The fourth round saw Grant Spraggett cement his lead in the standings with a win from John Morse who used his own patented opening idea; advance the d and f-pawns, play the c-file Bishop to the e-file and back to the f2/f7 square and then take up a stonewall formation. Morse uses this approach with both White and Black to essentially bypass opening theory and reach a playable middle game no matter what his opponent has in mind. John tried this idea in every game in the Invitational. While he finished with a respectable 2 ½ - 2 ½ score, it can not be said to have been wildly successful.
With White he missed a win versus Battes in the first round and drew, the most promising game he had with the system. In round two Goldberg defeated Morse playing Black winning in 47 moves. Playing White against Michelman Morse was outplayed in the opening but held on grimly until Peter’s time trouble gave him a win on the last move before time control. Morse position was utterly lost however. In the final round, as White against Bruce Steffek, Morse obtained the advantage against an opponent having a crisis of form - four straight losses and no wins or draws. This time John did not slip up as against Battes, and he brought home the full point.
This brings us to today’s game. The master, Spraggett, demonstrates one method for dealing with Mr. Morse’s innovation; eliminate the Black light squared Bishop, make light square weaknesses in the Black camp and exploit them ruthlessly. There are other effective ways to deal with Mr. Morse’s idea, but there does not seem to be any immediate tactical refutation.
Spraggett, Grant - Morse, John [A10]
Capoital District Invitational Albany, NY, 21.04.2002
1.c4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.b3 g6 5.Bb2 Bg7 6.Nf3 0–0 7.0–0,..
Spraggett had been here before in the game Spraggett - Kanani, Toronto, 1992. That game continued 7..., d3 8 d4 Na6 9 Nbd2 Bd7 10 Ne1 Qa5; and was drawn in 48 moves.
7..., d5
I have not found any games with this position in my databases.
8.d3 Be6 9.Nbd2 Bf7 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.Rae1 e6 12.Ne5 Rc8 13.Ndf3 Re8 14.Qb1 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Nd7 16.Nxf7,..
Operations have been straight forward so far and easy to understand. In some of Morse’s games, both Bill Townsend and I have doubted the efficiency of White in capturing this hopeless Bishop with a Knight. In this contest Spraggett illustrates there is a dynamic idea behind the exchange.
16...,Kxf7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.b4,..
I can’t say this is the best try. Possible also is 18 e4, motivated by a similar notion; breakdown the obstructions on the h1-a8 diagonal.
19..., Nf6 19.Qb2 Kf7?!
A natural move getting out of the pin along the long diagonal. Potentially more effective approach is; 19..., dxc4 20 dxc4 e5 21 Rd1 Qe7; and Black is angling for trades taking the game towards an ending he may be able to hold. The text is just a little slow so White gets to add a tempo gained to the small advantage of the Bishop versus a Knight.
20.Rc1,..
White undertakes an operation to mass firepower on the c-file and prepares an advance of the Q-side pawns. The game is entering a phase where subtle differences will weigh heavy on the outcome.
20..., Re7 21.Rc2 Rd7 22.Rfc1 d4 23.c5 a6 24.a4 e5 25.b5 axb5 26.axb5 Nd5!?
Black must think the Knight for Bishop trade helps him. I am not so certain this is true. While the minor pieces are on the board the potential advance of the e-pawn has greater support. White will therefore have to take that into consideration in his machinations. With the minor pieces off, the battle scene shifts to the a and b-files where White can generate more activity. Black is also be burdened with a weak pawn at c6. Activity on an open file and a weak pawn to threaten may not seem to add up to any great advantage, but such things give White a solid initiative. One would need the stubborn defensive skills of a Grandmaster to be confident of holding that kind of position.
27.Ra1?!,..
Better first 27 Bxd5.
27..., Ra8?
Missing a chance to play 27..., Nc3; and from c3 the Knight supports the push .., e5-e4; with equality looming. White now takes off the Knight preventing such from happening. The White Rook and Queen are significantly more active than the Black counterparts. Black is not lost according to Rybka, but he must be very precise from here on.
28.Bxd5+ Rxd5 29.Rxa8 Qxa8 30.bxc6 bxc6 31.Qb6 Ke6 32.Rb2 h5
Black would like not to have to move his pieces That means pawns moves will have to be played and they will eventually run out. It is very likely better to play 32..., Rd7; leaving the pawn move until it is needed.
33.h4 Rd7 34.Qb3+ Kf6 35.Qc2 Rb7 36.Rb6 Qa1+?!
Black sees passive defense as unappealing and chooses to seek activity for his Queen planning to defend c6 with the Rook. More sturdy is 36..., Rc7 37 Qb3 Qe8. I can sympathize with Morse; who wants to give a strong FIDE master what appears to be a permanent initiative? The try 36..., Rxb6? Is utterly lost after 37 cxb6, when the passed b-pawn either goes through to Queen, or the White Queen finds a way into the rear of the Black position.
37.Kg2 Rc7 38.Qb3,..
The weak light squares combined with the weaknesses of the 7th and 8th ranks are now highlighted. Grant’s move demonstrates the Queen check on a1 was terribly wrong.
38..., Qa8
If 38..., Kg7; to relieve the pin on the c-pawn, 39 Qe6, begins to collect material.
39.Qd5?!,..
A pretty move, but 39 Rb8, leads to a quicker finish; Black likely has to play 39..., Qa7; and then 40 Qg8, and mate is very near. A sample line is; 40..., Qxc5? 41 Rf8+ Ke7 42 Re8+ and it’s mate in a few moves or ruinous material loss. The more stubborn 40..., Rg7; is met by 41 Rf8+ Rf7 42 Qh8+ Ke6 43 Re8+ Re7 44 Qg8+ Kf6 45 Rd8, threatening 46 Rd6+, winning. This line is particularly hard to calculate because the back-and-forth along the 8th rank makes it difficult to keep details clear in your mind’s eye. Also, it is possible Spraggett had worked out a win in this line and didn’t want to go back Keres-like, again and again, searching for improvements on the method of victory. As it turns out, the line chosen is far less clear than the line beginning 39 Rb8.
39..., Qc8 40.Qd6+ Kf7 41.Qxe5 Re7 42.Qxd4 Rxe2 43.Qd6?!,..
White would have retained his full advantage with 43 Qa4. The question that must have occupied Mr. Spraggett thoughts now; how to attack the c6-pawn? My first reaction during the game was the text move is natural, maybe the only way forward. Much later Rybka pointed out that 43 Qa4, coordinates the White heavy pieces better after 43..., Re6 44 Qb3 Kf6 45 Qb2+ Kf7 46 Rb8 Re2 47 Qb6, and ruinous material loss is at hand.
43..., Re6 44.Qf4 Qd7 45.Qh6 Qd5+ 46.Kh2 Qxc5
After having missed a couple of knockout blows, White finishes off the game with a flourish.
47.Qh7+ Kf6 48.Qh8+ Kf7 49.Rb7+ Re7 50.d4!,..
I wonder how long Spraggett had this neat resource in mind? It masks f2 and drives the Black Queen to win a tempo. The White Queen and Rook show remarkable agility rounding up the Black monarch now.
50..., Qd6 51.Rb8 Qc7 52.Rc8 Qd7 53.Rf8+ Ke6 54.Qe5# 1–0
There are several choices for Black on where to put his Queen on move 50. All lead to mates of one flavor or another. Have some fun and work them out.
This Thursday, at the Schenectady Chess Club there will another of the summer just-for-fun quick tourneys. This time it will be Game in 10. As always; no prizes, no entry fee, no ratings. Come on down to SCC to get ready for John Barnes’ Game in five much more formal events - he gives prizes. John plans a five minute tournament for August 18 at Schenectady with the usual starting time. John also has the SCC Annual five minute championship in early September on the schedule. This Thursday will be a warm-up for those more serious events.
More soon.
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