1985-01-01 - Palmer, Richard 0-1 Pearce, Andrew
This is one for the tacticians. It's another 'junior beats established senior' game from the club championship again. In a French Winawer both players make serious errors early on. Andrew weakens a lot of dark squares but Richard drops a Rook! However, the timing of taking the material is vital and Andrew, in making just a small error, gives Richard a strong attack on the weak dark squares. Intricate and long variations abound and this is the most analysed encounter on the page. This is not a game to spend five minutes on, but five hours might be worth it!
[Event "D&F CLUB CHAMP"] [Site "?"] [Date "1985.01.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Palmer, Richard"] [Black "Pearce, Andrew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C17"] [Annotator "Mordue,Tyson"] [PlyCount "76"] {Another club championship game featuring a junior beating an established player. Original notes by the generous loser, Richard Palmer, are marked RP.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Qg4 g6 {"This weakens the dark squares on the Kingside. Book is 5...Ne7 for if 6 Qxg7 Rg8 7 Qxh7? cxd4 8 a3 Qa5 9 Rb1 dxc3 10 axb4 Qa2 wins for Black. If White likes sharp positions he can play 6 Qxg7 Rg8 7 Qh6 (defending c1) 7...cxd4 8 a3 Qa5 9 axb4 Qxa1 10 Nb5. In this game White should play 6 Nf3 but after his poor 6th move he has difficulty defending his Pawns." RP. One of the most comprehensive notes by a contributor to Versus instead of a regular columnist, and there's more to come! It gives your current annotator a lot of work but that's what I'm here for. First of all 5 Qg4 is the third most popular choice for White in this line of the French Winawer after 5 a3 (over 16,000 games) and 5 Bd2 (2,300 games) with a mere 551 games. However, that's the point. It's a much less analysed line so clearly a surprise for Andrew and 5...g6 is a concession. If you are in any doubt about this then note the position of White's Queen's Bishop at the end of the game. An experienced French player will be used to playing closed positions and, as 4 e5 creates precisely that, a flexible approach can be useful so 5...Kf8 is an acceptable move. The loss of castling rights is not an important issue here. Secondly, as Richard says, the most common move is 5...Ne7 offering up a gambit. In the line 6 Qxg7 Rg8 7 Qxh7 cxd4 8 a3 Qa5 9 Rb1 dxc3 10 axb4 Qa2 which is winning for Black as Richard said, the error is not 7 Qxh7 but 9 Rb1?. At that point White should sacrifice the Exchange with 9 axb4 Qxa1 10 Nc3e2 which has worked out well for White in practice. In the analogous line - 6 Qxg7 Rg8 7 Qh6 cxd4 8 a3 Qa5 9 axb4 Qxa1 10 Nb5 White's Knight is on a better square yet the line has been played less frequently! Finally after 5 ...g6 the database says the most common reply is 6 dxc5 yet the statistically best move is 6 Bd2. Richard's 6 Be2 doesn't even feature and Deep Rybka says Black already has easy equality.} 6. Be2 $2 Nc6 7. a3 {Deep Rybka suggests 7 Nf3 with equality but after 7...cxd4 8 Nxd4 Nxe5 it changes its mind to a clear Black plus. I think the Pawn minus would make most humans shy away from this.} Ba5 {Deep Rybka has two alternative suggestions. The first is the complicated 7...Qa5 8 axb4 Qxa1 9 Qf4 and either 9...Nxd4 and 9...Nxb4 with a clear Black plus. The second is the simple 7... Nxd4 threatening a fork on c2. The reply is 8 Bd1 and I hardly think that stands as a recommendation for the 5 Qg4 line!} 8. Kf1 $5 {"White unpins the c3 Knight. If now 8...cxd4 9 Nb5 Nxe5 10 Qxd4 is good for White." RP. In this line after 10...f6 Deep Rybka says Black is better by +0.84. Andrew's choice in the game is good as well.} Nxd4 9. b4 Bb6 {Deep Rybka points out other moves such as 9...cxb4, 9...Nxc2 and 9...Bc7 but there is nothing wrong with the text. It's a complicated, messy position and one has to do the best that one can.} 10. Bg5 Qc7 11. f4 $4 {A bad oversight given a single ? by Richard who missed the potential fork on e3 next move, otherwise he would have played the 'normal' 11 Nf3.} Nxc2 {Given a ? by Richard who wrote "It seems strange to criticise a move that wins a whole Rook, but the departure of the d4 Knight allows White an attack that should have won. Yet White is clearly lost if 11... cxb4 12 Nb5 Nxb5 13 Bxb5+ Bd7 14 Bxd7+ Qxd7 15 axb4 Qb5+." There's not much to argue about with the variation. Black has nice alternatives at move 12 with 12...Qc5 and 12...Qc2 but 12...Nxb5 is okay. At the end of the note 16 Qe2 Qxb4 just leaves Black two Pawns up in a better position. The discussion point here will be whether White really has a winning attack. Yes, the Knight elopement from d4 allows Nc3-b5-d6+ but I think we'll find Black has resources. Deep Rybka currently has Black at +3.5.} 12. Qh3 $2 {Deep Rybka says that this is another mistake. Instead it suggests 12.Qf3 with the continuation 12...Nxa1 13.Nb5 Qc6 14.Nd6+ Kf8 15.b5 Qc7 16.Qc3 Bd7 17.Qxa1 f6 18.exf6 Qxd6 19.f7 d4 20.fxg8Q+ Kxg8 when Black is an Exchange and two Pawns up for nothing - if 21 Bf6?? Qxf4+. The line is not completely forced but as White is losing a whole Rook in the game it has to be regarded as some sort of improvement. The problem with the text is that it gives Black another powerful opportunity to improve his position but this one is spurned. After 12 Qh3 Black has the handy zwischenzug 12...cxb4! and if 13.Nb5 Qc5 Black is threatening mate on f2. After 14 Nd6+ Kf8 15 Qf3 - so the error of move 12 costs a tempo and the Black Queen is more active - and now 15...Nxa1. If you look at this position from the pieces captured perspective Black has taken a Rook and three Pawns and White has taken ... nothing! After 12 Qh3 cxb4 White can save his Rook with 13 Rc1 but then 13...Ne3+ 14 Ke1 bxc3 leaves White in a mess. Deep Rybka throws more material in with 15 f5 Nxf5 16 Rxc3 Qxe5 and, remarkably, evaluates the last move as better then 16...Ba5. The latter is the point when humans give up!} Nxa1 $2 {Objectively this is a missed opportunity to win - 12. ..cxb4! as in the previous note. The moral is "Wait! When you see a good move look for a better one." However, the complications following the text spiral out of control and even a GM would be hard put to work everything out. So Andrew can be forgiven for choosing to take first and ask questions later. After all he now has an extra Rook!} 13. Nb5 Qc6 {13...Qd7 looks as if it is no different at all. However, the text is better for a reason that will become apparent.} 14. Nd6+ Kf8 15. Bb5 Qc7 $2 {This is clearly an automatic move because this is the only square for the Queen. However, bearing in mind that Black is a Rook and two Pawns to the good, I think this is a good moment to dull the White initiative by sacrificing the Queen with 15...cxb4!? After 16 Bxc6 bxc6 - the difference between 13...Qd7 and 13...Qc6 - Black has Rook, Bishop and three Pawns for his Queen, and the chance to develop the French Bishop handily with ...Ba6+ - it's unlikely that White would want to play Nxc8 giving up his lovely Knight for an unmoved piece. The position is messy. Deep Rybka analyses the fascinating17 Qd3 b3!? with a plus for Black but it fluctuates between +0.38 to +1. Clearly this is rather different from the +3.5 given after Black's 11th move but Andrew didn't play 12...cxb4! increasing his initiative. He chose the material and now Richard has the initiative. By keeping the Queen Black runs many risks in a position where White has more developed and active pieces. Simply put, Black's extra Rook carries no weight because it isn't doing anything! Also, having said that the position at the end of that line is messy, in the game it only gets even messier! I can understand Andrew's decision to keep his Queen, but it's only this sort of game that brings the experience of later on being able to say to yourself "What if I return some of my extra material here to reduce my opponent's initiative?" At the end of the day there's a lot to analyse and pronounce judgement on here, and I have the benefit of hindsight and a strong chess engine. The players had to deal with what was in front of them move by move. This is real chess and all the more fascinating for it!} 16. Ne8 {"16 Bf6 wins but it is even more decisive a move later. 16 Bf6 Nxf6 17 Qh6+ [the whole of point of 12 Qh3 was this incursion on the weakened dark squares and now 5...g6 comes back to haunt Black. TM] 17...Ke7 18 Qg7 Rg8 19 Qxf7+ Kd8 20 Qxf6+ Qe7 21 Nf7+ etc." RP. We must recall that these notes were written 35 years ago in 1985 BC (Before Computers). The position is very complicated and it has taken me a while to comb through many lines and form judgements on the positions at the end of those lines. Both sides have attacking chances, two of the Rooks (h1 and a8) are redundant and Black has enough of a material plus to be able to give up his Queen. First of all let's have a look at Richard's line. 16.Bf6 Nxf6 17.Qh6+ (If 17.exf6 Black should play 17...h5 preventing Qh6 but not 17...Qxd6?? 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.Qg7 mate.) 17...Ke7 18.Qg7 (An alternative, and probably better, is 18.Qg5 Rg8 19.Ne8 (If 19.exf6+ 19...Kd8 is safe while 19.Qxf6+ Kf8 is also safe) 19...Bd7 20.Nxc7 Bxc7 21.exf6+ Ke8 22.Bxd7+ Kxd7 23. bxc5 Nb3 which Deep Rybka evaluates as +0.83 to Black although White is the one with the Queen.) and here 18...Rg8? allows 19.Qxf7+ Kd8 20.Qxf6+ Qe7 21. Nf7+ as given. However, there's a remarkable improvement with 18...Ne4 19 Nxe4 Rg8!! 20 Qxg8 Bd7! 21 Qxa8 Bxb5+ 22 Kf2 dxe4 and Deep Rybka claims an advantage for Black. Coffee-house chess but some of this is very difficult to see. However, Black has a couple of decent alternatives after 16 Bf6. A) 16...Bd7 17.Bxh8 Bxb5+ 18.Nxb5 Qc6 19.Nc3 cxb4 20 axb4 Nc2. White's initiative has come to an end, he's won a useless Rook, isolated his Bishop and swapped off his great Knight, and the counterattack is setting in. And Black is already two Pawns up to boot! Or: B) 16...cxb4 - opening the c-file immediately - 17.Bg7+ (if 17.Bxh8 Qc1+ and all the fun will be Black's -) 17... Kxg7 18.Ne8+ Kf8 19.Nxc7 Bxc7 20.axb4 Bb6 (20...a6 first may be even better.) 21.Qc3 Nh6 which Deep Rybka evaluates as +1.83 to Black. The conclusion is that 16 Bf6 does not win but the assessment of the line 16.Bf6 Nxf6 17.Qh6+ 17. ..Ke7 18.Qg7 Ne4 is critical. Secondly there is a major alternative with 16. Bh6+. If 16...Nxh6? 17 Qxh6+ and a) 17...Kg8?? 18 Ne8 threatens the Queen, 19 Qg7 mate and 19 Nf6 mate, or b) 17...Ke7 18 Qg7 leaves Black with no sensible defence of f7 - if 18...Rf8 19 Qf6 mate is a common motif. So after 16.Bh6+ Black must play 16...Ke7 immediately. There follows 17.Qh4+ f6 (not 17...Nf6 18.Qxf6 mate.) and now: a) 18.Bg7 cxb4 19.Bxh8 (if 19.Bxf6+ Kf8 20.Bxh8 Qc1+ 21.Ke2 Nb3 22.Nf3 Qc2+ Black is winning.) 19...Qc1+ 20.Ke2 Qc2+ 21.Ke1 (Not 21.Kf3 Qd1+ 22.Kg3 [even worse is 22.Be2 Qb3+ 23.Bd3 Qxd3+ and White has merely lost his Bishop for nothing] 22...Qe1+ 23.Kh3 Qxh4+ 24.Kxh4 bxa3 winning) 21...h5 (not 21...bxa3?? 22.Qxh7+ Kd8 23.Nxb7+ Bxb7 24.Qd7 mate, while 21...Qc3+ 22.Ke2 could be a draw by perpetual again.) 22.Bxf6+ Kf8 23. Be7+ Nxe7 24.Qf6+ Kg8 25.Qf7+ Kh8 26.Qf6+ Kg8 (26...Kh7 27.Qxe7+ Kh6 28.Nf7+) 27.Qf7+and it's White's turn to draw by perpetual check. b) 18.exf6+ Nxf6 (if 18...Kxd6?? 19.Bf8+ wins.) 19.Bg7 cxb4 20.Bxf6+ (A try is 20.Qxf6+ Kxd6 21. Qxa1 [but not 21.Bxh8 Qc1+] 21...Qc2 22.Qe5+ Kc5 23.a4 Qb1+ with a plus for Black.) 20...Kf8 21.Bxh8 Qc1+ draws by perpetual check! c) 18 Ne8! is strong. This is Richard's choice but delayed by two moves. If 18...Qd8 (if 18.. .Qb8 19 Nxf6 is even worse.) 19 exf6+ Kf7 20 Nf3 threatens mates on g5 and e5, hence Deep Rybka suggests sacrificing the Queen (again) with 18...Bd7. It's now too late as 19 Nxc7 Bxc7 (if 19...Bxb5+ 20 Nxb5) 20 exf6+ Nxf6 21 Bxd7 and White is doing very well because of the threat of 21 Bg7. Deep Rybka has White at over +2. My conclusion is that 16 Bh6+ is probably good enough for a win after 16...Ke7 17 Qh4+ f6 18 Ne8. There are still practical chances for Black if White misplays the position though. The text (16 Ne8 if you'd forgotten because it was a lot of analysis ago!) should lead to a draw.} Qb8 {This looks forced but Deep Rybka looks at 16...Qd7 anyway. The engine concludes that after 17 Bxd7 Bxd7 18 bxc5! - better than the immediate 18 Nd6 because it introduces Qc3 as a fork of a1 and c5 - 18...Bxc5 19 Nd6 is a small advantage for White. Only an experienced player desperate for a win would play this. After the text White has a draw by perpetual check with 17 Bh6+ Nxh6 18 Qxh6+ Ke7 (not 18...Kg8 19 Nf6 mate which we've seen before.) 19 Qg5+ Kf8 20 Qh6+ etc. Some sort of justification for 5 Qg4 I suppose. If 17...Ke7?? Deep Rybka says it's mate in six after 18 Qh4+.} 17. Nf6 $4 {"Now 17 Bf6 is decisive. If 17...Nxf6 18 Qh6+ Ke7 [not 18...Kg8?? as 19 Qg7 or 19 Nxf6 are both mate. TM] 19 Qg7 Rg8 20 exf6+ Kd8 21 Qxf7." RP. This one is somewhat easier to sort out, but it helps to have a computer! If 17.Bf6 Nxf6 18.Qh6+ Ke7 19.Qg7? (Instead 19.Qg5 Rxe8 20.Qxf6+ Kf8 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Qf6+ draws by perpetual again. ) 19...Rg8? (Simply 19...Nxe8 20.Qxh8 Bd7 leaves Black material up and White's attack extinguished) 20.exf6+ (If 20.Qxf6+? Kf8 gets White nowhere. If 21.Qg5 Bd7! 22.Bxd7 Nc2! 23.Ba4 (23.Qh6+ Ke7 24.Qg5+ Kxd7 is useless.) 23...Ne3+ 24. Ke1 Nf5 and the prodigal Knight returns to hold the fort.) 20...Kd8 21.Qxf7 and at this point Black has 21...Qxf4+. A) 22.Nf3 Qc1+ 23 Ne1 Qf4+ 24 Nf3 Qc1+ is yet another draw by perpetual check. There are some sub-variations: A1) 23.Ke2 Qb2+ 24.Kd1 Qb3+ is a different draw by perpetual, A2) 23.Kf2? cxb4+ - now Black has access to c5 to cover e7 - 24.Ke2 Qe3+ 25.Kd1 Rxe8 26. Qxe8+ Kc7 is winning. A3) 23.Ne1 Rxe8 - a winning attempt for Black - 24. Qxe8+ Kc7 25.f7 Nc2 26.Ke2 Nd4+ 27.Kf1 Qf4+ with another perpetual or a further winning try with 27...Nxb5 28.f8=Q Qc4+ 29.Kf2 cxb4+ 30.Kg3 and the engine saying Black has an advantage despite White having two Queens!) A4) 23 Ne1 Qf4+ 24.Ke2 - a winning attempt for White - 24...Qg4+ 25.Kd2 Rxe8 26. Bxe8 Nb3+ and Black is not losing according to Deep Rybka. Tons to look at though! B) 22 Ke1? - it can't be good exposing the King to the combined force of Queen and Knight on general principles but there's a specific reason why it fails anyway - 22...Nc2+ 23 Kd1 Ne3+ and 24...Nf5 covering e7. Deep Rybka says Black has other winning tries here which is no surprise. So 17 Bf6 does not win but there is a draw by perpetual check. Richard's final position is worthy of more study. There are patterns involving the Black Queen and Knight, and maybe the b6 Bishop and c5 and d5 Pawns as well, and White has his advanced f-Pawn so plenty of fun to be had. The text looks good but overlooks something.} h5 $1 {"White had intended Nxg8 and Qh6 forcing mate, but Black finds a defensive move White had overlooked. Now it is difficult for White to get at the Black King." RP. Deep Rybka says 17...h6 is even better. It keeps an eye on g5 as well but Andrew's choice is simpler.} 18. Nf3 Bd8 {"Another good defensive move forcing exchanges." RP. Deep Rybka offers 18...Nc2 preventing White's next move because of 19...Ne3+ but, once again, the text is simpler. It's likely that both players would have been short of time.} 19. g4 { "White still had good chances as so many Black pieces are out of play. 19 g4 allows Black to eventually free his King's Rook by ...h5xg4. White should have played 19 Nh4 then Qd3 and Nxg6 with a strong attack." RP. For White Deep Rybka is looking at 19 Nxg8 and 19 Qh4 but still has Black at +5. The text it evaluates at +7 or so but the engine didn't like Richard's idea. It gave 19 Nh4 Nxf6 20 exf6 (not 20 Bxf6 Bxf6 21 exf6 Qxf4+) 20...a6 21 Be2 (it also gave 21 Bd3 but that denies the Queen this square) 21...c4 with +8. Interspersed with that line were suggestions of ...c5xb4 and/or ...Qc7. I suppose if Black simply plays ...c5-c4 Richard's idea never gets off the ground. However, in such positions you've got to try something and Richard is right about one thing. Many Black pieces are out of play so White has every reason to play on. Richard gave 19 g4 an ?? but I'm not inclined to agree. He's pressuring an inexperienced opponent and this is one of the breaks at his disposal so he uses it.} Nxf6 20. exf6 Bc7 $1 {This is a nice move. The Bishop went to d8 to prevent the recapture Bxf6 by White. Having done it's job Andrew immediately regroups it and pressures f4.} 21. Qg3 {"White can at least draw by 21.Nh4 Bxf4 22.Qd3 Bxg5 23.Nxg6+ 24.Ne7+ [with a] perpetual. If 23...fxg6 24 Qxg6 and mate next move." RP. Sadly not correct. After 22 Qd3 Deep Rybka stops all the fun with the miserable 22...Rg8 as White no longer has 23 Bh6+ - the Black Bishop on f4 controls this square. What's more after 24 Qxg6 Black has the same resource as in a previous line except this time it's clear cut. Black now plays 24...Qxf4+ and all of 25 Ke1, e2 and g2 are met by 25...Qe4+ swapping Queens, and if 25 Kg1 Qxg4+ 26 Kf1 or f2 Qf5+ also does the job. After 24...Qxf4+ Deep Rybka actually says it's mate in 11 moves. I'm only surprised that it's not quicker but as White is threatening mate in one we'll swap Queens as fast as possible. That should be quite sufficient to get a resignation as White is a lot of material down here.} a6 22. Ba4 $2 {"[Playing] the Bishop to d3 supports the attack on g6. On a4 it can be driven right out of play by ...b7-b5." RP. Once more the stranded Knight will do some work by denying the Bishop the b3 and c2 squares. Richard is right that Black ought to push ...b7-b5 because it stops the Bishop controlling e8, a possible flight square for the Black King, but perhaps Andrew thought the Bishop did more on d1 that on a4. Personally I think 22 Bd3 just provides Black with a tempo for . ..c5-c4 and that e2 is just a better square. 22 Bd3 c4 23 Bb1 c3 threatening 24...c2 would be amusing.} cxb4 23. axb4 Bd6 24. Ne5 $2 {"At last the Knight attacks g6 but instead of going to h4 it allows itself to be exchanged. After 24 Nh4 Bxb4 25 Qd3 Qc7 26 Nxg6+ fxg6 (26...Kg8 [27 Ne7+] probably leads to a draw.) 27 Qxg6 [and now] i) 27...Qf7 loses to 28 Bh6+ Rxh6 29 Qxh6+ Kg8 30 Be8! ii) 27...b5 28 28 Bh6+ Rxh6 29 Qxh6+Ke8 30 Kg2 and White gets at least a draw, iii) 27...Qc1+ 28 Ke2 Qd2+ 29 Kf3 -Perpetual." RP. Another comprehensive note but easy to refute. Instead of the greedy 24...Bxb4? Black plays the immediate 24...Qc7 so he can answer Qd3 with Qc4. After 24...Bxb4 25 Qd3 Qc7 26 Nxg6+ Kg8 27 Ne7+ is met by 27...Bxe7 28 fxe7 Bd7 while 27 Nxh8 is well met by 27...Qc4 again. In line i) 27...Qf7 28 Bh6+ Rxh6 29 Qxh6+ Kg8 30 Be8 Qh7 31 f7+ Kh8 32 f8=Q+ Bxf8 33 Qf8+ Qg8 34 Qh6+ is a perpetual check. However, there is a White improvement. At move 30 we interpolate 30 gxh5! threatening 31 Rg1+ and if 30...Bc5 White can play 31 Rg1+ regardless because the Bishop gets deflected from f8 - 31...Bxg1 32 Be8 Qh7 33 f7+ Qxf7 (not 33...Kh8 34 f8=Q mate is the difference) 34 Bxf7+ when White quickly wins more material and the h5 Pawn heads for promotion. In line ii) at the end I don't see how White gets a draw after 30...Qc4+ and 31...bxa4. In line iii) after 27...Qc1+ 28 Ke2 Qd2+ 29 Kf3 there's 29...hxg4+ 30 Kg3 Rh3+ 31 Kxg4 Qg2 mate! Instead 29 Kf1 Qe1+ 30 Kg2 Qe4+ swaps Queens. The ...Qc1+ resource is very important for Black and we should note that if Andrew had played ...b7-b5 forcing Ba4-d1 then ...Qc1 wouldn't be check. Having said that the Bishop is gone from b5 so ...Qc4+ has value as we've seen.} Bxe5 25. fxe5 Qc7 26. Qf4 $2 {"This allows Black to exchange Queens effectively ending the game." RP. Correct, so Andrew should play the immediate 26...Qc4+ as discussed in the previous note!} hxg4 27. Bh6+ Kg8 28. Rg1 $2 {"28 Kg2 would have kept Queens on and belatedly won the Knight on a1." RP. 28 Kg2 is well met by 28...Qc3 defending the Knight and threatening 29...Qh3+ winning the h6 Bishop. Deep Rybka has Black at +8 but with Queens on White still has some practical chances. Now Andrew finds ...Qc4+ and its all over bar outposting the Bishop.} Qc4+ 29. Qxc4 dxc4 30. Be3 Rxh2 31. Rxg4 c3 32. Kg1 Re2 33. Bh6 Rxe5 34. Bg7 {Nicely placed but with one purpose only.} b5 35. Rh4 {"The last flicker of hope but of course Black doesn't fall for it." RP.} Rh5 36. Rd4 Bb7 37. Bd1 Rh1+ 38. Kf2 c2 {An amusing last word by the Knight on a1.} 0-1
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