1984-01-01 - Pickup, Ian ½-½ Brigden, Michael
The decisive game from the 1983-4 Club Championship. What starts out as a Pirc Defence transposes into a Sicilian Dragon. Mike outplays Ian, forces the Queens off, and has the better of the endgame. However, an oversight in time-trouble is what finally settles the game.
[Event "D&F CLUB CHAMP"] [Site "?"] [Date "1984.01.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Pickup, Ian"] [Black "Brigden, Michael"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B74"] [Annotator "Mordue,Tyson"] [PlyCount "61"] {This was the deciding game of the 1983-4 Club Championship. The drawn result meant that both players shared the championship. The original comments are by Mike Brigden.} 1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 {"Quite a sound move. It is not easy to take advantage of the delay in playing d4." MEB.} g6 3. Be2 Bg7 4. O-O Nf6 5. Nc3 c5 {"I spent a valuable ten minutes wondering whether to play 5...0-0, leading after a probable 6 d4 to the Classical Pirc, or to play a Sicilian." MEB. The point is that the Sicilian variation will be a Classical Dragon, not a Najdorf, Scheveningen, or a Richter Rauzer. What does Ian usually play against the Dragon? If it's a Yugoslav attack then the Bishop is misplaced on e2.} 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Nb3 Be6 10. f4 Na5 11. f5 Bc4 12. fxg6 $6 { "This weakens White's potential for a Kingside attack. Better is the immediate 12 Nxa5 Bxe2 13 Qxe2 Qxa5 followed perhaps by 14 g4, the Stockholm Attack." MEB. The Stockholm Attack is rare these days. Databases show mixed results with a slight bias towards Black. The most high-profile game I found was Milner-Barry v Capablanca, Margate 1939, drawn in 29 eventful moves. The point of the attack is to push g2-g4-g5 and then f5-f6. By exchanging on g6 White lessens the pressure considerably.} hxg6 13. Nxa5 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Qxa5 15. Bd4 { "15 Rf3 is better, giving White some attacking chances." MEB. I examined this with Deep Rybka and came up with a couple of lines. Firstly 15.Rf3 Ng4 - going after the dark-squared Bishop - 16.Nd5 Bxb2!? 17.Nxe7+ Kg7 18.Nf5+!? (The more obvious 18.Raf1 is met by Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Qb6 with an ending rated as level by the engine. Play for both sides though.) 18...gxf5 19.Rxf5 Ne5 20. Bh6+ Kxh6 21.Qe3+ Kg7 22.Qg3+ Ng6 23.Rxa5 Bxa1 24 c3 with a slight advantage for Black according to Deep Rybka. Lots of play here. Secondly I tried the more sedate 15...Qh5 half-pinning the Rook. After 16.Rd1 Nd7 - if this steed can get to e5 in this structure then Black is normally okay. See Spassky-Fischer, 17th match game 1972. - 17.Nd5 Rae8 18.Rf2 Qxe2 19.Rxe2 and Deep Rybka says has White has a slight advantage. I'm sure I'm one of several players queuing up to say that Black is probably better here because of the isolated e4 Pawn. Incidentally 14 Bd4 was the main theoretical alternative to 14 g4, but White still needs the Pawn on f5.} Qh5 $1 {TM: My exclamation mark. "In this position White can attack on the Kingside whereas Black has play down the c-file and against the isolate e-Pawn. If [Black] can reduce material to, say, a Rook and minor piece each [he] will have the better game. 15...Qh5 was played after a lot of thought examining the position resulting from 16 Qxh5 Nxh5 17 Bxg7 Kxg7 18 Nd5 e6 when the Knight can go to c3, c7 or e3. I thought these good positions for Black though not as good as desired. Nevertheless the alternatives gave White the chance of an attack and with Ian's skill in attack it is better not to give him any chances." MEB. Clearly the first part of this note echoes my previous comment but I should emphasise that Mike's notes came first. The second part I also absolutely agree with, particularly the bit about Ian's attacking ability having already annotated some of his attacking wins! Deep Rybka says the ending resulting from the above line is level. Once again I beg to differ, Mike already does, and I feel Black has a plus. I would love to get the King to e5 here let alone the Knight!} 16. Qd3 {"Not 16 Rf3? Ng4." MEB. The point being that Black has threats to h2 and d4 and this line justifies the Queen's switch to the Kingside.} Ng4 17. h3 Ne5 18. Qd2 Nc4 19. Qf2 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Qc5 21. Qxc5 dxc5 {"Black has good winning chances now." MEB. Once again Deep Rybka says this position is level and once again I agree with Mike. It is very hard to find a constructive plan for White.} 22. b3 Ne5 {I was astonished to find that Deep Rybka preferred 22...Na3 to this obvious re-centralising move. I can see the point as getting a Pawn to b4 secures the c3 and d4 squares, but 23.Rf2 b5 24.Nd5 e6 25.Nf6+ Kg7 26.Raf1 Rad8 27.e5 is a prime example of what Black doesn't want happening. Maybe Black can improve in this line but "A Knight on the rim is dim."} 23. Nd5 e6 {At first I preferred 23...Rae8 and deferring ...e7-e6 until I've first played ...Kg8-g7 and f7-f6. However, White can simply go 24 Rf2 Kg7 25 Raf1 preventing 25...f6 because of 26 Nc7 and 27 Ne6+. By playing the immediate 23...e6 Mike was under the impression that White's next move was not good. It turns out that his judgement was right but by a fine margin.} 24. Nf6+ $6 {"[This] should be a losing move since for two valuable [tempi] the f1 Rook is tied to the defence of the Knight." MEB. The point is that the Knight has nowhere to go other than g4 and a swap there would ruin the White Pawns condemning him to an inferior rook ending. So if the Knight can't move because it needs the Rook's protection then Black can threaten to invade down the d-file. White can't oppose Rooks because an exchange will rob the steed of its defence. In the game Ian organises a defence of the Knight with g2-g4-g5 and that is the two tempi Mike refers to. The implication is that White should be retreating with 24 Nc3 or 24 Nf4 and Deep Rybka finally agrees, albeit conceding Black a small advantage!} Kg7 25. g4 Rad8 26. g5 Rd2 27. Rf2 Rfd8 {So that pause to defend the Knight has resulted in a Black Rook settling on White's second rank. Deep Rybka now evaluates Black as being better by exactly 0.5. One assumes that if Mike had both Rooks on the second rank then he'd be better by +1?} 28. Raf1 b5 {"So that when Black gets a Rook behind the b or a-Pawns [the replies] c2-c4 or a2-a4 will not be possible. I anticipated a variation like 29 Rxd2 Rxd2 30 Rf2 Rd1+ 31 Kg2 (if 31 Rf1 Nf3+ wins the g5 Pawn) 31...Ra1." MEB. However, this does not win. White has 32.Rd2! - threatening 33 Rd8 and 34 Rg8 mate. This is a common tactic in a simplified position with a Knight on f6 and this Kingside Pawn structure - 32...Kf8 (not 32...Rg1+ 33.Kxg1 Nf3+ 34.Kf2 Nxd2 35.Ne8+ Kf8 36.Nd6 Ke7 37.e5 b4 38.Ke2 Nb1 39.Kd3 and White is winning.) 33.Rd8+ Ke7 34.Rc8 Kd6 35.Ne8+ Kd7 36.Rxc5 Kxe8 37.Rxe5 Rxa2 with a level ending. Deep Rybka suggests first exchanging Rooks with 28...Rxf2 29 Rxf2 and then playing 29...b5. It wants to rush forward with the c-Pawn as fast as possible to control d2. This would make Mike's line playable because White wouldn't have Rd2 any more. There are a few other pluses based on having a Pawn advanced this far as well. In this line White is low on options because the Knight is still short of squares, the Rook is tied down to the second Rank, and he must be aware of ...Nf3xg5. The engine still has Black at about +0.5 so White has a hard job to save this ending.} 29. Rf4 $2 {"With both sides short of time this raises complications. Ng4 threatens and Black must be careful of Rh4." MEB. As indicated in the last note White should play 29 Rxd2 Rxd2 30 Rf2 upon which Black should reply 30...Rd8! and we are back in Deep Rybka's suggested line.} Rh8 $2 {"Stupidity! I feared that if 29...Rxc2 White replies 30 Ng4 Nxg4 31 Rxf7+, but of course Black should play 30...R8d2 since 31 Nxe5 allows mate. With only three minutes left I opted for a drawing variation, just hoping my opponent would kiss 30 Ng4, which of course he didn't." MEB. Ian took a risk in his opponent's time-trouble and it paid off. Credit to him.} 30. Ng4 $1 {Not 30 h4? Rd8 31 Ng4 Nxg4 32 Rxf7+?? Kg8 and White no longer has the recapture on g4. White doesn't have to play 31 Ng4, but Black's position improves with the Pawn on h4 because it's a fixed target and White doesn't have Rh4 any more.} Rxh3 31. Nxe5 {Obviously Black has a perpetual check on g3 and h3, which is enough to share a club championship.} 1/2-1/2
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