4NCL Division 3 2011-12: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Sussex Smart Survivors

   [Event "4NCL"]  [Site "Hinckley Island"]  [Date "2012.3.27"]  [Round "8"]  [White "Jones, Chris (Sussex Smart Survivors)"]  [Black "Mansson, James C (e2e4.org.uk 2)"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [Eco "B22"]   1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 e6 6.Bc4   {6.Nf3 is more usual. 6...Nc6 7.Qe4 f5 8.Qe2 (8.exf6 Nxf6 gives Black a strong centre.) b5! is a strong gambit.}   Nc6 7.Qe4 d6   {! 7...f5 8.Qe2 was played in a previous game between the same two players. White then had slightly the better of it, as compared to the 6 Nf3 line, his bishop is more actively placed. This is important, as Black's counterplay in that line is based on placing his bishop on a6 to harass the queen, which is now no longer possible.}   8.exd6   {8.Bxd5 exd5 9.Qxd5 Be6 10.Qb5 dxe5=}   Nf6 9.Qe2 Bxd6 10.Nf3 O-O 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6   {?! Giving up the bishop pair for no particular reason. 12.Bh4 Be7 13.O-O Qb6 14.Na3 a6 15.Rfd1 Qc5 16.Nc2 b5 17.Bd3 Bb7 was played in A.Dragasevic - E.Djingarova, Pamporovo 2001. Black had an active position.}   Qxf6 13.Nbd2 Qe7 14.O-O a6 15.Rfe1 Bd7 16.Rad1   {White offered a draw. However Black declined, as he hoped to make some use of his two bishops in the long term.}   Kh8 17.Bb3 Rad8 18.Nc4 Bc7 19.Ne3 Rfe8 20.Nc4 Kg8 21.Nce5 Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Bc8 23.Nf3 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Rd8 25.Bc2 Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Qd6 27.Qxd6 Bxd6   {After some manoeuvring followed by some wood-chopping, we have the endgame Black was aiming for.}   28.Kf1 Kf8 29.Nd2 Ke7 30.g3 Bc5 31.Ke2 g5   {Black aims to restrict the White knight with his pawns.}   32.f4 g4 33.Be4 Bg1 34.Kf1 {!} Ba7   {34...Bxh2 35.Kg2 would be embarrassing!}   35.Ke2 f5 36.Bg2 b5   {Black considered this necessary to stop Nc4, in order to be able to play ...Kd6 and ...e5. However, the downside of the move is that it gives White the opportunity to swap pawns, which increases his drawing chances.}   37.h3 h5 38.hxg4 hxg4 39.b3 Kd6 40.Nf1 e5   {Time control}   41.fxe5+ Kxe5 42.Kd3 a5 43.Bc6 Ba6   {?! This is a mistake, as White can now fix the pawn on b5, which restricts Black to its defence. Better was  43...b4! 44.cxb4 (44.c4 f4) axb4 45.Ne3 Bb8}   44.b4 {!} axb4   {44...a4!? was worth considering, to make the exchange of all the pawns slightly less likely. However, there was then the risk that the a4 pawn might be vulnerable, should the b5 pawn be eliminated. Black decided to take no chances.}   45.cxb4 f4 46.gxf4+ Kxf4 47.Kc3 Bf2 48.Nh2   {White offered a draw. Black however wanted to be shown!}   Be1+ 49.Kb3 Kg3   {49...g3 50.Nf1 Ke5 51.Nxg3! is similar to the game.}   50.Nxg4   {! White is now able to eliminate all the Black pawns, leading to a dead drawn position.}   Kxg4 51.a4 bxa4+ 52.Kxa4   {Black offered a draw.}   1/2-1/2