Part 1 | Part 2

Something a little different this month. I’m holed up in Edinburgh, Scotland at the British Chess Championships and thought you might enjoy a snapshot of the games and the interesting theoretical questions they are dredging up. It’s a colorful affair, with participants from all over the Commonwealth and a particularly strong Indian and Bangladeshi contingent.

First on the agenda, the dreaded Tromp!

Aaron Summerscale - Adam Hunt [A45]
Br. Ch. Edinburgh, 2003

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4.f3 Qa5+ 5.c3 Nf6 6.Nd2

This is a quiet line that doesn’t appear to promise White very much. More popular is 6.d5.

6...cxd4 7.Nb3 Qb6 8.Qxd4

A KEY POSITION

8…Qxd4

Playable, if a little passive. Black’s most dynamic choice is 8...Nc6 9.Qxb6 axb6 and now, instead of the once popular but now harmless 10.Nd4 e5 11.Nxc6 exf4 12.Nd4, White has given the odd-looking 10.Be3!? a go: 10...b5 11.Bd2 e6 12.a3 d5 13.e3 Na7 14.Nh3 e5 15.Nf2 Bd6 16.Nd3 0–0 17.Be2 Bd7 18.Rd1 Nc8 19.Nb4 Nb6 20.Bc1 Bc6 21.0–0 Bc7 22.f4 Nc4 23.fxe5 Bxe5 24.Nd4, Neuillet-Relange, France 1999.

Another try is 10.e4, but the results are hardly encouraging: 10…d5 11.Bd3 (11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Bd2 e5 13.a3 Be6 14.c4 Nf6 15.Be3 Nd7 16.Rc1 Nc5 17.Nxc5 Bxc5 18.Bxc5 bxc5 19.Ne2 Ke7 20.Nc3 Rhd8 21.Be2 Nd4 22.Nb5 Ra4 23.Nxd4 Rxd4 24.Rc3 Bxc4 25.Bxc4 Raxc4, Rausis-Muhutdinov, Moscow 1992) 11...e5 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Nd2 Nd7 14.exd5 Bxd5 15.Bc4 Bxc4 16.Nxc4 b5 17.Ne3 f6 18.Bh4 Nc5 19.Nd5 Kf7 20.b4 Nd3+ 21.Kd2 Rd8 22.Kxd3 Ne7 23.a4 Nxd5 24.axb5 Nxb4+, Ochoa de Echaguen-Dorfman, New York 1989.

9.cxd4 d5 10.e3 e6

White easily got a clear advantage in Gouret-Nguyen Thanh Tong, Paris 2002 after 10...Nc6 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.Ne2 a6 13.Bd3 e6 14.a3 Be7 15.g4 0–0 16.Rc1 Rfc8 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.Rxc5 Be8 19.Kd2 Nd7 20.Rc3 b5 21.Rhc1 Nb6 22.b3 Bd7 23.Bd6 Na5 24.Bc5 Rc6 25.e4.

11.Rc1 Nc6 12.Bd3 Nh5!?

TRADING FEVER

This interesting idea, which seems to be new in this exact position, sees Black consistently aiming for simplification. The same plan was used a few years earlier after a couple moves were tossed in: 12...Bd7 13.a3 Nh5 14.Bg3 Nxg3 15.hxg3 Bd6 16.f4 h6 17.Nf3 Ke7 18.Nc5 Bxc5 19.Rxc5 Rhc8 20.Ke2 b6 21.Rcc1 f6 22.Ba6 Rc7 23.g4 Bc8 24.Bd3 Bb7 25.g5 hxg5 26.fxg5 Kd6 27.Kd2 Rac8 28.b4 e5 29.Bf5 Rf8 30.gxf6 exd4 31.b5 dxe3+ 32.Kxe3 Nd8 33.Rxc7 Kxc7 34.fxg7 Rg8 35.Rh7 Kd6 36.Rh8 d4+ 37.Nxd4 Bd5 38.Be6, 1–0, Gerstner-Mueller, Badenweiler 1995.

13.Be5

The alternatives are 13.Bc7 Kd7 14.Bg3 (14.Ba5?? Nxa5 15.Nxa5 Bb4+) 14...Nxg3 15.hxg3 g6, and 13.Bg5 f6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bf2 Bb4+ 16.Kd1 e5 with an unclear position.

13...Bd7 14.g4 f6 15.Bg3 Nxg3 16.hxg3 h6

Black is equal.

17.Ne2 Bd6 18.Nc5 Bxc5 19.Rxc5 Ke7 20.Kd2 Rhc8 21.Rhc1 Nb4 22.Rc7 Rxc7 23.Rxc7 Nxd3 24.Kxd3 Rb8 25.Nf4 Kd6 26.Rc1 e5 27.Ne2

27.Nh5 Rg8 and ...Be8 will repel boarders.

27...Bb5+ 28.Kd2 Bxe2 29.Kxe2 exd4 30.exd4 Re8+ 31.Kd3, ½–½. Trompowski specialists will have to find a better way, or abandon 6 Nd2 as a winning try.

Next: the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann.

Vassilios Kotronias - Sundararajan Kidambi [B12]
British Championship (5), 2003

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.Nge2

Having written extensively on this variation, Kotronias feels obliged to defend his ideas.

6...c5 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bb4

A SHARP VARIATION

A very sharp line. Black will almost certainly win material, either on c3 or e5, but the absence of the dark-squared bishop is a high price to pay.

9.Qd2 Nd7 10.a3 Qa5

TIME FOR SOMETHING NEW

11.Rb1!?

A necessary improvement on the following high-level game: 11.Bb5 Bxc3 12.Bxd7+ Kxd7 13.bxc3 Rc8 14.0–0 Qxc3 15.Rfb1 b6 16.Qxc3 Rxc3 17.a4 Ne7 18.a5 Nc8 19.axb6 axb6 20.Ra8 f6 21.Rb8 Re8 22.Nb5 Rxc2 23.Rb7+ Kd8 24.Ra1 Re7 25.Rb8 Kd7and Black was clearly better in Shirov-Grischuk, Dubai 2002. If Shirov can’t batter Black into submission, who can?

11...Bxc3 12.bxc3 a6

Kidambi is very afraid of Bb5+ and so cuts that move out. Prospective black players might want to examine lines like 12...Nxe5 13.Rxb7 Qxa3 14.Bb5+ Kf8 and 12...b6 13.Bb5 Qxa3.

13.Rxb7 Qxa3 14.Bg2 Nxe5 15.0–0 Nf6 16.Bg5

IS THE g4-PAWN EDIBLE?

16…0–0

One can understand his reluctance to hang around in the center, but it may well have been possible to take the g-pawn: 16...Nexg4 17.Rfb1 (Also interesting is 17.h3 Ne5 18.Qf4 Nfd7 19.Re1) and now instead of 17...Qd6 18.Bf4! e5 (18...Qc5 19.Rb8+) 19.R1b6 Qd8 20.Nc6, which is strong for White, Black should play the promising 17...0–0! 18.h3 Ne5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Qh6 Rfe8.

17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.h4!

Absolutely necessary. White throws caution to the winds in an all-out assault against the Black King.

18...Nxg4 19.Bh3 Ne5 20.h5! Bxh5 21.Qh6 Nf3+

No choice. White was threatening Nxe6.

22.Nxf3 Bxf3 23.Bxe6

Now threatening Bf5. 

23...Be4 24.Qxf6 Bg6 25.Bxd5 Rac8

In this critical position Black shows courage in playing for the win but at the same time a lack of judgment. I think he could have forced White to take a perpetual after 25...Rab8!

’
WWHITE TO MOVE AND FORCE A DRAW

26.Bxf7+! (Neither 26.Ra7 Qc5 27.Rd7 Rb6 and 26.Rfb1 Rxb7 27.Rxb7 Qc1+ 28.Kg2 Qxc2 give White anything.) 26...Bxf7 27.Qg5+ Bg6 28.Qd5+ Bf7 29.Qg5+, draw.

26.c4! Qh3 27.Re1 Rxc4

Clearly the intention but I am sure that Kidambi underestimated White’s 31st move.

28.Bxc4 Qg4+ 29.Kh2 Qxc4 30.c3! Qd5 31.Rbe7!

The problem is simple: White threatens Re8 and mate on h8. That was tough to assess five moves ago. Endings with the queens off are lost thanks to the c-pawn but what choice does Black have?

31...Qh5+ 32.Kg3 Bf5 33.Qh4!

33.Rg1 Qh3+ 34.Kf4+ Bg6 35.Rg3 Qf1 would be less sure-footed.

33...Qxh4+ 34.Kxh4

White’s massive King and the c-pawn ensure victory.

34...Be6 35.Rg1+ Kh8 36.Rc7 Bf5 37.Rg5 Bg6 38.Rgc5 Kg7 39.Rc8 Rxc8 40.Rxc8 Bd3 41.Kg5 h6+ 42.Kf4 Kg6 43.c4 Kf6 44.Rc6+ Ke7 45.Ke5 Kd7 46.Rd6+, 1–0.