[Event "Caerleon Open 2006"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2006.07.16"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mordue, A Tyson"]
[Black "Dobrov, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B47"]
[WhiteElo "2290"]
[BlackElo "2493"]
[Annotator "Tyson Mordue"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2006.07.14"]

{[%evp 0,67,19,38,40,41,41,32,50,22,15,39,79,41,81,51,50,46,53,59,51,31,15,42,
31,37,49,52,52,43,38,41,43,45,45,35,51,47,135,67,97,94,91,84,77,65,60,74,85,97,
86,83,76,82,82,114,188,115,211,196,275,173,413,456,352,336,527,743,759,952]} 1.
e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 ({The game Richard Jones-Dobrov
from Round 2 had gone} 5. Nb5 d6 6. Bf4 Ne5 7. Bxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {
and White went on to lose because of his weak dark squares. Needless to say I
wasn't having anything to do with that}) 5... Qc7 6. g3 {This is only the
third time I've played the 6 g3 line against the Taimanov Sicilian. I had an
excellent win against the dogged Michael Boyce of Thornbury in 2000 but lost
against the evergreen Jim Sherwin at Yeovil last year.} d6 ({Many people will
know of the famous Fischer-Tal game at Bled in 1961 where Tal played the} 6...
Nf6 7. Ndb5 Qb8 8. Bf4 Ne5 9. Be2 Bc5 10. Bxe5 Qxe5 11. f4 Qb8 12. e5 {with a
huge bind. Fischer clinched his first win over Tal after prolonged resistance:}
a6 13. exf6 axb5 14. fxg7 Rg8 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Qd4 Ra4 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. Qxf6
Qc7 19. O-O-O Rxa2 20. Kb1 Ra6 21. Bxb5 Rb6 22. Bd3 e5 23. fxe5 Rxf6 24. exf6
Qc5 25. Bxh7 Qg5 26. Bxg8 Qxf6 27. Rhf1 Qxg7 28. Bxf7+ Kd8 29. Be6 Qh6 {
(As Irving Chernev pointed out this game is also remarkable for the statistic
that Tal's two remaining Pawns do nothing except hem in his Bishop. Fischer
promptly does something about that too.)} 30. Bxd7 Bxd7 31. Rf7 Qxh2 32. Rdxd7+
Ke8 33. Rde7+ Kd8 34. Rd7+ Kc8 35. Rc7+ Kd8 36. Rfd7+ Ke8 37. Rd1 b5 38. Rb7
Qh5 39. g4 Qh3 40. g5 Qf3 41. Re1+ Kf8 42. Rxb5 Kg7 43. Rb6 Qg3 44. Rd1 Qc7 45.
Rdd6 Qc8 46. b3 Kh7 47. Ra6 {Fischer - Tal 1-0 1961 After the text I'm certain
that I'd played 7 Ndb5 Qb8; 8 Bf4 then 8...Ne5 would have happened. Again I
had no interest.}) 7. Bg2 Bd7 {This takes the game away from Taimanov lines
back towards the Scheveningen, a variation that I have much more experience
with as both White and Black. I drew a Scheveningen as Black against GM James
Plaskett at the Clevedon Spectrum Tournament a few years ago. That game
ultimately cost Plaskett the Leigh Grand Prix because he needed a clean 5/5 to
enhance his chances. The possibility of transpositions had been mentioned in
Graham's book and I quite happy with that!} 8. O-O a6 9. Be3 Ne5 {Persistent.
The steed wants to come to c4 to molest the Bishop and Pawn b2. It took me a
few moments to realise what the counter to this was, but I think Black should
probably be consistent and play 10 /\Nc4.} 10. Qe2 Nf6 11. Rad1 Nc4 $146 {
To my mind this is a move too late. White had had time to develop his Queen's
Rook so now I was happy to retreat the Bishop and redevelop it via b2. I
recall Judit Polgar doing this many years ago and winning with a ferocious
Kingside attack.} 12. Bc1 Rc8 13. b3 Ne5 ({My computer mentions} 13... Qa5 {but
} 14. Qe1 {is an adequate response. If this had actually happened on the board
I would have been greatly encouraged. The only other time I've had a WQe1/WNc3/
BQa5 motif was against Keith Arkell at Paignton in 1987 and Nxd5 proved to be
a winning sacrifice. These little points can sometimes be significant omens. 
As it was I was already reasonably happy. My opponent was playing slowly, my
position was okay and my score against GMs this century was 21/2/4. I even had
a clear plan in mind for the middle game, if I had the nerve to pursue it!})
14. Bb2 Be7 ({An obvious alternative is} 14... b5 {I had visions of lines like
b4; Nd5 exd5; exd5+ (Black's Knight on e5 had moved on by then) Be7; Rfe1 with
an attack, until I noticed that Black calmly castles and after Qxe7 wins the
lady with R (either) e8. A failed tactic, but note that the Bishop on d7
interrupts the defence of the Bishop on e7. Next I noticed that in some lines
the d7 Bishop is itself a tactical liability. At this point I reasoned that if
Black played b7-b5 to threaten b5-b4 then I wanted the c3 Knight to go to e4.
This means I have had to play f2-f4 and e4-e5. Where is the Knight on f6
going? It can't go to d7 so it looks like e8. That means if Black starts
thinking about taking on e5 he can't do it while his Queen has to defend the
loose Bishop on d7. All further encouragement.}) 15. f4 Nc6 16. Nf3 $1 {
White has a space advantage and correctly avoids exchanges. This does mean
that the Black Knight on f6 has the g4 square available after the e4-e5 push,
but it may not be too significant because of the aforementioned tactic.} O-O
17. Kh1 {A typical precautionary move avoiding checks on the g1-a7 diagonal.
The value of this move is often questioned. I would suggest that it's a useful
exercise in any game to look out for positions where the difference between
having the King on g1 (g8) or h1 (h8) is of significance in tactical sequences.
My guess would be that the corner square is probably safer, but then I was
recently looking at a game Geller-Smyslov from their 1965 Candidates match. 1.
d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 O-O 9.
O-O Nc6 10.Be3 Qc7 11.Rc1 Rd8 12.f4 e6 13.Kh1 b6 14.f5 Na5 15.Bd3 exf5 16.exf5
Bb7 17.Qd2 Re8 18.Ng3 Qc6 19.Rf2 Rad8 20.Bh6 Bh8 21.Qf4 Rd7 22.Ne4 c4 23.Bc2
Rde7 24.Rcf1 Rxe4 25.fxg6 f6 26.Qg5 Qd7 27.Kg1! Bg7 28.Rxf6 Rg4 29.gxh7+ Kh8
30.Bxg7+ Qxg7 31.Qxg4 1-0. It was Geller's calm 27 Kg1 that ruled out back
rank mates and enabled his brilliant attack to succeed. Black's next move is
an attempt to generate counterplay on the Queenside, but he may be better off
playing Rfd8.} b5 (17... Rfd8) 18. e5 $1 {Firmly taking the initiative.
Clearly Black can force White to have an isolated Pawn by exchanging but is it
a strength or a weakness?} Ne8 $6 {An incredible decision, and one that cost
Dobrov a lot of time on the clock.} ({First of all Black can't play} 18... Ng4
{because it loses a piece after} 19. exd6 Bxd6 20. Qd3 {. If Black wants to go
Ng4 he must exchange on e5 first.}) (18... dxe5 19. fxe5 Ng4 20. Ne4 {we reach
the position I saw earlier where multiple captures on e5 lose the Bishop on d7.
Notice that White's Bishop on b2 is now playing a major role. Knight hops into
d6 or f6 are viable with the support of the dark-squared prelate. Certainly}
Rcd8 21. Nd6 {must be a critica l line. Black can also consider exchanging on
e5 and then playing Ne8 but that is inconsistent. At least by playing Ne8
first Black retains the option of exchanging on e5 or playing d6-d5.
Nevertheless, to see this retreat instead of the sharp 18... dxe5; 19 fxe5 Ng4
from a GM was a considerable morale boost.}) {I took a lot of time over the
next move.} 19. a3 ({The obvious} 19. Ne4 {didn't seem to lead anywhere after}
d5 20. Neg5 (20. Nf2 Nb4) 20... h6 {so I decided to rule out the b4 push. If
Black persisted of playing b4 to establish his Knight on this square then the
a6 Pawn would be exposed on the f1-a6 diagonal, and the open a-file may be of
use to White. Admittedly Black has possible threats of Bb5 and play against c2
but against careful play these should come to nothing.}) 19... b4 20. axb4 Nxb4
21. Rd2 $1 {A flexible ove that gives added support to the c2 Pawn and
prepares for the doubling of Rooks on either the d or f files. Of course Ra1
with both the Rooks operating on open files is possible.} Bc6 22. Ne4 $5 {
Astonishingly my computer claims that this is a mistake. This is because of
the line 22....Bxe4} d5 $2 {An even more astonishing reply. Black relinquishes
any pressure he has on White's spearhead e5 Pawn, blocks the diagonal of the
Bishop he has just placed on c6, and basically gives White a free hand on the
Kingside. I don't disagree with my computer about 22...Bxe4; 23 Qxe4 d5 being
a bettercontinuatio n, just with the unnecessary follow-up Queen sacrifice.
Because Black now threatens 23 Bb5, which was met by 23 c4 if played on move
22, White must lose two tempi by putting his Knight back on c3. However, my
morale had shot up, I fully realised that my opponent was playing both slowly
and badly and I knew I had a real chance of a Kingside attack. Obviously this
far outweighs two tempi!} (22... Bxe4 23. Qxe4 d5 24. Qe2 Qxc2 $5 {Eventually
it claims White emerges with an advantage after} ({Now clearly Black can't play
} 24... Nxc2 $2 {here because of} 25. Rc1 $16) 25. Rxc2 Rxc2 26. Qe3 Rxb2 27.
Rc1 {Perhaps it should get out more often.}) (22... Bb5 $2 23. c4 $1) 23. Nc3
Qd7 $6 {I found this move to be incomprehensible. Clearly putting the Queen
opposite an enemy Rook is something the textbooks advise against, and b6 or b7
must be more natural squares. Black is trying to regroup to meet the oncoming
attack, but is doing so in a very clumsy fashion. Perhaps he hopes to play f5
now that he has defended his Pawn on e6 against capture by the White Queen
after exf6 e. p., but there is no time.} 24. Nd4 Nc7 ({If} 24... g6 25. g4 Ng7
26. f5 $1 {and White's initiative continues unabated. Black consistently
refuses to move any of his Kingside Pawns which is in keeping with basic
defensive technique, but I think even Wilhelm Steinitz would be asking for the
White pieces here!}) 25. f5 exf5 {It is either this capture allowing a White
Knight to f5 or giving White the chance to crate a huge wedge with f6. The
sortie Bg5 either here or on the next move seems to concede White extra
options based on the exposed Bishop rather than give Black enhanced defensive
options.} 26. Nxf5 Ne6 {It is a measure of the seriousness of Black's position
that this impressive-looking move isn't actually that good. Yes, it defends g7
and prevents e5-e6 by White, but that's it. The Knight's control of g5, f4, d4
or c5 isn't particularly relevant as White isn't really interested in most of
these squares. By contrast the steed on f5 definitely has designs on h6, g7,
e7 and d6, and is now joined by its partner who exploits the pin on the d-file.
} 27. Ne4 d4 {A desperate attempt to deflect White from his attack by offering
a Pawn that was merely blocking his Bishop anyway. The Pawn isn't going
anywhere so I decided to continue building on the Kingside. The next move is
obvious but it felt really good to bring my Queen to bear so directly on a
GM's King.} 28. Qg4 Bxe4 {Still refusing to move Kingside Pawns} (28... g6 {
may have been better.}) (28... Rfd8 29. Rxd4 $18 {Crushes White} Qc7 (29...
Nxd4 30. Qxg7#) (29... Nd5 30. c4 $18) 30. Nh6+ Kh8 31. Nxf7+ Kg8 32. Qxe6 $18)
29. Bxe4 {30 Nxg7 is a clear threat because Black's Queen is no longer
defended so the Ne6 is pinned. Black undergoes further contortions with his
Queen to avoid this because 28... Rfd8 was met by 29 Rxd4 which is crushing.}
Qe8 30. Rxd4 {I chose this move because I felt it gave me the most options and
it clears the last Black unit out of the path of my Bishop on b2. 30 Nxd4 and
Rdf2 are also okay. White now threatens to win much material with 31 Nxe7+
Qxe7; 32 Rxb4 Qxb4; 33 Bxh7+ and 34 Qxb4.} (30. Rdf2) (30. Nxd4) 30... Nxc2 31.
Rd2 $1 {Restraint is White's watchword. Black was now seriously short of time
having only a handful of minutes to reach move 48. I had about 40 minutes and
put them to some good use here.} (31. Nxe7+ Qxe7 32. Bxh7+ Kxh7 33. Qh5+ Kg8
34. Rh4 {with a mating attack. My first analysis ran} Qb7+ (34... Qxh4 {
White has given up his great Knight, Bishop and Rook to win Black's miserable
Queen and Bishop, and now Black has reason to play on. My computer confirms
the game continuation is a bigger plus for White than this variation.}) 35. Kg1
Qa7+ 36. Kg2 $2 (36. Rf2 $18 {and Black must move his f Pawn to avoid mate.} f6
37. exf6 {threatening 37 f7+ and 38 Qh7 or h8 mate.} (37. Qh7+ Kf7 38. exf6))
36... Ne3+ 37. Kh3 Ng5+ $1 38. Qxg5 Nxf1 39. Qh5 Qd7+ $19 {Okay, there's an
easy improvement with 36 Rf2 However the reason why I chose not to play this
line was the counter sacrifice 34...Qxh4.}) {After the regrouping in the game
White has every single one of his pieces aimed at the Black King. This seemed
to be a much better option, and I was right! In contrast Black has two pieces
completely out of play on the Queenside, of which the Knight is tactically
vulnerable, while the rest of Black's army huddle together hoping to survive
the coming storm by sheer proximity. However, White's army consists of some
very effective long-range units, as we shall soon see.} 31... Nb4 32. Rdf2 Ng5
$2 {Black cracks under the intolerable strain of position and clock.} ({
The obvious line was} 32... Kh8 33. Nd6 Bxd6 34. exd6 {is really good for
White. One threat is 35 Rf6! followed by either 36 Rxe6 and mate on g7 or 36
Rh6 breaking through on h7. Another is a combination of d7 and Bxg7+, but a
really simple play is 35 Qf5 threatening mate on h7.}) 33. Nxg7 Qb5 34. Nf5 {
The simplest. At the very least White is winning a piece after 34... Qe8; 35
Nxe7+ Qxe7; 36 h4. By now I was far more interested in my opponent's digital
clock that showed less than twenty seconds. When it showed just four seconds,
my opponent resigned. I still had twenty-six minutesleft} 1-0

