1987-09-10 - Mordue, Tyson 1-0 Arkell, Keith
The first of a pair of consecutive wins against then husband and wife Keith and Susan Arkell. Keith tries an odd Knight manoeuvre in a Gurgenidze Defence. However, when he retreats the other Knight to Knight two Tyson seizes his chance. A Knight sac opens the centre on to the stranded Black King. Despite the swap of Queens Tyson has a huge initiative. An Exchange sac forces a Pawn promotion regaining all the material and the opposite Bishop endgame is a simple matter of technique.
[Event "PAIGNTON PREMIER"] [Site "?"] [Date "1987.09.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Mordue, Tyson"] [Black "Arkell, Keith"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [Annotator "Mordue,Tyson"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "1987.??.??"] {Originally annotated by me in BCT Issue 70, March 1988. Subsequently reannotated in the late 2000s.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6 {The Gurgenidze System, a cross between the Caro-Kann and Modern Defences. Black allows a big centre with e5 and f4 and then tries to play around it. In Mordue-Arkell, Cardiff 1983 play continued 4 Nf3 Bg4 and Black was okay. I lost in 111 moves and at that time this was my longest competitive game. I've since drawn a game in the 1996 British Championship that lasted 127 moves and was drawn by the 50 move rule.} 4. e5 Bg7 5. f4 h5 {A strange looking move but still part of the system. Black intends ...Bc8-g4 and then ...Ng8-h6-f5. If White plays h3 too quickly then Black, after exchanging on f3, plays ...h5-h4 fixes the newly created hole on g3 for a Knight invasion. See Milligan- SK Arkell, Women's Zonal, Bath 1987. It is therefore essential for White to play g3 before h3.} 6. Nf3 Nh6 7. Be3 Na6 {New to me at the time. Later I found a game Almasi-Ezsol, Balatonbereny 1996 that continued 8 Qd2 Nc7 9 Be2 b5 10 h3 a5 11 Bf2 Bd7 12 Nd1 Qc8. White avoided castling into Black/^s Pawn wave and won a manoeuvring in 40 moves. The Black Queen's Knight ended up on a8 in that game. Keith intends to play his Knight to the more effective to the e6 square but his centre is not so solid as in the usual Gurgenidze where Black plays ...e7-e6. There is little point in White breaking up Black's Pawns with 8 Bxa6 because it is difficult to attack these apparent weaknesses. Black also gains a useful open b-file while White has surrendered his better Bishop.} 8. Qd2 Nc7 9. Be2 Bg4 10. O-O-O Nf5 11. Bf2 b5 {A gain of space on the Queenside, but this move does lessen the effect of an undermining ...c5 break as there will never be a Pawn on b6 to recapture on c5 with in the event of d4xc5. Also there is a big hole on c5 and I was able to exploit this in a game Mordue-Giddins, British Championship, Eastbourne 1990. Deep Rybka simply doesn't like the move, saying White's plus goes up to 0.54. The engine prefers the immediate 11...Ne6 and also the immediate ...Bxf3. White now plays the necessary preface to h2-h3.} 12. g3 Ne6 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Qa5 {There was no point in 14...b4 15 Ne2 followed by Nc1-d3 (or b3)-c5 as I played in the afore-mentioned game against Giddins. After the exchange of Knights on c5 White controlled even more space and d4 was a nice square for his pieces. Black has deliberately refrained from castling whilst waiting to see what White's plan is. White has chosen the traditional Pawn roller on the Kingside where he has more space so Black prepares for some Queenside action. If now 15 g4 b4 16 gxf5 bxc3 17 Qxc3 Qxc3 18 bxc3 gxf5 Black stands slightly better. The active-looking 19 c4 is met by 19...Bh6! 20 cxd5 Nxf4! and now 21 dxc6 loses a Rook after 21...Nxh3+ 22 Kb2 Nxf2. White can improve with 15 g4 b4 16 Ne2 Qxa2 17 Qxb4 and Black has serious problems. At the time I thought 15 g4 was met by 15...Bh6, forgetting that after 16 gxf5 Bxf4 17 Be3 is quite playable. Hence the practical text that rules out ...Qxa2 and also avoids the exchange of Queens with check.} 15. Kb1 Bh6 {Still trying to hold up g3-g4. White removes his Queen from the c1-h6 diagonal.} 16. Qe1 Nfg7 $2 {Another retreat to forestall g3-g4 but this walks into a powerful tactical retort. Viable alternatives are difficult to find though. Fritz tries 16...h4 17 g4 Ng3 18 Bxg3 hxg3 but after 19 f5 gxf5 20 gxf5 Ng7 White has a pleasant choice between 21 Bg4 and 21 f6 and Black's g3 Pawn will soon go for no compensation. Deep Rybka has been trying ...h4 on moves 14 and 15 with similar variations. I'm confident that if it had been any good then Keith would have played it, and he didn't. QED. Also no good is 16... b4 17 Ne2 Nfg7 18 Qd2! and the g3-g4 advance causes huge confusion in the Black ranks. Anyway I can't imagine Keith contemplated a line where the manoeuvre Nc3-e2-c1-b3-c5 picks up a tempo on the Black Queen. After a bit of thought Fritz finally produced 16...Qb6 17 Ne2 Nfg7 18 Be3 Nf5 19 Bg1 g5 but 20 Bxh5! gxf4 21 gxf4 Nxf4 22 Bxf7+ followed by 23 Qf2 should give White a clear advantage. So far we have had a closed manoeuvring game where the loss of time by both sides whilst regrouping their pieces has been of little consequence. All that is about to completely change. It is worthwhile taking a good look at the position before we continue. Particular attention should be given to the position after White's 19th move if you are on the right track.} 17. Nxd5 $1 {I'd seen this idea on the previous move. It was only when I started analysing it in detail that I realised how strong it was and I didn't even bother looking at any alternatives. Even so my last thought before playing the move was "Is this the sort of risk to take against an IM? Oh, come on! This is so good you'd play it against the World Champion!" If you hadn't considered 17 Nxd5! during the previous note then it's worth pausing and working it out now. However, it must be said that the vis-�-vis of the two Queens makes this an obvious tactic, but it is essentially a sacrifice for positional gain. Deep Rybka's second-best suggestion is the odd 17 Rf1 at +0. 56. The text gives White as +1.92. A difference of 1.4 justifies my not looking at alternatives.} Qxe1 {Clearly forced otherwise he is losing an important central Pawn for no compensation.} 18. Nf6+ $1 {This is the move that Keith had overlooked in his earlier analysis. Black may as well take the Knight now as he gets the e7 square for his King next move. See the next note. I was once asked by a friend "What do I do in a closed position where my opponent insists on stodging it all up and yet I have to try to win?" My reply was "Commit yourself to breaking through with a piece sacrifice somewhere. Sacrifice a Bishop or a Knight for a Pawn or two but made sure that your other pieces are coming through the gap you create. Don't be concerned about being material down for a long period of time. It's the activity of your pieces compared to your opponent's that will count. If they are already cramped or disorganised then that will hinder the defence." I then showed them this particular game.} exf6 19. Bxc6+ {A good moment to stop and have a deep look at the position. Afterwards Keith and I agreed that this was the critical point of the game. So far White has sacrificed a Knight for two Pawns. In a move or so he will recapture the Black Queen and then be attacking the Rook on a8 and Pawns on b5 and f6. He will be ready to charge the d-Pawn forward attacking the e6 Knight that has few squares to go to, and also discovering an attack on the a7 Pawn. White's Rooks and Bishops will be in prime positions while Black has most of his army tangled up on the Kingside. I was fairly confident of ending up with three Pawns plus the initiative for a piece and, at worst, Rook and two Pawns for two pieces where the Rooks are more active than the pieces.} Kf8 {Originally we thought 19...Ke7 was a better move. In the post-mortem we examined 19...Ke7 20 exf6+ and now: Line 1) 20...Kd6 21 Rhxe1 Kxc6 22 d5+ Kb7 (not 22...Kd7 23 dxe6++ and 24 fxg7 leaves White several Pawns up) 23 fxg7 Nxg7 24 Re7+ Ka6 and now both 25 Rxf7 and 25 Rd3 threatening 26 Ra3 mate are strong. In this line if 21...Rac8 then 22 fxg7 or if 21...Ne8 22 Bxa8 both win while 21...Nf5 runs into 22 Bxa8 Rxa8 23 g4 is a neat way of showing how embarrassed Black's minor pieces are. Or Line 2) 20...Kxf6 21 Rhxe1 and now 2a) 21...Rac8 22 d5 (threatening 23 Bd7 and if the e6 Knight moves away then 24 Bd4 is mate) and now if 22... Nf5 23 Bd7 Nc5 24 Bxc8 Rxc8 25 g4 wins while if 22...Nf8 23 Bd4+ Kf5 24 Re5+ Kf6 25 R1e1 wins. Deep Rybka suggests the simple 22...Rxc6 23 dxc6 and gives White a plus of 'only' 0.86. I think most players would take the White pieces here. 2b) 21...h4! which breaks up White's Kingside control because 22 d5 is answered by 22...hxg3 and 23...Nxf4. Keith admitted that he'd underestimated the strength of 21...h4. Best for White is 22 g4 Nxf4 (if 22...Bxf4 23 d5 wins because if the e6 Knight moves then 24 Bd4+ Kg5 25 Bxg7 captures a Knight that was defended three times just three moves ago!) 23 Bxa8 Rxa8 (If 23...Nxh3 24 Bxh4+ is strong) 24 Bxh4+ g5 25 Bg3 and White is well on top. If here 25...Nxh3 then 26 Rh1 wins. The real find here is the discovery by Fritz that after 19...Ke7 White's best is the sneaky 20 Bxe1! switching the Bishop to the a3-f8 and a5-d8 diagonals. Now 20...Rac8 21 Bb4+ Kd8 22 Ba5+ Ke7 23 d5 leaves Black in big trouble as White controls all the squares in front of his d-Pawn. If 23...Nd8 to block the promotion square then 24 Bb4 mate justifies the choice of 20 Bxe1 in fine style! Alternatively 23...fxe5 24 Bb4+ Kf6 25 fxe5+ Kxe5 26 Rde1+ and 27 Rhf1+ and White is having a field day. Fritz suggests Black's best is 23...Rxc6 24 dxc6 Rc8, but after 25 Rd7+ Kf8 26 exf6 confirms my original judgement that the White Rooks must be doing better than the Black minor pieces in this type of position. This all means that the text is the right move but, after I recapture on e1, Keith has to spend a vital tempo saving his Queen's Rook. Of course there are other alternatives for both sides at various points in all of the above analysis. Chess players are human beings though and we can't work through to the end of every single line and form a definitive judgement about them all. We have to take a practical approach and form a judgement based on sample variations, past experience, time available and an overall feel for the position. I'd thought for fifteen to twenty minutes over 17 Nxd5 and my opponent, an IM, took a similar amount of time to reject 19...Ke7. Neither of us, nor Fritz for that matter, seriously considered 19...Kd8. After 20 Rhxe1 Rb8 (if 20...Rc8 - preferred by Deep Rybka! - 21 Bxb5 and White already has three good Pawns for his piece and every chance of adding a fourth.) 21 exf6 followed by 22 d5 and 23 Bxa7 and Black's King is under constant menace in the centre.} 20. Rhxe1 {Deep Rybka has White at +2.24 here. Engines love this sort of position!} Rb8 {If 20... Rc8 21 d5 and White threatens the Pawns on a7 and f6 and also 22 Bd7 winning a piece. If then 21...Nc7 22 exf6 Nf5 (or 22...Nge8 23 Bc5+ and the advance of the d-Pawn wins) 23 d6 Ne6 24 d7 Rd8 25 g4 wins - the greedy engines prefer taking either of the en prise Pawns first - or 21... fxe5 22 Bd7 Rc7 23 dxe6 when 23...exf4 is unplayable because of 24 e7+, another variation showing the strength of White's Rooks on the open central files. Deep Rybka thinks 20...Rc8 is superior to the text and it could be right. It's just that Black has several Pawns en prise, pieces en prise beyond them and the defensive task is probably already too great. Compare this with four moves ago when Black had castling rights on both sides, a nice Pawn centre, and an aggressively placed Queen. These are all now gone, the White forces are pouring through the middle and trying to keep a straight head in the face of all this would tax the best defender. Keith does well to get to move 39.} 21. exf6 Ne8 {Black's position is such a mess that both Deep Rybka and Fritz suggest the desperate 21...h4. Indeed if White could spare the time to play h3-h4 himself then Black would have no chance. The only other move was 21... Nf5 but even that is insufficient after 22 d5 Nc7 (not 22...Nd8 23 Re8 mate) 23 d6 followed by 24 g4 winning. After the passive text White's d-Pawn barges its way through. The engines are giving White pluses of between 3 to 4 here. The main problem for White is having so many good choices available. I was very conscious that my opponent was capable of a counterattack or a swindle so I had to make sure that I didn't fall victim to over-confidence.} 22. d5 N6c7 {My original note said "I paused for a long think here because there are various tempting moves. Eventually I decided on a line which left Black without any play whatsoever." The fairly obvious game continuation also leaves Black without much material! Between moves 24 and 33 seven Black units are captured.} 23. d6 Ne6 24. Rxe6 $1 {Spectacular but fairly simple. White smashes the blockade of d8, regains all his sacrificed material and is several Pawns up in the ending. Clearly trying to transpose with 24 d7 N8c7 25 Rxe6 fails after 25...Nxe6.} fxe6 25. d7 Nxf6 $2 {Complete capitulation. A last try was 25...Nd6 but after 26 Bc5! - the move that took me a while to see on move 23 - 26...Kf7 27 Bxd6 Rd8 28 h4! and Black will be completely sealed in after Bd6-e7. If now 28...Bf8 then 28 Bc7 regaining the Exchange followed by taking on b5 or 28...Kxf6 29 Be5+ with the same idea. The engines say that White cam improve with both 26 Bxa7 and 26 Rxd6. Again this is probably the case, but my sequence gives me the chance to play h3-h4 and eliminate any chance of Keith breaking out. In a sense I was playing the man rather than the board, but my advantage is now so great that I could afford this finesse. If Black remains passive in this line then White can just run his King up to win all the Queenside Pawns and push his own through. Keith admitted he hadn't even seen 25...Nd6 but it only makes a difference to the length of the game and not the result.} 26. d8=Q+ Rxd8 27. Rxd8+ Kg7 28. Rxh8 Kxh8 29. Bxa7 {Finishing off Black's deciduous Queenside. Black now gets to activate his Bishop but it's too late by far. By this point I had enough belief in my endgame technique, even if it was going to be opposite-coloured Bishops, to turn down 29 h4 keeping Black quiet. The important move is the next one so it was important to take on a7 rather than b5. If necessary the White King can go for that one.} h4 30. Bd4 $1 {Knights can be pesky things in endgames so we'll exchange this one right now. The c6 Bishop controls g2 so Black has no swindles with 30...hxg3. This confirms that 29 Bxa7 was better than 29 Bxb5.} Kg7 31. Bxf6+ Kxf6 32. gxh4 Bxf4 33. Bxb5 {The opposite-coloured Bishops don't matter when you're three connected passed Pawns up.} Ke5 34. Bd3 Kd4 35. Bxg6 e5 36. c3+ Ke3 37. Kc2 e4 38. a4 Kf3 39. a5 {After 39...e3 40 a6 Bb8 41 Kd3 e2 42 Bh5+ ends Black's last hope.} 1-0
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