Limpert, Michael (2183) - Schmidt, Matthias1 (2007) [C16] GER CupT qual Germany (1), 16.01.2010 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 This move is regarded as the most promising, yet risky, way to gain an opening advantage against the French Defense. The alternatives 3.e5 and 3.Nd2 lead mostly to positional play with long and complex maneuvers. 3...Bb4 Black too goes for the most testing line. The alternative 3...Nf6 leads to rather calm play were white has an edge. 4.e5 Qd7 So, black prefers positional play after all. The idea behind this move is quite simple; he intends to trade the light squares bishops after a b6 advance. Still, what is the point of this move since it doesn t help in achieving the trade of bishops. Generally speaking white s best chance to gain the advantage is to weaken black s kingside, especially the dark squares, based on a Qg4 sortie. Black s move is mainly directed against this sortie. Now, he will meet Qg4 with f5 taking advantage of the fact that the g7 pawn is defended. Still, this well founded positional maneuver has a drawback too; it s a bit slow and allows white to develop his forces undisturbed since black isn t able to apply early pressure against the center; white will have a small but lasting initiative. The most testing line is 4...c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 leading to a complex struggle. 5.Bd2 This is too slow and allows black to equalize without too much trouble. White is concerned about his pawn structure and intends to avoid the trade of light squares bishops, but this move loses valuable time allowing black to get his pieces out too. The main line to gain the advantage is with 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qg3 Ba6 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.Ne2. Although the structure is spoiled, white has a small but lasting advantage due to the better placement of his pieces; he presses on the kingside and the dark squares bishop can be brought into play via a3. 5...b6 6.Bb5 This is the point of white s previous move; he vacates the f1-a6 diagonal with the bishop so that black cannot trade it. Simply getting the pieces into play with 6.Nf3 leads after 6 Ba6 7.Bxa6 Nxa6 8.Ne2 Bf8 Slightly inferior is 8...Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 since white has an edge due to the space advantage. 9.Ng3 to a roughly equal position; white s space advantage is offset by an inferior bishop. 1
6...c6 7.Ba4 a5 This move is quite typical; before developing the bishop; black advances the pawn gaining space on the queenside. In general, pieces are better placed behind the pawns, not in front of them. 8.a3 Bf8 This strange retreat is quite typical; it holds on to the pair of bishops and guards the g7 square. After 8...Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Ba6 10.Ne2 Ne7 white has an edge due to the bishop pair. 9.Nce2 Ba6 10.f4 This move has both advantages and disadvantages. White thinks of the future and prepares in advance the undermining f5 move; this is a major achievement. Still, if black manages to defend against a f5 advance, then white s only achievement is that it closes his dark squares bishop. We will see later on that white has no chance to advance f5. Therefore it would have been better to keep the dark squares bishop open. We should try to grasp the advantages and disadvantages of a move and only then decide whether or not to play it. Slightly better would have been 10.c3 Bb5 11.Bc2 a4 with a complicated struggle. 10...f5 Black immediately takes defensive measures. For white it is bad to take on f6 since his pieces are not well placed for control over the e4 square. Another alternative was to trade the light squares bishops. After 10...Bb5 11.Bxb5 Worse is 11.Bb3 a4 12.Ba2 c5 since white s light squares bishop is out of play and black is ready to attack the center. 11...cxb5 12.Nf3 Nc6 13.0 0 Nge7 the game remains complicated yet balanced. White will prepare a f5 advance while black plays on the queenside based on a b4 advance. 11.Nf3 Nh6 12.0 0 Be7 13.Kh1 White goes for an interesting plan; he vacates the g1 square for the rook in order to prepare a g4 advance. Still, black s pieces are on the kingside so he will have no trouble defending. Since this plan has little chance of success, resolving some positional problems would be better. After 13.Be1 white will trade his only bad piece: the dark squares bishop 13 0 0 14.Bh4 Bxh4 15.Nxh4 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 the game is complicated. 13...0 0 14.Rg1 Qe8 Black drives the queen to the kingside for defensive measures. Another way to approach the position would have been to focus on a queenside counter play. After 14...Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Na6 black has good counter play on the queenside since b5-a4- c5 will follow. 2
15.h3 Bc4 Since b5 isn t a real threat this move loses time. A better solution was to concentrate on getting the knight into play and preparing a c5 advance. Therefore it looks quite normal to play Ra7-c7 followed by c5. 16.Ng3 Qg6 Not that great is 16...b5 17.b3 bxa4 18.bxc4 since white can challenge black s center with his doubled c pawns while black s a pawns are useless. 17.Be1 Kh8 Black continues with the kingside play, but this hardly gives chances for an advantage since white is more than well prepared. Slightly better looking is 17...Rc8 18.c3 Nd7, preparing for a c5 advance. 18.c3 Rg8 19.Bc2 Nf7 20.Nd2 White challenges the bishop, but is doing it with the wrong knight since the one on g3 is clearly more passive than the f3 knight. Better would have been 20.Nf1 preparing Ne3 20 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Na6 with a balanced game. 20...Ba6 21.b4 Qh6 22.Qh5 White goes for the endgame, but here it is only black that can hope for better days since his bad bishop is already in play. 22 Qxh5 23.Nxh5 g6 This is careless and gives white a simple means to get into a slightly superior position. Better would have been 23...Nd7 taking control over the f6 square 24.g4 g6 25.gxf5 gxf5 26.Bf2 Rxg1+ 27.Rxg1 axb4 28.axb4 Be2 29.Ng3 Ra2 30.Nxe2 Rxc2 31.Be3 and the position is equal. 24.Ng3 White loses the opportunity. He would have had better prospects after 24.Nf6 Bxf6 25.exf6 Nd7 26.Bh4 Nd6 27.g4 with g5 to come, although with accurate play black should hold. 24...Nd7 25.Bf2 3
25 Bb7 This is the starting point of a very dubious plan. Black intends to play on the kingside based on a g5 advance; therefore he decides to clarify matters on the queenside first by blocking it. In general this is a good idea; when starting to play on one side we should make sure that we have the other side and center under control, but the price to pay is too high; black is closing his light squares bishop. Another aspect that black should take in account is that the planned breakthrough g5 doesn t give any advantage. So, a better alternative was to keep the bishops active. After 25...axb4 26.axb4 Bb5 black has at least equal game. We can say that is easier to play with black pieces since he has two undermining moves, g5 and c5 while white has a hard time finding a good plan. 26.Bd3 b5 Black goes ahead with his intentions, but it would have been better to get the bishop back into play with 26...Ba6, heading for the previously mentioned plan. 27.Nb3 a4 28.Nd2 White keeps pieces on the board hoping to complicate things. The simple solution was 28.Nc5 which leads after 28 Nxc5 29.dxc5 Bh4 30.Be1 Bxg3 The careless 30...Rad8 allows white to get an edge after 31.Ne2 Bxe1 32.Raxe1 The knight comes to d4 so white has a long term advantage; it is hardly sufficient for a win, but to be in constant defense isn t that easy. 31.Bxg3 h6 32.Bf2 g5 33.g3 to an equal game; after trading on f4 followed by the swap of rooks neither side can make any progress. Note that this is the same position but with the knight instead of dark squares bishop, white has the constant threat of sacrificing on either b5 or f5. 28...g5 So, finally black realizes his idea, but at the wrong moment; white has an unexpected way to gain the advantage although he failed to find it. 4
29.Ne2 So, white goes on the defensive. Generally speaking this passive stance is more than enough to keep things under control. Still, black s previous moves were quite artificial and a general assessment tells us that white s pieces are better coordinated than black s; therefore white should try to find a way to fight for the advantage. When there are several aspects that work in your favor and none against it; there is usually a way to gain the advantage. Here that is the case since white could obtain the advantage; although the way isn t that obvious. After 29.Nxf5 exf5 30.e6 this is the point; white recovers the piece retaining some positional advantages. 30 Nd6 31.exd7 Ne4 32.Be1 gxf4 33.Nf3 Rad8 34.Ne5 the better structure gives white an edge; Rf1-f4 comes. 29...g4 30.hxg4 White is not content with an obvious draw that results after 30.h4 Nb6 31.g3 and pushes forward. Although at the end of the day his decision paid off, it is a bad one since it gives black slightly better prospects. 30...Rxg4 31.g3 Rg6 32.Kg2 Rag8 33.Rh1 Rh6 The immediate 33...Nb6 was slightly better since trading pieces only helps white. 34.Kf3 White is bringing the king closer to the center but it s exposed here; therefore he should refrain from this move. 34 Nb6 35.Rag1 This is pointless since it threatens nothing; therefore it only loses time. Instead white should bring the king back into safety. After 35.Rxh6 Nxh6 36.Kg2 Nc4 not fearing since after 37.Bxc4 bxc4 The tempting 37...dxc4 opening the light squares bishop is worse since after 38.d5 cxd5 After 38...c5 39.Bxc5 Bxd5+ 40.Nf3 Bxc5 41.bxc5 Rc8 42.Ned4 white has the advantage; he remains with only good pieces and after Kf2-e2 black has real problems in defending the e6 and b5 pawns. 39.Nd4 white has a long term advantage; the missing pawn is fully counterbalanced by the well placed d4 knight. 38.Rh1 Ng4 39.Nf1 the game is equal since the closed position doesn t allow either side to make progress. 35...Nc4 36.Nb1 Sadly white has to play this passive move since now 36.Bxc4 dxc4 37.d5 c5 is bad and gives black has a large advantage; here we can see how poorly placed the king is. 36...Rgg6 37.Nc1 Rxh1 38.Rxh1 c5 The threats behind this spectacular move aren t that dangerous; the main advantage is that black makes sure that the knight remains on c4 for a long time since taking here is out of question with the light squares bishop opened. 5
39.Bf1 White goes for the safe solution, but there was some point in making the exchange. After 39.bxc5 Bxc5 40.dxc5 d4+ 41.Ke2 Bxh1 42.cxd4 white has good compensation. At this point the central pawns are blocked, but white can improve his position after Na2- c3 or Na2-b4 while black s rook has a hard time getting an active square due to the closed character of the game. 39...cxb4 40.cxb4 Nh6 41.Bh3 White starts playing without any plan, allowing black to get the advantage later on. At this point his main drawback is that he has to defend the a3 pawn so it makes sense to solve this task. After 41.Nd3 Ng4 42.Nc5 Bc6 43.Be1 Kg7 44.Bd2 followed by Bc1, white defends the pawn with his worse piece, freeing the knight; the position is equal. 41...Bc6 42.Rg1 Ng4 43.Rh1 Be8 Taking advantage of white s passive play, black improves his worse pieces. 44.Ne2 Rh6 45.Nec3 45 Kg7 Now it is black s turn to play without any particular plan; he simply brings his king into play achieving nothing with it. Here we face another example where general principles should be ignored; the concrete reasons are more important. Due to the well placed knight, black has slightly better prospects, but improving his position isn t easy. The main question, which has no easy answer, is: Which is white s good bishop? From a general point of view this is simple: the light squares bishop since all white s pawns are placed and blocked on dark squares. Still, it doesn t do anything while the dark squares bishop protects the pawns and guards against a h4 advance. So, it is quite reversed; white s good bishop is the dark squares one. As we already pointed out; sometimes bad bishops defend good pawns. Better would have been 45...Nxf2 46.Kxf2 Bd8 47.Bg2 Rxh1 48.Bxh1 Bb6 49.Ne2 Kg7 and black has a large advantage. Both white s knights are doomed to passivity since they 6
have to defend the weaknesses. Black has a good plan to increase the pressure; advancing the h pawn in order to penetrate with the king. Although winning isn t at all easy, there is no doubt that black has a lasting initiative. 46.Kg2 Rg6 47.Rc1 After 47.Bxg4 Rxg4 48.Nd1 Rg6 49.Ne3 Bd8 50.Nxc4 dxc4 51.Nc3 with d5 to come, white has few reasons for concern since he has established a good blockade. 47...h5 48.Bxg4 Rxg4 49.Rh1 h4 Black opens the game on the kingside making room for the bishops and the king. 50.Rh3 Bd8 51.Ne2 After 51.Kf1 hxg3 52.Rxg3 Rxg3 53.Bxg3 Kg6 black retains a big advantage since he will penetrate with the king; white has no chances for any counter play. 51...Be7 52.Kf1 hxg3 53.Rxg3 Rxg3 54.Bxg3 Nxa3 Until now, black was playing quite consistently and had managed to obtain strong pressure. The idea of giving up the knight for the queenside pawns is quite good, but the timing is bad. If the pawns can t advance further, then the sacrifice is pointless. Since white has a simple means to blockade them, the move is bad. Here too we will see that white s dark squares bishop is superior to the light squares one. It would have been better to simply activate the king with 54...Kh6 since after 55.Nc1 Kh5 56.Kf2 Kg4 white has a long and tough defense ahead. We can see that the idea of taking on a3 doesn t go away and is a constant threat. 55.Nxa3 Bxb4 56.Nc2 Be7 57.Be1 Black probably overlooked this simple reply. Now the pawns are blocked and white will simply attack and take them; the advantage is decisive. 57 Bh5 58.Bb4 Kf8 The alternative 58...Bh4 59.Nc3 Bg3 60.Na3 Bxf4 61.Naxb5 Be3 62.Nxa4 offers better practical chances but white shouldn t have too much trouble winning. 59.Ke1 Ke8 60.Nc3 Much simpler would have been 60.Bxe7 Kxe7 61.Nc3 Be8 62.Nb4 with an easy win. 60...Bh4+ 61.Kd2 Bg3 62.Ke3 Now white is able to win the queenside pawns without giving any of his own. 62 Bh2 63.Nxb5 Bg1+ 64.Kd3 Bh2 65.Bd2 Kd7 66.Nc3 Ke7 67.Nxa4 White manages to liquidate black s pawns and has a decisive advantage; black could resigned at once. 67 Be8 68.Nc5 Bb5+ 69.Kc3 Be8 70.Ne3 Kf7 70...Bxf4 is simply answered with 71.Nxd5+ exd5 72.Bxf4 easily winning. 7
71.Nf1 Bg1 72.Be3 Bb5 73.Bxg1 Bxf1 74.Kb4 Be2 75.Ka5 Bh5 76.Kb6 Ke7 77.Kc7 In this hopeless position black resigned. Note that white can win even without his bishop. 1 0 CONCLUSIONS: 1. In general, pieces are better placed behind the pawns, not in front of them. 2. Try to grasp the advantages and disadvantages of a move and only then decide whether or not to play it. 3. When starting to play on one side, make sure that you have the other side and center under control. 4. When there are several aspects that work in your favor and none against it; there is usually a way to gain the advantage. 5. Sometimes bad bishops defend good pawns. 8