We began in the last post with the last round loss by Lee Battes to the tournament winner, Grant Spraggett. The win put Spraggett well clear of the field, a point and a half ahead of Battes and Goldberg. Today we have an early round win that Battes achieved over Bruce Steffek that helped him on his way to a good result in the event. The contest shares with the previous game a short, sharp tactical profile, only this time Mr. Battes wins.
I have the benefit of analysis Bill Townsend did using Fritz and published to some of us interested parties immediately after play concluded. Where this analysis is quoted it is in quotes.
Battes, Lee - Steffek, Bruce [A04]
Capital District Invitational Albany, NY, 20.04.2002
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3,..
No highly theoretical debate of the many well documented lines of the Open Sicilian in this battle, rather it will be a positional struggle in the Closed Sicilian shading into the King’s Indian Attack. Such an approach was very popular in the US and internationally in the 1950s and 60s when Lee and I were young. Critical lines are far less well defined in the Closed Sicilian than they are in the Open, but tactics can be just as sharp as we will see in the game.
3..., g6?!
So early and already a problematic move. It is well known, if you play .., e7-e6; in such positions, fianchettoing the Bf8 is risky. Dark squared weaknesses on the K-side can cause Black trouble the whole game long. This especially troublesome because the Black King well have to castle short.
4.Nbd2 Bg7 5.g3 Ne7 6.Bg2 0–0 7.0–0 Nbc6 8.Re1 d6
The game has transposed into a line from the KIA, not uncommon in the Closed Sicilian. Black’s last move is to prevent White from pushing the e-pawn to e5. A reasonable idea on its face. A deeper examination suggests Black could have played 8..., d5; then 9 e5 b6 10 Nb3 Qc7 11 Bg5 Nxe5 12 Ne5 f6 13 Bxf6 Rxf6 14 c3 a5; and Black has chances to find good use for his Bishops. Which route is best, the game move or the push to d5? It appears both lines are about of equal value.
9.Nf1,..
Townsend commented: "This is a thematic move for the KIA, but better is 9 c3, keeping the Black Knight out of d4 and b4." True enough and Deep Rybka agrees. Human beings probably see not much difference here believing c2-c3 can be played later if needed.
9..., Rb8
The move does get the Rook off a potentially dangerous diagonal, but is it necessary at this moment? Attending to development with 9..., b6; and 10..., Bb7; seems to be a more principled approach. As the game unfolds, we see the Rb8 does not contribute much in the way of offensive power to Black’s plans. It turns out to be so not because of a flaw in this Rook move, rather a later mistake. We have the reversed situation of the Classical KID; White is building an attack on the K-side and Black on the Q-side. With the center still fluid, the tactical potential in the position is even higher than in typical Classical KID situations with a closed center.
10.h4 b5 11.N1h2 Bb7
White wants to mass force on the dark squares around the Black King. Black has a fair number of pieces at hand to aid his monarch, With care he should not be overwhelmed. The primacy of an attack on the King is the ace for White. Any slip by Black can change the balance instantly. Townsend wrote: "This looks like mindless development to me. Better are 11..., e5; or 11..., b4." The attraction of 11..., b4; is making c2-c3 problematical for White. Black then has more or less fixed a weakness at b2 that could well influence how White deploys his forces. Of course White can go ahead in a true KIA fashion by not being too concerned about dropping the b-pawn and speeding his K-side assault.
12.Ng4 f5!?
Not the critical mistake but this move loosens up the defenses of the Black King. Better 12..., Qd7; then Black is dangling the “bright and shiny” possibility of the chance to attack his King in front of White. If White chases the bait with 13 Bg5 f6 14 Nh6+ Kh8 15 Bf4 Nd4 16 Nxd4 cxd4 17 c3 dxc3 18 bxc3 Nc6 19 Rb1 Ne5; when Black is slightly better than is White; the attack is spent, and play is beginning to shift to the Q-side where Black is stronger.
13.Nh6+?,..
Too soon. Better first 13.exf5 exf5 14.Nh6+ Kh8 15.Ng5, and because 15..., Bxh6 16 Ne6 Qb6 17 Bxh6, favors White strongly, Black has to play 15..., Qe8; then 16 Ne6 Ne5; leads to lots of tactics that seem to favor White. The situation is quite murky. It is a very difficult task to work one’s way through the complications to reach a decision.
13...Kh8 14.exf5 Nd4?
Losing the game with a single stroke. Necessary is 14..., Nxf5; and a trade of some pieces leads to a balanced position. Black now gets the worst of it. Townsend did not see this error quite as decisive as Rybka and I concluded it was. After the game move, playing out the lines with Rybka, no viable defense was discovered.
15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.c3 Bg7
The idea of sacrificing this Bishop on f2 just does not provide enough compensation for the material, and now Black has to surrender his e-pawn giving White two extra “buttons”. Making things even more difficult is the dark squared Bishop White has can roam the fertile ground of the dark squares near the Black King. White is winning.
17.fxe6 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Bxh6
Alternatives such as 18..., Qc7; offer a chance to hold out a bit longer without changing the eventual outcome.
19.Bxh6 Rf5 20.g4 Rf6 21.d4 d5
Black can not contemplate the possibility of a trade of Queens. The dark squares would then be even more vulnerable. If 21..., Qc7 22 dxc5 dxc5 23 Qd7, forces the trade. Black tries another way with the text, but it is hopeless also.
22.dxc5,..
Now Black will have to give up the Exchange to go along with all the lost pawns. We see the weakening of the dark squares on move three playing out these many moves later. The game is a good example of why .., e7-e6; and .., g7-g6; almost never go well together.
22..., Nc6 23.Bg5 Qe7 24.Qxd5 Rbf8 25.Bxf6+ Qxf6 26.f3 1–0
Now 26..., Rc8 27 Rad1 Qe7 (If 27..., Ne7 28 Qd4, forces the Queen exchange.) 8 Qd7, and the Queens must come off. In either event, defending the Exchange and several pawns down has no hope of success, and Mr. Steffek resigned.
More soon.
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