[Event "Varsity Match"]
[White "Hou, Y"]
[Black "Wadsworth, M"]
[Site ""]
[Round ""]
[Annotator "DF"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Date "2019.??.??"]
[WhiteElo "2662"]
[BlackElo "2396"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1. e4 {} c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2 {One of several significant
moves, but perhaps not the most poisonous.} (7. Qf3 {could be the most
positional approach: the queen is typically headed for g3, whereupon it will
be exchanged and White will try for a small endgame edge. Black has a few
ambitious options though, including the} Nf6 8. 0-0-0 Ne5 9. Qg3 b5 10. f4 Neg4 11. Bg1 h5 $13 {of Karjakin,S-Caruana,F London 2017} )(7. Qd2 {is the only
move I've annotated a game in before: see Radjabov-Rapport, Tata Steel 2019
for 7...b5, Carlsen-Matlakov, Tata Steel 2018 for 7..Nf6 8.f4, or Das-Adhiban,
Reykjavik 2018 for 7...Nf6 8.0-0-0. Having looked at the line fairly
extensively I think 7...b5 is very playable.} )(7. Bd3 Nf6 8. 0-0 {Now Black
has a move which is both principled (exploiting the placement of White's
light-squared bishop) and cynical (somewhat simplistic for a Sicilian.)} Nxd4 $5 {(There is also ...Ne5, as you would expect.)} 9. Bxd4 Bc5 {As played by,
for instance, Svidler.} 10. Bxc5 (10. Be2 d6 11. Qd2 Bxd4 12. Qxd4 e5 13. Qb4 Be6 14. Rad1 Ke7 $11 )(10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qg4 Qe5 $13 )Qxc5 11. Na4 (11. Kh1 d6 12. f4 Bd7 13. Qd2 Bc6 14. Rae1 Rd8 15. e5 dxe5 16. fxe5 Nd7 17. Qf4 0-0 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M-Svidler,P Riadh 2017} )Qc7 12. c4 d6 13. Nc3 {
The question for me is whether White has an advantage in this Maroczy-esque
position. If not, then 8...Nxd4 is simply alright.} )Nf6 8. 0-0 Bb4 {
Best by test.} (8... b5 {This is possible, but Black has to continue in a
counter-intuitive way.} 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. f4 Bb7 (10... e5 11. fxe5 Qxe5 12. Bf4 Qc5+ 13. Kh1 Be6 14. e5 Nd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bd3 $14 {White has a small plus
due to the greater clarity of his plans.} )11. e5 Nd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 {We have
now a position that does not inspire great confidence, but in fact to prevent
Black's game from becoming freed White must swap both dark-squared bishops and
queens, leading to a more or less equal endgame, as in the 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5
French.} )9. Na4 Be7 (9... Nxe4 10. Nxc6 Qxc6 (10... bxc6 11. Qd4 $18 )11. Nb6 Rb8 12. Bf3 d5 13. Qd4 $18 {leads to Black getting tied in all kinds of knots:
there could be mate on d8, a Bf4-type motif, or simply carnage after White
takes on g7.} )10. c4 {This move is known but not especially harmful.} (10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Nb6 Rb8 12. Nxc8 Qxc8 13. Bd4 c5 14. Be5 Rb6 {This is the
'tabiya' of the 7.Be2 Taimanov, in which White has generally been able to
prove a little something.} )Nxe4 11. c5 0-0 12. g3 Nf6 (12... e5 $5 {
tries to be better here.} 13. Bf3 $5 (13. Nb3 d5 14. Nb6 Be6 15. Nxd5 Qd7 $36 )(13. Nf5 d5 $1 {Whichever side ends up material down will have compensation
for it, e.g.} 14. cxd6 Nxd6 15. Bb6 Qd7 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Bc5 Rd8 18. Nb6 Rb8 19. Nc4 Nd4 20. Nxd6 Rxd6 $44 )Nxd4 (13... exd4 14. Bf4 d6 15. Bxe4 Be6 $11 )14. Bxe4 d5 15. Bg2 (15. Bxd5 Bh3 16. Bxd4 Bxf1 17. Qxf1 exd4 18. Qc4 Rad8 $15 )Nf5 $1 16. Nb6 Be6 17. Nxa8 Rxa8 18. b4 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Rd8 $44 )13. Nb6 Rb8 14. Rc1 g6 {Black is clearly trying to play ...e5, but this will now
take more work than previously.} (14... Rd8 $11 {followed by the brazen ...e5
and ...d5 was still enough to equalise.} )15. Bg5 Rd8 16. Bf3 h6 17. Bxh6 e5 18. Nxc6 (18. Nxc8 Qxc8 19. Nxc6 dxc6 20. Qe2 $11 )dxc6 19. Qe2 Be6 20. Rfe1 Nd7 $1 {Keeping it solid.} 21. b4 Nxb6 22. cxb6 Qxb6 23. Qxe5 Qd4 24. Bf4 Qxe5 25. Bxe5 Rbc8 26. Bc3 (26. a3 Rd3 27. Rc3 $11 {was now the depressing
reality of the position.} )Rd3 (26... Bg5 $5 $15 )27. Bg4 Bxg4 28. Rxe7 Bf3 29. h3 Rcd8 30. Kh2 R3d7 31. Rce1 ({Personally, I would have found} 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. g4 Rd3 33. Bf6 {worth trying, if nothing else because the plan
of Bg5-e3 and Kg3 is the only constructive one I can see.} )f5 32. g4 fxg4 33. Kg3 Rxe7 34. Rxe7 Rd3 35. Re3 Rxe3 36. fxe3 Bd5 37. hxg4 Bxa2 38. Kf4 Kf7 39. Ke5 Ke7 40. Bd4 Bb1 41. g5 Kd7 42. Bb6 {A good hold by Black- at some
points he was equalising so well that he might even have been better.} 1/2-1/2
06.03.2019 – Die beiden englischen EliteuniversitĂ€ten Oxford und Cambridge sind auch beim Schach Rivalen. Am 2. MĂ€rz kam es zum 137. Schachkampf zwischen den beiden UniversitĂ€ten und Star dieses Duells war Ex-Frauenweltmeisterin Hou Yifan, die zur Zeit als Rhodes Scholar in Oxford studiert. Hou kam nur zu einem Remis, aber ihr Team gewann mit 4,5-3,5. GM Daniel Fernandez, frĂŒher selbst Student in Cambridge, berichtet. | Bild: Team Oxford mit Andrew Rogozinski (Ersatz), Daniel Abbas, Hou Yifan, Joris Gerlagh (KapitĂ€n), Benjamin Foo, Lisa Schut, Gordon Scott, Filip Mihov, Isaac Sanders | Foto: John Saunders