INTERACTIVE CHESS GAME 2

White: NOST GOLD
Black: Stephen Ham (USCF CC Senior Master)
King's Indian Attack [A05]

11.Nce1

A total surprise! Ralph Marconi said, "it was decided that it was time for us to deviate from Larsen-Ljubojevic on move 11 and go our own way..." "We didn't see anything necessarily wrong with 11.Ne3, we just felt it was time to strike out on our own, for better or for worse." Garry Reynolds wrote, "I believe that our efforts must come in the center and to this end I have decided that either 11.Nd2 or the preliminary 11.Nce1 looks most logical. With 11.Nce1 we can use this Knight for the recapture if Steve takes our g2 Bishop... then this Knight will have both kingisde and central prospects I could find no other active plan. I looked at 11.Qe1, 11.Re1, 11.a3, 11.a4, 11.Ne3, but could get nothing tangible from any of them." Tony Gardner wrote, "I believe the move we should play is 11.Nce1, but not for the purpose of defending g2; it should then go to d3, sort of a reverse "hedgehog" set-up. I do not like moving either the "a" or "e" pawns; they need to remain in a hold pattern. We need to focus attention on the center." My thinking is that 11.Nd2 has no point other than to exchange light squared Bishops. But that purpose is best accomplished with 11.Nfe1 since White then has options of playing Nd3. After 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.Bxb7 Qxb7 13.Nf3 (what else?), Rd8 and Black has chances to assume the initiative after ...Nbd7-b6 and ...d5 to open the d-file.

The aforementioned Larsen-Ljubojevic game continued: 11.Ne3 (11.dxc5 dxc5 12.Ne5=) 11...Nbd7 when 12.Ne1 (instead of 12.d5?!) leads to equality. The text move plans to centralize the Queen's knight on d3. Although this is a wonderful square for that piece, it costs 4 tempi. Still, in closed positions such as this, the influence of tempi are greatly diminished. This "theoretical novelty" from NOST Gold totally changes White's approach to this defense from what has been previously tested. One could argue that since White's slow 11th move is justified only by the fact that closed positions dampen the influence of tempi, the line opening tactics such as 11...cxd4 are called for. Unfortunately for that reasoning, 11...cxd4 is met by 12.Qxd4 Nc6 13.Qd2 Ne4 14.Qe3 Bf6 15.Bxf6 Nxf6 16.Rd1 d5 17.Nd3 when White gains an edge by threatening Nc5.

11...Nbd7

Black develops per the theme already presented, keeping the a8-h1 diagonal unobstructed.

12.Nd3 cxd4

Ralph Marconi now said, "The pawn structure is at least temporarily unbalanced so accurate play is required to avoid a permanent disadvantage". Interestingly, Ralph expected 12...Qc7 followed by ...Rfd8. This move demonstrates the importance of move order and flexibility since this move was condemned for an 11th move. How does one select candidate moves in closed strategic positions such as this? Well, I know from experience with this defensive system that Black often plays ...Qb6 followed by ...Rfd8, although White's Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal may make that Queen placement more difficult. Black also finds ...Bf6 desirable, but it's unlikely White will cooperate by playing Qd2 so Black can gain a tempo for that process with ...Ne4. Given this knowledge, how does Black achieve these goals? The immediate 12...Ne4 13.dxc5 (13. Nd2 Nc3 14. Qe1 is unclear), dxc5 14 Qc2 Bf6 15. Nfe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 gives White a clear advantage since he threatens to dominate the open d-file with Rad1. Black can instead try the immediate 12...Qb6 13 dxc5 dxc5 (13...Nxc5 14. Bd4 Rfd8 15. Qd2 a5 16. a3 and White has an edge) 14. Qc1 Rfd8 15. Rd1 Ne4 16. Qf4 Bf6 (16...Ndf6? 17. Nfe5 +) 17 Nfe5 Nxe5 (17...Nc3!? 18. Bxc3 bxc3 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Ng4 Be7 21. Rac1 f5 22. Nge5 Bf6 with an unclear position; Black's c3 pawn seems sufficiently "poisoned" as to be safe from capture) 18. Nxe5 Nd6 19. e4!? a5 (planning to weaken White's Queenside after ...a4) with an unclear position. Although this line is acceptable to Black, it seems his Queen is ill positioned on b6 since the a7-g1 diagonal is blocked. What if the Queen was instead on c7? Then 12...Qc7 13 dxc5 dxc5 14. Qc1 Rfd8 15. Rd1 Ne4 16. Qf4 Qxf4 17. Nxf4 Bf6 18. Bxf6 Ndxf6 19 Ne5! Kf8 20 Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Nfd3 and White has a clear advantage due to Black's weak c5 pawn. In summary, general conclusions are that Black's c5 pawn can later become weakened and the a7-g1 diagonal needs to be opened before any Queen advance to b6. Both goals are accomplished by Black's 12...cxd4. The timing for it is ideal too since White's last move prevents Qxd4, which was a strong response for White in the notes to Black's 11th move. Unlike then, Black may now have tactical and strategic justification for opening the position with this capture.

13. Nxd4

Ralph wrote, "We looked at 13. Bxd4, and quickly rejected this move. However, we tried to see if 13.Nxb4 was a playable option. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't. Now the position is unbalanced and is becoming quite interesting. 13. Nxd4 seems to be the only reasonable choice."

Interestingly, both sides had the opportunity to analyze broadly (investigating all of the numerous candidate moves and their subsequent responses) and deeply but chose instead to examine only a few lines and made broad assessments based upon that. Surprisingly, both sides analyzed/ignored the same candidate moves while reaching the same conclusion...only 13.Nxd4 is playable.

NOST Gold spent most of their time on 13.Nxb4, considering (as did I) the main line to be 13...Qb6! 14.Nc2 e5 15.Nfe1 (Garry also examined 15.e3 d3 16.Nce1 e4 17.Nd4 d5 with a Black advantage),15...Bxg2 (Franklin also examined 15...d5 16.cxd5 Nxd5 with a Black edge) 16.Nxg2 Nc5 and Black has an edge. Another candidate move was 13...a4 (I also considered 13...e5 and 13...Rb8 to be logical options but did not analyze them since 13...Qb6! was convincing. Had NOST Gold played 13.Nxb4, I would have examined them in detail.) 14.Nd3 e5 15.Nfxe5 (15.Ba3 d5 [15...e4?? 16.Nxd4 wins] 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Nh4 Ne4! [17...g6 18 Rc1=] and Black has an edge due to threats of ...Nc3), Bxg2 16.Nxd7 Bxf1 17.Nxf8 Bh3 18.Nf4 Bf5 19.Nxh7 Nxh7 20.Bxd4 Bf6 21.Nd5 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 Ng5 is unclear. Finally, the first candidate move I examined was 13...d5 14.Nd3 (14 c5 Bxc5 15. Nd3 Ba7 16.Nxd4 Qe7 is unclear) dxc (14...e5?? 15.Nfxe5 wins) 15.bxc Rc8 (15...Qc7?? 16.Bxd4 Qxc4 17.Nde5 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Qc7 19.Rc1 wins, as analyzed by Franklin) 16.Bxd4 Rxc4 17.Rc1 Rxc1 18.Qxc1 Qa5 is unclear.

White's last option was 13.Bxd4, when 13...e5 14.Bb2 Qb6 (14...e4?! 15.Nd4 d5 16.Nf4 dxc 17.bxc Rc8 18.Qb3 a5 19.Rfd1 with a White edge, as analyzed by Franklin) and the position is unclear. However, my plan was 13...a5! 14.Bb2 Qb6 15.Qc1 Ne4 16.Qf4 Bf6 17.Nd4 Ndc5 18.Nxc5 Nxc5 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 with a Black advantage. Clearly NOST Gold made the correct choice with 13.Nxd4.

13...Bxg2

I may have given away too much free information to NOST Gold in my notes since I made it clear that my plan was to play ...Qb6 if White tried to exchange light squared Bishops. In this way, my Queen recaptures on b7 and it will be as formidable as the Bishop was, while vacating the d8 square for a Rook. I was thus shocked to discover a tactical flaw to this plan in this position since 13...Qb6? 14.Bxb7 Qxb7 is met by 15.Nxb4 Rac8 (15...Qxb4?? 16.Nc6 Qb6 17.Nxe7+ Kb8 18.Qd4 Qc7 19.Rfd1 [19.Ba3?? Nc5 and Black has an edge], Re8 20.Ba3 and White wins) 16.Nd3 d5 17.cxd Nxd5 18.Rc1 N7f6 19.Qd2 Ne4 20.Qa5 Bf6 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rc1 (22.Nf3? Bxb2 23.Nxb2 Nec3 24.Re1 Nb4 and Black has compensation) and Black has insufficient compensation for the minus pawn. Black has another option in 13...d5?, but it is refuted by 14.Rc1 Qb6 15.cxd Nxd5 16.Bxd5! Bxd5 17 Nf4 Bf6 (17...Bb7?? 18 Ndxe6 fxe 19.Qxd7 wins) 18.Nxd5 exd 19.Rxc6 Qa5 20 Qc2 when White has a clear advantage since Black's isolated d pawn is weak while White's pieces are dominant.

14.Kxg2 Qb6 15.f3 ?!

White is wary of Black's Queen repositioning to the a8-h1 diagonal. White therefore occupies that diagonal with pawns on f3 and e4 to create a bind when Black's d pawn would be targeted on White's open file and remain unsupported by its neighboring e pawn. However, this plan is too slow since Black can foil it with an immediate ...d5. White's e3 square is now weakened, which Black can exploit by eventually putting a Knight on d5. Therefore preference should have been for development instead of prophylaxis. Then White's candidate moves should have been either 15.Qd2 (connects White's Rooks and loads up on the semi-open d file while attacking b4), 15.Qe1 (attacks b4 without losing a tempo to ...Ne4) or 15.Rc1 (most flexible and probably strongest). Resulting examples are: 15. Qd2 d5 16. Rac1 Ne4 (Black gains a tempo for the development of his Bishop. Instead, the less incisive 16...Rac8 transposes to 15.Rc1 lines) 17.Qe3 (17. Qe1?, dxc4 [17...Bf6?! 18e3=, Ralph Marconi] 18.Rxc4 Rac8 19.f3 Rxc4 20.bxc4 Nf6 21.Qd2 Rd8 22. e4 a5 and Black has an advantage since White's c pawn is weak and his Queen gets exposed after ...Ne5), Bg5 18. f4 Bf6 (unclear, per Ralph Marconi) 19.cxd5 exd5 20.Rc6 Qa5 and a drawish position is reached.

15.Qe1 d5 16.cxd5 (16. Rc1!?) Nxd5 17.e4 N5f6 is equal, per Tony Gardner.

15 Rc1! Rac8 (15...d5? 16 cxd5 Nxd5 17 e4 Nc3 [17...Nf6? 18.Nc6 gives White a clear advantage] 18. Bxc3 bxc3 19.Ne2 Rfd8 20.Rxc3 Bf6 21.Rc2 Ne5 22.Rd2 Qd6 23.Nec1 Rac8 24.f4 Nxd3 [24...Rxc1? 25. Qxc1 Nxd3 26.Rfd1 gives White a large advantage] 25.Rxd3 and White is superior) 16.Qd2 d5 17.cxd5 Nxd5 18.Rxc8 Rxc8 19.Rc1 Rxc1 (19...Qb7!? is unclear) 20.Qxc1 Nc5 is equal, per Garry Reynolds.

15...d5

Black responds quickly before White completes his bind with 16 e4.

16.Rc1 Rac8

Black dynamically uses positional imbalances to obtain the initiative. Black threatens ...dxc4, isolating White's c pawn on an open file while also giving Black a 2-1 pawn advantage on the a and b files. This move also opens the d- file for Black when ...Rfd8 indirectly attacks White's Queen. In summary, White's imprecise 15th move conferred the initiative to Black. Black now actively creates threats that force White to react defensively.

17.cxd5

White correctly prevents Black's aforementioned threat, but at the cost of activating Black's pieces further. White's alternative was 17.Qd2 dxc4 (17...Rfd8 =) 18.bxc4 (18.Rxc4 Rxc4 19.bxc4 Rc8 gives Black an edge), Rfd8 (18...a5 19 Nb5, Rfd8 gives Black at least equality) 19.Nb3 a5 20 Bd4 Qc7 21 Qb2 a4 22 Nd2 e5 and Black has the edge.

17.cxd5 Nxd5 18.Qd2 Bf6 19.e3 Ne5

Black's last move is forced, being the only move that maintains Black's edge. Black activates a previously inactive piece. Other Black moves allow White easy equality by exchanging pieces. For example, any Black's King Rook move is met by 20 Rxc8 when Black loses a tempo. Black could make a home for his dark squared Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal with 19...g6, but after 20 Rxc8, Rxc8 21 Rc1, Rxc1 22 Qxc1, Qa5 (22...e5!? 23 Nc2, e4 "looks somewhat tentative for White", per Garry Reynolds. Actually 24 fxe4, Bxb2 25 Nxb2, Nc3 26 Nc4, Qb7 27 Nd6, Qb6 equalizes. Ralph Marconi suggested instead 23 Nc6?!, but after Nxe3+ 24 Kh1??, e4 25 fxe4, Bxb2 26 Nxb2, Nf6 27 e5, Nfd5 28 Nd3, Qb5 29 Nf2, Nc3 Black wins due to the threat of checkmate or the win of a Knight. Ralph preferred 25 Bxf6, Nxf6 26 fxe4, Nxe4 27 Nxb4, "and the game seems to be unclear". However 27...Qd4 28 Qb2, Ne3 wins, since Black prepares a mating net or the win of a Knight after ...a5. Ralph improved White's chances with 24 Kh3, but 24...e4 25 fxe4, Bxb2 26 Nxb2, Nb8!? 27 Na4 [27 Nxb8??, Qe6+ checkmates], Qxc6 28 Qxe3, Nd7 when Black has an endgame edge due to White's weak e pawn and his Knight being out of play.) 23 e4, Qxa2 24 exd5, Bxd4 25 dxe6, fxe6 26 Qc4, Bxb2 27 Qxe6+, Kf8 28 Qxd7, Black must force a draw with 28...Bf6+ 29 Kh3, Qe2 30 Qc8, Kg7, since 28...Bg7+? 29 Kh3, Qxb3 30 Nc5, Qf7 31 Qd8+, Qe8 33 Ne6+ gives White a clear advantage. I also looked at the awkward 19...Bg5 20 f4, Bf6 (Black loses tempi to induce a pawn weakness on e4) 21 Rxc8, Rxc8 22 Rc1, Rxc1 23 Qxc1, Qa5 (23...Qb7=) 24 e4, Qxa2 25 exd5=.

20.Nf2

White plans to reposition this Knight to e4. I confess to failing to consider this option. I've read that psychologically, the human mind often overlooks retreating moves. I think this is all the more true when the retreating option is with our opponents. Had White tried to exchange pieces to obtain drawish positions, the result would have been: 20 Rxc8, Rxc8 21 Rc1, Rd8 22 Nxe5, Bxe5 23 Kg1, Bf6 24 Qe2, Ne3 25 Qe3, h6 26 Rc6, Bxd4 27 Qxd4, Qxd4 28 Bxd4, Rxd4 29 Rxa6, g5!?, Black has an edge. Weaker yet was 20 Nxe5, Bxe5 21 e4, Nc3 22 Ne2, Rfd8 23 Qc2, Qe3 24 Bxc3, bxc3 when Black has a clear advantage. White's other option was 20 Nf4, Nxf4 (20...Rcd8!?) 21 exf4, Ng6 (Ralph Marconi and Garry Reynolds examined 22...Nd7?! 22 f5, which is best met by 22...Ne5 =, since 22...e5? is refuted by 23 Ne6!, fxe6 24 Qxd7 with an large advantage for White.) 22 f5, Ne7 23 fxe6, fxe6 and Black again has an edge. Ralph Marconi demonstrated that 20 e4?, Nxd3 21 Rxc8 (21 Qxd3?, Nc3 22 Ne2, Rfd8 23 Qc2, Qe3 is immediately decisive), Rxc8 23 Qd3, Nc3 gives Black a significant advantage.

20...Nc6

My first thought was that, in light of 21 Ne4, I should maintain my Bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal. Therefore I considered 20...g6 21 Ne4 (21 e4?!, Nc3 22 Bxc3,bxc3 23 Rxc3, Rcd8 24 Rd1, Nxf3 25 Rxf3, Rxd4 gives Black an advantage), Bg7 (Black now has options of ...Bh6) 22 h3? (White prepares 23 f4), f5 23 Nf2, Nc6 and Black has the advantage. Only later I saw 22 Rxc8, Rxc8 23 Rc1, Rxc1 24 Bxc1, Bh6 (24...Nc6 25 Nxc6, Qxc6=) 25 f4, Ng4 26 Qe2, f5 27 Nf2, Qb7 28 Kg1, Qc8? 29 Qc4, Qxc8 30 bxc4, Nc3 31 Nxg4, fxg4 32 c5, Kf7 33 a3, e5 34 c6, Ke8! 35 fxe5, bxa3 36 e6 and in this unclear position Black would be happy to draw. Black can improve with 28...Nxf2 30 Qxf2, Qc8 30 Bb2, Nc3 31 Qd2 (31 Qc2?, e5 gives Black an advantage), Bf8 32 Qc2!, Bc5 33 a3 but White equalizes. Also 20...Rxc1 21 Rxc1, Rd8 22 Ne4, Be7 leads to unclear positions. The text move presents White with the most challenges; it creates tension with a triple attack on d4 while preventing the exchange of rooks on c8, which has already been shown to offer White drawing chances. Ralph now wrote, "Your Knight on d5 is proving to be a 'monster'! I wish we could find a way of exchanging it off, forcing it to move, or countering it in some way".

Since 20 moves have now been completed, an assessment is in order. I think Black's chances have improved in the last 10 moves due to White's 15th move. Black has an edge. I now assess Black's winning, losing, drawing chances as: 35%, 25%, 40%. Again, Black, although better, may not have an advantage large enough to be consequential. But Black has the initiative and the more active pieces. White will likely soon incur a pawn weakness that will be the focus of the remainder of the game.

Annotations to moves 21-43.
Back to annotations to moves 1-10.