TL Chess match II - Page 32

20.Rfc1?

He plays 20... Nf7 Then 22.Rc2 Bb7 Now we have a couple of options

I'm pretty sure 20...cxd5 is bad; the knight will dominate the bishop. It's a waiting game in the center at the moment, but we should come out on top I think.

20. cxd6 immediately is not a terrible move, but I prefer keeping on the pressure. There are no other reasons to play cxd6 immediately, as with the doubled rooks, it will be hard for black to play the freeing move d5.

20. Rfc1 does nothing to build up the pressure on d6, and is generally less powerful than Rfd1. The c5 pawn doesn't need extra protection, and the c5 point is defended adequately by the knight on e5. Black can also play 20. ... Bb7 to protect that pawn if he fears 21. cxd6 exd6 22. f4.

So after 20. Rfd1 black has to defend the pawn or counter attack one of white's pawns, leaving the options at 20. ... Be6 or 20. ... Nf7.

20. Rfd1 Be6
21. b3 Nf7

Black can't really play 21. ... Rd8 because we just trade and win a pawn. However, Nf7 weakens the c5 pawn. Fortunately white can exploit this with Rc1. This is better than the immediate Rfc1 because it gets the defender off the c6 square before moving in to attack it.

22. Rc1 Bd7
23. Bc4!

If black defends the pawn with Bd7, he has lost control of the a2-g8 diagonal and white can play Bc4, taking control of the diagonal and threatening to remove the defender on f7, which would give white a large advantage. So 23. ... Ne5, which leads to 24. Rcd1 Nxc4 25. bxc4 Be6 26. cxd6 exd6 27. Rxd6 Bxc4 and white is better. Black has bigger pawn weaknesses on the queenside and less active pieces. White plans to attack the bishop and move the knight to c5, centralizing. White should be good here.

However, there is another line. Black can instead play 22. ... d5, avoiding passive defense. 23. exd5 Bxd5, using the c6 pawn to support the black center. 23. ... cxd5 would be bad for black because we have a passed c-pawn that can immediately be pushed. Although black may hope to build up in the center, he cannot do anything but to delay white's attack.

After 24. Nc3 e6, black may be temporarily able to hold the center, but white can start a queenside pawn storm. Although not immediately advisable, white also can take the bishop on d5 at any time if he so chooses. Verdict: Black's center may look menacing, but its really harmless. White has enough pieces + the pawn on f3 to stop black from doing anything productive.

After 24. Nc3 Ne6, white's attack seems stalled. But all white has to do is see what black will do next. I'd choose 25. Ba6, clearing the e-file for future rook moves, and also attempting to force black to defend the weak c6 pawn. White definitely has more active pieces and can play slowly with two weaknesses on the queenside, although they are not as exploitable because the queenside is more closed.

24. Nc3 Rd8 is not so good for black because it sets up a pin on the d-file after Rcd1.

So that's my Be6 line.

On to 20. ... Nf7. Probably a better line for black even though it looks passive. 20. ... Be6 sets up a set of moves where white can switch between attacking the d and c pawns since the bishop blocks the black rook's defense of the d6 pawn. Notice that white can't immediately play Bc4 as in the other line, since white does not threaten to take the c-pawn after the trades occur. 20. ... Nf7 is a nice waiting move, since white can't really improve directly from here. White can't force anything, so black gets a free move after.

Right now, I see 3 main moves for black, Be6, g5, and Rb8. The move 21. b3 prevents Rb8, or at least reduces its usefulness. It also prepares to bring the knight to c4 via b2, which brings it back into the game. 21. b3 also limits the usefulness of Be6 by removing the tempo black gets by attacking the a2 pawn with Be6. Also if 21. b3 Be6, 22. Rc1 effectively transposes to my previous 20. ... Be6 line, which as I have stated is good for white. However, I don't see how 21. b3 stops black from playing g5. 21. ... g5 improves black's position by threatening to mess up white's kingside pawn structure, and waits yet again to see what white will do. 22. Nb2 probably, but now black can safely play 22. ... Be6, when 23. Rc1 d5 24. exd5 Bxd5 will not allow us to pile up with Nc3. Although a minor concession, I think its still playable for white given black's weaknesses.

So 20. ... Nf7 is somewhat passive looking, but good for black. If 20. ... Nf7, white should try to transpose into 20. ... Be6 lines and utilize the theme of the weak black pawns to dictate the flow of the game. More is less for black here, I'll be interested to see which path lightman will take.

Looks good positionally. I spent a lot of time thinking about cxd6 and possible tactics but there's no need to rush this position or to sac the A pawn.

The only other plausible candidate move is 21. cxd6, but I really like that c-pawn the way it is now.