European Senior Championships in Eretria

[Event "European Senior Ch 50+"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.04.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Nunn, J."] [Black "Smolin, S."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be3 {I have always felt that systems involving Be3 or Bg5 pose the most danger against Pirc/Modern set-ups.} d6 5. h4 {It may seem odd to describe a move such as this as flexible, but actually it is quite useful to see how Black intends to react to the h-pawn advance before deciding whether to play Qd2 or f3.} h5 6. Qd2 b5 7. O-O-O {7 f3 and 7 Nh3 have been most often played, but there is some point to castling first. White delays f3 until it is really necessary.} Bb7 8. Nh3 Nd7 9. Ng5 e6 ({One advantage of White's move-order it that the natural} 9... Ngf6 {is bad due to} 10. e5 $1 dxe5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qxd8+ Rxd8 13. Rxd8+ Kxd8 14. f4 Nfg4 15. Bd2 {and White wins a piece for two pawns. Therefore Black has to make some kind of concession, either to play an awkward move such as}) (9... Rc8 {or to preface the knight development with the not especially constructive ...e6. Black settles on the latter course.}) 10. Kb1 Ngf6 {Black is threatening ...b4, so the time has finally come to support the centre with the f-pawn.} 11. f3 O-O $2 {Castling obviously involves some risk, as White's pieces are quite well-placed for a kingside attack. It was better to play} (11... Qe7 {keeping open the option of castling queenside and leaving White guessing about where the black king will end up.}) 12. g4 $1 {If White is going to do this, it should be played at once since he has no natural way to strengthen his position, while Black has constructive possibilities such as ...Qe7 available.} b4 {Kicking the knight to e2 blocks the white queen's path to the h-file, but the downside is that the knight is more quickly available on the kingside. However, the alternative} (12... hxg4 13. h5 gxh5 14. fxg4 Nxg4 (14... hxg4 15. Qh2 {looks extremely dangerous}) 15. Be2 $1 Ndf6 16. Bxg4 Nxg4 17. Rxh5 {gives White a massive attack in return for a single pawn.}) 13. Ne2 hxg4 14. Ng3 (14. h5 Nxh5 15. fxg4 Nhf6 {is perhaps less clear, but White can afford to spend a tempo preparing h5. Black wins another pawn, but this is not a major concern.}) 14... gxf3 {There's nothing better than to grab whatever is available.} 15. h5 Nxh5 (15... gxh5 16. Bd3 $1 {followed by Rdg1 is catastrophic.}) 16. Rxh5 {The most forceful, although the simple} (16. Nxh5 gxh5 17. Rxh5 Nf6 18. Rh4 {is also very strong.}) 16... gxh5 17. Nxh5 {White's numerical superiority in the vicinity of Black's king proves lethal.} Nf6 ({Or} 17... Qe7 18. Bc4 $1 d5 19. Nxg7 Kxg7 20. Rg1 {and wins.}) 18. Qh2 Re8 (18... Ng4 19. Qh4 Nxe3 20. Nf6+ { mates, while}) (18... Bxe4 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Nxe4 Qg6 21. Bd3 f5 22. Rg1 Qh7 23. Bh6 fxe4 24. Bxe4 Qxe4 25. Rxg7+ Kh8 26. Rg1 {leads to a quick mate.}) 19. Bd3 {The simplest, defending the important e4-pawn while preparing to swing the last white piece into the attack.} e5 (19... Nxh5 20. Qxh5 Qf6 {loses to} 21. e5) 20. Nxg7 Kxg7 21. Nh7 $1 {A neat finish, preventing the black king slipping away via f8.} Ng4 (21... Nxh7 22. Qh6+ Kh8 23. Rh1 {mates.}) 22. Rg1 { It's all over now.} Bc8 ({The tricky} 22... Qg5 {is refuted by} 23. Rxg4 $1 Qxg4 24. Qh6+ {and mate next move.}) 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Nf6+ Qxf6 25. Qxf6 1-0