1982-05-14 - Buck, M 0-1 Wood, Michael
A classic Mike Wood game in his pet Moller variation against the Ruy Lopez. But there's a surprise at the end!
[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "1982.5.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Buck, M"] [Black "Wood, Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [Annotator "Doe,John"] [PlyCount "70"] {The original notes are by Graham Copeland (GC). Deep Rybka has a lot to say about this sharp game, particularly towards the end. Be prepared for a surprise!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 {The Moller variation of the Ruy Lopez. a favourite of Mike Wood's.} 6. Re1 {"My 1946 edition of MCO (Modern Chess Openings) gives 6 Nxe5 Nxe5 7 d4 Nxe4 8 Qe2 Be7 9 Qxe4 Ng6 10 c4 with a slight edge to White." MCO 12 (1982) gives Capablanca's analysis: 6 c3 Ba7 7 d4 Nxe4 8 Re1 f5 9 Nbd2 0-0 10 Nxe4 fxe4 11 Bg5 Qe8 12 Rxe4 d6 with a slight advantage for White. It describes the Moller as 'dubious'. Gary Lane's "The Ruy Lopez for the Tournament Player" (1992) doesn't even mention the line. Chandler-Flear, Bath zonal tournament 1987 went 6 c3 Bb6!? 7 d4 Nxe4 8 Re1 f5 9 Nbd2 0-0 10 Nxe4 fxe4 11 Bg5 Qe8 12 Rxe4 d6 13 Be3 Bf5 14 Rh4 with a complicated game that Black won in 42 moves. Deep Rybka's contribution in the first line after 6 Nxe5 Nxe5 7 d4 Nxe4 8 Qe2 to play 8...Qe7 9 Qxe4 Nc6 10 Qxe7+ Bxe7 11 c3 d5 with near equality. In the second line it considers that White is winning a Pawn at the end with 13 dxe5 and that White is about +1. It improves with 7...b5 8 Bc2 d6 which is definitely more sensible. In my own experience, most of it against Mike Wood (!), it is best to block out Black's Bishop with c2-c3 and d2-d4 as quickly as possible. However. Re1 is not a frequent choice. Black can embarrass White with 6...Ng4 7 Rf1 Nf6 which is effectively an offer of a draw. On my database three of the games that featured 6 Re1 transposed into the Archangel Variation after 6...b5 7 Bb3 Bb7.} b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 Ba7 9. d4 Qe7 {Deliberately chosen over 9...d6 to avoid exchanges on e5 and then a swap of Queens on d8.} 10. Bg5 {Deep Rybka says apparently this is okay with the correct follow-up. We will see. Alternatives are 10 h3, 10 a4, and 10 Be3. If after the latter 10...Nxe4?? 11 dxe5 followed by 12 Bxa7 will win material.} h6 11. Bh4 {Graham had given the previous move an ?! without comment. This retreat gives Black the chance to advance on the Kingside. Deep Rybka suggests White should play 11 Bxf6 instead and after 11...Qxf6 follow up with 12 Bd5 to reduce the pressure on d4. The engine says this position is equal whereas after the text Black gains an initiative on the Kingside. However, there is much more to be said.} g5 $5 {Apparently weakening but I saw, live, Karpov play this move in an analogous position against Murray Chandler at Bath in 1983 (a Master Game event but never transmitted on BBC). As the game features an under-promotion to a Knight I can't resist giving it here: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Bg5 a6 8. Bb3 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ba7 11. Nbd2 Bg4 12. Kh1 Bh5 13. Qe1 Kg7 14. Bd1 Bg6 15. Nc4 Re8 16. Bc2 Qd7 17. Qd2 Rad8 18. a4 Nh5 19. b4 d5 20. exd5 Qxd5 21. b5 e4 22. Ne3 Bxe3 23. fxe3 Nxg3+ 24. hxg3 exf3 25. bxc6 Rxe3 26. Qxe3 fxg2+ 27. Kh2 gxf1=N+ 28. Rxf1 Qxc6 29. Qe5+ Kg8 30. Rf2 Re8 0-1 At the time I was very surprised but Karpov's space advantage and the poor placing of White's Bishop negated any weaknesses incurred. More on this in the next, even longer note!} 12. Bg3 d6 { "Against all text-book advice Black has advanced on both wings leaving holes all over the place e.g. a5, d5, f5 and h5, but because no pieces have been exchanged this is not easily exploited. A quick examination of each side's position and subsequent play reveals an important advantage in Black's favour - he has a specific plan to play to. 'Better to have a bad plan than no plan at all' goes the saying, but in this game Black has a very good plan true to Mike's heart: attack! Note how Black's King's Bishop lurks on a7, the Queen's Bishop has excellent diagonals either on c8 or b7, the Queen's Knight defends the e5 Pawn and hence the centre, and the King's Knight is ready to enter f4 via h5. The apparently loose-looking Kingside Pawns are ready to advance and they have two targets in the form of White's Bishop and Knight. White is certainly not lost (yet), but finding a plan for him is not easy. The only area of action appears to be the Queenside, and the advanced b-Pawn suggests an early a2-a4. We have to wait a further fourteen moves for White to play this, and by then ...". GC's original note in full and one of the longest, if not the longest, ever in Versus. Unfortunately there's a problem with this assessment and it can be highlighted by comparing this position with the Chandler-Karpov game given above. In that one Karpov had the centre under control and he was the one that initiated a break there. Here Buck already has d2-d4 established and there is pressure on the Black centre. Analysing with Deep Rybka I found the following line: 13.Bd5! Bb7 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Bxc6 Bxc6 16.Nxe5 Bb7 17.Nd2 Rad8 18.Qe2 h5 19.h3 h4 20.Bh2 Rfe8 21.Rad1 and the engine says White is 0.4 better. This effectively means that Black has compensation for the Pawn but not enough. Deep Rybka had underestimated the effect of 13 Bd5! back at move 11 and there is no obvious improvement for Black so the engine got it wrong. What I'm saying here is that the play on the wing has been met in classical style by play in the centre and White emerges with an advantage.} 13. h3 $2 {Also given an ? by GC who wrote "This weakens the Kingside Pawns unnecessarily, so not only will ...g5-g4 by Black have more effect but a sacrifice on h3 becomes possible." Normally I couldn't agree more, yet Deep Rybka had this as White's second choice after 13 Bd5! After some thought I give the text an ? as well for missing 13 Bd5 and Graham's accurate remark. Pawn to Rook Three may not look like a mistake when you play it, but later on it could be regretted.} Na5 $2 {As GC remarked "Why doesn't this lose a Pawn to 14 dxe5?". Once again I couldn't agree more, particularly as the text move doesn't seem to do anything constructive either now or on the next few moves. However, once again we'll come back to this point in the next note. Both 13...Bb7 and 13...Bd7 seem okay (Deep Rybka) although bearing mind Black intends ...Nf6-h5 I'd be reluctant to have the Bishop potentially hanging on d7 to White's Queen.} 14. Bc2 $2 Nh5 {Now the point of 13...Na5 is revealed. After the text White no longer has the standard retort 15 Nxe5 with a discovery by the Queen on the h5 Knight. This normally wins a Pawn but here it doesn't for two reasons. One is the obvious reply 15...Nxg3 winning a piece, and secondly there is no longer the zwischenzug 16 Nxc6 for White because said Knight is now on a5!} 15. Bh2 {Deep Rybka actually came up with an alternative; the strange sequence 15 a4!? Nxg3 16 axb5 Nc4 17 b3 Nb6 18 fxg3 axb5 19 Qd3 claiming White is better by +0.01! Hardly worth the effort as it judges the text to be +0.62. Note that 15 dxe5?? Nxg3 16 exd6 cxd6 does not win a Pawn because 17 fxg3 is illegal - the a7 Bishop combined with the effect of h2-h3 losing control of g3.} Nf4 16. Bxf4 {Deep Rybka suggests playing 16 a4 first. It may well have a point after 16...b4 17 Bxf4 gxf4 18 dxe5 dxe5 19 Qd5!?, but not (16.a4 b4) 17.cxb4 Nc6 18.Bxf4 gxf4 19.dxe5 dxe5 20.b5? axb5 21.axb5 Bxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Rxa1 23.bxc6 Qc5+ 24.Kf1 Ba6+ 25.Bd3 Rd8 gives Black all he wants from a Moller.} gxf4 {"The open g-file and the uncontested a7 Bishop give Black a won game, and White's defensive efforts merely serve to hasten the end." GC. The only problems are that Deep Rybka says White is 0.56 better and to prove it goes 17 dxe5 dxe5 18 Qd5 winning a Pawn. All this leads back to not playing 13...Bb7 controlling some light squares and connecting the Rooks.} 17. Nbd2 $2 Kh8 18. b4 Nc6 19. d5 {"The power of the King's Bishop now takes on terrifying proportions. 19 Nb3 was the only move." GC. Deep Rybka endorses the text saying White is roughly 0.4 ahead. However, as it is important to keep this Bishop quiet it is difficult to endorse this advance. Yet after 19 Nb3 it says White is only +0.2 better. Very strange.} Nd8 20. Kf1 $6 {?! was Graham's addition without any note. Deep Rybka says White loses all his advantage with this move giving instead 20 Qe2 Rg8 21 Kh1 evaluating as about +0.55. Intriguingly it then suggests Black should play 21...c6 or 21...c5, playing on the side of the board where White is stronger rather than try to increase the Kingside pressure. In itself that seems like a clear strategical error and certainly an incorrect practical approach.} Rg8 21. Qe2 Qf6 {"21...Qd7 intending 22...Qxh3! is met by 23 Ng1 and the Queen is slightly misplaced." GC. Deep Rybka prefers moving the e1 Rook away so what about the sacrifice on g2? We get 21...Qd7 22.Reb1 Rxg2 23.Kxg2 Qxh3+ 24.Kg1 Nb7 25.Nh2 Bd7 26.Kh1 and White is okay. Conclusion? Black needs to clear his back rank to make realistic threats but Graham's comment is fine. After the text Deep Rybka thinks Black is better by +0.28. Well, he's improved his Queen position.} 22. Ng1 $2 {Vacating the f3 square for the Queen so it protect g2. Deep Rybka favours 22 Qd3 and if 22...Qg7 23 Nh4 followed by 24 Ndf3 and this is very difficult to break down. Black needs his King's Bishop on the h4-d8 diagonal! The engine really doesn't like the text giving Black a plus of between 1 and 1. 16. Whatever numerical evaluation you put on this position it is becoming clear that White is under siege. Deep Rybka's point about 20 Kf1 is that Kh1 followed by Rg1 is a more usual defensive set-up and possibly more effective.} Qg5 23. Qf3 f6 24. c4 $6 {It's correct to look for counterplay on the Queenside but 24 a4 must be more effective because it has a Rook behind it.} Nf7 {Deep Rybka now has Black at over +1.5.} 25. cxb5 Qh4 $2 {Graham gave this an ! but it's a case of right idea, wrong square. Instead Black should go backwards to keep vertical pressure on the file. For example 25...Qg6 26.bxa6? - this is just a bad move but the points are clear - 26...Bxa6+ 27.Ne2 Ng5 28. Qb3 Ne6 29.Qf3 Nd4 wins or 25...Qg6 26.Ne2 Ng5 27.Qc3 Nxh3 wins. The g2 Pawn is pinned against a mate on g1 but this theme doesn't arise in the game.} 26. Re2 {To protect f2 after the Queen moves away.} Ng5 {Deep Rybka suggests the nice touch 26...Bd4! 27 Rc1 axb5 with play down the a-file as well.} 27. Qd3 axb5 {Just for a moment White has everything guarded so Black recovers his Pawn. Naturally White can't take it - 28 Qxb5 Bd4 and 29...Ba6 and 30...Qxf2 mate.} 28. a4 {At last, but White has missed several opportunities to play this already. Deep Rybka has Black at +0.85 here.} Bd7 {"By now White, and Black less so, was in time-trouble so Mike decided to make the most of his attacking position by playing sharply." GC. Quite right too! The time-control was move 35.} 29. a5 $2 {This is a very nice Pawn for an endgame but White has to sure he gets to one. Much better is 29 axb5 when the Queen's Rook finally sees some daylight. There is the chance to double Rooks or, if necessary, just take on a7 to relieve the pressure. Now, as indicated earlier, with the Rooks connected Black can make hay on the Kingside.} Nxh3 $1 {First clear the g-file.} 30. Nxh3 {If 30.gxh3 Rxg1+! 31.Kxg1 Bxh3 32.Ra3 Rg8+ 33.Kh2 Be3! - cutting everything off on the third rank, a theme that we'll see again - 34.Nf3 Qg4 35.fxe3 Bf1 and mate in two moves.} Rxg2 $1 31. Kxg2 {The alternative is 31.Ra3 - to defend the h3 Knight - but White probably didn't have time to work out that 31...Rag8 32.Ke1 Bxh3 33.Qxh3 Bxf2+ 34.Kd1 Qxh3 35. Rxh3 Rg1+ 36.Nf1 Rxf1+ 37.Kd2 Rg3 is decisive anyway.} Rg8+ 32. Kh2 Bg4 $2 { Blowing the win. GP pointed out 32...Be3 winning - 33 Rxe3 Bxh3 34 Rxh3 Qf2+35 Kh1 Qg2 mate - but even better is 32...Rg3! because 32 fxg3?? is simply met by 32...Qxh3 mate. The Moller Bishop controls g1. Graham believed Black was still winning here but he was wrong. Then again he didn't have a computer!} 33. Rg1 h5 {So as to answer Rxg4 with hxg4. However, White has a surprising resource that he misses in severe time pressure.} 34. Rg2 $6 {Not fatal but Deep Rybka finds the subtle 34 Qf3! bringing the Queen to the Kingside. Obviously if 34...Bxf3 35 Nxf3 traps the Black Queen in return. After 35...Qg4 36 Rxg4 hxg4 37 Kg2 gxf3+ 38 Kxf3 White emerges a piece to the good.} f3 {The only try left. Now a curious moment. Deep Rybka suggests 34...Rg5 and after 35 Rg1 it advocates 35...Rg8 with an equal position, presumably because of the repetition, which we know allows White 36 Qf3 again. Now after the text 35 Nxf3?? Qxh3+ 36 Kg1 Bxf3 and Black is winning because White must give up the Queen to prevent mate on h1 or g2. Black, who was two pieces and Rook down, has won his two pieces back and then the Queen as well. Of course, White's only saving move is a winner. 35 Qxf3! still does the job. After 35...Bxf3 36 Rxg8+! - if 36 Nxf3 Rxg2+ 37 Kxg2 Qg4+ rescues her Majesty. Last move the Rook was on g1 so this line wouldn't involve a check - 36...Kxg8 37 Nxf3 Qg4 38 Nfg1 White has Rook and two Knights for the Queen and Black's attack has burnt out.} 35. Rxg4 $4 hxg4 {The time-control is reached but it's one move too late for White. After 36 Qxf3 gxf3 37 Nxf3 Qg4 38 Nhg5 Rxg5 39 Nxg5 Qxe2 is convincing enough.} 0-1
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