2020-04-28 - Young, Daniel 1-0 Burrows, Nick

[Event "4NCL Online Division 2"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.04.28"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Young, Daniel J"] [Black "Burrows, Nick"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C16"] [WhiteElo "169"] [BlackElo "183"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.28"] [WhiteTeam "Downend 1"] [BlackTeam "Schach Attack"] {When the darkness came upon us back in March, the 4NCL was commendably quick to set up an online offering. To be honest I'm no more sold on the idea of competitive chess over the internet now than I was pre-lockdown, but I agreed to play a couple of games for Downend as a favour. This was the first of them, against someone I had a turgid draw against in the last round at Kidlington a couple of years ago. Thankfully a bit more excitement lay ahead this time! Time control: 45 minutes for all moves + 15 seconds per move.} 1. e4 {(45) Like everyone, I've played plenty of blitz/bullet this year and it's poisoned my memory for theory - I've mostly stuck to the flank openings I'd begun learning in the OTB season. For serious games though I'm happy to play either, and I felt that Burrows' offbeat Winawer line offered the best hope of an advantage.} e6 {(45)} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. a3 Bf8 {A provocative line: Black wants to swap his bad bishop and then play against White's centre in a position where he has made no static concessions. The downside of course is that this all takes time, and Black's score isn't very impressive.} (5... Bxc3+ {is also tried from time to time; the mainline is} 6. bxc3 Qd7 7. Qg4 f5 8. Qg3 $14 {which I covered in the notes to Young-Spence, Gatwick 2016, with the conclusion that White is doing well thanks to Black's dark-squared weaknesses.}) 6. Nf3 Ne7 (6... Ba6 $143 $6 {is direct but loses a tempo - Black prefers to wait for White to play the inevitable Bd3 first.} 7. Bxa6 Nxa6 8. Qd3 {(Negi prefers to castle immediately and quotes his game against Van der Wiel from Wijk aan Zee 2008, but this is the normal move and scores very well)} Nb8 9. Ne2 Ne7 10. O-O Qd7 11. Be3 $16 {Although Black has managed to get rid of his bad bishop, other than that it's just a poor French for him: White has consolidated his space advantage and is much more active and well-developed. Besides a gradual kingside demonstration, White could also consider opening the queenside with b2-b3 and c2-c4.}) 7. Bd3 Ba6 {As advertised. Over the years, my copy of Negi's book on 1. e4 against the French has ever been the most-thumbed, and here I was happy to borrow yet another idea from it.} 8. Nb5 $5 {I like this move for the sheer pig-headedness of it, moving the knight a second time to a clumsy square just to stop Black trading bishops. There's more to it than that though - thanks to his last move Black has to watch the d6 square so can't casually kick it with ...c6. The knight can't stay here, but whilst Black arranges to get rid of it White can act to preserve his light-squared bishop.} Qd7 (8... Nc8 {The critical test, regaining control of d6 and threatening ...c6. White's idea is} 9. c4 {, when we end up with a strange sort of Queen's Gambit.} c6 (9... dxc4 {allows} 10. Be4 $1 {since} Bxb5 {(10... c6 is a transposition to the mainline)} 11. Bxa8 c6 12. Bb7 $16 {followed by a3-a4 avoids the loss of a piece.}) 10. Nc3 dxc4 { The most ambitious, although it feels risky to me.} (10... Bxc4 {achieves Black's dream, however} 11. Bxc4 dxc4 12. O-O $44 {is fine for White, who will regain the c4 pawn and then enjoy a considerable space advantage.}) 11. Be4 h6 {(otherwise 12. Ng5 is surprisingly annoying)} 12. O-O Ne7 13. Be3 Nd5 14. Nd2 $44 {White is so active for that measly c-pawn! With Qg4 and eventually f2-f4, a big offensive is brewing on the kingside. As with many of these Winawer sidelines, Black is relying on White being timid for his ideas to work.}) 9. a4 Nf5 $6 $146 {When I saw this move I couldn't remember anything about it, which is not unreasonable when it turns out to be a novelty. At first sight it looks like a more active improvement over 8... Nc8 above, but there is a reason the knight normally retreats...} (9... Bb7 $142 {has been played in the other three games to get here, though it accepts the failure of Black's opening strategy. White is able to lock down the queenside after} 10. c3 a6 (10... Nbc6 11. O-O Na5 12. b4 Nc4 13. Na3 Nxa3 14. Bxa3 $16 {White's centre isn't threatened at all and Black is playing without his kingside - strategically this is a dream.}) 11. Na3 c5 12. b4 $14 {followed by b4-b5, and Black is severely restricted. (Negi)}) 10. c4 $2 {(36) A rote reaction which lets Black get the improved 8... Nc8 variation he's trying for. I hardly considered Bxf5; usually this only gives away White's best minor piece along with an excellent blockading square on e6. In this case however Black can't stabilise that square and White will be able to open the centre - which should be a red flag considering the note to Black's fifth move.} (10. Bxf5 $142 $1 exf5 11. O-O { Black's troubles boil down to a comple of tempi - if he could play ...Qe6 without allowing Nxc7+ or Ng5 then White would be at a dead end, but as it is 12. e6 will be the reply to most moves, forcing a crisis whilst White is better developed.} Nc6 {I think this is relatively best, evacuating to the queenside whilst there's still time, but getting to the middlegame will cost a pawn.} (11... Bxb5 $6 {Black should not waste more time grabbing pawns:} 12. axb5 {(even here 12. e6!? can be considered)} Qxb5 (12... g6 {Simple development will not avail either - the pawn on b5 is more annoying than the knight ever was, fixing Black's queenside and bringing the a1 rook into play. Having come this far he should at least be consistent.} 13. Qe2 Bg7 14. Ng5 O-O 15. e6 {will become a very familiar sight.} fxe6 16. Qxe6+ Qxe6 17. Nxe6 Rf7 18. Bf4 Nd7 19. c3 $16 {White has carefully stifled Black's counterplay and can win the c-pawn at leisure.}) 13. e6 $1 f6 {Black will not succeed in keeping lines closed.} (13... fxe6 14. Ne5 g6 {One problem leads to another: Black has no time to purge the knight with 14... Bd6 because of 15. Qh5+, however this doesn't help his development and White can underline this with the very nice quiet move} 15. b3 $1 {, when Black's queen is suddenly very short of squares.} Nd7 16. c4 Qb4 17. Ba3 Qc3 18. Rc1 Qa5 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. Nc6 {Finally Black has to allow the centre to open.} Qa3 21. cxd5 exd5 22. Qe2+ Kf7 23. Ne5+ $18 {Rxc7 is coming and Black's position collapses.}) 14. Bf4 { White would be happy to simply regain the pawn with a big positional advantage. Grim defence will not help Black; one sample line is} Bd6 15. Bxd6 cxd6 16. Nh4 $16 {with an important theme for this variation being} g6 17. Nxf5 $3 gxf5 18. Qh5+ Kd8 19. Qxf5 {, sacrificing a piece to break what remains of Black's co-ordination. Now it only remains to open the other wing.} Kc8 20. c4 Qe8 21. Rfc1 $18 {Intending b2-b4 and c4-c5.} a5 22. b4 a4 23. b5 Ra5 24. Qxd5) (11... c6 $2 {is a straightforward attempt at a refutation, which is swiftly overwhelmed:} 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ne5 Qd8 14. Bg5 $1 Qxg5 15. Nc7+ Ke7 16. Re1 { Threatening 17. Nxe6 - the rook isn't going anywhere.} Qf6 17. a5 {(the next move is playable at once, but clearly Stockfish likes playing with its food before eating it - White can do as he pleases)} b5 18. Nxc6+ Nxc6 19. Nxd5+ $18 ) 12. Qe2 Bb7 {13. Nxc7+ was threatened, so Black loses yet another move.} 13. Bf4 O-O-O {The breakthrough should come as no surprise:} 14. e6 $1 Qxe6 (14... fxe6 $2 {is even worse - Black's king will not thank him for keeping the queens on.} 15. Bxc7 Re8 16. Rfc1 $18 {The black king is high and dry; White's minor pieces look loose but} a6 17. Bxb6 axb5 18. axb5 Ne7 19. c4 {gives him an unstoppable attack.}) 15. Qxe6+ fxe6 16. Rfe1 Kd7 17. Nxc7 $16 {, winning the e-pawn.}) 10... dxc4 $6 {(36) This lets White keep the initiative up. The best move is 10... c6, forcing exchanges - Black should have taken his chance whilst he had it!} (10... c6 $142 11. Nc3 Bxc4 12. Bxc4 dxc4 13. O-O Bb4 14. Qe2 O-O 15. Qxc4 {This looks similar to the mainline of 12... Bb7 below, but it should be obvious who benefits from the light-squared bishops disappearing from e4 and b7. Sure enough, Black can simply break in the centre with} c5 $11 {. White's space advantage will not last and Black can complete his development comfortably.}) 11. Be4 c6 12. O-O {Of course, White prioritises his development and isn't going to retreat the knight until forced. This soon pays off.} Be7 $6 {This is probably the most natural move on the board, and Burrows played it very quickly. However, it runs into trouble because of an old trick in Advance French structures that I remembered Graeme Buckley showing to me once.} (12... Bb7 $142 {Finally forces the intrepid knight to retreat - far, far away from d6.} 13. Nc3 {(Stockfish's attempts to justify 13. g4 Nh6 do not impress me)} Bb4 14. Qe2 O-O (14... Nxd4 $6 {Opening the d-file is rather risky. After} 15. Nxd4 Qxd4 16. Bf4 Qd8 17. Qxc4 a5 18. Rfd1 Qe7 19. Nb5 $14 {the knight will not after all be cheated of its pleasure.}) 15. Qxc4 Na6 16. Rd1 $14 {Stockfish bravely evaluates this as equal, but I find this hard to believe in light of White's space advantage and greater activity - a kingside attack looks likely with Black's pieces having wandered to the other wing, and was this really what Black had in mind when he chose a 4... b6 Winawer? Don't forget that the time control was quick even by the standards of an evening league game...}) 13. g4 $1 {This lunge is justified because Black has no active pieces with which to exploit the weakness. The knight must either retreat to h6, where it will be unable to influence the game for a long time, or...} Nh4 $2 {... fall into the trap.} (13... Nh6 {avoids losing material, but White's initiative continues to grow since Black's dark-squared bishop must be preserved in order to control d6.} 14. Ng5 Bb7 15. Qf3 Na6 16. a5 $16 {Black is a pawn up but unable to castle on either side, and the position is starting to open.}) (13... Bb7 $142 {may be the best defence, pushing the knight back before retreating to h6, thereby forcing White to follow up more naturally rather than use Nd6+ ideas.} 14. Nc3 Nh6 15. h3 Na6 16. Be3 $44 {This was the sort of thing I expected after 13. .. Nh6 in any case. Even if Black manages to preserve the c4 pawn, White has excellent compensation after Nd2 and f2-f4, enjoying a commanding space advantage all over the board. The twin knights on a6 and h6 make quite an impression.}) 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 {I had my longest think of the game here: fully six minutes. All that blitz... I was tempted to play the scruffier 15. g5, since the only feasible way to save the bishop definitely fails - 15... f6 16. Qh5+ - and I couldn't calculate 15. Nd6+ Kf8 16. g5 f6 to an immediate win. In the end I decided - correctly I think - that I didn't need to calculate out such a position, and the opportunity to put a knight on d6 was too good to pass up.} 15. Nd6+ {(22)} (15. g5 $144 {This entrapment of the bishop is the main idea behind 13. g4. As shown below, Black can't make anything of the 'improvement' to his king position in the mainline, and I felt on practical grounds that there was no reason to let him muddy the waters with} cxb5 16. Bxa8 bxa4 17. Qg4 c3 $18 {. That said, the h4 bishop remains trapped and White will emerge with a rook for some pawns with best play, for example} 18. Rd1 Nc6 19. Rxa4 c2 20. Rd2 Bb5 21. Ra3 Bxg5 22. Qxg5 O-O 23. Bxc6 Bxc6 {. Not that complicated after all, but since the text wins almost immediately I have no regrets!}) 15... Kd8 {(23) This allows White to win straightforwardly, but 15.. . Kf8 doesn't really help.} (15... Kf8 $144 16. g5 f6 {This was the only move I was worried about. On principle I was sure that something would turn up here - how can Black ever get away with opening such a bad king position even further? - but was slightly irritated not to calculate anything out.} (16... c3 {White can just ignore the threat here -} 17. bxc3 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 $18 Na6 19. Qh5 Bxg5 {is far too passive for Black, cleanly demonstrated by} 20. Bxc6 $1) (16... h5 {prevents Qh5 and Qg4, but can do nothing about} 17. Qf3 $18 {followed by Qf4.} ) 17. gxf6 gxf6 {This was the line I was mulling over on move 15, and I intended} (17... Bxf6 {is cute but forces Black's king into the open, with predictable consequences.} 18. exf6 Qxd6 19. fxg7+ Kxg7 20. Qh5 $18) 18. Bh6+ { 'and let's see what happens'. 18. Qh5 is also very powerful. Black is now quickly crushed after} Ke7 (18... Kg8 19. Qg4+ Bg5 20. exf6 $18 {mates.}) 19. Qg4 Bg5 20. Bxg5 fxg5 21. Qxg5+ Kf8 22. Qf6+ Kg8 23. Kh1 $18 {, always a nice way to conclude an attack.}) 16. g5 c3 17. Re1 cxb2 18. Bxb2 Qe7 (18... Bxg5 $144 {fails to} 19. Qh5 f6 20. Nf7+ Kc7 21. Nxh8) 19. Qh5 {, and Black resigned because of the fork on f7 - it's appropriate that the knight should deliver the killing blow. Downend won 3½-½ and - before April was out - my chess for the season was done.} 1-0

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