
make a meal of the White Queenside Pawns. White has no counterplay at all and
Black can create a passed Pawn on the Kingside to distract or stretch the
defence.
Dave had twenty minutes remaining after the text. He sat there looking stunned
for twelve of them then generously conceded the game and with it the match.
0-1
Text ends.
