TL Chess Match 4 - Page 104

It's better now than it ever was. Black's dark square bishop is semi-pinned since 18...Bd6 19.Rxe8 Kxe8 and he is just going backwards.

So perhaps 18...a5 19.bxa5 Ba6 20.Nf1 Bd6 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.Ne3, or if 18...Ba6 we can eventually play Nb3 and our position looks pretty good (e.g. 18.b4 Ba6 19.Bb2 Bd6 20.Nb3)

Diagram/PGN viewer

+ Show Spoiler [18...c5] ++ Show Spoiler [summary] +
+ Show Spoiler [18...Bd6] +
+ Show Spoiler [18...a5] ++ Show Spoiler [summary] +

After 18...a5 19. Ne3 c6 20. Bd2 a4, it's hard for me to see a way to make progress.

Diagram/PGN viewer

18...a5 19. bxa5 Ba6 given by mastergriggy
Diagram/PGN viewer

After 18...a5 19. bxa5 Ba6Others disagree with mastergriggy's assessment of the position.

Diagram/PGN viewer
+ Show Spoiler [18...Rb3] +Summary: Mastergriggy likes this line for White. I like it for Black.

+ Show Spoiler [18...Bd6] ++ Show Spoiler [summary] +

After 18...Rb3 19. Nc3, mastergriggy seems to like this line for White, but I think it is good for Black.

Diagram/PGN viewer18...Bd6 given by mastergriggy
Diagram/PGN viewer

+ Show Spoiler [19. Bb2] ++ Show Spoiler [summary] +
+ Show Spoiler [19. Rxe8] +Summary: we keep our pawn and trade off a pair of Rooks, while keeping the board somewhat closed.

+ Show Spoiler [19. Re3] ++ Show Spoiler [summary] +

After 18...Bd6 19. Rxe8 Kxe8 20. g3, we keep our pawn and trade off a pair of Rooks, while keeping the board somewhat closed.

jd's post covers almost everything. To elaborate:

• 18. Nf3 looks nice at a glance, and it has the definite merit of being fast (tempo matter here) but on closer look, f3 is not the necessarily most valuable place for our Knight in this position. All it accomplishes is to defend e1 (useful), and d4 (less useful, as Black's main way to threaten the pawn is ...c5, after which we can most likely 'defend' the pawn as effectively by initiating the exchange), and it has practically nowhere to go from f3 except back where it came from, as greggy and others have pointed out.
  
  In some lines that involve exchanging off the Rooks on the e-file, it may be useful to have a Knight on f3, to defend against ...Re1+, but those are the only lines where I see an Nf3 really helping us out. Black doesn't have to go in those, and if he doesn't, our Knight is stuck doing nothing for us for a while. That's why I don't favour playing Nf3 this move, although it was the move I liked most at first glance.
  
  
• Re3 is a nice move in general: very flexible, and useful to us in a lot of lines without being committal. However, some of its flexibility has been lost for the moment after ...Re8. For example, we cannot safely leave the e-file (e.g. with a future Rf3) until we have taken better care of our back rank, where Black threatens mate if we're careless.
  
  The specific Black response that has me leery of 18. Re3 is ...c5 (pointed out by EvilNalu in a different line). This move, which we have had to reckon with in almost every line since the middlegame began, becomes particularly strong with a Rook on e3, as ...Bxc5 gains a tempo while threatening the Rook. Now that Black has played ...Re8 as well, this line all but forces an exchange of Rooks, which would make 18. Re3 simply a wasted tempo, over lines where we exchange Rooks without having moved our Rook from e1.
  
  A key line to look at, if we want to consider playing this move, is the line where Black forces the issue immediately with 18...c5. The first few moves are fairly forced: here they are, in a PGN viewer. Black has some pressure on our position here, and he has the Bishop pair on an open board. Can we keep our pawn and fend him off?
  
  
• Most other moves, though they have their points, don't do enough to address our issues on the Queenside, as jdseemoreglass pointed out in the above post. ...a5 is not just any old move, that we can afford to take lightly--it's a very real threat that we need to prepare for. If Ng5 manages to get as far as ...a4, without our adequately preparing for it, then we'll have grave difficulties in keeping our pawn while at the same time making progress in the position. The same thing holds for ...c5-c4, if he manages to play it (which is why the exchange dxc5 is mostly forced in most lines where Black plays ...c5), and another move that we need to be concerned about, if we move the Knight away, is the blockading move ...Rb3.
  
  The threat raised by all these moves, essentially, is of Black's locking down our Queenside so that we have no space to maneuver, while continuing to maintain his threat to the b-pawn. If we're not careful, we could be left in a situation where we have to either return the pawn, or tie down our pieces to its defence--in neither case making progress.
  
  This isn't just the opinion of me and jdseemoreglass and whoever else on the team: Ng5 himself expressed the opinion that if Black could push the pawn to a4 in these positions, he could hold the draw. He's given us an extra move to meet it now, but that does not mean that we should stop taking it seriously or assume that he never plans to play it. (The argument that since he has delayed ...a5 by a move allows us to delay our response by a move as well is flawed, as most of our alternatives do not simply delay addressing ...a5 but actually weaken our ability to address it. For example, if we move our Knight, we no longer have that piece guarding b3.)
  
  I don't think that enough attention has been paid to 18...a5 in most of the posted analysis. It's the move I expect in almost every line, and it's a strong drawing resource for Black, at the least, imo.
  
  
• b4 will most likely be met, as ever, with ...a5. However, at this point in the game, it seems that we can play bxa5 in relative safety, for a change. Here, ...Re8 actually helps us, as if Black moves his Be7, we can exchange Rooks, simplifying the position and taking pressure off us.
  
  This exchange will probably lead to an open board, where Black's Bishop pair is strong, and he still has the edge in mobility, but most of the pressure is off us, and we retain our extra pawn, which has now become passed. Here's one particular line that it might not implausibly lead to: PGN viewer.
  
  Is our pawn advantage enough here? Can we force it through to a win, particularly given that the Queening square of our passed pawn is on the colour that our Bishop does not control? I'm not sure.
  
  In general, I'd rather not rush to play bxa5. That's why I favour the more flexible
  
• 18. b3. This simple-, perhaps even awkward-seeming move, actually accomplishes a lot of things:
  • It prevents the blockading move ...Rb3.
    
  • It prepares the possible (but not necessarily necessary!) response b4 (where we can keep the pawn on the b-file) if Black plays ...a4.
    
  • It prepares a square for our Bishop to move to. While we don't have to play Bb2, it's good to have the option, for a couple of reasons:
    • It can be a good answer to ...c5, not only defending the d4 pawn with a piece that (unlike the Knight) cannot be threatened by ...Bc5, but presenting a veiled threat to the f6 pawn down the line as well.
      
    • It clears the back rank, which can be crucial in providing us with options for meeting the threats raised by 17...Re8
    
    
  • It guards c4, both from the potential Bishop that Black might want to place there, and, perhaps even more importantly, from the pawn that Black might want to place there. This last point can be crucial, because it means that we afford to take our time in addressing ...c5, rather than being forced to play dxc5 whenever Black chooses to force it.

Therefore, my vote goes to b3, as the more flexible of our options for addressing Black's threat to lock down our Queenside.

18. Nf1: 2 (mastergriggy, EvilNalu)
18. Nf3: 1 (Cloud9157)
18. b4: 5 (Malli, jdseemoreglass, Bill Murray, itsjustatank, lightman, hype[NZ])
18. h3: 0 (Bill Murray)
18. f4: 1 (timh, keyStorm)
18. Nb1: 1 (Chezus)
18. b3: 3 (wizard944, qrs, A-tan)
Abstain: (hp.Shell, Bill Murray, timh)

b3: 18. b3 Bd6 19. Bb2 Bf4 20. Bc3 Bxd2 21. Bxd2 Rxb3 22. Bb4

18...a5, looking to lock down our Queenside, and in particular threatening to play ...a4. If Black gets in ...a4 before we have done anything about the pawn, I find it hard to see how we're going to make further progress in this game.

You can look in the analysis tree I posted above for the main line that I think is problematic, under 18. Nf1 a5. Actually, now that I look again, we probably have good play in that particular line with 21. Rac1+, etc., but that's only because you have Black defending c6 with his vulnerable King. I'm not sure why you have him do that: the only gain I see is to open the c8-h3 diagonal for the Bishop, but there's nowhere useful for the Bishop to go along that diagonal anyway, for the moment.

What's your plan after, instead, ...19 c6 with the intention of 20...a4? (diagram/PGN viewer.) As far as I can see, ...a4 cannot be prevented except by a4?! which is an interesting move, but looks a bit dubious in that it creates yet another weakness for us to look after. If we allow Black to play ...a4, on the other hand, we are left with a permanent weakness on b2, which Black can keep under pressure indefinitely, and I don't see a good plan to remove it. Do you?

our bishop is immobile due to the location of our b pawn and our knight, so we should move one of those pieces when we have the opportunity. Moving the knight seems to be the safest plan, which would probably make Nf1 our move, but I hate playing Nf1 since it's not a great spot for the knight-- it's just not blocking the bishop. Does anyone have any better suggestions?

20...Rb3? (diagram/PGN viewer)

From what I've seen, it doesn't seem to be in Black's interest to play ...Bd6 too early because that allows us to take pressure off us and simplify with RxR, as in your line. However, 20...Rb3 seems to be a good move for Black here: without conceding us anything (like the chance to trade Rooks), he strengthens his hold on the b-file by preparing to double Rooks, and continues to pressure us by threatening the a3 pawn, should the Bishop ever leave. As long as the Bishop remains an invalid, and splits our Rooks, I don't think we're ready to say that our position looks pretty good.

Of course, we're up two pawns at the moment, so we have the option of letting one go and remaining a pawn up, but even if we do that, I'm not sure how easy it will be to hold on to all of our remaining ones, with both the a-pawn and the d-pawn alone and far from home, and with the greater co-ordination of Black's pieces compared to ours.

If black is planning to double rooks on the b-file then he has basically given us Re1 for free when he played Re8.

So after 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 Ba6 20.Nf1 Rb3 we could continue with 21.Re3 Reb8 22.Nd2 and black is pretty much forced to trade a rook



22...Rd3 (22...R3b7 23.Rh3 Rh8 24.Rb1) (22.R3b5 23.a4 Rxa5 24.Nb3) 23.Rxd3 Bxd3 then we might continue with Nf1-e3 ideas.

We could also directly play 21.Ne3 which attacks the d5 pawn 21... c6 22.Nf5 Bd8 23.Rxe8 Kxe8

I agree black doesn't want to trade rooks so maybe he could play 21...Bd8 here instead of c6 (since now we can't RxR and this prevents Nf5). Not sure of the best way to proceed here since black is threatening Rd3 attacking our d4 pawn, as well as to play c5 which will lose our a5 pawn (which is might be unavoidable), but then again we don't even have to go down this line.



That's just my ideas atm. As always feel free to point out stuff like 20...Bd6 not being blacks best reply in the line I gave before, or any improvements for either side.