1987-09-11 - Mordue, Tyson 1-0 Arkell, Susan
This is the immediate sequel to my 1987 win over then IM Keith Arkell, a win over.his then-wife Susan. It's a bitter battle in a trendy French Tarrasch. Little inaccuracies hinder both the attack and defence but White is a Pawn up at the adjournment. Computers have made these redundant and we might have had a different outcome if they had been there in 1987. As it goes a simple oversight, also made by all the engines (!), tips the balance in a Rook and Pawn ending.
[Event "PAIGNTON PREMIER"] [Site "?"] [Date "1987.09.11"] [Round "6"] [White "Mordue, Tyson"] [Black "Arkell, Susan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C06"] [Annotator "Mordue,Tyson"] [PlyCount "119"] {Originally annotated in BCT Issue 70, March 1988. This was played the day after I defeated Keith Arkell, Susan's then husband.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 {A thematic break in the French Defence. This line is the Tarrasch variation and is characterised by 3 Nd2. This particular line features a backward Black Pawn on e6 and a weak square on e5. If Black can force through ...e6-e5 then he can normally claim equality. Conversely if White can prevent this advance and occupy e5 with a piece he will have a clear advantage.} 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. O-O Qc7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bh4 Nh5 $5 {"At the time this was all well-known theory. White wishes to play Bg3 to exchange the dark-squared Bishops and 13...Nh5 is a novel way to retain the d6 Bishop. The idea was first introduced in Kudrin-Korchnoi, Beer-Sheva (Israel) 1985 and Black scored a stunning victory." } 14. Nc3 a6 15. Rc1 {"Deviating from a game between myself and Susan (before she married Keith) at Exeter in 1985. Mordue-Walker continued by transposition 15 a3 Kh8 16 Bg3 Nxg3 17 hxg3 g6 18 Re1 Qg7 19 Bf1 b5 20 b4 Bd7 21 Qg2 h6! and White had no answer to ...g6-g5-g4 and the loss of the d4 Pawn. I had booked up for the present game and I was pleased to find a TN at move 16 that had escaped Susan's notice."} g6 16. Be2 $5 {"This Bishop is no longer well-posted at d3 after Black's ...g6. From e2 it allows the Queen to defend d4 and glances at the Knight on h5 in the event of tactics commencing Nf3-e5 or g5." On the database 16 Na4 is the most common move scoring a reasonable 62%. Yet this move is not so frequent but it scores 85%! Astonishing.} Qg7 17. Na4 {Now this move has more point as Black has dropped control of b6.} Bd7 { "Sznapik-Pokojowczyk, Porabka (Poland) 1986 went 17... h6 18.Nb6 Rb8 19.Bg3 Nxg3 20.hxg3 g5 21.Bxa6 g4 22.Rxc6 bxc6 23.Nxc8 gxf3 24.Nxd6 Rxb2 25.gxf3 Qa7 26.Qd3 Kg7 27 Re1 1-0. This was a game I had found in Informator."} 18. Nc5 Rab8 {"Informator gives 18...Bxc5 but I can't believe that giving up the dark-squared Bishop is an improvement." Deep Rybka says it is completely equal compared to +0.18 for White for the text move. I think it's got it wrong. Both Lazarne Vajda vs. Rudolf, Hungarian Womens Championship 2003 and Mueller vs. Jurek, Wuerttemberg 1995 featured 18...Bxc5. Black lost both games and the weak dark squares were definitely a factor. That effectively confirms my judgement from above. If Susan had played 18...Bxc5 I can't imagine what her husband (Keith Arkell) would have said later!} 19. Re1 Nf4 {"White was threatening 20 Nxd7 Qxd7 21 Ne5 Bxe5 22 dxe5 gaining two Bishops against two Knights. Not 21...Nxe5 22 dxe5 Bxe5 23 Bxh5 Bxb2 24 Bg4 wins a piece. After the text White finally commits the Bishop that has waited patiently on h4 to the desirable square g3 now that the Black Knight can't capture it." From a positional point of view White is happy if three Bishops (and a Knight) come off providing the remaining one is Black's d7 Bishop, the bad one.} 20. Bg3 $1 h6 {"If 20...Nxe2+ 21 Qxe2 Bxg3 22 hxg3 Nxd4?? 24 Nxd4 Qxd4 25 Nxd7 wins. Trying 21...Bxc5 instead leaves the b8 Rook en prise. With the text Black has weakened g6 so White preserves his light-squared Bishop." Deep Rybka says the text is a mistake, but it is part of Black's plan. However, the alternatives it offers are 20...Bxc5, 20...Rbc8 and 20...Rbe8. I question why Black leaves the b7 Pawn en prise, and the engine says 21 Nxb7 is met by 21... Bb4 with the point 22 Rf1 Nxe2+ 23 Qxe2 Nxd4. Fair enough, but if you play 21 a3 to stop ...Bb4 then 22 Nxb7 is a threat again, and the engine wants to play 21...Bxc5 which we know is positionally undesirable. I'd advocate 20...Rbc8 21 a3 Bc8, but that provokes the tactical sequence 22 Nxa6! Nxe2+ 23 Rxe2 Bxg3 24 hxg3 Nxd4 25 Nxd4 bxa6 26 b4 gives White a big positional advantage. He has dark-square control, his Rooks on open files, a Queenside majority and a great chance of a good Knight against a bad Bishop ending. These lines show that Susan had a lot to think about, and she was thinking, falling well behind on the clock.} 21. Bf1 Rfe8 {There was a threat of 22 Nxe6 Bxe6 23 Rxe6! (this would have been a nice move to play following 24 Rxe6 the previous day against Keith.) Nxe6 24 Bxd6 with a much improved position. It's worth looking at this threat a little further. It is only a projected line because it is actually currently Black's move but anyway: 24...Ncxd4 25 Nxd4 Nxd4 26 Qd3 - better than immediately taking a Rook as Black has nothing constructive - 26... Rbd8 or e8 27 Bxf8 Kxf8 when it's notable that all Black's Pawns are on light squares, and White has a light-square Bishop! Previously I remarked that White would be happy with three Bishop off provided the one left was Black's light-square Bishop, yet we have the exact opposite and it's an excellent scenario for White. This proves that it is always useful to have a flexible outlook on the positional/strategical side of things because they can sometimes change very quickly. This is also confirmed by the game continuation where I start with the unlikely swap of my outposted Knight on c5 for Black's bad Bishop on d7. White clearly has the initiative now and the following exchange of pieces enables him to strike directly at Black's weakened Kingside. } 22. Nxd7 Qxd7 23. Ne5 Bxe5 24. dxe5 {"Not an automatic recapture. I spent some time looking at 24 Rxe5 g5 25 Bxf4 gxf4 26 Qg4+ Qg7 and 25 Qg4 Ng6 before concluding that the permanent control of d6 and f6 was a better positional feature." The judgement was correct but the analysis wasn't. After 24 Rxe5 g5 25 Qg4? Nxe5 simply wins an Exchange, while 24 Rxe5 Nxe5 25 Bxf4 Nc6 leaves White with a slightly reduced advantage becasuse d4 is a weakness.} Rf8 25. Qg4 {Deep Rybka comes up with a little improvement that I hadn't considered, namely 25 Rc4! - exploiting the pin on the d-file - 25...Nh5 26 Rg4. The Rook isn't currently doing anything on the c-file, although it does later in the game, so why not activate it on the Kingside? Good thinking.} h5 $6 {"I was expecting 25...g5 when the sharp retort 26 h4! should lead to the win of a Pawn. If now 25...Qg7 26 Bxf4 followed by 27 Qxe6+ wins material. The only other way of defending g5 is 26...Qe7 but this leaves the b7 Pawn overloaded and White has 27 Bxa6 as in the Sznapik-Pokojowczyk game above. Matters are not so clear after though after 27...bxa6 28 Rxc6 Rxb2 29 Bxf4 Rxf4 30 Rxe6 Qf7. Chessmaster 9000 instead suggests 30 Qh5 Kg7 31 Rec1 trying to take advantage of the exposed Black King. The text is a spirited try but it ultimately leads to further weaknesses. However, I must admit that I'd missed the follow-up to this move." Deep Rybka confirms the accuracy of the above lines giving White a plus of 0.33 after 31 Rec1. Instead after the text it increases the plus to 0.6 so we should regard it as an error.} 26. Qg5 Rf5 27. Qh6 {"A perfectly safe square. Now 27...Qg7 loses a piece to 28 Bxf4 while 27.. .g5 28 Bxf4 gxf4 29 Qg6+ Kh8 30 Bd3 Rxe5 31 Rxe5 Nxe5 32 Qxh5+ does the same. CM9000 suggests an improvement here with 29...Kf8 but White still has 30 Bd3 Rxe5 31 Rxe5 Nxe5 32 Qf6+ Nf7 33 Bg6! with a lot of pressure. If 33...e5?? 34 Bxf7 Qxf7 35 Qd6+ wins the Rook. In this line Fritz adds 32 Qh6+ Qg7 33 Qxf4+ and 34 Re1 for those of you who prefer winning Pawns to sacrificing them." Deep Rybka confirms 32 Qh6+ Qg7 33 Qxf4+ is an imporovement.} Qf7 28. Bxf4 Rxf4 29. Bd3 {"Once again the Bishop re-emerges with real bite. 29 Bxa6 just invites 29...Rxf2 but now that is refuted by the simple 30 Bxg6 when Black must cede the Exchange with 30...Qg7 as 30...Qf4 31 Qh7+ Kf8 32 Rf1 wins. Susan refuses to contemplate 29...Ne7 30 Rc7 and tries for counterplay. There is the cunning try 29...Rg4 30 h3?! Rf8 31 hxg4? Qxf2+ 32 Kh1 Qh4+ with perpetual check. CM9000 suggests 31 Qxf8+ Kxf8 32 hxg4 hxg4 33 Bxa6 - a recurring theme." In the last line after 29...Rg4 30 h3 Rf8 Deep Rybka doesn't like 31 Qxf8+ answering it with 31...Qxf8 32 hxg4 hxg4 33 Bxg6 Qf4 saying Black has an edge, while upon 33 Bxa6 Qb4! with a bigger edge is the point of the Queen recapture. Instead White should simply play 31 Re2. The engine then gives two lines, one fun and the other with some similarity to the game. a) The fun line is 31...Rxg2+!? 32.Kxg2 Qf3+ 33.Kh2 Qxd3 34.Rg1 Kf7 35. Re3! Qf5 36.Rxg6! Qxg6? 37.Rf3+ Qf5 38.Rxf5+ exf5 39.e6+! Ke7 40.Qg7+ Ke8 41. Qd7 mate. This is by no means completely forced but it is representative of the possibilities White has if he gets all his major pieces pointing at Black's over-extended Kingside. b) 31...Qf4 32.Qxf4 Rgxf4 33.Bxg6 h4 34.Bh5 and the engine says White is about 0.6 better. This is a clear improvement on the game where Black got to swap her h-Pawn for White's g-Pawn.} Rf8 30. f3 { There's no rush - g6 isn't going anywhere.} h4 $5 31. Qxg6+ $6 {"Consistent would be 31 h3 but I didn't want to limit the mobility of my Kingside Pawns. I had in fact calculated the following moves quite deeply but I had underestimated the activity of the Black Knight later on." Deep Rybka points out the subtle 31 Bxg6 Qg7 32 Qh5 Qh8 33 Qxh8+ Kxh8 34 Bh5 and if now 34...h3 35 g3 keeps the integrity of the White Kingside Pawns.} Qxg6 32. Bxg6 h3 33. Bh5 Nd4 34. Re3 hxg2 35. Kxg2 Nf5 {"CM9000 hints that this could be a mistake and wants to seal the c-file again with 35...Nc6. I can't imagine any human contemplating that having played 33...Nd4." Unfortunately Deep Rybka wants to do the same. It's hard to believe that a move such as 33...Nd4 could be a mistake. For me this piece proved to be a right nuisance!} 36. Rb3 b5 37. Rc7 {"With the time-control reached Susan sealed her next move and I headed to the pub for a meal and analysis with most of the Bristol players. The position is complicated but it seems that with correct play Black's active pieces do not compensate for her Pawn minus and other weaknesses. However, it should be borne in mind that White's extra Pawn is his h-Pawn and if he is left with King, Bishop and h-Pawn v bare King then it's a draw if Black can get her King back to h8. As it goes this factor never features in this game. Upon resumption play followed anticipated lines for a while." Deep Rybka says White is 0.4 better, that grey area on an engine which is neither a slight advantage or a clear advantage. Well, it's just a number. Back to the humans who had to play it!} d4 $6 {"CM9000 criticises this and prefers 37...Ra4. The text limits the activity of the Rook on f4 and this Pawn actually gets taken in just four moves. White immediately puts his Rook behind the passed Pawn but it turns out 38 Bg4 was stronger." Deep Rybka has no interest in 37...Ra4 at all, preferring 37...Rc4 and 37...Nh4+. After 37...Rc4 38.Rb7 (38.Ra7 seems more natural but after 38...Nd4 39.Ra3 Rc2+ 40.Kh3 Rxb2 41.R3xa6 Re2 White wants to play 42 R6a7 which he can't do.) 38...Nd4 39.Ra3 Ne2 40.Bg4 Nf4+ 41. Kg3 Rc2 42.h3 Rg2+ 43.Kh4 Rf7 44.Rxf7 Kxf7 45.Rxa6 Kg7 White has a hard job to win this despite being two Pawns. His King is in a cageso 46 Bxe6 Ng6+ 47 Kh5 Nf4+ is a draw by perpetual check. Instead 37...Nh4+ seems to make life easier for White. After 38.Kg3 and now Deep Rybka likes 38...Ra4 (if 38...Rc4 39.Rxc4 Nf5+ 40.Kf2 dxc4 41.Ra3 White is doing very well.) 39.Ra3 Nf5+ 40.Kg2 Rxa3 41.bxa3 Ne3+ 42.Kf2 Rf5 43.Bf7+ Rxf7 44.Rc8+ Kg7 45.Kxe3 Rf5 46.f4 Rh5 47. Rc6 Kf7 48.Rxa6 Rxh2 49.a4 bxa4 50.Rxa4 White should be winning this, butthis line is not forced. Simply put this is a difficult ending for both sides.} 38. Rd7 $6 {As indicated in the previous note 38 Bg4 immediately is more accurate as then upon ...Nh4+, Kg3 the Knight is not defended and the retreat . ..Nf5+ leaves the f4 Rook en prise.} Ne3+ 39. Kg3 Nc4 $2 {"Adjournment analysis showed that upon 39...Nf1+ 40 Kh3 appeared comfortable, but in retrospect both 40...Nxh2 (41 Kxh2 Rh4+ and 42...Rxh5 - this is why 38 Bg4 is to be preferred.) and 40...R8f5 (40 Bg4 Rxe5 41 Rd3? Re2 threatening 42... Rxh2 mate) offer Black good play. White would have to try 40 Kg2 Ne3+ 41 Kf2 instead but that makes it difficult to play Bg4 because of the pin down the f-file. The text leads to simplification that is favourable to White." After 39...Nf1+ 40.Kh3 Nxh2 isn't so good. After 41.Kxh2 Rh4+ 42.Kg3 Rxh5 43. f4! Rh1 44.Rxd4 Deep Rybka says White is better by 1.32. The other suggestion of 40...R8f5 is fine though. After 41.Bg4 Rxe5 42.Kg2 Nd2 43.Ra3! (Not 43.Rd3 Re2+ 44.Kg1 e5 and Black is better. The Rook doesn't do anything on d3 and needs to be out in the big open spaces, hence taking on a6 is preferable.) 43.. .Re2+ 44.Kg1 a5 45.Rxa5 Nxf3+ 46.Kf1 Re3 47.Ra8+ Rf8 48.Rxf8+ Kxf8 49.Kf2 Nxh2 50.Rxd4 Nxg4+ 51.Rxg4 and this is drawn, although the line is not completely forced. The suggested line for White with 40.Kg2 seems equal after 40... Ne3+ 41.Kf2 Rh4 but then the engine suggests the Exchange sac 42.Rxd4 Rxd4 43. Kxe3. White has two Pawns and an active Bishop for his Rook, a target on e6, and a much safer King so this is worth a try. While Black has a passed d-Pawn and pieces harassing the White King she has chances, but the text liquidates the d-Pawn and a pair of Rooks. Deep Rybka now gives White a significant plus of 1.2 again.} 40. Rd3 Nxe5 41. R3xd4 R4f5 {Both 41...Nxd7 42 Rxf4 and 41...Rxf3+? 42 Bxf3 Rxf3+ 43 Kg2 are no good for Black. These finesses were worked out during the adjournment, including the next move. White has two pieces en prise but he has counter-tactics.} 42. Bg4 Nxf3 $6 { "Tougher resistance is offered by 42...Nxd7 43 Bxf5 Rxf5 44 Rxd7 Rg5+ 45 Kf2 Rh5 46 Kg2 Rg5+ when White must find 47 Kf1 Rh5 48 Rd2 to maintain winning chances. Perhaps Susan didn't see a significant difference." Instead 42... Nxg4? 43 fxg4 repairs White's Pawns as 43...Rf3+ 44 Kh4 Rf2 45 Rd2 gets Black nowhere. A small but sigficant line as we'll see shortly.} 43. Bxf5 Nxd4 44. Bh7+ $1 {A neat tactical nuance pointed out to me just as I was leaving the pub. White gains a valuable tempo in the Rook ending. In fact, the decoying of the Black King to h7 quickly proves to be a decisive element.} Kh8 45. Rxd4 Kxh7 46. Rd6 Rg8+ $2 {"Susan completely misses my 49th move. She should have tried 46...Rc8 47 Rxa6 Rc2 48 b3 Re2. White can probably win by bringing his King across to win the b5 Pawn but Black is not without drawing chances. The point of the text, which both Fritz and CM9000 endorse(!), is to push the White King away from the h2 Pawn so that 48...Rc2 attacks two Pawns simultaneously." Deep Rybka endorses the move as well!} 47. Kf3 Rc8 48. Rxe6 Rc2 $2 49. Re2 {Defended by the King as a result of Black pushing the King sideways! The disappointment clearly showed on Susan's face. My next move cuts off the Black King and wins several vital tempi.} Rc4 50. Rg2 $1 Kh6 51. Ke3 Kh5 {"At the time I was concerned by 51...Ra4 52 b3 Ra3 53 Kd4 b4 54 Kc5 a5 but White wins by 55 Kb5 Kh5? 56 Rg8 Rxa2 57 Ra8 Ra3 58 Rxa5 and 58...Rxb3 loses the Rook after 59 Kc4+! Shuffling around with the King on h6 and h7 allows White to advance the h-Pawn supported by the Rook. When it gets to h7 Black is in zugzwang and must play ...a4 losing. Black loses the following ending because White can always reduce to Rook and Pawn versus Rook in a situation where Black's King is stranded on the Kingside well away from White's remaining Pawn."} 52. Kd3 a5 53. Rc2 Rb4 54. Rc5+ Kg4 55. Kc3 Kh3 56. a3 Rf4 57. Rxb5 a4 58. Rb4 Rf3+ 59. Kc4 Rf2 60. Kb5 {White will now have two connected passed Pawns and there is no longer any point continuing.} 1-0
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