1986-11-01 - Easton, Alex 0-1 Handley, M
A typical opposite-wing attack in a King's Indian Defence. Alex is trying to win positionally on the Queenside while Mike is after the White King. White is doing well for a long time but misses his chance to safely win material. After that he is still okay until the disconnection of the Rooks allows Mike in for a kill. Plenty to learn here if you're a KID devotee.
[Event "BRISTOL LEAGUE CONGRESS"] [Site "?"] [Date "1986.11.01"] [Round "3"] [White "Easton, Alex"] [Black "Handley, M"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E98"] [Annotator "Mordue,Tyson"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "1986.??.??"] {Original notes by Alex Easton (AE) in BCT Issue 62, December 1986.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Bd2 f5 11. Rc1 {"An idea of Miles, I think. The idea is accelerated play down the c-file playing c4-c5 as a sacrifice." AE.} Nf6 {"Worth considering is 11...c5 when White may have to waste a tempo returning the Rook to b1, or play an immediate 12 f2-f4." AE. This actually happened in Miles-Sznapik, Valetta Olympiad 1980. Black had little trouble equalising and drew in 29 moves.} 12. f3 f4 {"Now 12...c5 is met by 13 g4! and in this line Black wants to play ...c7-c6 rather than ...c7-c5." AE.} 13. c5 g5 {"13...dxc5 14.Na4 b6 15.b4 cxb4 16.Qb3 Kh8 17.Bxb4 gives White very good compensation - weaknesses on the light squares, pressure on the c-file and a weak Black e-Pawn." AE. Miles-Lind, Gausdal 1980 continued 13...dxc5 14.Na4 b6 15.b4 cxb4 16.Qb3 Kh8 17.Bxb4 Ne8 18.Nd3 g5 19.Nab2 a5 20.Ba3 Ba6 21.Nc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 with excellent play on the Queenside. Tony won a well-contested game in 57 moves, exploiting all three factors Alex gives above. Deep Rybka prefers 13. ..dxc5 but engines like taking material, especially when the point of the sacrifice is not clear. Atalik-Vijendran, Thessaloniki Olympiad 1984 went on 13...a6 14.Nd3 g5 15.b4 Ng6 16.a4 h5 17.Nf2 Rf7 18.cxd6 cxd6 19.a5 Bd7 20. Na4 Bxa4 21.Qxa4 with a tense game. Black broke through on move 28 with ...g4 and a fighting draw resulted after 49 moves. Mike departs from theory but with a very standard move. We now have the usual King's Indian scenario of White Queenside pressure versus Black Kingside attack. Deep Rybka says White is +0.8 or so.} 14. Nb5 Ne8 {Deep Rybka still wants to play 14...dxc5, even though it's no longer a gambit by White but simply a positional concession by Black.} 15. Qc2 Bd7 {"Best I think. I tried to play normally (in my ignorance) against Philip Walden a few years ago: 15...Rf7 16 cxd6 cxd6 17 Nc7 Nxc7 18 Qxc7 Qxc7 19 Rxc7 Ng6 20 Rc2! and White has a winning advantage, although I managed to draw." AE. Granted that White has a clear advantage in this variation - +0.78 according to Deep Rybka, especially in the absence of any constructive Kingside play by Black. It ought not to be a winning advantage but Black has to be very careful not to go completely passive. The point of the text is that after 16 cxd6 cxd6 17 Nc7 Black has 17...Rc8.} 16. Bb4 {Given an ?! by Alex who commented "I forgot my improvement here; 16 a4 with a clear advantage. 16 Bb4 provokes the attacking move 16...Rf6, wastes a tempo (the Bishop will be needed on e1 later) and blocks White attack on the b7 Pawn after a later Qb3." This is classic case of a player's favourite opening meeting the player's favourite defence. Deep Rybka prefers 16 Qb3 and has 16 Bb4 as a second choice, both with pluses of around 0.8. 16 a4 was briefly considered but only at +0.5 or so. Black obviously has a lot of attacking potential on the Kingside but until active play or realistic threats turn up the engine doesn't rate the second player's chances. Alex knows what that potential is and is wary of it. I have written elsewhere about the dangers of playing an attacking move which forces a defensive response which is of more value that the attacking move, but I will go over it again here because this is a clear case in point. As Alex points out 16 Bb4 provokes 16...Rf6 which not only defends f6 but is ready to go to g6, or maybe h6, to support the ...g5-g4 break. Alex indicates out that later Be1 will be needed to defend the dark squares on the Kingside, particularly covering h4 to prevent the Black Queen getting to a very menacing square. So the eventual outcome is a loss of tempo, even though the engine has this move as second choice. As a testament to this point, at the end of the game d6 stands solid while the White Bishop is on e1 and helplessly pinned. The bottom line is even though the engine may say it's a good move, it may not be.} Rf6 {[%emt 0:00:00] "Against me last year R. Blow played 16...Nc8? and after 17 cxd6 cxd6 18 Nc7 Nxc7 19 Qxc7 Qxc7 20 Rxc7 was losing." AE. Of course 18...Nxc7 is another error that loses a Pawn but 16...Nc8 is a very passive move by an experienced player. Ron Blow of Guernsey played in both Olympiads and Zonal tournaments and even once in the dizzy heights of a Birmingham v Bristol and Clifton match in 1932! He beat a future Grandmaster in Comins Mansfield who, in 1972 at the age of 76 was awarded the title of International Grandmaster for Chess Compositions. That makes Alex stronger than a Grandmaster.} 17. a4 Rg6 18. h3 { A standard move to hold up ...g5-g4 but, of course, Black just plays ...h7-h5 when ...g5-g4 gains in strength because it makes contact with two Pawns rather than one. On the flip side Black's own King is totally denuded of Pawns so there may be trouble getting shelter in the event of at White counterattack, but that's just one of the things Kings Indian players have to live with. I'm not going to criticise the text, but Deep Rybka lowers its evaluation from +1. 05 after its suggested best move 18 Nd3 to just +0.45.} h5 19. Qb3 Bh6 {"A waste of a tempo. White wants to play Rc2 [anyway] and after ...g5-g4 and exchanges, Qb3-h3 gains in force." AE. This comment has its points but Alex didn't put a ? or ?! after it. A lot of this depends on circumstances e.g. is there a viable ...Bh6-e3+? Is Black intending ...Kg8-h7 and ...Ra8-g8 to add punch to ...g5-g4? What I can say is that Deep Rybka again changes its evaluation from around +0.5 up to 1.2 after this move, but I remain open-minded until Kingside lines are also open!?} 20. Rc2 a6 21. Na3 Kh8 22. Nc4 Ng8 $1 {An ! but Alex makes no comment. Meanwhile Deep Rybka has White at +1.83. The text clears the d8-h4 diagonal for the Black Queen and Black has the option of bringing this Knight to f6 as well. I suspect the ! is simply for the fact that the Knight guards the h6 Bishop in advance. Alternatively in view of the fact that Mike shortly reverses the Bishop to g7 it could be this Knight is going to h6 while the one on d7 goes to f6 and then there are a heap of pieces waiting to recapture on g4, if White takes in the first place! You can also take the viewpoint that the more White entrenches himself on the Queenside the more difficult it is for those pieces to defend the Kingside, so it pays for lack to wait and re-organise. Alex shows that this is not necessarily the case.} 23. Nd3 g4 24. hxg4 hxg4 25. fxg4 Bg7 {"Necessary. If 25...Bxg4? 25 Ndxe5 dxe5 26 Nxe5 wins. The sacrifice didn't seem to work before ...g5-g4." AE. A slightly unnecessary addition to the note as the second White Knight has only just got to d3. Ironically despite my earlier remark about the g8 Knight possibly coming to h6 to capture on g4 that Pawn is also still there at the end of the game!} 26. Nf2 Bf6 {With the clear intention of going to g3 and following up with ...Qd8-h4-h2 mate. Will White be reduced to Nh1 as a defence?} 27. cxd6 cxd6 28. Ba5 {Given an ? by Alex who commented "Letting Black's Queen's Rook into play. White's defensive set-up (eventually) of Rc3-h3 is not designed to cope with both Black Rooks. Better is 28.Nxd6 Nxd6 29.Bxd6 Bxa4 30 Qxa4 Qxd6 with some advantage to White." I disagree with a lot of this note. Firstly it is only White's 30 Nxd7 that 'lets' the Black Rook into play. I'm not certain that a switch from a8 to g8, or even f8, couldn't be arranged by clearing the back rank. However, I'm all for Nxd7 as the Black Bishop should be supporting captures, or belated recaptures if you prefer, on g4. Secondly I think a defensive set up of Rooks on c3 and h3 is a good idea, and that it is designed precisely to cope with both Black rooks. White loses eventually because one goes off on a trip to c8. I agree that White is still better after 28.Nxd6 but I prefer keeping the tension with 28 Rc3. This improves the position of the Rook with Rh3 definitely a candidate move. Deep Rybka agrees with me. There is nothing wrong with the text move either.} Qe7 {If 28...Qb8 29 Nb6 wins material.} 29. Nb6 $6 {"And here 29 Qxb7 is better, but Black still obtains a strong initiative with 29...Rc8 30 Rfc1 Bh4." AE. The latter part of this comment is demonstrably wrong given a bit of analysis. What's more 29 Qxb7 is the consistent folow-up to 28 Ba5. After 29.Qxb7 the reply 29...Rc8 is refuted immediately by 30.Nxe5! If 30...Rxc2?? 31 Nxg6+ wins the Queen while capturing on e5 with anything is met by the simple 30 Rxc8 Bxc8 31 Qxc8. b2 is en prise but so is a6. Instead after 29 Qxb7 the capture 29... Bxa4 looks okay but that fails to the same sneaky tactic! 30.Qxa8 Bxc2 31.Qc6 (threatening 32 Nxe5 and 33 Qxc2) and now not 31...Bh4?! 32.Nxe5! anyway and now Black doesn't even have a recapture! - 32...Qxe5 33.Bc3 or 32...dxe5 33.Qxg6. Instead 31...Bb3 is met by 32.Nd2 and the Bishop is getting trapped. Any Black counterplay in these lines seems to be nullified by Nh3. Black needs to be able to play ...Bxg4 to have any chance here, and in the latter line the Bishop has ex-communicated. So the text is an error given the strength of 29 Qxb7, but even so taking the d7 Bishop can only be good for White here.} Rd8 30. Nxd7 Rxd7 31. Rc3 Bh4 32. Rh3 Rh6 33. Rc1 Qg5 34. Rcc3 {This is okay but Deep Rybka prefers 34.Bf3 with the point that 34...Bxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Rxh3 36.gxh3 Qh4+ 37.Ke2 is fine for White as 37...Qxh3?? loses to 38.Rh1. The engine says 34 Nd3 is okay as well.} Ngf6 $6 {It looks better to put the other Knight here as the one on e8 would be undefended and vulnerable to Rc8 if this steed moved again. Deep Rybka certainly agrees with me as the engine loves playing lines against loose and potentially loose pieces.} 35. Qc2 $6 {I don't see the point of this move at all. Why not 35 Bb6 to recapture on f2 with the Bishop which is currently doing very little on a5? I suspect Alex was drifting in time-trouble, but he has still played a solid game and has a better position.} Rdh7 36. Rc8 $2 { "Allowing what 34 Rcc3 was designed to prevent. 36 Bb6 is better, but Black's attack is now strong." AE. 36 Bb6 is fine with White keeping a plus of 0.4 according to Deep Rybka. I disagree that Black's attack is strong as it is too one-dimensional, everything pointed pointed down the h-file but with an adequate block on h3. After the text Black is winning but he'd have so many more options, and probably less worry, with that Knight on g8 rather than e8.} Bxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Rxh3 38. gxh3 Qh4+ {All the White pieces bar the King's Bishop are stranded on the Queenside. Black's Queen and Rook make hay.} 39. Kf1 Qxh3+ 40. Ke1 {The White King tries to flee but Deep Rybka already has Black at +11. 8.} Qg3+ 41. Kd2 Qe3+ 42. Kd1 Rh1+ 43. Be1 {As anticipated much earlier but now it loses in trivial fashion.} f3 44. Qd2 Qb3+ 45. Kc1 {After 45 Rc2 f2 wins the other Bishop and gets a second Queen as well. If 45 Qc2 and now 45... fxe2+ 46 Kxe2 Rh2+ 47 Bf2 Qg3 is one line while 45...f2 is mate in eight according to the engine.} f2 46. Bf1 {Hoping for 46...Rxf1?? 47 Qh6+ Kg8 48 Qg6+ Kh8 - 48...Kf8?? 49 Qxf6+ wins - 49 Qh6+ (simplest) drawing by perpetual check. Mike fails to oblige.} fxe1=Q+ 47. Qd1 {After 47 Qxe1 Qxa4 threatening both 48...Qa1+ followed by 49...Rxf1 and 48...Nxe4 now that e8 is defended is good enough. Alex allows Mike the luxury of a checkmate.} Qexd1# 0-1
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