2014-10-04 - Meadows, Michael 1-0 Wong, A

[Event "BRISTOL LEAGUE DIV 1"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.10.04"] [Round "?"] [White "MEADOWS, M.."] [Black "WONG, A.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C30"] [Annotator "Tyson,Mordue"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Qh5 $5 {At this point there is a brief note that reads ". ..probably not as bad as it looks.", and this is attributed to Romanian GM Mihail Marin. I have heard of this move, but not seen it in serious practical play. It appears on my database in 42 games with a plus score to White, but I doubt if it has been played by any really strong players.} Nc6 {The other major alternative is 3...d6. Bobby Fischer would probably approve.} 4. fxe5 Bxg1 $6 {Only move four and we depart from the theoretical database. First, and briefly, the main theoretical alternatives are: 1) 4...d6 trying to turn it into a real gambit. White does best to decline with 5. Bb5.2) 4...g6 which recovers the Pawn after 5. Qe2 Nxe5. At first I didn't like this after 6. c3 threatening 7. d4 forking, but Black has the cheeky 6...Qh4+ 7. g3 Qxh2!? Based on the fork 8. Qxh2 Nf3+. White has other sixth moves of course including the obvious 6. Nf3.3) 4...Qe7, but this doesn't seem good after 5. Nf3 g6 6. Qg5! Qxg5 7. Nxg5 Nxe5 8. c3 with that d4 threat again. My engine suggests the curious 4...Nd4, and after 5. Bc4?! g6 6. Qd1 Qh4+ 7. Kf1 d5! with advantage to Black. Instead 5. Bd3 seems more circumspect. The text is played simply to rule out Nf3 defending e5, but is it really a good idea to give up a nicely developed piece for one that hasn't moved? Black is also giving up the Bishop pair and it's not likely that the position is going to remain closed. Arturo Wong is a player noted for his original and combative approach to chess, but this does not feel as if it's the right move even if it does leave theory. Indeed theory is there for a reason. It's the condensing of many years of practical play by masters. You would usually need a good reason to deviate from it, but it needs to be learned and examined in the first place. } 5. Rxg1 Qe7 6. Nc3 Qxe5 $2 {This is a panicked response to the threat of 7. Nd5 and a possible 8. Nxc7+ forking. Black could reply to 7. Nd5 with 7...Qc5 counterattacking the g1- Rook, but he does better to play the immediate 6... Qc5 putting the question to White. After 7. Rh1 Nge7 Black can calmly castle Kingside. The text simply gives White a clear advantage by straightforward moves, so Michael has clearly won the opening battle. The game itself goes on to prove that the early swap of Queens does not necessarily reduce an opponent's initiative or advantage, not does it reduce their aggressive intent! } 7. Qxe5+ Nxe5 8. d4 Nc6 9. Be3 $16 {No-one is going to dispute that White has the advantage here. He has the centre, a lead in development, and the two Bishops in an open position. The engine evaluation, for what it's worth, is a chunky +0.84.} Nge7 $6 {The engine says that this is a mistake because of 10. d5 Ne5 11. d6! followed by 12. Nb5 and Black is in a right mess. So it could be right. The engine suggests 9...d6 instead. After 10. d5 the engine also analyses 10... Nb4 with a complicated continuation. It looks as if White can simply play 11.0-0-0 with a clear advantage.} 10. Nb5 {This isn't a bad alternative to the engine suggestion above. Black loses his castling rights and with it some time, regardless that White's Knight loses two tempi.} Kd8 11. O-O-O a6 12. Nc3 d6 13. Be2 h6 {At first sight this looks as if it is merely a pass move, and it seems to give White a hook for the advance g2-g4-g5 if he chooses to play that way. However, this little Pawn move prevents Be3-g5 pinning the e7 Knight, and it also gives Black the option of expanding on the Kingside with ...g7-g5. However, that advance needs to go with ...f7-f5 to be effective. There is a case for the immediate 13...f5 trying to disrupt the White centre, but it needs nerves of steel to open up lines with one's King already stuck in the middle. The modest 13...Bd7 is playable of course, but this is not Arturo's style.} 14. Rgf1 {It is worth considering 14. g4 to prevent Black playing 14... f7-f5, which I do think Black should have tried last move regardless. The text seems to be okay because it strikes at f7, and if Arturo has declined to play ...f7-f5 once then, with White's position improved by one move, it's unlikely that he will so now.} Rf8 $6 {At first sight this seems like a natural move but I have my doubts. I still want to play 14...f5. After 15. e5 Black shouldn't play 15... dxe5? 16. dxe5 with check and he is in trouble. If now 16...Ke8 17. Bh5+ g6 18. Nd5! and something has got to give. Instead after 14...f5 15. e5 Black should close lines with 15. ..d5, and this is exactly what White doesn't want with the two Bishops. Nevertheless White maintains a bind with 16. h4. After 14...f5 the right move must be 15. exf5 further opening the position and posing Black a small problem. The natural recapture is 15...Bxf5 but White gains time and more space with 16. g4. Instead 15...Nxf5 attacks the Bishop so White will go 16. Bf2 restricting the Knight and then 17. g4 looms and where does the Knight go then? Back to e7? I think Black must play 16...h5 to prevent g4, but after 17. Bf3 White looks fine. It's worth pointing out that 13...h6 followed by the subsequent 16. ..h5 is a loss of a tempo, but with the two Bishops blocking the f-file the move 14. Rgf1 seems to be redundant. So plenty to think about here with 14... f5, but Black does get some breathing space. His main problem in the game is the disconnection of his Rooks because of his errant King, and it doesn't really ever get resolved.} 15. Bh5 {Michael asks the question of Arturo; Do you want to play a weakening Pawn move or put your King back on e8? Of course the move that Black wants to play is still 15...f5, but that Pawn is now pinned vertically. Does 16. g4 work? It gets messy after 16...g6 17. Bxh6 Rh8 18. Bg7 Rh7, but Michael has 19. Bxg6! Rxg7 20. Bxf5 with three very good Pawns for a piece. Not forced by any means but worth analysing.} Ke8 {Arturo goes over to blanket defence, so Michael continues to build.} 16. Rf2 Bd7 17. Rdf1 Nd8 {After 17...g6 Michael simply takes the offered Pawns with 18. Bxh6 Rh8 19. Rxf7! Arturo can't take either Bishop because he gets mated on f8. Instead 18.. .gxh5 19. Rxf7+ Kg8 20. gxh5 is an improved version of the game for White because he has taken on f7. After the text Black becomes vulnerable to a potential Nd5 which will be attacking both c7 with a fork and f6. This means that depending on the strength of that move the Black Knight on e7 is tied down to covering that square. This motif comes up in future notes.} 18. g4 $6 {This is highly provocative and there are better moves. Nevertheless Arturo falls in with Michael's intended main line and his position quickly develops a lot of holes. The alternatives suggested by Deep Rybka are both suggestive and vaguely odd, and also a mixture of subtle waiting moves and the violent stuff. One of those was 18. b3 which I'll come back to in a later note. Another suggestion was 18. a3 which I can only assume the point is that after 18...Bb5 19. Nxb5 axb5 now the a-Pawn isn't en prise. The violent move is the immediate 18. Nd5 so that after 18...Nxd5 19. exd5 White can play down the now open e-file.} g6 {Attacking the Bishop which is now trapped on h5. However, Michael has accounted for this.} 19. Bxh6 {In fine sacrificial style Deep Rybka analyses 19. Bxg6!? Nxg6 (not 19...fxg6 20. Rxf8 mate.) 20. Nd5 Ne6 21. Bxh6 Rh8 22. Bg7!? and comes to no conclusion other than it's completely unclear! Worth looking at further. The text was Michael's original intention.} gxh5 $2 { This turns out to be too greedy. Alternatives are: A) 19...Rh8 20. Bxg6 Nxg6 21. Nd5 Rc8 22. Bg7 Rh3 23. Nf6+ Ke7 24. Ng8+ Ke8 25. Nf6+ with a draw by perpetual check. B) 19...Rg8 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 and now: B1) 21. ..gxh5? 22. Re1+ Ne6 23. dxe6 fxe6 24. gxh5, and White is close to winning this because of his superior piece activity and the advanced passed h-Pawn. B2) 21...Bb5! (An important move that clears d7 for the King. The point of Deep Rybka's peculiar suggestion of 18. b3 was to go into this variation a move later and have the move c2-c4 available as a reply to ...Bb5. Deep stuff indeed!) 22. Re1+ Kd7 23. b3 (a bit late) 23...gxh5 24. gxh5 Rh8 25. Bg7 Rxh5 26. c4 Bxc4 27. bxc4 b5, and at the end of this madcap variation the engine says that it is equal. I'm inclined to agree.} 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. gxh5 {So we have arrived at a position which is similar to that at the end of the line given in the note to Black's 17th, except he still has his f7-Pawn. In the current position White has Rook and two Pawns for two minor pieces. This one is very good for White for several reasons. The outside passed Pawns spread the defence which is not well co-ordinated anyway. He still has his fine Pawn centre which limits Black's activity. Also White has two Rooks working together compared to Black's own inactive tower. Michael must have correctly judged this position to be very favourable to him.} c5 $6 {Deep Rybka analyses several moves here, and this isn't one of them. The text is an attempt to create more space for the Black minor pieces but it doesn't work because of a fine rejoinder by Michael. Suggested alternatives by the engine are 21...Kg7 or g8 to get in front of the outside Pawns, 21...Be6 which seems to flounder after 22. d5, and the radical 21...f5 inviting White to take and block the f-file. My own preference is for one of the King moves.} 22. dxc5 {This is good while I preferred 22. d5 keeping Black hemmed in. Deep Rybka looks at 22. Rg1 and 22. h6 and says they may be better. White certainly has lots of playable alternatives here.} dxc5 23. Nd5 $1 {This fine move which has been suggested in several earlier variations finally arrives. There's an immediate threat of 24. Nb6 forking and winning material, and good defences are hard to come by. If 23...Be6 24. Nc7 and 25. Nxe6+ Nxe6 26. Rxf7+ is disastrous. Or 23...Bc6 24. Nb6 Rb8 25. Rg1 Ke8 (to enable ...Bxe4 without allowing a fork on d7.) 26. h6 Bxe4 27. Rg7 and the coming h6-h7 will win a piece, and White still has another h-Pawn to advance! Not surprisingly Arturo trades on d5, swapping his passive steed for the active one, but the recapturing White Pawn takes away the c6 and e6 squares from both the remaining Black minor pieces. Michael also then has a passed d-Pawn, something else for Arturo to worry about, although it is apparently currently well-blockaded.} Nxd5 24. exd5 f5 {This advance creates a lot of weak squares in its wake, but Black needs to get f7 for his Knight to control h6 and h8. Only then he can move his King and finally activate his Rook. Unfortunately it's all too late as Michael proves in fine fashion.} 25. Rg1 Nf7 26. Rfg2 Ke7 27. Rg7 {With an annoying threat which Black can do nothing about. Arturo plays the obvious move which at long last activates his Rook and delays the advance of one passed Pawn.} Rh8 28. d6+ $1 {And he gets hit by the advance of the other passed Pawn. Clearly it can't be taken but what is the right reply?} Kf8 {Both 28...Kxd6 and 28...Kd8 leave the Knight en prise. If either 28...Kf6 or e6 then 29. R1g6+ Ke5 30. Rxf7 and the steed perishes again. So the text is forced.} 29. h6 $1 {A neat left-right combination. If 29...Rxh6 30. Rg8 is mate while if 29...Nxh6 30. Rxd7. The White Rooks are finally unleashing their power in the wide-open position, and the Black minor pieces are no match.} Be6 30. R1g6 $1 {Another strong and accurate move. Instead after the hasty 30. h7? Nxd6 Black has covered g8 enough times and defended b7. Now Arturo has to do something about his attacked Bishop. If A) 30...Bd5 31. h7 Nxd6 32. Rd7 Nf7 33. Rxd5 Rxh7 34. Rxc5 when White is an Exchange up with a Queenside Pawn majority. A long-winded yet simple win. Or: B) 30...Nd8 31. Rc7 Bf7 32. Rf6 Ke8 33. Re7+ Kf8 34. Re5 Kg8 35. Rxc5 when Black is movebound and his Pawns are dropping off. C) 30...Bxa2 à la Bobby Fischer then 31. b3 traps the Bishop of course. However, these are probably better than his actual choice.} Nxh6 $2 {Eliminating one dangerous Pawn because of the obvious point that 31. Rxe6 Kxg7 and Black is a piece up. However, this is actually complete capitulation. Michael now gets to destroy the Black Queenside and after that the d-Pawn gets through to promotion. This was the Pawn that was apparently well-blockaded on move 24.} (30... Bxa2) 31. Rxb7 Bg8 {Resigning might have preferable to this miserable move. Between them the White Rooks now control more squares than the Black pieces combined have legal moves to. However, after 31...Bc8 White has the pleasant choice between 32. d7 or the even more effective 32. Rc7 because, on this wide-open board, the Bishop is trapped!} 32. Rb8+ {The immediate 32. d7 is also good.} Kf7 33. d7 Kxg6 34. d8=Q {Arturo has two awfully-placed minor pieces for a Queen. He plays on through inertia but the end is not long in arriving.} Ng4 {Incredibly this is only Black's second excursion over the halfway line. The first was the poor 4...Bxg1. That underlines Michael's domination of this game.} 35. Rb6+ Kg7 {After 35...Kh5 36. h4 threatening 37. Qg5 mate, which can only be delayed by the desperate 36... Nf6.} 36. Qg5+ {There follows 37. Qxf5+ and the Knight goes at the very least. It's no longer worth playing on. A wonderful exhibition by Michael of active Rooks combining with advanced Pawns.} 1-0

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