Speelman's Agony: A beautiful attack

by Jonathan Speelman
5/4/2020 – For the first time, star columnist Jon Speelman gets to have a discussion with the protagonist of his Agony column, Belgian engineer Yves Surmont, an attacking player. | Send in your own games! | Jon welcomes submissions from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!
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Agony & Ecstasy #121

After nearly four years, this week's column is the first to feature a recorded discussion of the games with the sender, who is Yves Surmont, a Belgian currently rated about 2000, who can play considerably better than that at times.

Yves introduced himself in the accompanying video and prior to that had sent me this about himself:

I'm almost 52 years old (born in September 1968 in Roeselare, Belgium), married to my wife Yolo Mendoza (from Culiacan, Mexico), and we have two kids (Kylie is almost 18 and Dayton is almost 16).

I've been a chess player since 1984-85 (triggered by the K-K match). I played 30 years or so in the club of Roeselare, although I was also a member of several other clubs.

My level rose to roughly 2050 national Elo and, apart from one club title in Roeselare, I also got two provincial titles. In the summer of 2014, we moved to Antwerp and I gave up chess for a while. Now I'm planning to take up competitive chess again, so I'm working to get back in shape on some chess servers, among them of course Playchess and the tactics server of ChessBase.

I had a taste for correspondence chess in the past, but that became too time consuming so after some good results in the ICCF Jubilee Tournaments, I stopped playing CC.

Chess-wise I think my tactics are a little better than my positional understanding, but I experienced that my positional feeling got better with ageing (and my tactical awareness dropped simultaneously...). Apart from that, I have some interest in chess history, probably because my first chess book was the primer by Unzicker, which introduced me to the games and lives of the great masters and world champions. 

Professionally, I'm an engineer, working on projects in Niras (Belgian Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fossile Materials), a very interesting job in the company of some great colleagues.  

For the picture, I needed to search a bit — normally I'm the one taking pics in a chess tournament — so this one is from 10 years ago, when we clinched promotion with our team in the Belgian club teams competition. I'm the one holding the book.

Yves Surmont

Yves is the one holding the book

The two games that Yves sent me are both very interesting. He'd already annotated them and I've added my ideas as JS, some of them before our discussion and some during.

Yves quoted Jan Heim Donner at the end of the first disastrous game in which he played very well but then plunged into stalemate, and I've added a famous game by Donner in which his remarks about losing to a Chinese player (back in 1978 a real oddity) came back to haunt him. I've also added a small didactic position to show the proper way to defend against two connected passed pawns in an opposite-coloured bishop endgame — the important point is that the bishop needs at least two square so that it won't fall victim to zugzwang.

 
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My agony game. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 d6 3...b5 4.Bg5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 6...b5!? JS 7.a4 In those days I tried to get a Benko on the board, but with this move White clearly takes away the last hope of doing so. 7.Nc3 Na6 8.e4 Nc7 7.Re1 b5 8.e4 Nbd7 9.a4 b4 7.c4 b5 8.cxb5 a6 9.bxa6 Bxa6 7...Na6 8.Re1 Rb8 still hoping for a b5 push... 8...Nc7 9.e4 b6 9...a6 10.a5 Rb8 11.Na3 Nb5 12.Nc4 Bg4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Nd7 15.Bg2 Ne5 10.Na3 a6 11.Nc4 b5 12.Nb6 Rb8 13.Nxc8 Qxc8 14.axb5 axb5 15.Nh4 Nd7 8...Re8 9.Nc3 Nb4 10.h3 h6 11.Nh2 e6 12.dxe6 Bxe6 13.Bxb7 d5 14.Bxa8 Qxa8 15.Nb5 Re7 9.c4 but again, White says "no". 9.e4 Nc7 10.Na3 b6 11.Nb5 9...Nc7 10.e4 Ng4!? 10...Bg4 JS 11.Nc3 a6 12.Re2 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 Rxb6 14.Qc2 12...b5 correct or not, black needs to proceed with active play, or he gets suffocated. 13.cxb5 axb5 14.axb5 14.a5!? Ba6 I don't like this much for White JS 14...Nxb5 15.Nxb5 Rxb5 16.Ra7 Re8 17.h3 Qb6 18.Qa4 Ne5 19.Nxe5 Bxe5
At least we have this; on f2-f4 black gets a very nice bishop on d4. 20.Be3 Computer says: 20.Bf1! JS: The move ttries to take advantage of the somewhat loose black rooks. I'm struggling to find a decent answer since Rd8 looks forced. When I asked an engine it agreed that Rd8 Rxe7 is a bit better for White. Rf8 20...Rd8 21.Rxe7 Rb4 22.Qc6 21.Rxe7 21.Bh6 Rb4 21...Kg7 22.Qa7 Bb7 23.Qxb6 Rxb6 24.Rc2 and although the rook on e7 has not much room to spare, I don't think it can be cornered. Kf6 24...Bf6 25.Rd7 Re8 26.f3 25.Rc7 20...Rd8 21.Rxe7 Bd7 Gotcha! 22.Rxe5 22.Bg5? h6 23.Rxe5 hxg5 24.Rxg5 Rxb2 and the rook on g5 will be lost as well. JS: I had to look for a little while to understand why. 25.Rxb2 Qxb2 26.Qd1 Kg7 22...dxe5= 22...Rxb2?? No need to make it too complicated. 23.Rxb2 Qxb2 24.Qa5 Qxe5 25.Qxd8+ Qe8 23.Qa3 JS: My engine likes the prophylactic 23.Kh2 23...Ra5 24.Qc3 f6 JS: Actually this is a pretty good outcome for White, since he does not have a really nice position apart form the exchange deficit. 25.f4!? JS: My instinct would be to keep it tight around the king, but perhaps I'm being too cautious. 25.Rc2 Rc8 26.Kh2 Qb4 25...Qb4 26.Qxb4 26.Qc1 Rda8 27.Kh2 JS: This looks better. 26...cxb4 27.Kf2 JS: This makes ...Rc2 a more potent threat, but I don't like it for White any more. Rc8 28.g4 b3 29.g5 Kf7 30.gxf6 Kxf6 31.Rd2?! 31.fxe5+ Kxe5 32.Bd2 Ra2 33.Bc3+ Rxc3 34.bxc3 Rxe2+ 35.Kxe2 b2 31...exf4 32.Bd4+ Ke7 33.Rd3 Ra4 33...Rc2+ 34.Kf3 g5 35.Rxb3 Rb5! 36.Rc3 Rd2 JS: Black gets a serious attack. 34.Be5 Rc2+ 35.Kf3
35...Rxg2 Well, clearly not necessary, but fighting against a free pawn center and two bishops was not on my agenda that day. 35...g5 36.Rxb3 h5 37.Rb6 g4+ 38.hxg4 hxg4+ 39.Kxf4 Rxg2-+ would have been a lot easier... JS: Surely Black should take the e-pawn. 35...Rxe4! 36.d6+! 36.Kxe4 Bf5+ 37.Kd4 Bxd3 36...Ke8 36...Ke6 37.Kxe4 Rxg2 37.Kxe4 Bf5+ 38.Kxf4 Bxd3 and Black must be winning. 36.Kxg2 Rxe4 37.Bd4 Bf5 38.Bc5+ Kd7 39.Rxb3 g5 39...Rc4 seems to destabile the bishop, since if 40.Rc3 Be4+ 41.Kf2 Rxc3 42.bxc3 Bxd5 Black will get in .. .Kf5, ...g5, ...h5 and ...g4, and with the pawns on f4 and g4 there is no way to stop them since the diagonal the bishop needs to be on to prevent ...g3 with the bishop on h2 is much too short. 43.Bf8! however, found during the discussion, makes it harder. Ke6 44.Bh6 Kf5 45.h4 Kg4 46.Bg5 Ba8 47.c4 Bb7 48.c5 Bc6 Zugzwang. 49.Bh6 Kxh4 50.Bxf4 g5 51.Bd6 g4 White can't prevent ...h5, ...Kh3, ...h4 and ...g3+ when the h-pawn will soon queen. 40.Rb7+ Ke8 41.Rb8+ Kd7 42.Rb7+ Kc8 43.Rg7 Bg6= but now it's even a draw... 44.Kf2 44.d6 Re2+ 45.Kf1 Rd2 46.Ke1 Rd5 47.b4 44...Re5 45.Rg8+ Kd7 46.Bb6? Rxd5 47.Rd8+ Kc6 48.Rxd5 Kxd5 and here I was quite certain this wins for Black. 49.Kf3 Bh5+ 50.Kf2 Ke4 51.Bd8 Kf5 52.Bc7 Be8 53.Bb6 Bc6 54.b4 Bd7 55.Kf3 Bc6+ 56.Ke2 56.Kf2 h5 57.Bd8 g4 58.hxg4+ hxg4 59.Bh4 Ke4 56...Bg2 57.b5 Bxh3 58.Kf2 Kg6 59.Bc7 Bc8 60.Kg2 Kf5 61.Bd8 Kg4 62.Ba5 Bb7+ 63.Kh2 Kf3 64.Be1 g4 64...Ke2 would have been cleaner: the bishop has to move and the pawns promote. 65.Bg3 fxg3+ 66.Kxg3 h5 65.Kg1 g3 66.b6
Computer says mate-in-12... 66...Ke2?? Disaster. This simple waiting move forces White to step out of the possible stalemate. 66...h5 and black simply walks with the pawn to h2 and promotes or gives mate. 67.Bxg3 I had never considered this move at all... fxg3 And as Donner wrote: "After I resigned this game with perfect self-control and solemnly shook hands with my opponent in the best of Anglo-Saxon traditions, I rushed home, where I threw myself onto my bed, howling and screaming, and pulled the blankets over my face". I was so pleased with my play in this game, that the sudden draw hit me extra hard - this was the 9th round in the Belgian team competition. I forfeited the last two games because of this disillusionment. JS: What a shame for Yves. It's great that he quoted Jan Heim, a man with a famously pithy tongue. One of his most famous quotes (and apparently I'm citing myself in Wikipedia) was after Iceland lost to China in the first round of the Buenos Aires Olympiad of 1978 - a big upset in those far off days. Apparently he asked Gudmundur Sigurjonsson (language usage was quite different then too) "Tell me, Grandmaster, how can a Western European Grandmaster lose to a Chinaman?" Seven rounds later, Donner found out himself in the famous game below. 67...Kf3 68.Be1 Ke2 69.Bf2 f3 is, of course, also a draw. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Faure,S2110Surmont,Y2050½–½2006A43IC2A0506 Izscha1 vs ZWS19
Christiaens,M-Surmont,Y-0–12009B33IC4 0809
Liu,W2200Donner,J24901–01978B07Buenos Aires ol (Men)8
B2 v oppB blckade--1978Buenos Aires ol (Men)8

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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.

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