Author: Peter Kappler
Date: 18:10:38 09/25/99
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On September 25, 1999 at 18:44:17, Peter McKenzie wrote: >In a game on ICC Beadle (LambChop) reached the following interesting position: > >2kr1b1r/ppp4p/1q4p1/3p1p1b/3N4/2PQPPP1/PP1N2P1/R4RK1 w - - 0 17 > >Tactics: > >Here LambChop blundered with Nxf5, it needs an 8 ply search to avoid Nxf5. The >key variation being Nxf5 gxf5 Qxf5+ Kb8 Qxh5 Qxe3+ Rf2 Bc5 Rf1 Qxd2. This is a >10 ply variation, but we have a couple of checks in there so the check extension >sallows it to be seen in 8 ply. > >My q-srch prunes out captures that look bad, so Qxd2 is pruned as the simple >algorithm I use thinks d2 is protected by the R on f2 :-( I guess if my pruning >algorithm in q-srch was smarter then I'd see this line one ply earlier. I'd >also see it earlier if I just looked at all captures in q-srch... > >How many ply do other programs need to avoid Nxf5 ? I know that crafty needs 8 >ply too... > > >Positional: > >I was slightly surprised when Bob Hyatt said he thought white was doing badly >anyway (crafty agreed). I personally think that white is doing fine, I actually >prefer white's position. > >Here is how I see the position: >White has 2 knights vs two bishops, so white should try to keep the position >somewhat closed. Currently the knights are quite well posted, while the Bh5 is >quite bad although the Bf8 is potentially very good but currently not doing >much. > >White's pawn structure is weakened, but black isn't currently in a position to >take advantage of this. White will probably play f4 eventually, leaving holes >on e4 and g4 but this doesn't look too bad for white as black doesn't have a >knight to sink in there. Also, the white knights cover those squares quite >well, and after f4 the Bh5 is really locked out. > >White has a clear and simple plan of advancing on the queenside. I think black >should try to open the position and infiltrate the dark squares, but its not >clear to me how to achieve this. > >I think white should play 1.b4 which is in harmony with the plan of advancing on >the queenside, it also dissuades c5 (thereby keeping the strong knight on d4) >and has the added bonus of possibly threatening Nxf5. I wouldn't worry about >Nxf5 too much though, as even if it wins a pawn the variations look very open >and dangerous for white. > >After 1.b4, ...c5 looks poor. Simply 2.bxc5 followed by 3.Rab1 with good >initiative for white. > >Another line is 1.b4 Bd6 2.f4 Rhe8 3.a4 threatening a5 Qa6 b5 trapping the black >queen :-) > >Maybe something like Qf6 is best for black? The idea being to play g5 >eventually. Pretty slow though. > >So there you have it, the opinion of someone used to be 2300 Fide but these days >struggles to maintain a 2000 ICC bullet rating :-) > >LambChop gives white as +0.4 after 9ply, and wants to play a4. > >So what do other people/programs think? > >cheers, >Peter Hi Peter, Grok never even considers Nxf5. It likes c4, which just opens up the game for Black - clearly not a good idea. Hiarcs 7.32 considers Nxf5 for a fraction of a second, but quickly moves on to a4 and stays there, at least through 8 or 9 plies. I'm guessing that the computers will all like Black because of the bishop pair and White's doubled pawns. If anybody can find a program that prefers White, I'd be very interested to see the analysis. I think it's quite a tricky position to judge. BTW, your idea of Qf6 won't work as long as White has a rook on the f-file, because g4! simply wins the bishop. However, the idea is correct - Black absolutely must try for g6-g5 to free the light-squared bishop and open lines against White's King. To me, the whole assessment of the position depends on whether or not this is feasible. Thanks for the interesting post. :-) --Peter
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