Opening Time

The opening can be, as the word implies, merely a way of getting into the game; at other times the struggle can begin with the very first moves The match between Aberystwyth and Steynton B in the Dyfed Online League on Tuesday 2nd March saw some heavyweight openings which dictated the course of what followed. Rudy van Kemenade, anticipating a prepared variation from Paul Orton, chose the Bishop's Opening, but in fact the game soon took on the character of a Ruy Lopez with the centre blocked and the players attacking on the flanks. The Ruy has retained its popularity because it makes for a complex battle, and both players made mistakes according to the engines, but when Rudy was able to push through his f5 advance, the Black kingside was broken and the attack crashed through. In my game against Jonathan Jones, I found myself facing an opening I had never even heard of, the sharp Orthoschnapps Gambit against the French Defence. I did my best to stick to strategic principles and somehow reached a middle game with an extra pawn without too many tactical fireworks. After further exchanges, only that extra pawn was left and it was enough to win the ending. The games on Boards 3 and 4 were both examples of the King's Indian, another opening known for its complexity. Tom Gunn, taking a break from his usual Colle System, worked up a strong kingside attack against John Miller's passive position. When he won a knight, it looked all over, but with an exposed king, and queens on the board, there were many chances for perpetual check, and he was lucky when Black went wrong and allowed him to finish the game off. In the other King's Indian, both players seemed to be attacking on the kingside. Sam Holman's attack was the more principled, since he had pressure on the White centre and his advanced pawns on the g and h files had gained space. Gwyn Evans tried to take advantage of the open f file by doubling his rooks, only to lose the exchange to a pin, and when he overlooked a threat to his queen the game was over.

[Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.03.02"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Orton, Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1612"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Steynton B"] {[%evp 0,55,41,18,18,41,14,13,13,18,13,13,13,1,21,-21,-24,-24,-13,-13,-13,-1, -6,-13,8,8,8,-8,20,-2,0,0,-2,-24,-24,-58,-24,-53,-53,-87,-53,-62,-26,-23,-11, -39,-2,42,42,50,63,146,146,238,238,238,779,779]} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 {anticipating prepared analysis as Paul more frequently plays Sicilian.} Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 (3... c6 {other main line} 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 Nbd7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Re8 10. d4 {Van Kemenade- Iolo Jones, Dyfed League 2018, 1/2-1/2 after Bl defended a passive position}) 4. Nf3 Be7 (4... Bc5 5. c3 {other main line} d6 6. Bb3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Qe7 9. Nbd2 {Van Kemenade-Iolo Jones, Dyfed League 2011, 1-0}) 5. O-O (5. a3 {by transposition} O-O 6. O-O d6 7. c3 h6 8. Bb3 Be6 9. Nbd2 Qd7 10. Bc2 {J Van Kemenade-Orton,Dyfed Open 2018,1-0}) 5... O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 (7. a4 a5 8. h3 Be6 9. Bb5 Nd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Nd2 { Van Kemenade-Dai James, WLS ch Rapid 2018,1-018,}) 7... Na5 8. Bb5 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Bb7 {still theory, but it invites a N into f5. The position resembles that of Van Kemenade-Lovegrove, Dyfed feb Rapid, 2021,1-0, except that there the Bl B was on c5,} (11... h6 12. Nf1 Nh7 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 Ng5 15. Nxg5 Bxg5 16. f4 Bh4 17. g3 Bf6 18. e5 dxe5 19. fxe5 Bg5 20. dxc5 $14 {Van Kemenade-Ian Jones, WLS Ch rapid 2019,0-1} (20. d5 $18 {expected by Ian & confirmed as winning by Stockfish13})) 12. Nf1 {401 games, it has transposed to a standard Ruy Lopez} (12. d4 {has been played in 14 games}) 12... Nc6 (12... Re8 {main}) 13. h3 Qc7 14. g4 {risky, but it often puts pressure on people.} (14. Ng3 {68% for Wh}) (14. Ne3 {75% for Wh}) 14... h6 ( 14... g6 15. Ng3 Rfe8 16. Kh2 Nd8 17. Nf5 $5 {a standard sac, that often works, but premature here} Bf8 (17... gxf5 $19) 18. Bg5 gxf5 $6 19. gxf5 (19. Bxf6) 19... Nh5 20. Rg1 $18 {Hapala-Feit Vienna Tchaturanga op, 2013,1-0}) (14... Rad8 15. Ng3 d5 16. Qe2 d4 17. Nf5 $15 {Stockfish13- gives Bl better counterplay}) 15. Ng3 Bc8 16. a4 b4 17. Nh2 (17. d4 $11 {preferred by Stockfish13}) (17. Nh4 {consideredis possible- Wh gets some compensation on the open g file} Nxg4 (17... Nxe4 18. dxe4 Bxh4 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. gxf5 Qe7 21. Bb3 Bg5 22. Qg4 Bxc1 23. Raxc1 Kh7 $15 (23... Qg5 24. Qxg5 hxg5 25. Bd5 Rac8 26. Kh2 {and regains the pawn})) 18. Nhf5 Nf6 19. Kh1 Kh8 20. Rg1 Rg8) 17... Nh7 $18 (17... d5 {again, Bl does best to respond to a side attack with a centre response}) 18. f4 $5 {The Engines are very critical of both sides' choices on these and the next moves} Bh4 (18... exf4 19. Bxf4 Ng5 $19 { Stockfish13}) 19. Qf3 (19. Kg2) 19... Qe7 (19... bxc3 20. bxc3 Qa5 21. Bd2 c4 $19 {Stockfish13}) 20. Rf1 $2 (20. f5 $15) 20... g6 $2 {but this gives Wh the targets needed, f6, g6 & h6 all become delicate} (20... exf4 21. Bxf4 Rb8 $19 { Stockfish13- Wh had been concerned about a possible R entry on b2 when considering f4 in the first place}) 21. f5 $16 Ng5 (21... Bg5 {Stockfish13 shows up the draw backs to this move- Wh had looked at some of the initial possibilities, trusting that something would come up.} 22. Bb3 Kh8 23. Bxg5 Nxg5 (23... Qxg5 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Qxf8+ Nxf8 26. Rxf8+ Kg7 27. Rf7+ Kh8 28. Raf1 Nd8 29. Rf8+ Kh7 (29... Kg7 30. Nh5+ gxh5 31. Rg8+) 30. Bg8+ Kg7 31. Bd5 $18) 24. Qg2 $18) 22. Qg2 Bd7 23. Nf3 Nxf3+ 24. Qxf3 (24. Rxf3 {preferred by the Engines; though Wh had forcing f6 in mind} Kh7 (24... g5 {is an Engine preference, but looks dreadful positionally} 25. Bb3 {and Bl's K side will collapse}) 25. Bb3 Rab8 26. Bd5 bxc3 27. bxc3 Na5 28. Be3 Bc6 29. Raf1 Bxd5 30. exd5 c4 31. g5 Bxg5 32. Bxg5 Qxg5 33. fxg6+ Qxg6 34. Rf6 Qg5 35. R6f5 Qe3+ 36. Kh2 Rg8 37. R5f3 (37. Rxf7+ {looks simpler}) 37... Qg5 38. Qf2 f5 39. Nxf5 $18 {Stockfish13}) 24... Bg5 $2 (24... Kh7 25. Bb3 {might be holding, though Wh can keep probing} (25. f6 Qe6 $11) 25... Rab8 26. Bd5 (26. f6 Qe8 27. Bd5 Rg8 28. Be3 bxc3 29. bxc3 Nd8 30. Rfb1 Ne6 31. Nf1 Bg5 $11) 26... Na5 27. Qe3 Qg5 28. Qf2 Qf6 29. Qg2 $11 {Stockfish13}) 25. f6 $18 Qe6 (25... Qd8 26. Bxg5 hxg5 27. Qe3 Kh7 28. Qxg5 Rh8 29. Nf5 Kg8 30. Ne7+ (30. h4 {Stuckfish13}) (30. Bb3) 30... Nxe7 31. fxe7 Qb6 32. a5 Qa7 33. Rf6 c4+ 34. Kg2 Be8 35. Rxd6 $18 { Stockfish13}) 26. Bxg5 hxg5 27. Qe3 b3 (27... Kh7 {holds out longer, but Wh had by now worked out} 28. Qxg5 Rh8 29. Nf5 $1 Kg8 30. Ng7 {winning the Q}) 28. Qxg5 (28. Qxg5 bxc2 29. Qh6 Qxf6 30. Rxf6 Ne7 31. Nh5 gxh5 32. gxh5 Rfb8 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Rh6 (34. h6)) 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.03.02"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Jones, Jonathan"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "1547"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Steynton B"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] 1. e4 e6 2. c4 d5 3. cxd5 exd5 4. Qb3 {The Orthoshnapp Gambit -It's a new one to Rudy too!} (4. exd5 {has been frequently employed by Vachier Lagrave}) (4. Qa4+ Bd7 5. Qb3 dxe4 (5... Bc6 6. d4 {74% for Wh}) 6. Bc4 Qf6 7. Qxb7 Qc6 8. Qb3 (8. Qxc6 Nxc6 {0,5-1.5}) 8... Be6 {gets dismissed in Aagard & Ntirlis 2013: 441 after Chua-Basheer, Genting Highlands 1998, 0-1 ( 0-2 in other games}) 4... dxe4 5. Bc4 Qd7 (5... Qe7 {main} 6. Nc3 Nc6 (6... c6 {is a critical line that has featured in another Rosen game} 7. d3 b5 8. Nxb5 cxb5 9. Bd5 Be6 10. Qxb5+ Bd7 11. Qb7 Qb4+ 12. Bd2 Qxb7 13. Bxb7 Bc6 14. Bxa8 Bxa8 15. dxe4 Bxe4 16. Nf3 $11 {Rosen-WIM kaissapy, 3 +2 blitz lichess, 2020,1-0} (16. f3 $11 {0,5-1.5})) 7. Nd5 Qd6 (7... Qd7 8. Qg3 Kd8 9. Ne2 Na5 10. Qh4+ (10. d3 $11) 10... Be7 ( 10... Ne7 $19) 11. Qxe4 {Schiller-Kaland, Pinneberg,2006,1-0}) 8. d3 Nd4 (8... Ne5) 9. Qc3 c5 10. Bf4 {E Rosen IM (2456)-quicksilver2(2359)- LICHESS 3 MIN JULY 2020,1-0 (cf Youtube as well)}) 6. d3 (6. Nc3 {main} Nf6 {2 games each, 3 draws} (6... Nc6 {1 game each, 1 draw})) 6... Nf6 (6... Nc6 7. dxe4 Na5 {1-2}) 7. Nc3 (7. dxe4 Nc6 $15 {Cloud Engines}) 7... exd3 (7... Nc6 8. Bb5 {0.5-1.5} ( 8. dxe4 Na5 {1/2-1/2})) 8. Nf3 (8. Bg5 d2+ 9. Kf1 Nc6 (9... Bc5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Ne4 Qd4 12. Nxc5 Qxc5 13. Rd1 Nc6 14. Bxf7+ Kf8 15. Bd5 Nd4 (15... Bf5 16. Rxd2 Rd8 $19 {Stockfish13}) 16. Qc4 $11 {Monokroussos(2257)-Hagesather(2203), Oz.com blitz 2000,1-0}) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 Bg7 $18 {Schluenz-Schuette, Schleswig-Holstein ch, 2007,0-1}) 8... Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 Qd8 (10... Ng4 11. Rad1 Nc6 12. Bxd3 Nce5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Be4 $11 {Rau-Stotyn, Oberliga Nord 2004,1-0}) (10... Qf5 11. Rad1 Ng4 12. Bxd3 Bxh2+ (12... Qa5 13. Qc2 $14) 13. Kh1 Qa5 14. g3 $18 {Mathur (2111)-M Socko (2428) Titled Tuesday blitz jun 2020,1/2-1/2} (14. Nd5 $18)) (10... Nc6 11. Bxd3 Bxh2+ $11 {Cloud Engines}) 11. Ne4 $11 (11. Nd5 $11) 11... Be7 (11... Nbd7 $5) 12. Nxf6+ (12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rad1 Nc6 14. Rxd3 Qe7 15. Re3 g6 16. Neg5 Qb4 17. Bxf7+ $11 {Stockfish13}) 12... Bxf6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 $15 14. Rfe1 Nc6 (14... Bf5 15. Qxb7 Nd7 16. Qxc7 Rac8 17. Qf4 g5 18. Qd4 Qxd4 19. Nxd4 Bg6 20. Bb5 Nc5 $17 {Stockfish13- the usual wildness from an Engine}) 15. Bxd3 Rb8 (15... b6 16. Qc2 g6 17. Be4 Bb7 (17... Bd7 18. Rac1 $18) 18. Rac1 Nb4 19. Qc4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 c5 21. a3 Nc6 22. b4 Nd4 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. bxc5 bxc5 25. Qe7 $11 {Stockfish13}) 16. Be4 Be6 17. Qc2 h6 18. a3 (18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. b3 Bd5 20. Ne5 $15 {but Bl's doubled pawns make the win tricky, especially since Wh can post a N on c5- though Bl's B on d5 is very powerful, with possible K side chances}) 18... Bg4 19. Rad1 (19. Bxc6 $11 {Stockfish13 & Rudy}) 19... Rfd8 (19... Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Nd4 21. Qxc7 Nxf3+ 22. gxf3 Qxf3 $17) 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Qb3 (21. Bxc6) 21... b6 22. Qa4 (22. Bxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxf7+ {Stockfish13} Kxf7 24. Ne5+ Kf6 25. Nxc6 Rd2 26. b4 Ra2 27. h3 Bd7 28. Ne5 Be6 29. Re3 c5 30. bxc5 bxc5 31. f4 $11 {the B is better than the N with pawns on both sides of the board, but Wh should hold}) 22... Nd4 $19 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. Qxd4 (24. Qxa7 $2 Qxe4 $19 (24... Qd1 $1 {Stockfish13 is even stronger, winning a R})) 24... Rxd4 25. Bc2 Be6 (25... Kf8) 26. Rc1 $2 c5 ( 26... Rc4 {wins a B}) 27. Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Bxd1 Kf8 {Wh is now struggling in a lost endgame, even though it gets down to the last pawn} 29. Kf1 Ke7 30. Ke1 Kd6 31. Kd2 Ke5 32. g3 (32. Kc3 Bd5 33. g3 Ke4 $19) 32... Kd4 33. f4 f6 (33... b5) 34. Be2 c4 (34... Bd7) 35. Bf3 a5 (35... b5 {looks more systematic} 36. Bc6 Kc5) 36. Bc6 (36. a4 Bd7 37. Bd1 {Bl can land up with split Q side pawns} g6 38. Bc2 f5 39. Bd1 Bc6 40. h3 Bg2 41. h4 Be4 42. h5 gxh5 43. Bxh5 Bc6 44. Bd1 b5 45. axb5 Bxb5 46. Bc2 Bd7 47. Bd1 c3+ $1 {a judicious sac to create an outside passed pawn} 48. bxc3+ Ke4 49. Ke2 a4 50. Bc2+ Kd5 51. Kd3 Kc5 52. Bd1 a3 53. Bb3 Bb5+ 54. c4 Ba4 55. Ba2 Kb4 $19 {Stockfish13}) 36... Bd5 37. Bd7 Kc5 38. Be8 b5 39. Bd7 b4 (39... Bc6 40. Bc8 Kd4 41. g4 b4) 40. axb4+ axb4 41. g4 ( 41. Ke3) 41... Kd4 42. h4 c3+ 43. bxc3+ bxc3+ 44. Kc1 Be4 45. g5 fxg5 (45... f5 46. Kd1 Ke3 47. gxh6 gxh6 48. Bb5 Kxf4 {looks simpler}) 46. fxg5 hxg5 (46... h5 {keeps an extra pawn, & one more for Bl to capture while the Wh K is pinned down}) 47. hxg5 Ke5 48. Ba4 Kf4 49. Bc2 Bxc2 50. Kxc2 Kxg5 51. Kxc3 Kf4 52. Kd2 g5 53. Ke2 Kg3 54. Kf1 Kh2 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.03.02"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Miller, John S"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E91"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1549"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Steynton B"] {[%evp 0,103,19,31,14,30,50,43,32,44,41,40,64,45,67,55,72,58,100,74,96,80,96, 68,98,62,95,97,101,94,94,61,90,76,70,55,49,33,41,1,37,-9,89,7,-7,21,34,19,126, 43,269,284,497,382,420,393,490,482,418,325,347,312,394,392,391,342,389,317,342, 376,400,344,391,364,423,372,454,128,391,150,387,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,317,333,339, 328,326,184,181,189,336,189,140,31,1135,1786,1984,2081]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 {Wh goes for a more active theoretical line, rather than his usual Colle} ( 3. e3) 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 {main} (6. Bd3 Bg4 7. O-O Nc6 8. Be3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd7 10. d5 Nce5 11. Qe2 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 c5 {Gunn-Van Kemenade, Dyfed February rapid rd5, 2021,0-1}) (6. h3 Nc6 7. Bg5 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8 Nxd8 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 Bg7 12. Nxc7 $18 {R Van Kemenade-Miller, Dyfed League 2018,1-0}) 6... Nc6 {has been played by GMs, but provocative. Bl is prepared to spend a couple of tempi just to open the long diagonal for his B} ( 6... a6 7. O-O Ne8 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2 e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. Bg5 f5 12. exf5 gxf5 13. h4 $5 {Morgans-Miller,Dyfed Open 2018,1/2-1/2} (13. Nh4 $5)) (6... e5) (6... Nbd7 {main lines}) 7. d5 {68% for Wh} (7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne7 {goes down the lines of the Mar del Plata line, with 47,912 games in the database . Kotronias in his 5 vol series on the King's Indian devotes 2 of them to this line}) 7... Nb4 (7... Nb8) (7... Ne5 {main lines}) 8. O-O {70 % for Wh} c5 (8... a5 { leaves c5 for the N}) 9. Re1 $146 {the idea seems to be to play e5 at some point} (9. a3 {63% for Wh}) (9. h3 {71 % for Wh}) (9. Bf4 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nd7 12. Be2 Na6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Be3 Nc7 15. Rad1 Rb8 16. g3 a6 17. a4 { Dubov-Karjakin,Lindores Abbey rapid final, may2020,1-0}) 9... Bd7 {Bl is clearly aiming for b5, but it leaves Wh with a winning initiative on the K side } (9... e5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Be3 {Stockfish13- happy to have weakened g6 -Bronstein & Kotronias concur}) 10. Bd2 (10. Bf4) 10... Na6 11. Qc1 (11. h3) 11... Nc7 12. Bh6 Nfe8 (12... e5 13. dxe6 Nxe6 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qc2 $16 { Stockfish13- but Bl needs to get some play rather than get squashed on the K side}) 13. Bxg7 Nxg7 14. Qh6 $18 (14. Qf4 $18) 14... f6 15. h4 {though it is still going to be difficult to prize open Bl's position} Be8 16. Nh2 (16. Rad1 {tries to dissuade Bl from e5, though that still has to be played to allow the BL Q to defend her K}) 16... e5 17. Kh1 (17. f4) 17... Qe7 18. Rg1 (18. g4) 18... a6 (18... f5 {the kind of move Bl just has to play in a King's Indian}) 19. Raf1 {bringing everything across} Bd7 20. f4 (20. g4 $16) 20... f5 $2 { Stockfish13 feels this is now mis-timed} (20... exf4 21. Rxf4 b5 22. g4 $14) 21. g4 (21. fxe5 dxe5 22. g4 {if Wh can take twice on f5, then d6 wins a piece} f4 23. Nf3 Nge8 24. Qg5 Qxg5 25. hxg5 Bc8 26. Nxe5 $18) 21... fxg4 22. Bxg4 Bxg4 23. Rxg4 exf4 (23... Rxf4 {eliminates some of the attackers} 24. Rfxf4 exf4 25. h5 gxh5 26. Rg5 Rf8 27. e5 Nce8 28. Nf3 $16) 24. Nf3 $18 (24. h5 $18 { Stockfish13} Nxh5 (24... gxh5 25. Rxg7+ Qxg7 26. Rg1 $18) (24... g5 25. Qxg5 Qxg5 26. Rxg5 h6 27. Rg6 Nce8 28. Ng4 $18) (24... Rf6 25. hxg6 Rxg6 26. Rxg6 hxg6 27. Rg1 Rf8 28. Nf3 Rf6 29. e5 dxe5 30. Ne4 $18) 25. Qxh5 $18) 24... Nh5 $2 {trying to prevent Wh from putting the pawn on h5} (24... Nce8 {holds on for the moment} 25. h5 gxh5 26. Rg5 Rf6 27. Qxh5 Rg6 28. Rxg6 hxg6 29. Qxg6 Qf6 30. Rg1 Qxg6 31. Rxg6 Kh7 32. Rg5 Nf6 33. e5 $18 {Stockfish13}) 25. Qxh5 $18 Kh8 26. Qg5 (26. Rxg6) 26... Qg7 27. Rxf4 (27. h5) 27... h6 28. Rxf8+ (28. Qg3) 28... Rxf8 29. Qg2 (29. Qg3 {eyes d6}) 29... Ne8 30. Nd2 Nf6 31. e5 $1 { Stockfish13-clears a path for the d pawn} dxe5 32. Nde4 Nxe4 33. Rxf8+ (33. Nxe4) 33... Qxf8 34. Nxe4 Qf5 35. Nxc5 (35. d6 {may be even stronger}) 35... Qb1+ 36. Kh2 Qf5 37. Nxb7 (37. Qe2) 37... Qf4+ 38. Kh1 (38. Qg3 Qxc4 39. Qxe5+ Kh7 40. d6 {and it will be over soon} Qxh4+ 41. Kg2 Qg4+ 42. Kf2 Qh4+ 43. Ke2 Qc4+ 44. Kd2) 38... Qc1+ (38... Qxh4+ {is a classic drawn position!} 39. Kg1 Qe1+ 40. Qf1 Qg3+ 41. Kh1 (41. Qg2 Qe1+) 41... Qh4+ 42. Kg2 Qg4+ 43. Kf2 Qf4+ 44. Ke2 Qxc4+ 45. Kf2 Qh4+ 46. Kf3 Qf4+ $11) 39. Qg1 (39. Kh2 Qxc4 40. Qxg6 Qxd5 41. Qxh6+ Kg8 42. Nd6 e4 43. Qg6+ Kf8 44. Qf6+ Kg8 45. Nf5 $18 { Stockfish13}) 39... Qf4 (39... Qxc4 {gives Bl better chances of survival} 40. Qc5 Qxh4+ (40... Qe4+) 41. Kg2 Qg4+ 42. Kf2 Qf4+ 43. Ke2 h5 44. Nd6 {but Q &N, plus the d pawn must be winning}) 40. d6 {inexact} (40. Qc5) 40... Qxh4+ { this position should now be drawn} 41. Qh2 Qe4+ (41... Qe1+ {is a little easier to play for Bl} 42. Kg2 Qe2+ 43. Kh3 Qf3+ 44. Qg3 Qh1+ 45. Qh2 (45. Kg4 $2 Qh5# {it has happened mant times in timetrouble in similar positions}) 45... Qf3+ 46. Qg3 (46. Kh4 $2 g5#)) 42. Qg2 Qh4+ 43. Kg1 Qe1+ 44. Qf1 Qe3+ $2 { Bl still had 24 mins left to Wh's 8} (44... Qg3+ $1 {Stockfish13- ensures the draw}) 45. Qf2 $18 {now the K has more space} Qg5+ 46. Kf1 Qc1+ 47. Qe1 (47. Kg2 Qg5+ 48. Qg3 Qd2+ 49. Kh3 $18 {Stockfish13}) 47... Qf4+ (47... Qxc4+ 48. Qe2 Qd5 49. d7 {Stockfish13} (49. Qxa6 {looks sensible +5 when Stockfish13 gets given time to think about it}) 49... Qxd7 50. Qxe5+ Kg8 51. Nd6 {Wh is winning but only at +3.28}) 48. Qf2 Qc1+ (48... Qxc4+) 49. Ke2 (49. Kg2 { +6 looks preferable}) 49... Qxb2+ 50. Ke1 (50. Kf1 $18) 50... Qxb7 (50... Qc1+ 51. Ke2 Qxc4+ 52. Ke3 (52. Kd2 Qd5+ 53. Kc3 Qc6+ 54. Nc5 (54. Qc5 Qf3+ { perpetual}) 54... Qxd6 $11 {Bl has 3 pawns for the piece & the Wh K is wide open, giving Wh no time to co-ordinate Q & N against the Bl K}) 52... Qd4+ 53. Kf3 Qf4+ 54. Kg2 Qg4+ {is another perpetual}) 51. Qf8+ Kh7 52. Qe7+ 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.03.02"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Evans, Gwyn"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "1192"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Steynton B"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,52,20,34,27,19,50,30,25,18,23,13,30,21,41,19,58,47,27,35,40,-22,42, -22,1,-20,23,-85,23,-123,-156,-166,-27,-154,-9,-38,-41,-120,-29,-185,-179,-319, -336,-278,-279,-282,-266,-268,-248,-251,-251,-275,-273,-1170,-1212]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 (2. Nc3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. Nf3 d6 7. h3 { Evans-Holman, Dyfed Online Closed,2021,0-1}) 2... g6 3. Bg5 (3. Nbd2 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. c3 a6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Nc6 8. Qc2 e5 9. a4 Nh5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Re1 Bg4 12. Bf1 Nf4 {with a comfortable position for Bl, Durno-J Van Kemenade, Khanty Mansiysk ol, Scotland-Wales 2010, 1-0}) 3... Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. c3 d6 6. e4 { this has been played by Kamsky for years & recently been further explored at elite GM level in their quest for less immediately complex lines; the way that Carlsen ( who has employed this line as well) exploits small advantages in the middle game} h6 (6... c5) (6... Nbd7) 7. Bh4 Re8 (7... c5) (7... Nbd7) (7... Qe8) (7... Nc6 8. Bd3 e5 9. O-O Qe8 10. Re1 Nh5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Bb5 a6 13. Ba4 Nf4 {G Smith-R Van Kemenade, 4NCL: Milton Keynes-White Rose2,2000,0-1}) 8. Bd3 (8. Bc4 {1.5-0.5}) (8. Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O {3.5-1.5}) 8... e5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Re1 (10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Nc4 {transposes, 2 Wh wins, 6 draws, 1 Bl win}) (10. d5 Ne7 11. Rc1 g5 12. Bg3 Ng6 13. c4 {Neumann-Ljuboschiz,Bad Bertich Seniors op 2003,1-0}) 10... Bg4 (10... g5 11. Bg3 Nh5 12. d5 (12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qc2 Qf6 14. Nc4 $14 {Di Chiara-Fassio,Turin Epifania op 2011,0-1}) 12... Ne7 13. Nc4 f5 14. exf5 Nxd5 (14... Bxf5 $11) 15. Nfd2 {Dobrov-Aprysko, Moscow blitz 2017,1-0} (15. Qb3 $18)) (10... a6 11. a4 Qe7 12. Nc4 Qf8 13. Qb3 exd4 14. cxd4 g5 15. Bg3 Nh5 {Barbiso-Fassio, Torino ch 2010,0-1}) 11. Qc2 g5 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. Qb3 (13. dxe5 {seems called for}) 13... Bd7 (13... exd4 $17) 14. h4 (14. Bc4 Qe7 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qxb7 Rab8 17. Qa6 Rxb2 $11 {Stockfish13}) 14... Nxg3 15. fxg3 g4 (15... exd4 $19 {Stockfish13}) 16. Nh2 (16. d5 {escapes the worst} gxf3 17. dxc6 f2+ 18. Kxf2 bxc6 $15 {Stockfish13}) 16... h5 (16... exd4 $19) 17. Rf1 (17. d5 Ne7 18. Nc4 f5 19. exf5 Nxf5 20. Nf1 $11 {Stockfish13 }) 17... Rf8 18. Rf2 (18. Bc4 Qe7 (18... exd4 19. Bxf7+ $11) 19. d5 Na5 20. Qc2 c5 $15 {Stockfish13}) 18... Bh6 (18... exd4 $19) 19. Raf1 (19. d5 Ne7 20. Nhf1 $11) 19... Be3 $19 20. Qd1 exd4 {at last Bl takes the centre pawn} 21. Nc4 Bxf2+ 22. Rxf2 dxc3 23. bxc3 Ne5 24. Nxe5 dxe5 25. Bc4 Be6 26. Bxe6 $2 (26. Qe2 Qe7 {and Bl has the open lines his Rs need}) 26... Qxd1+ 0-1