Last Thursday some interesting chess was played at the Schenectady Chess Club. One of the fascinating battles was a strong effort put in by Cory Northrup against Michael Mockler. Mr. Mockler indulged in his experimental opening play, and Mr. Northrup kept pace for awhile. After an up-and-down struggle, Mockler prevailed because he better understood the positional facets of the game.
Mockler, Michael - Northrup, Cory [A00]
SCC Ch Prelim A Schenectady, NY, 18.11.2010
1.Nc3 Nf6 2.e3 d5 3.b3 e5 4.Bb2 c5
Four moves and we have a position that is not to be found in my databases of more than two million games. Michael has an interesting way of treating the opening with the same originality as most players save for the middle game. Here Deep Rybka sees the game as near equal with a slight bias towards Black because of his space advantage in the center.
5.Nf3 d4?!
Premature. Better 5.., Nc6; getting pieces out is preferable to this center push.
6.Ne2!?,..
Passing on the opportunity to collect a positional trump with 6 Bb5+, then 6..., Bd7 7 Bxd7+, eliminating Black’s better Bishop. I can see why Mockler did not enter this line. After 7..., Nbxd7 8 Ne2 e4!? 9 Ng4 h3 10 Nh3 dxe3 Qa5+. White has cleared the long diagonal for his Bb2 while Black has an advantage in space based on his pawn on e4.
6..., Nc6 7.Ng3 a6?
This move is not a tactical mistake, rather it is a positional misunderstanding. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented is 7..., h5; sizing space, then 8 h4 Bg4 9 Qc1 Be7 10 Ng5 Nd5; gives Black a measurable edge. By no means is it a won game for Black, but he does have the advantage.
8.Bd3 Be7 9.a3 h6 10.Bf5 0–0 11.0–0 Bd6?!
Is Black worried about preserving his dark squared Bishop? This cleric really does not have much of a future. More sensible is 11..., Bxf5 12 Nxf5 Qd7 13 Nxe7 Qxe7; and Black has retained his edge. Again, it is not winning but enough to be a nagging problem for White.
12.d3 Ne7 13.Bxc8 Qxc8
Now all of Black’s advantage has disappeared, the game is level.
14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.dxe4 Qc6 16.Qd3 b5 17.exd4 cxd4 18.c3 dxc3 19.Rac1 f6 20.Rxc3 Qb6 21.b4,..
An important moment in the game. Neither Bishop is particularly promising. Both sides have pawns getting in the way of the Bishops becoming strong. However, White has the potential of using the square c5 more readily than Black can use c4. Certainly hereabouts I believe Mockler was thinking about the Bishop tour Bc1/e3 and the Knight itinerary Nd2/b3 clamping down on c5.
21..., Rfd8
This move seems the best. The main alternative is 21..., a5 22 bxa5 Rxa5; and Black wants to eliminate all the Q-side pawns heading towards a drawn position he hopes. The question is; can White make anything out of the weakness of the light squares around the Black King? Without a Bishop running on the light squares, it is unlikely White has much in the way of serious winning chances even though the light squares are weak. I suspect that Cory was not thinking of playing for a draw, and did not seriously consider 21..., a5.
22.Qc2 Rac8 23.Qb3+ Kh8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rd1,..
White is not interested in exchanging Rooks on the c-file. He has hopes of getting to use c5 for his minor pieces and maneuvers towards that end.
25..., Rc6 26.Bc1 Qc7 27.Be3 Rc4
The position has some tactical potential, that is there are certainly shots for both sides that must be watched for, however, the key ideas are positional. Some of the positional considerations are: Black has to think about the effect any trade, particularly of the Rooks, will have on keeping White pieces from getting in behind the pawns. He also must be wary of the White Queen and Knight finding a way to the light squares near the Black King. On a positive note, Black also would like to find away to maneuver his Knight to c4.
28.g3 Qc6 29.Nd2 Rc1
Probably motivated by the idea of getting some material off will make playing the position easier, Cory forces the Rook exchange. Here is an alternative line that illustrates some of the ideas lurking in the position: 29.., Rc3 30 Qb2 Rc2 31 Qa1 Nc8 32 Qb1 Bc7 33 Bc5 Rc3 34 Qa1 Rd3 35 Nf1 Rxd1 36 Qxd1 Bd6 37 Qc2 Bxc5 38 Qxc5 Qxc5 39 bxc5, when with either 39..., Ne7; or 39..., a5; Black can hold the draw without much difficulty.
The line cited above involves a more general liquidation than is possible after the text move. Black is OK in a minor piece ending. It is far less clear that this is so with the Queens on the board - the light square weaknesses again and the possible outpost on c5 combined make it hard for Black to defend successfully.
30.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 31.Nf1 Qc6!?
A bit better is 31..., Qc7; straightaway.
32.Qe6 Qc7
Giving up the Bishop for two passed pawns with 32..., Bxb4; is wrong. The “passers” are not so far advanced and White has time to bring his King to the field to prevent them reaching the first rank.
33.Nd2 Ng6 34.Nb3 Nf8 35.Qd5,..
White has now obtained almost all he desired from the position; his Queen is centralized on d5, and the tours of both minor pieces have them pressuring c5. The game is not lost for Black. Holding the position will be difficult because White has a persistent initiative however.
35..., Nd7 36.Qa8+ Nb8 37.Nc5?!
This move is doubtful. Better 37 Bc5, and when the Bishops are exchanged, White is left with much the better Knight, and retains a substantial advantage. After the text Black has chances to hold.
Bxc5 38.Bxc5 Kh7 39.Qd5 Qd7 40.Qb3!?,..
White apparently did not like 40 Kf1 Qh3+; and rightly so. After 41 Ke1 Qxh2 42 Qb7 Qg1+ 43 Ke2 Qb1 44 Qxb8 Qxe4+ 45 Be3 Qc4+ 46 Ke1 Qc3+ 47 Kf1 Qxa3 48 Bc5 Qf3; and Black has three pawns for the piece balancing material. More importantly, the Black Queen is very active. With the further moves 49 Kg1 Qd1+ 50 Kh2 e4! 51 Qf4 Qh5+; it appears that Black is not lost at all. Michael wants to follow the principle of good technique; when you have the advantage don’t enter murky lines. Objectively better is 40 f3, trying to improve the position, but 40..., Qxd5 41 exd5, gives Black a defendable position.
40..., Nc6 41.Kg2 a5?
After holding his own against one of the best players in the section, Cory makes an outright error. From the spectator’s point of view, it seems he lost patience expecting only 41 bxa5. Better is 41..., Qd2; and if 42 Be3 Qd7; keeping the balance. White has a small theoretical edge; a Bishop versus a Knight with pawns on both sides of the board.
42.Qd5 Nb8?
And this move compounds the problem. With 42..., Qe8; Black could make a stubborn defense. He has to keeps the Queens on the board because the Bishop will be much more active than the Knight in any minor piece ending. Should the Queens go off, with pawns on both sides of the board the greater activity of the Bishop gives all the winning chances to the Bishop side. The game is now all but lost for Black.
43.bxa5 Qc7 44.Bb6!?,..
Simpler and more forceful is 44.Bd6. The game rolls on for some more moves.
44...Qc4 45.Qxc4 bxc4 46.Kf3 Kg8 47.Ke3 Kf7 48.Kd2 Ke6 49.Kc3 Kd7 50.Kxc4 Kc6 51.Bc5 g6 52.Be3 h5 53.f4 Na6 54.Bb6 exf4 55.gxf4 Nb8 56.Bd4 g5
Black tries to make the best of a bad situation, here aiming for his own out side passed pawn. That is a standard defensive tactic. Mr. Northrup has been receiving lessons from John Phillips for sometime and that education shows here. Unfortunately for Northrup, the position too far gone to save.
57.Bxf6 gxf4 58.Kd3 Nd7 59.Bd4 Kb5 60.e5 Nf8 61.Bb6
There were a few more moves before resignation. The issue is now clear and White won.
More soon.
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