Hello all,
After Chris Ross’s amusing hint that maybe the best place for White’s King’s
Knight against the Modern/Pirc is g1 I felt I had to post the following game as
a counter-argument. I proved that the best place is … g6!
This is a short attacking game. However, towards the end there are a lot of
complicated variations of different lengths, particularly from move 20 onwards.
I recommend that the reader has two sets to hand, one to note the position and
one to play through the variations.Also if you do want to go through the
variations in detail you should allow yourself plenty of time. Chris himself
recommends at least an hour and I'd like to thank him for formatting this
complicated game for VH users,.
Enjoy. Feedback is encouraged.
Tyson
Notes begin:
[Event "CATERHAM OPEN"]
[Date " 16-10-2010"]
[Round "3"]
[White "TYSON MORDUE"]
[Black "COHEN R"]
1. e4 d6
The Pirc (pronounced Pea-erts) Defence, brought to prominence by Bobby Fischer
in his 1972 World Championship match with Boris Spassky. It goes by other names
such as the Modern, Ufimtsev and Robatsch. Other players had used this rare
defence in the late 1960s, notably former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. In
the early 70s several young English players took the opening up on a regular
basis, notably Ray Keene and George Botterill who wrote a well-known book
together, while John Nunn, Jonathan Mestel and Jon Speelman also increased its
popularity.
The opening is played in the hypermodern fashion. Black allows White to set up a
large centre hoping to attack and destroy it, then subsequently occupy the
centre with his own Pawns.
2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 g6
4. f4
The Austrian attack, a variation I have played consistently for many years. It
suits my aggressive style and several IMs and a GM are among my victims. I did
originally play the Classical variation with 4 Nf3 as used by World Champion
Anatoly Karpov in the 70s and 80s. There is nothing wrong with this solid
approach, but the Austrian attack puts Black under pressure immediately.
However, some Black players don’t mind this.
4... Bg7
5. Nf3 c6
A slightly offbeat variation. The two main lines are 5...0-0 and 5...c5 as
played by Fischer in the 17th game against Spassky. The text aims for either
Queenside play with b7-b5 or & d6-d5 staking a claim in the centre. The latter
will lead to the Gurgenidze variation of the Caro-Kann Defence. The loss of
tempo with d7-d6, and d6-d5 should not matter if White closes the centre with
e4-e5 but I prefer White.
6. Be3 b5
Clearly threatening 7...b4 chasing the Knight away from the defence of the e4
Pawn. Simplest now is 7 Bd3 and after 7...b4 8 Ne2 and transfer the Knight to
the Kingside on g3. This happened in all three games I found on my database with
6... b5 and White won the lot.
I was reluctant to play 7 Bd3 because of a previous bad experience lining up the
four minor pieces on the third rank in an analogous position, but the Ne2-g3
manoeuvre only occurred to me a few moves later. Of course 7. a3 is not
necessarily a bad move but the group will be aware of my aversion to P-R3 in
general.
7. a3 a6
I was pleased but not surprised to see this move. Black needs to ensure his
Queenside play is not stillborn so he has to play either...a7-a5 or ...c6-c5 at
some point. The immediate 7... a5 is strongly met by 8. d5 when 8... b4 is
unplayable because of the pin down the a-file. Hence Black shores up the b5 Pawn
before White goes d5 – if this happens he can then safely go past with … c6-c5.
After the text Black will play... Bb7 defending his Rook and he can choose... a5
or ... c5 as appropriate depending on White has done in the meantime. Of course
the immediate 7... Bb7 is also okay as are 7... Nbd7 or 7... 0-0, but Black is
deliberately waiting to see where White’s King goes before committing his own.
Also White might go e4-e5 at some point and Black reserves the option of … Nfd7
in reply.
8. Qd2 Bb7
9. Bd3 Nbd7
Here White has options to castle on either side. I was reluctant to go Queenside
because of Black’s advanced Pawns coupled with the already weakening a2-a3.
However, after 10. 0-0 Black may choose to counter in the centre with 10…... e5.
He may even first go 10... Ng4 because the Bishop retreat to g1 is no longer
possible.
At this point I felt I needed to commit myself in the centre and e4-e5 is the
natural push. I knew I could then follow up with either Bishop or Knight to e4
immediately, and in certain circumstances I felt I might be able to allow the
trade of Bishop for Knight on e3 as the Queen gets to a more effective square.
Of course this is subject to where Black puts his own Knight from f6 and also
whether he wants to exchange on e5 first. In the latter event White needs to
determine which Pawn capture he makes on e5.
10. e5 dxe5?!
Black decides to avoid White exchanging on d6 and being left with a weakness
there. However, he does lose control of c5 by doing this. The critical
alternative is probably 10... Ng4 11. Bg1 c5 12. Be4! when White should probably
have a slight plus because of his better development. Things are not simple
though.
11. dxe5
I preferred this recapture because it is more difficult to undermine the
advanced Pawn - a later …c6-c5 will no longer attack d4 – and because I believed
that I successfully restrain said advance.
I was now expecting 11... Ng4 when I was going to choose between either 12. Bg1
or 12. Ne4. After 12 Bg1 CM9000 gave the interesting 12... Bh6 (threatening to
take on e5 because of the pin on the c1-h6 diagonal) 13. Qe2!? Bxf4 14. Qe4 g5
15. g3 f5 16. Qxf5 Ngxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 and now the strong retreat 18. Be2!
threatens 19. Bh5+. After 18... Qc7 19. Bh5+ Kd8 20. 0-0-0 White has a strong
initiative. Also after 11... Ng4 12. Bg1 Bh6 13. Qe2!? Bxf4 14. Qe4 g5 15. g3 f5
16. Qxf5 Ngxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Be2 there is 18. ….. Bxc3+ 19. bxc3 Nf6 20. Rd1
Qc8 21. Qxg5 and once again White is doing well.
After 11... Ng4 12. Ne4 I had seen the frivolous 12... Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Nb6 14.
Nf6+ Kf8
(14... exf6 15. exf6+ is really good for White);
15. Qxb6! winning a piece after 15... Qxb6 16. Nd7+ and 17. Nxb6. There is also
11...Ng4 12 Ne4 Nxe3 13 Qxe3 Nb6 14 Nf6+ exf6 15 exf6+ is really good for
White);
This line is by no means forced and after 11... Ng4 12. Ne4 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Black
can castle safely or play the better 13.. …. c5 because 14. Nxc5 Qb6 15. b4 Rc8
regains the Pawn with a better position for Black.
This line proves that 12. Bg1 is a better reply to 11... Ng4 than 12. Ne4. After
11... Ng4 12. Bg1 c5 13. h3 Nh6 14. Be4 it transpires that although Black has
forced through …c6-c5, he has lost control of the d5 square instead. White has a
clear plus here compared to the note at move 10 when the d-pawns were still on
the board. The lack of Pawn tension is to the first player’s advantage, a factor
Black fails to appreciate with his next move.
11... Nd5?
This is a serious positional error. After the game my opponent said he was
concerned about e5-e6 Pawn sacs after 11... Ng4. He has a point because 12. e6
fxe6 13. Ng5 looks decent for White. CM9000 chooses the liquidating 13... Nxe3
14. Qxe3 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Qb6 but White has a big advantage after 16. Qxe6.
Instead after 11... Ng4 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ng5 the solid 13... Nf8 allows 14. Bc5
making 11... Ng4 rather redundant and again highlights that exchanging on move
10 was not good.
After 10... Ng4, a move earlier, 11. e6 fxe6 12. Ng5 Nf8 is fine for Black
because Bc5 is not a move here.
After 11... Ng4 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ng5 Nf8 14. 0-0-0 is also good – Fritz and
CM9000 After long thought Fritz considers that Black’s best line is 13... Nxe3
14. Qxe3 Nf8 but then White retains the advantage with 15. 0-0-0.
I was aware of e5-e6 sacs and would certainly have given 12. e6 consideration
after 11... Ng4. The text-move came as a pleasant surprise.
12. Nxd5!
Played almost immediately. My previous experience with analogous positions
showed that Black would have great difficulty creating any counterplay here.
12 ... cxd5
13. Bd4!?
A crafty move that keeps the Black Bishop on b7 quiet by blockading the d4
-square. Normally this sort of outpost is occupied by a Knight but the text in
conjunction with White’s next move will leave Black badly cramped.
Of course White may now be threatening e5-e6. Black rules that out by playing
…e6 himself, but this means if he ever plays …f7-f6 then he can’t recapture
…e7xf6 and will be left with a weak Pawn on e6. Furthermore, the presence of the
d4 Bishop will virtually guarantee White control of the e5 square, and probably
also lead to the exchange of dark-square Bishops, a big plus with most of
Black’s Pawns already fixed on light squares.
There is a strong alternative plan here. White can play on the Queenside with
13. a4! prodding the b5 Pawn. After 13... bxa4 14. Rxa4 the a-pawn will come
under siege down the open file. Black can delay a decision about the b-Pawn’s
defence with 13 ...0-0 because 14. axb5 axb5 15. Rxa8 Qxa8 16. Bxb5?? loses
material to 16 ...Qa1+ 17. Qc1 Qa5+ and 18 ...Qxb5. However, if White castles
Kingside on any of moves 14-16 he keeps a clear advantage. Also after 13. a4 0-0
he can play 14. h4 – yes, advancing both Rook’s Pawns! - with a direct attack,
hence in the game we see Black deferring castling until White has committed his
King.
The text- move doesn’t change any of the above. White has kept his options open
and can still adopt any of these strong plans on either of the next two moves
according to how Black plays.
13 ... e6
14. Qe3!?
Preventing …Nb6 and taking control of c5 as well. 14. Qf2 was an alternative and
would have saved a tempo on the game continuation. I thought the Queen’s
presence on e3 would deter Black from …f7-f6 because of the vis-à-vis with the
e6 Pawn.
14 ...Rc8
15. O-O O-O
Both sides finally castle. White chooses Kingside in the firm belief that the
forthcoming attack will succeed. He has more space hence more flexibility about
what attacking options to take. The advance g2-g4 to support f4-f5 is definitely
on the agenda and so is h2-h4-h5. Meanwhile Black lacks counterplay. The open
c-file has no entry points and he has no viable Pawn breaks. If Black hadn’t
castled then White would have chosen the a4 break on the Queenside.
With his next move White commits all his pieces to the Kingside attack. The
previous evening I’d had a long endgame and was the last game to finish. I was
in no mood for a long game this afternoon, indeed just the opposite!
16. Rae1 Re8
17. Qf2
Switching the Queen round to the Kingside and away from the baleful eye of
Black’s e8 Rook.
After 17 ...f6 (f5) 18. exf6 Nxf6 19. Qh4! increases the Kingside pressure.
Black can head for the endgame with 19 ...Ne4 but this involves the exchange of
dark squared Bishops and he has many weaknesses.
In this position I originally advocated 17 ...Nf8 to shore up the e6, g6 and h7
squares. CM9000 came up with an interesting regrouping of 18. Bc5, 19. Bb4 and
20. Nd4, a fine example of the strategical flexibility that White’s space
advantage confers on him. The Knight on d4 gives further support to the g2-g4
and f4-f5 break.
17 ...Bf8!?
Black tries to force …Nc5 but White is having none of it.
18. b4!?
This advance fixes the b5 Pawn as well as ruling out Black’s minor piece
excursions to c5 and his hope for subsequent exchanges. Importantly it doesn’t
commit White to the Kingside attack because he still has the option of c2-c3;
Re1-a1 and a2-a4 playing on the Queenside as suggested earlier.
With Queen and Rook lined up on the f-file and only the King defending f7 I gave
serious consideration to 18 f5 with the following lines:
A1) 18. f5. exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. Qg3+ Bg7 21. e6 f6 22. exd7 Qxd7 23. Bxf6
to White’s clear advantage.
A2) 18. f5 exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. Qg3+ Bg7 21. e6 Nf6 22. exf7+ Kxf7 23. Ng5+
Kg8 24. Ne6 Qe7 25. Rxf5 is very strong for White
A3) 18. f5 exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. Qg3+ Bg7 21. e6 Nf6 22. exf7+ Kxf7 23. Ng5+
Kg8 24. Ne6
and now the better 24 ...Rxe6! 25. Rxe6 Nh5! 26. Qf2 Bxd4 27. Qxd4 Ng7
holds on with advantage to Black.
However, there’s an improvement with A4)
A4) 18. f5 exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. e6! f6 21. Qg3+ because if Black tries 21
...Kh8 then 22. Ng5 is devastating. Of course he should go back into the above
line with 21 ...Bg7.
The tricky line is:
A5) 18. f5 exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. e6 Rxe6 and now 21. Rxe6 fxe6 22. Qg3+ Kf7 23.
Ng5+ when 23 ...Ke8 24. Nxe6 Qe7 25. Re1 wins.
Instead
A6)
18. f5... exf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. e6 Rxe6 and now 21. Rxe6 fxe6 22. Qg3+ Kf7 23.
Ng5+ 23...Ke7 24. Re1 Rc6 looks okay until you appreciate the strength of 25.
Qh4! Typically in a violent situation it’s a quiet move that is decisive.
Black’s lack of defensive co-ordination now shows up clearly but I didn’t see
25. Qh4. I’ll leave the reader to work out further lines for themselves.
Of course Black must take on f5 at least once because allowing the wedge f5-f6
means the Kingside is ultimately indefensible. He doesn’t have to take twice
though, and I decided to wait for a better moment. As indicated earlier 18. b4
reduces Black’s options, but not White’s.
18 ...Rc6?!
A clumsy move that fails to get to the heart of his problems. Black’s position
is solid but passive. Instead of looking for nebulous counterplay on the
Queenside he should retract his last move with 18 ...Bg7 and try 19 ...Nf8. The
text hopes to add lateral defence to the Kingside after …exf5 and makes possible
…Nb6. Unfortunately this latter option adds to Black’s problems, not reduces
them.
The computers want to play 18...Qc7 but I think it is dangerous to move the
Queen away from the Kingside. Why allow Qh4 for free?
19. Qg3 Nb6?
Completely on the wrong track. Even the computers advocate this positional and
tactical error but I think it is the losing move. Once again I suggest 19 ...Bg7
and …Nf8. To this I would have replied 20. Qh3 intending g2-g4 and f4-f5.
One point about …Bg7 is that White’s d4 Bishop has the potential to cut right
into the corner at h8. If this became reality and Black’s g6 Pawn went missing
then his King will go under very quickly. White has indeed targeted g6, despite
it being defended by two Pawns! The other point about 19...Bg7 is that it unpins
the g6 Pawn enabling to take on f5 when White plays f4-f5.
The problem with the text is that this Knight is, somewhat surprisingly,
vulnerable on this square. The Queen and the defending Rook are needed for
lateral defence of the Kingside so if both are eliminated or deflected then the
Knight is loose to the d4 Bishop. More awkwardly, it soon becomes apparent that
a move Black would like to play is the retreat...Rc6-c7, so as to defend along
his second rank, yet this move would lose instantly to Bxb6
After the poor text-move, things happen very fast. White doesn’t miss his second
chance to play f4-f5.
20. f5 exf5
As indicated earlier Black must not allow the f6 wedge.
21. Bxf5
As usual this is the point at which I recommend having two sets to hand as the
analysis gets complicated. The current position is:
White: King g1, Queen g3, Rooks e1 and f1, Bishops d4 and f5, Knight f3, Pawns
a3, b4, c2, e5, g2 and h2.
Black: King g8, Queen d8, Rooks c6 and e8, Bishops b7 and f8, Knight b6, and
Pawns a6, b5, d5, f7, g6 and h7.
21 ...Bc8
This is the first spark of activity by this piece since it last moved on move 8.
Even in the notes it has only featured as a unit biting on the granite of its
own Pawn chain. Black’s position is probably beyond saving, specifically because
of the Queenside jam as will become apparent, but this seemingly useful
defensive move meets with a spectacular refutation.
The alternatives are bleak. The long-delayed 21...Bg7 walks straight into the
main theme:
A1) 21 ...Bg7 22. e6! fxe6 23. Bxg6! and Black’s pieces are cut off from his
disintegrating Kingside. 23 .…..hxg6 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 and now 25. Ne5 hitting g6,
f7 and c6 is decisive.
A2) Here 21 ...Bg7 22. e6! And now 22 ...Bxd4+ 23. Nxd4 solves no problems, Even
the desperate 23 ...R6xe6 is met by captures on e6 until Black recaptures with
the f7 Pawn, and then Bxg6 demolishes the Kingside again.
A3i) If 21 ...Bg7 22. e6 f6 then the thematic 23. Bxg6 wins again. 23 ...hxg6
24. Qxg6 and the big threat is 25. Ng5 followed by checks on h7 or captures on
f6.
If 24 .…..R6xe6 25. Rxe6 Rxe6 26. Ng5 Rc6 27. Qf7+ Kh8 28. Rf4
(threat 29 Rh4 mate)
fxg5 29. Qxg7 mate illustrates White’s themes to a nicety.
A3ii) If 21 ...Bg7 22. e6 f6 23. Bxg6 Rexe6 24. Bf7+! Kxf7 25. Ng5+ wins – the
King is overloaded trying to defend e6 and g7.)
CM9000 suggests:
B) 21 ...Qc7, a move I hadn’t seen but it meets with the standard refutation:
22. e6!
B1) 21 ...Qc7 22. e6 fxe6 23. Bxe6+ Rexe6 24. Qxc7 Rxc7 25. Rxe6 Nc4 26. Ng5 and
White has won the Exchange while maintaining his strong attack.
B2i) 21 ...Qc7 22. e6 Qxg3 23. exf7+ Kxf7 24. hxg3 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Nc4 26. Ng5+
Kg8 27. Be6+ wins the Exchange.
B2ii) 21 ...Qc7 22. e6 Qxg3 23. exf7+ Kxf7 24. hxg3 gxf5 25. Ng5+ wins the Rook
on e8 and Black has too many exposed minor pieces.
B2iii) 21 ...Qc7 22. e6 Qxg3 23. exf7+ Kxf7 24. hxg3 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 gxf5 26. Ne5+
Kg8 26. Nxc6 Bxc6 27. Bxb6 shows up the problem on the Queenside.
I suggested
C) 21 ...Re7 but that’s another horror story after
C1a) 21… ... Re7 22. e6 fxe6 23. Bxg6 Bg7 24. Bxh7+! Kxh7 25. Qh4+ Kg8 26. Bxg7!
- exploiting the pin on the h1-d8 diagonal – 26 ...Kxg7 27. Ne5 followed by 28.
Rf6 and the bare King falls prey to the marauding White pieces.
C1b) 21 .….. Re7 22. e6 fxe6 23. Bxg6 Bg7 24. Bxh7+! Kxh7 25. Qh4+ Bh6 26. Ng5+
is carnage.
C1c) 21 .….. Re7 22. e6 fxe6 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Bg7 then 25. Ng5 and 26.
Qh7 mate]
22. e6!!
Thematic, but stunning nevertheless. Black is covering this square four times,
having just enhanced that control with his last move. My clearly-shocked
opponent stared at the move for several minutes before finally writing it down.
The current position is:
White: King g1, Queen g3, Rooks e1 and f1, Bishops d4 and f5, Knight f3, Pawns
a3, b4, c2, e6, g2 and h2.
Black: King g8, Queen d8, Rooks c6 and e8, Bishops c8 and f8, Knight b6, and
Pawns a6, b5, d5, f7, g6 and h7.
The main features of 22. e6 are:
1) the clearance of the a1-h8 diagonal for the d4 Bishop,
2) the undermining of g6 by either the deflection or elimination of the f7 Pawn,
3) the blocking of the Rook on the sixth rank,
4) the clearance of the e5 square for the Knight where it hits both the loose
Rook on c6 and the g6 Pawn. Of course Black has just undefended said Rook.
5) the further activation of the White Rook on e1.
6) the clearance of the e5 square for the White Queen to threaten mate on h8.
7) the shock effect on the opponent.
If
A) 22 ...fxe6 then 23. Bxg6 is unanswerable. Black can’t take the Bishop because
he gets mated – 23 ...hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Bg7 25. Qxg7# mate - and he can’t not take
it because the discovered checks, particularly Bxf7++, are too strong. This
dilemma clearly occurs at the end of the game as well.
A natural move is 22 ...f6 but that just clogs up the third rank for the defence
even more. It would be okay if...Rc6-c7 was a candidate move but it isn’t
because. As pointed out earlier, it loses a Rook to Bxb6.
B1) 22 ...f6 23. Bxg6 hxg6? 24. Qxg6+ Bg7 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. e7 Qd7 27. Ng5!
forces mate.
B2) Better here is 22 ..f6 23. Bxg6 Rexe6 when 24. Bf5+ wins the Exchange with a
powerful position.
B3) There may well be better 24th moves for White, and after 22 ..f6 23. Bxg6
Rexe6 CM9000 has found the incredible 24. Ne5!!. the main points of which are
B3i) 22 ..f6 23. Bxg6 Rexe6 24. Ne5! fxe5 25. Bf7++ Kh8 26. Qg8# mate.
B3ii) 22 ...f6 23. Bxg6 Rexe6 24. Ne5! hxg6 25. Qxg6+ Bg7 26. Nxc6
- [if 26 ...Rxc6?? 27. Rxe8+]
- again with a material plus and a winning attack. I didn’t see 24. Ne5 but then
I’m not a computer. Nonetheless, a combination of positional totting-up and
intuition will be enough to help an attacker realise that Black’s Queenside
pieces do not help in the defence of their beleaguered monarch.
The key move 22. e6 is 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5!
C1a) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rc7 loses to 24. Bxb6, a tactical point which the
computers pick up at move 20 but not at move 19 when they recommended 19 ...Nb6.
My opponent only spotted it now.
C1bia) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rd6 24. Nxg6! hxg6 25. Bxg6 wins again.
C1bid) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rd6 24. Nxg6! Bxf5 25. Ne7 is double-check and mate
C1bic) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rd6 24. Nxg6! Bg7 is also met by 25. Ne7+ and 26.
Qxg7+ when White has a field day.
C1bia) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rc8 24. Nxg6! hxg6 25. Bxg6 wins again.
C1bid) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rc8 24. Nxg6! Bxf5 25. Ne7 is double-check and mate
C1bic) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Rc8 24. Nxg6! Bg7 is also met by 25. Ne7+ and 26 Qxg7+
when White has a field day.
The computers, still sulking after missing 23 ...Rc7 24. Bxb6 in C1a, stagger on
with
D) 22 ...Bxe6 23. Ne5 Bxf5.
At this precise moment White is a piece and a Pawn down but his next move takes
a Rook. The whole line is forced. Because of Black’s need to keep his major
pieces mutually protected.
24. Nxc6 Qc8 25. Rxe8 Qxe8 26 Rxf5 Qxc6 27. Qe5
(yet another point of 22 e6, clearance of this square for the White Queen and
the mating battery on h8 – see the next paragraph also.)
27 ...f6 28. Rxf6 Bg7 29. Rxc6 Bxe5 30. Bxe5 or b6 with an extra Rook. I found
most of this line as well, and earlier than the machines did!
Finally
E) 22 ...Rcxe6
It’s worth pointing out that 22 ...Rexe6 leads to similar lines. This is because
with two White pieces, namely the Bishop on f5 and the Rook on e1, controlling
the e6 square, Black can’t keep a Rook controlling the e5 square which enables
White to get in the powerful move Qe5
E1a: 22 ...Rcxe6 23. Rxe6 fxe6 24. Qe5 exf5 25. Qh8+ Kf7 26. Qxh7+ Ke6 27. Re1+
Kd6 28. Bc5+ Kc6 29. Nd4# mate is a wonderful way to go
E1b: 22 ...Rcxe6 23. Rxe6 Rxe6 24. Bxe6 is followed up by 25 Qe5. with a winning
attack. Black‘ s Queen is tied to the defence of the Knight and can‘t help on
the Kingside.
E1ci: 22 ...Rcxe6 23. Rxe6 Bxe6 24. Qe5 f6 25. Bxe6+ Kg7 26. Qe2 and White has
both an extra piece and an attack.
E1cii: 22 ...Rcxe6 23. Rxe6 Bxe6 24. Qe5 f6 25. Bxe6+ Kg7 and now CM9000 wants
to go 26. Ng5 because of the spectacular line 26 ...fxe5 27. Bxe5+ Kh6 28. Nf7+
Kh5 29. g4+ Kh4 30. Bg3+ Kh3 31. Nxd8 winning as 31 ...Rxd8 allows 32. g5 mate.
I had calculated up to 26 Qe2 in line E1ci when my punch-drunk opponent produced
the move.
22 ...Nc4
This is a clear admission of defeat, and it doesn’t even succeed in its
intention of controlling e5! There are probably lots of ways to win here. I took
the simplest and most thematic. Note how all of White’s pieces take part in the
attack
23. exf7+ Kxf7
This recapture is obviously forced but the Black King has now walked into the
crossfire of the entire White army.
24. Bxg6+!
Finally sacrificing on the square that I’d been targeting for several moves.
If now 24 … ...hxg6 then 25. Ne5++ double check and 26. Nxc6 is convincing, the
undefended Rook on c6 motif again. Hence Black takes with the Rook. It attacks
White’s Queen but that is completely irrelevant.
24 ... Rxg6
25. Ne5++
1-0
Just in time for a miniature (25 moves or less).
The first thing to point out, is that this is a double check from the e5 Knight
and the f1 Rook. This means that Black must move his King as blocking or taking
either of the checking pieces would leave him in check from the other one.
That’s why Black’s 22...Nc4 achieved nothing.
Most of Black’s available moves lead to the same denouement.
A) 25 ...Ke7 26. Nxg6++ - with another double check – Kd7 27. Rxe8 Qxe8 28.
Nxf8+ and White is a Rook up.
B) 25 ...Ke6 26. Nxg6+ is not double check this time but Black only has useless
Knight interpositions such as 26 ...Ne3 or e5 or transposing now or on move 27
back into A with 26 ...Kd7.
C) 25 ...Kg7 26. Nxg6+ is a discovered check from the White Bishop on d4 and at
this point White is an Exchange and a Pawn up His next move will probably be 27.
Nxf8 with another discovered check but Black has enough problems playing move 26
... Any move loses a lot of material.
D) 25 ...Kg8 is the only move that doesn’t walk into yet another discovered
check. White plays 26. Nxg6, going an Exchange and a Pawn up again, and brings
us back to dilemma of must take/can’t take.
D1!) 25 ...Kg8 26. Nxg6 Ne5
(not taking and blocking the Bishop’s control of h8)
27. Ne7++ Kh8 28. Qg8# mate – note how the f8 Bishop blocks the major pieces
controlling g8.
D2) 25 ...Kg8 26. Nxg6 hxg6 (taking) 27. Qxg6+ Bg7 28. Qxg7# mate.
D3i) 25 ...Kg8 26. Nxg6. Now Black can joke and go 26 ...Bg7 but White has the
last laugh with 27. Rf8+! Bxf8 28. Ne7 ++ Kf7 29. Qg8# mate,. All his pieces
co-operating nicely in the denouement.
D3ii) 25 ...Kg8 26. Nxg6 Bg7 27. Rf8+! Rxf8 28. Ne7+ Kh8 29. Q or Bxg7# mate
D4iii) 25 ...Kg8 26. Nxg6 Bg7 27. Rf8+! Rxf8 28. Ne7+ Qxe7 29. Rxe7 Rf7 30. Re8+
Rf8 31. Qxg7# mate.
Tyson Mordue
Bristol 2018
Notes end.
