Speelman's Agony #76

by Jonathan Speelman
5/20/2018 – "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions..." This week's contribution comes from an ambitious young lad from India, who likes Mark Twain, and...evidently...orangutans! Just a reminder — Jon can always use more material 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!
Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.

"...the really great make you feel that you too can become great." -Mark Twain

The week's pair of games come from Tanmay Srinath an Indian teenager who featured in the column just under a year ago.

Tanmay SrinathNow seventeen, Tanmay is a Taekwondo Black Belt, who has represented India at the highest level with distinction. becoming an international gold medalist. He recently came twelfth in science in national exams and will start undergraduate studies in August.

Working with BS Shivananda — a famous coach who has many nationally successful students under his guidance — Tanmay has been making progress in chess and is fiercely self-critical — an excellent attribute for a chess player. His favourite player remains Misha Tal and he prefers attacking chess but we start with the Agony, a difficult positional game in which he was pressing for the most part but made a bad misjudgement at the end.

Tanmay has provided lots of notes and as usual, I've added to these as 'JS'.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,168,43054%2421---
1.d4948,59355%2434---
1.Nf3282,13556%2441---
1.c4182,40456%2442---
1.g319,72456%2427---
1.b314,32154%2427---
1.f45,91348%2377---
1.Nc33,81451%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22154%2405---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343551%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411259%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
The main reason I chose this game was because it illustrates all my weaknesses - lack of understanding of closed openings, very little endgame prowess and being a blunder machine. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 I have played almost everything with white. 1.e4 has been my mainstay, but as of today I tend to lean on 1.Nf3 a lot, and rarely try the Trompowsky in blitz. Back then, this was an effort to expand my skills. Even today, I never play the Exchange QGD. The Catalan has been my favourite ever since I witnessed Kramnik and Anand demolishing their opponents. Bb4+ 3...d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Transposes to 8.Qc2 given below. JS: No because here it's Black to move and there it's White! 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 a6 8.cxd5!? Analysing this almost a year later, I feel that this move itself shows a weakness in my play. I want clarity in any position I play. But my handling of this structure isn't good. This is what happens when you play an opening that doesn't suit you. 8.Qc2!? dxc4 9.Qxc4 b5 10.Qc2 Bb7 transposes to the Open Catalan, and is probably best. JS It's easy to miss if you're not familiar with Catlaan theory but in fact White is a whole tempo up here since he's already played Bd2 which is one of the main lines. So Black can't really play dxc4. and Qc2 should have been the answer. 8.b3 dxc4 9.bxc4 c5 10.e3 Nc6 11.Bc1 Qc7 12.Qe2 Bd7 JS was already pretty comfortable for Black and she (Christine Flear) later won in a game presumably from the 4NCL 13.Ba3 cxd4 14.exd4 Bxa3 15.Nxa3 Rac8 16.Rfd1 Na5 17.Rac1 Ba4 18.Rd2 Qe7 19.Qe3 Nd5 20.Qd3 b5 21.c5 b4 22.Nb1 Bb5 23.Qc2 Nc4 24.Rdd1 a5 25.Ne5 Ncb6 26.Qd2 Nd7 27.Nxd7 Qxd7 28.a3 Bc6 29.axb4 axb4 30.Qb2 Ra8 31.Re1 Rfb8 32.Nd2 Nc3 33.Bxc6 Qxc6 34.Ra1 Rxa1 35.Rxa1 Qd5 36.Nb3 h5 37.Re1 h4 38.Re5 Qf3 39.Re3 Qd1+ 40.Kg2 hxg3 41.hxg3 Ra8 42.c6 Nd5 43.Re2 Ra3 44.Rc2 Qd3 45.Nd2 Qe2 46.Nc4 Qf3+ 47.Kh2 Qh5+ 48.Kg2 Nf4+ 49.gxf4 Rh3 50.Ne3 Qf3+ 0-1 (50) Macnab,L-Flear,C (2164) Birmingham ENG 2002 8...exd5 9.Nc3 c6 10.Qc2
10...Bg4 JS A bit overambitious since as Tanmay mentions Qb3 now becomes annoying. The more circumspect 10...Nbd7 looks better when Black can play Re8 and Nf8 perhaps. with a fairly decent game. 11.h3 Bh5
12.e4!? My years of playing open games meant I couldn't stand manuevering. Now I can tolerate closed positions, but almost a year ago I couldn't! 12.Qb3! Is best here, targeting the soft spot on b7. After b5 12...Bxf3 13.Bxf3 b5 14.e4 is a worse version, handing White the bishop pair and the initiative. JS I'm not sure that it is worse since the knight is very annoying on e5 in the other line. 12...Ra7 JS is often played in positions like this nowadays but not especially enticing. 13.Ne5 13.Ne5 a5 14.Rae1 Qb6 15.e3± White has a serious edge - Black is very passive here and I feel his queenside is over-extended. 12...Bg6 A reasonable try here, but handing over the bishop pair didn't seem right to me. 12...dxe4! is the best here. After 13.Nxe4 Nbd7 13...Bxf3?! 14.Bxf3 Qxd4? would be asking for trouble after 15.Bc3! Qd8 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Rad1 Qe7 18.Rfe1 Qc5 19.Be4+- and White has serious pressure for a pawn and is close to winning. 14.Rae1 Bg6 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Qb3 Qb6 17.Re3 White has only a minisule edge. 13.Nh4 When you say A, you must say B. However, here the idea is not exactly the strongest. 13.Qb3! Again targeting b7 and sacrificing e4. After a long forcing computer line dxe4 14.Ne5 Qxd4 15.Nxg6 hxg6 16.Rad1 Nbd7 17.Qxb7 Rab8 18.Qxc6 Ne5 19.Qxa6 Rxb2 20.Be1 Qc4 21.Qxc4 Nxc4 22.Nxe4 Rxa2 23.Bc3 White will torture Black with the two bishops here. JS This is a long computer line. In practice something else would presumably have occured. 13...Nxe4?! A mistake. 13...Bxe4! 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Nf5! g6 16...Re8 17.Qxe4 Bf6 17...Bf8 JS looks most natural to me 18.Qg4 Qd5 19.Rad1 19.Rfe1 Nd7 And Black is absolutely fine. 19...Nd7 20.Ne3 20.Nxg7? Nf6! 20...Qd6 White should repeat if possible before Black gets the knight to d5 with the advantage 18.Qg4 Qd5 19.Bg5 JS is another engine line. 17.Nh6+ Kg7 18.Ng4 Bg5 19.Bxg5 Qxg5 20.Qc3∞ and though the comps claim equality, I am not so sure. Black is to be preferred. 14.Nxg6! hxg6 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4!? Reducing my attacking chances a little. 16.Qb3! How many times have I missed this move! After b5 16...Qc7 17.Bxe4 Nd7 JS is what Black wants to play but of course (I say of course but playing qucikly I didn't notice) the problem is that White has 18.Bxg6 17.Rfe1 Qxd4 18.Rxe4 Qxd2 19.Rxe7 a5 20.Rd1 White has annoying pressure. 16...Nd7 17.Rfe1 Re8!? Essentially agreeing to an endgame. 18.Bc3 It also makes sense to retain queens. After 18.Qd3 Nf6 19.Qb3 Qxd4 20.Qxb7 Rab8 21.Bc3 Qxc3 22.Rxe7 Qxb2 23.Qxb2 Rxb2 24.Rxe8+ Nxe8 25.Bxc6 I prefer white's bishop in this endgame. The position is around equal, but White has better chances. 18...Bf6 18...Nf6 JS was more natural aiming to put it on d5 as soon as possible 19.Qc2 Qd7 20.Qb3 Nd5 21.Bxd5 cxd5 22.Re5 is critical but after Red8 23.Ba5 Bf6 24.Bxd8 Bxe5 Black is quite okay. 19.Qxe8+?! 19.Qc2 Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Qc7 20...Nb6?! 21.Ba5! Bxd4 22.Qb3 Qf6! 23.Re2 Nd5 24.Qxb7 Once this pawn disappears Black's queenside is shattered and the g2 bishop is really working and 21.d5 Bxc3 21...cxd5 with the opening of the long diagonal White should get an edge even if his queenside pawns get damaged. 22.Bxd5 Bxc3 23.Qxc3 Qxc3 24.bxc3 Kf8 25.Bxb7 22.Qxc3 c5 This is less clear than cxd5 but still better for White. I can't imediately decide whther I' want to liiquidate the d-pawn with d6 or keep it. 23.d6 23.a4 23...Qxd6 24.Bxb7 Rb8 25.Bg2 Rb4 19...Qxe8 20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Kf1 Nb6 22.Re1 Kf8 23.Rxe8+ Missed a finesse here. 23.Bb4+ Be7 24.Ba5 Nc4 24...Nd5 25.Bxd5 cxd5 26.Re5 26.Rc1 26...Rc8 27.Rxd5 Rc2 25.Bc3 Nb6 26.Rc1 and white retains rooks on the board. I prefer my chances here. JS If Black can get organised here then he will be absolutely fine but crucially if Bd6 27.Ba5 Nd5 28.Bxd5 cxd5 29.Bc7! Be7 30.Bb6 Bd6 31.Bc5 Rd8 32.Bxd6+ Rxd6 33.Rc7 Rb6 34.b3 with the more active rook. 23...Kxe8 24.Ke2 Kd7 25.Kd3
Up to here nothing dramatic has happened. Now its time to assess. During the game I was confident of white's chances, but on further examination now, I confess he has nothing here. The two bishops mean something , but for now everything is guarded, and the isolani gives black a nice d5 outpost. JS Yes the two bishops are often a huge force vs B+N but here with a perfect outpost for the knight on d5, Black should surely be fine. 25...Ke6?! The start of Black's problems. 25...Na4! Trying to eliminate the bishop pair, is best. After 26.h4 Nxc3 27.Bh3+ Kd6 28.bxc3= This is a trivial draw. 25...Nd5 JS is absolutely fine as well 26.h4! Planning Bh3 followed by Ba5. Nd5 27.Bh3+ Kd6 28.Ba5?! An unnecessary finesse. 28.Bd2 c5 JS This is presumably the engine move but with the knight on d5 Black surely doesn't need to do anything much at all. 29.dxc5+ Kxc5 30.Bc8 Kc6 30...Kb6 31.Bd7 Bxb2 32.Be8 f5 33.Bxg6± 31.b3 And White is still pushing and probing. 28...b6 29.Bd2 a5 30.a3
30...c5 JS Playable but I'd prefer to sit there with a4 and b5 when White would have to work incredibly hard to achieve anything and surely need Black's unwitting cooperation, as well. 30...a4 31.Bf1 b5 32.Ke4 Bd8 31.dxc5+ Kxc5 For all practical purposes, Black is equal here. Still, I kept trying and was rewarded. JS Opening the piosition when the opponent has the two bishops is normally wrong unless you have a specific reason. Sometimes in the opening you have a lead in development which is crucial and sometimes later on you gain some specific advantage. Here Black can attack the queenside pawns or force the king back to c2 but he needs to get on with it before White gets organised. 32.b3 32.Kc2 Bd4 33.Be1 JS I suppose Black is perfectly okay. 32...Bb2! 33.a4 Bd4 34.Be1
34...f5!? An interesting attempt by Black. I think he too wants to play for the win! 34...Nb4+ was normal when Black should have enough play, for instance 35.Ke2 35.Bxb4+ axb4= is a dead draw. 35...Kd6 35...Nd5 36.Bd7 36.Bg2 36.Bc8 Nc2 37.Bd2 Bc5 38.Kd3 Nb4+ 39.Ke2 Nc2 36...Kc5 37.Be4 Na2! 38.Kd3 Nc1+ 39.Kc2 Na2 40.f3 Nb4+ 41.Kd2 Nd5 42.Kd3 Nb4+ 35.h5! Now white starts generating serious play. gxh5 36.Bxf5 g5 37.f3 Be5?! Now this is a serious inaccuracy. But then, at this level, it is impossible to play subtle endgames like these accurately. JS This is a really difficult ending and I wouldn't necessarily expect really strong players to get it all right. 37...Nb4+! 38.Ke4 Nc2 39.Bd2 Bf6 40.Bh3 JS White's problem is that in freeing the light-squared bishop he's enabled Black to create a passed h-pawn which, while it won't queen, can divert White's forces. 40.Be6 h4 41.gxh4 gxh4 42.f4 Nd4 43.Be3 Kd6 40...Na1‼ Impossible to see these moves unless you know what you're doing. JS In fact, it's not at all rare for knights to have to pivot in the conrer to get where they need to. 41.Be3+ Kb4 42.Kf5 Bc3 And Black can try to hold in this race. Still, I believe in White's chances. JS This is a race that Black should never win if White is sensible. I can't asses it at all accurately from here but would be a bit worried as Black in a game. Something like 43.Kxg5 Nxb3 44.Bxb6 Kxa4 45.Kxh5 Kb4 46.Bd7 a4 47.Bxa4 Kxa4 48.g4 looks normal, when unsurprisingly tablebases confirm that it's a draw but White can try a bit. 38.Bg6? A serious mistake. 38.Ke4! Bf6 39.Be6 Nc7 40.Bh3 Bd8 41.Kf5 Kd6 41...Kd5 42.Bg2 Ne6 43.f4+ Kd6 44.fxg5 Nxg5 45.Kg6 and White is close to winning. JS This looks clearly winning rather than close to it. 42.Bf1 Ne6 43.g4 JS This is waht engines give but I'd really hate to allow h4. 43.f4 Nd4+ 44.Kg6 gxf4 45.gxf4 Nxb3 46.Kxh5 looks natural to me 43...h4 43...hxg4 44.Bg3+ Nf4 45.fxg4 Kc5+- and black is getting slaughtered. 38...Nf6?! Again, we prove that amateurs suck in endgames. 38...h4! Secures the draw, as after 39.f4 hxg3‼ This is very difficult to find 40.fxe5 Nf4+ 41.Ke4 Nxg6 42.Bxg3 Nxe5‼ Secures the draw, as white loses his pawns. 43.Bxe5 Kb4 44.Kf3 Kxb3 45.Bc7 Kxa4 46.Bxb6 g4+ 47.Kxg4 Kb3 48.Bxa5 39.Bf2+ Kc6 40.Be4+?! Patzer sees a check, patzer plays a check. The counter-intuitive 40.Ke2! retains a nagging edge. 40...Kc7 41.Kc4?! Now this loses all my advantage. 41.Bg6 Bd6 42.Bd4 Be7 43.f4 gxf4 44.Be5+ Kd7 45.Bxf4 gives black a lot of chances to go wrong. 41...g4? A serious mistake. 41...Nxe4 42.fxe4 Kd6 43.Kb5 Bc3 44.Kc4 Be5 and White has to take the repetition. 42.Kb5? For a second time, I misevaluate my chances. 42.Bd5 gxf3 43.Bxf3 Ng4 44.Be1 Ne3+ 45.Kd3 Nf5 46.g4 hxg4 47.Bxg4 Nd6 Still keeps some chances. JS No, with all the action on one side of the board, Black is absolutely fine here. The reason that the engine gives += is because it's counting beans or rather bishops. 42...Nxe4! 43.fxe4 Kb7 44.Be1 Bd6
45.Kc4? Handing Black some chances now. JS In fact this should lose because when Black breaks with ...h4 he's able to win the bishop and his king is now much better then on b7. Kc6 46.Kd4
46...Bc7?± And Black hands his head on a platter. 46...h4! 47.gxh4 g3 48.Bxg3 JS The reason this works is because if 48.Ke3 g2 49.Kf2 Bg3+! 48...Bxg3 49.h5 Bf4-+ and White can resign. JS I still needed to play this out but indeed after 50.e5 Kd7 51.Kd5 Bd2 52.e6+ Ke7 53.Ke5 Bc3+ 54.Kd5 Bg7! 55.Kc6 Kxe6 56.Kxb6 Bc3 it's over. 47.e5! Kd7 48.Kd5 Bd8 49.e6+?! An inaccuracy. Clearly, my endgame play has to improve. 49.Bf2! is the right move, repositioning the bishop. After Ke7 50.Be3 Kd7 Now 51.e6+! Ke8 52.Ke4 h4 53.gxh4 Bxh4 54.Bxb6± White has some mopping up to do, but he's nearly winning. 49...Ke7 50.Ke5?! Again I evaporate my advantage. 50.Bd2! Ke8 50...Bc7 51.Bg5+ Ke8 52.Bh4+- 51.Ke4 h4 52.gxh4 Bxh4 53.Kf4 g3 54.Be3 Ke7 55.Kg4 Bf6 56.Bxb6 Kxe6 56...Bc3 57.Kxg3 Kxe6 JS is a trivial draw - Black just puts the king on a6 and sits. 58.Kf3 Kd5 59.Ke3 Kc6 60.Bd4 Be1 61.Kd3 Bh4 It's simplest to avoid the bishop exchange 62.Kc4 Bg3 57.Bxa5 Be5 58.Bb6 and I prefer White in this double edged endgame. JS I presume that this is also dead drawn partly due to White having the wrong rook's pawn and indeed when I asked the Lomonosov tablebase it confirmed that it is a draw (though of course tablebases don't tell you how easy or difficult it is in practice). When I looked further, all sensible moves draw but g2 loses. 50...Bc7+ 51.Kf5 Bd6!= 52.Kg5 Kxe6 53.Kxh5 Kf5 54.Kh4 Be7+ 55.Kh5 Bf6 56.Bf2 Bd8
57.Kh6?? Now this is over-ambitious. I rightly lost. After a long battle, Tanmay makes a horrible move which allows his opponent's king to advance with deadly effect. 57.Be1= and I maintain a status quo. 57...Ke4! 58.Kh5 Kf3 59.Be1 Bc7 60.Kh4 Bd8+ 61.Kh5 Be7 62.Kg6 Bd6 63.Kg5 Bxg3 64.Bc3 Bf4+ 65.Kf5 g3 66.Bd4 g2 67.Bg1 Be3 68.Bh2 g1Q 69.Bxg1 Bxg1 70.Ke5 Ke3 71.Kd5 Kd3 72.Kc6 Kc3 73.Kb5 Kxb3 74.Ka6 Kxa4 A rather disheartening loss for me. I gained an edge in the opening, missed some excellent chances in the middlegame and endgame, and misevaluated a drawn endgame. After this, I have made a conscious effort to work on my endgames, and I think it should help in the near future. JS Yes, a tough game for Tanmay. In the opening cxd5 was unnecessary but he still got a perfectly decent position. He somewhat overestimated his chances in the ending with two bishops vs bishop and knight, because of the strongpoint on d5, but gained the advantage after his opponent opened the position. The tactics then were very difficult and despite some swings both ways it remained within bounds until the final blunder Kh6?? pushed him over the edge. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Scorpion291756Mark Twain18580–12017E11Rated game, 15m+5s
Chimay1987Scorpion2917960–12017C18Rated game, 15m+5s

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On this DVD Grandmaster Daniel King offers you a repertoire for Black against the Catalan, based around maintaining the rock of a pawn on d5. Keeping central control ultimately gives Black good chances to launch an attack against the enemy king.

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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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