Helbig, Uwe (2227) - Zvara, Petr (2420) [A45] Oberliga Bayern 0607 (9.6), 22.04.2007 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 The Trompowsky attack is quite a sharp line but with accurate play black has little trouble equalizing. 2 Ne4 Besides this logical move, black has many alternatives that offer good play; he can play 2...e6; 2...d5; 2...c6; 2...c5. 3.Bf4 c5 Right from the start black goes for sharp lines. The calm approach is 3...d5 which also gives black a comfortable game. 4.f3 Qa5+ Although it looks as though black is losing time with this move, taking away the c3 square for white s knight is worth the effort. Another possibility is 4...Nf6 which leads after 5.d5 d6 6.e4 e5 7.Be3 to a complicated game. 5.c3 Nf6 6.d5 The alternative 6.Nd2 leads after 6 cxd4 7.Nb3 Qb6 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Qxb6 axb6 10.Nd4 e5 11.Nxc6 exf4 to an unusual position where black has the pawns structure in ruins yet his total control over dark squares makes the game balanced. 6...Qb6 7.Bc1 This is safer than 7.b3 e6 since white has weakened the queenside. Still, if white s best choice is to pull back the bishop, it s obvious that any chance of getting an opening advantage has disappeared. 7...e6 Black loses no time and continues to attack white s center. 8.e4 Another possibility is 8.c4 but after 8 exd5 9.cxd5 c4 10.e3 Bc5 11.Kf2 0 0 12.Bxc4 Re8 black has more than enough compensation for the pawn. 8...exd5 9.exd5 Be7 10.Na3 White intends to take advantage of black s queen placement in order to get the knight into play with a gain of tempo. Still, sooner or later he has to advance c4 ; so it makes sense to do it at once. Generally speaking we should try developing the pieces on their natural squares. After 10.c4 0 0 11.Bd3 d6 12.Nc3 white has an edge due to the space advantage. 1
10...d6 11.Nc4 Qc7 12.a4 From a general point of view this is the right choice since it secures the c4 square for the knight and more importantly it doesn t allow black to gain space on the queenside. After 12.Ne2 b5 13.Ne3 0 0 14.Ng3 the game remains complicated but it looks as though black has made some improvements since he has gained space on the queenside. 12...0 0 13.Ne2 Re8 14.Ng3 b6 This is another sound positional decision; black is developing the bishop on b7 in order to press the d5 pawn. This drives white s knight back and gives black sufficient time to mobilize his forces. Afterwards the bishop can return; white will play c4 at some point so the bishop will be shut out of play. 15.Be2 Bb7 16.Ne3 Nbd7 Another idea was to delay the knight development with 16...Bf8 17.0 0 g6 18.c4 intending to play 18 Na6 going to b4. Still, black s play looks more logical since the knight will come to the center. 17.c4 g6 This is a generally useful move since it takes control over the f5 square and intends to place the dark square bishop on the long diagonal later on. 18.0 0 Bf8 19.Bd2 Re7 This is slightly better than 19...Bg7 20.Qc2 Re7 21.Rae1 Rae8 22.Nd1 since white manages to coordinate his pieces; the knight goes to c3 where it belongs. 20.Qb3 Rae8 21.Rae1 h5 Black solves all his opening problems and starts getting ambitious; this is a typical advance that intends to disturb the g3 knight later on. 22.Bd1 There is some point to playing 22.h4 which leads after 22 Bg7 23.Nd1 Nh7 24.Bc3 f5 25.Bxg7 Kxg7 to a roughly equal position. 22...Bh6 This is too hasty; the bishop is well paced here but it would have been better to do it with 22...h4 23.Nh1 Bh6 24.Nf2. The game remains complicated. 2
23.Qc3 White loses the opportunity to gain the initiative. Black s last move opens the opportunity for white to sharpen the game with the unexpected Nef5 jump. Generally speaking it is understandable that white missed it since until now he was mainly focused on defense and the position is rather solid so the chances for tactical play are slim. Still, we should always pay attention to tactical possibilities. In order not to miss them we should solve a lot of puzzles on different themes. By doing so, we have a greater chance to spot any tactical idea. Even so accurate calculation is required as well as a correct assessment of the final position. After 23.Nef5 gxf5 Bad is 23...Bxd2 24.Nxe7+ Kh7 25.Re2 Bf4 26.Nc6 since white emerges with an exchange advantage; black doesn t have sufficient compensation. Even worse is 23...Rxe1 24.Nxh6+ Kh7 25.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 26.Bxe1 Kxh6 27.Qe3+ Kg7 28.Qe7 since Bc3 comes with decisive effect. 24.Rxe7 Bxd2 Bad is 24...Rxe7 25.Bxh6 since besides the positional advantage white has a strong attack. 25.Qd3 Bc1 After 25...Rxe7 26.Qxd2 Qd8 27.Nxf5 Qf8 28.Nxe7+ Qxe7 29.Re1 the material is roughly equal but white has the advantage since he has a strong attack and black has real problems coordinating his pieces. 26.Rxe8+ Nxe8 27.Nxf5 white has a strong initiative. Still, the game remains complicated since the presence of the dark squares bishop increases black s chances for a successful defense. 23...Bg7 24.Qc1 h4 25.Nh1 Nh5 Black manages to gain some space on the kingside but white s position is too solid and lacks weaknesses; therefore the game is rather balanced. 3
26.Nf2 Ne5 Another alternative that keeps things safer was 26...f5 taking control over the important e4,g4 squares, which leads after 27.Nc2 Rxe1 28.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29.Bxe1 Qd8 to an equal position. 27.Neg4 White trades the knight making more room for his light pieces. 27 Nxg4 28.fxg4 Nf6 29.Bf3 White too heads for the solid approach. Another idea was to take advantage of the pin along the d8-h4 diagonal in order to change the character of the game. After 29.Rxe7 Qxe7 30.Bg5 Qe5 31.Bxh4 Nxd5 otherwise black is a pawn down 32.Bg3 After 32.cxd5 Ba6 33.Bf3 Bxf1 34.Kxf1 Qxh2 the game is complicated. 32...Qe7 33.cxd5 Ba6 34.Bf3 Bxf1 35.Qxf1 Bxb2 we have reached an interesting unbalanced position. The outcome mainly depends on speed; if white manages to open the kingside he has the upper hand since the attack is quite dangerous and if black is able to put the queenside pawns in motion he will have the upper hand. 29...Nh7 30.Rxe7 Rxe7 Taking with the queen 30...Qxe7 leads after 31.Ne4 Be5 32.b3 Bc8 to a roughly equal position. 31.Ne4 Bd4+ 32.Kh1 Bc8 This is a good call; black brings the only passive piece into play. 33.Bg5 This is a very committal move. By renouncing the pair of bishops, especially the dark squares bishop, white gives black a long-term advantage. Therefore he should be able to generate sufficient threats on the kingside before black is able to stabilize the position. When making positional concessions we should make sure that the idea behind our play really works. Although we will see that white is able to generate sufficient threats there was no point in going for such committing moves since after 33.Qc2 white has everything under control. Note that 33 f5 is bad since after 34.Nc3 white has the advantage since the g4 pawn is immune because g6 is hanging. 33...Nxg5 34.Qxg5 Bxb2 35.Qxh4 Be5 There is no point in playing 35...Re8 36.g5 Bf5 37.Nf6+ Bxf6 38.gxf6 Qd8 since although the game remains complicated; the f6 pawn is like a nail that disrupts black s play. 36.g5 f5 This is the point of black s previous play; this move allows him to secure the king. 37.Nf6+ After 37.gxf6 Rh7 38.Qg5 Rxh2+ 39.Kg1 Kf8 40.Qxg6 Qf7 the pair of bishops gives black sufficient compensation for the missing pawn. 4
37...Bxf6 38.gxf6 Re8 This is too passive; better would have been 38...Re5 with a complicated game. 39.Qg3 White fails to take advantage of black s previous move. At this point his only advantage is the passed f pawn. If the pawn is lost, only black can hope for the advantage; he has the better bishop. In general, when we have a strong passed pawn we should either try to advance it further or defend it very well. Here it is quite obvious that advancing the pawn is out of question; so white should try to find a way to defend it. The move that strongly suggests itself is g4. The only thing white has to do is see if black is able to take. After 39.g4 Qh7 The normal 39...fxg4 doesn t work since after 40.Bxg4 Qf7 41.Bxc8 Rxc8 42.Qh6 black is defenseless against the Rg1 threat. 40.Qxh7+ Kxh7 41.g5 the game is far from over but with such a strong, well defended pawn it is only white that can hope for the advantage. 39...Kf7 40.Qh4 Qd8 Black is not satisfied with the draw that could occur after 40 Kg8 and is pushing forward. This is the right call since he risks nothing. 41.Qh7+ Kxf6 42.Qxa7 Slightly better would have been 42.g4 Rg8 43.Qxa7 since with the rook on g8 black isn t able to pursue white s queen due to a g5 advance; the game remains balanced. 42...Re7 After this move the white queen is trapped, so black already has an edge. 43.Qb8 Rb7 Since winning the queen isn t possible it would have been better to head for the endgame at once. 5
After 43...Qc7 44.Qxc7 Rxc7 45.Rb1 Ra7 black immediately enters into the endgame that occurs later in this game. 44.Qa8 Qc7 45.Qa6 Nothing is changed with 45.Re1 Ra7 46.Qc6 Bd7 47.Qxc7 Rxc7 since the game enters in the same type of endgame. 45...Bd7 46.Rb1 Ra7 Probably black realized that his original intentions of winning the queen weren t that great since after 46...Qb8 47.Be2 b5 48.cxb5 Ra7 49.Qxa7 Qxa7 50.b6 white s strong queenside pawns gives him more than enough counter play. So, he decides to enter into the previously mentioned endgame; after all he is better. 47.Qxb6 Qxb6 48.Rxb6 Rxa4 49.Kg1 Of course not 49.Rxd6+ Ke5 and white loses the rook due to the mate threat. 49...Ke5 50.Be2 f4 From a general point of view this move looks just fine since it makes room for the bishop. Still, the endgame isn t that easy to win if white manages to keep the c4 pawn defended. Therefore more forcefully lines should be sought. Better would have been 50...Rb4 51.Ra6 The bishop s endgame that arises after 51.Rxb4 cxb4 is hopeless for white. 51...Ba4 this is the point; by getting the bishop out from here black manages to gain the c pawn by force 52.Ra7 Bb3 53.Re7+ Kd4 54.Re6 this is the only chance 54 Bxc4 55.Bxc4 Kxc4 56.Rxd6 Kd3. The endgame is won by black since the c pawn is unstoppable. 51.Rb8 Bf5 52.h4 Ra2 6
53.Bf3 This is careless and should be punished at once. At this point white s only active piece is the rook which keeps black s king passive; it has to defend the d pawn. Both of black s pieces are active, so if he manages to win the c pawn the end should be close. Therefore white s best chance of hanging on is by keeping the c pawn defended. If possible we should find tasks even for the passive pieces. Better would have been 53.Bf1 and although black has the advantage winning isn t that simple since white doesn t have a clear plan to increases his advantage. The point is that white has some counter play due to the constant threat of checking the king followed by attacking the d pawn. Note that white s move is pointless in general since the bishop does nothing on f3. 53...Rc2 Black loses the opportunity to gain a decisive advantage. Attacking the pawn is the right choice but black does it with the wrong pieces, probably he overlooked white s best reply. We should try to attack the opponent pieces or king in such a manner that there is no defense. After the simple 53...Bd3 white has nothing better than 54.Re8+ Kd4 55.Re6 Ra1+ 56.Kh2 Ra6 but with the c pawn about to fall he has no chances to defend. 54.Re8+ It seems that both players overlooked the simple reply 54.Be2 which defends the pawn; white takes advantage of the fact that the bishop is immune due to Re8. Afterwards the game enters in the same type of position that we are already mentioned. 54...Kf6 55.h5 White is trying to muddy the waters by giving a pawn but this is unsuccessful. 55 gxh5 56.Rf8+ Slightly better was 56.Be2 although after 56 Bd7 57.Re4 Kg5 black should win since besides having the positional advantage, he is a pawn up. 56...Ke5 This gives white practical chances; better would have been 56...Kg5 57.Rg8+ Kh4 and black easily wins since besides winning the c pawn, he has the deadly threat of Bg4 followed by Kg3. 57.Re8+ A stiffer defense was offered by 57.Be2. 57...Kd4 The king enters with decisive effect. 58.Rf8 Rc1+ 59.Kh2 Bd3 60.Rxf4+ After 60.Rf6 Rxc4 61.Rxd6 Be4 black wins since the c pawn is decisive. Still, from a practical point of view this offered better chances since black has to play a couple of accurate moves; in the game he won without any trouble. 7
60...Ke3 61.Rf6 Rxc4 62.Kg3 The pawn is immune to 62.Rxd6 due to 62 Kf2 and Rh4 is decisive. 62...h4+ 63.Kh2 Rd4 Now the c pawn has free passage; white could already resign. 64.Rxd6 c4 65.Rc6 Kd2 66.d6 c3 67.Bd1 Be4 There is no point in taking the bishop since afterwards white retains good practical chances. 68.Rc8 Rxd6 69.Bb3 Bf5 An immediate win could be obtained with 69...Bd5 since after 70.Bd1 Be6 71.Rc5 Rd4 there is no defense against the Rc4 threat. 70.Rc5 Be6 71.Bd1 The rooks endgame that occurs after 71.Bxe6 Rxe6 is hopeless since the c pawn is unstoppable. 71...Rd3 72.Ba4 Rd4 73.Bd1 At 73.Ra5 follows 73 Rxa4 74.Rxa4 c2 with a queen at the next move. 73...Rc4 74.Rxc4 Bxc4 75.Ba4 Be2 Since there is no defense against Bd1 followed by c2, white resigned. 0 1 CONCLUSIONS: 1. As a general rule, try to develop your pieces on their natural squares. 2. Always pay attention to tactical possibilities. 3. When making positional concessions, try to make sure that the idea behind your play really works. 4. When you have a strong passed pawn, try to either advance it further or defend it very well. 5. If possible find tasks even for the passive pieces. 6. Try to attack the opponent s pieces or king in such a manner that there is no defense. 8