Mike first gave this game the title "Swindle". In fact, despite a little luck, it has some lovely sacrifices leading to a gratifying mate. NB: If you find it hard to fit this game onto your screen, go back to GAMES and click on the individual game 3. It will then appear with a scrolling text. - Dylan
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 *#@$! All those hours (well....OK then, minutes) spent analysing the main lines and the blighter plays the Exchange Variation!
3... exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Bd3 Ne7 The first step towards unbalancing the position.
6. c3 A decent enough move in principle, preventing any Nb8-c6-b4 ideas and supporting the d-pawn, but not strictly necessary at this early stage before Black has played Nc6. (Later note: Karpov once played 4.c3, but what does he know, eh.......?)
6. O-O Bg4 7. Re1 Nbc6 8. c3 Qd7 9. Nbd2 O-O-O and it's game on.
6... c6 Now Black wim ps out, worrying about a quick Qb3 if Black develops his Q bishop. The books (mine anyway) don't seem to have anything on this idea, so take a deep breath, here goes.........(E&OE as the lawyers say).
6... Bf5 7. Bxf5 Nxf5 8. Qb3 O-O 9. Qxb7 (9. Qxd5 Re8+ 10. Ne5 Qd7 11. O-O Bxe5 12. Qxd7 (12. Qxb7 Bd6 13. Qxa8 c6 14. Nd2 Na6 15. Qxe8+ Qxe8 gives an unusual material balance of Q+N against 2R+2P.)
12... Nxd7 13. dxe5 Nxe5 White's backward development and the 'hole' on d3 mean that Black is better.)
9... Re8+ (9... Qe8+ 10. Kf1 Nc6 is another idea)
10. Kf1 Other moves are possible, but this analysis is too long as it is! 10... Nd7 (10... Qe7 11. g3)
11. Qxd5 Qe7 Black was totally unable to assess this position. The infernal machine (henceforth known as 'Tim') comes up with the following mayhem. 12. g3 (12. Qc4 is equal occording to Tim.)
12... Bxg3 13. Kg2 (13. hxg3 Nxg3+ 14. Kg2 (14. Kg1 Qe2 15. Kg2 Nxh1-+ 16. Ng1 Qxf2+ 17. Kxh1 (17. Kh3 Qg3#)
17... Qh4+ 18. Kg2 (18. Nh3 Qxh3+ 19. Kg1 Qg3+ and Black mates next move with 20...Re1.)
18... Nf6-+)
(14. fxg3 Qe2+ 15. Kg1 c6 transposes to 15.hxg3 c6 in line b below.)
)
(13. fxg3 Qe2+ 14. Kg1 Nxg3 15. Nbd2 (15. hxg3 c6 The queen is overloaded protecting h1 and h5(15... Qd1+ is also good enough 16. Ne1 (16. Kg2 Kh2 is the same 16... Re2+ 17. Kh3 Qxh1+ 18. Kg4 Nf6+ 19. Kf4 (19. Kf5 or Kg5 19... Qh5+ and mate next move)
19... Nxd5+ mates e.g. 20. Kg4 f5+ 21. Kxf5 Qh5+ 22. Bg5 Rf8#)
16... Rxe1+ 17. Kh2 Qe2+ 18. Kh3 (18. Qg2 Qh5+ 19. Qh3 Rxh1+ 20. Kxh1 Qxh3+ 21. Kg1 Re8)
18... Qh5+ 19. Qxh5 Rxh1+ 20. Kg2 Rxh5-+)
16. Qxc6 Qd1+ 17. Kg2 (17. Ne1 Rxe1+ 18. Kg2 (18. Kh2 Qh5+ 19. Kg2 Qxh1+ 20. Kf2 Qf1#)
(18. Kf2 Qe2#)
18... Qe2+ 19. Kh3 Qh5+ 20. Kg2 Qxh1+ 21. Kf2 Qf1#)
17... Re2+ 18. Kh3 Qxh1+ 19. Kg4 Nf6+ and White's king is not long for this world.)
15... Nb6 hitting the queen and keeping it away from c4. Now all queen moves meet the same fate. 16. Qg5 Qd1+ 17. Kg2 Nxh1-+ Black is the exchange ahead and the attack continues.)
13... Nh4+ 14. Kxg3 (14. Nxh4 Bxh4 White's exposed king and lack of development give Black compensation for the pawn.)
(14. Kh3 Bxf2-+)
(14. Kg1 Qe1+ 15. Nxe1 Rxe1#)
14... Nf6 15. Bg5 Nxd5 16. Bxe7 Nf5+ and Black's initiative seems to have petered out.
7. h3 Again, this seems very slow.
7. O-O Bg4 was the intention but it isn't anything for White to worry about.
7... Bf5 8. Bxf5 Nxf5 9. O-O O-O 10. Qd3 Qf6 11. Nbd2 This just clogs up White's queen-side development.
11... Nd7 12. b4 b5 Tim prefers developing a rook, but Black was happy to block the pawns on dark squares, making White's bishop look sick.
13. Nh2 Trying to untangle his minor pieces and eyeing the g4 square, but
13. a4 a6 is better
13... a5 If you won't push the a-pawn, I will !
14. bxa5 14. a3? axb4 and the a3 pawn is pinned
14... Rxa5 15. Ndf3 Qg6 16. Ng4 Missing Black's idea, but White is under pressure whatever he does.
16... Nxd4?? Black spent some considerable time looking at Having decided on 16...Ng3, Black had a brainwave. Why not go into the line with 16...Nxd4 and pocket a pawn immediately, with ...Ne2+ or ...Nxf3+ to follow? White can't capture on d4 with either the pawn or the knight because the queen is hanging......
16... Nh4 17. Qe2 (17. Qxg6 Nxf3+ 18. gxf3 hxg6 and White's pawns are just tragic)
(17. Ne1 Rfa8-+)
17... Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 f5 19. Ne3 f4-/+
and 16... Ng3 17. Qxg6 (17. Rd1 Qxd3 18. Rxd3 Ne2+ 19. Kf1 Nxc1 20. Rxc1 Rxa2-+)
17... Ne2+ 18. Kh1 hxg6-/+ as the a and c pawns are in deep trouble.
17. Qxd4 Doh! Words cannot express the contempt deserved by 16...Nxd4?? and its perpetrator. If there was any justice, Black would be drummed out of the club with a dishonourable discharge and hauled up in front of the YCA on a charge of bringing the game into disrepute. When Black recovered sufficiently to actually look at the board to see if White had grabbed the knight, he saw the faint outlines of a smidgeon of a hint of counterplay based on hitting g4. Desperate situations require desperate measures and in the words of that great player Shane Warne, ''Just never, never, NEVER give up''. Anyway, Black's position is really rather good, if you aren't too fussy about a slight shortage of minor pieces!
17... Re8 18. Be3 Ra4 18... f5 19. Ngh2 f4 20. Bc1 Nc5 and White's advantage is worth less than a pawn according to Tim. Black didn't see it that way, and had much cruder and more violent ideas in mind.
19. Qd1 19. Qd2 f5 20. Ngh2 f4 (20... Nf6)
21. Bd4 c5 22. Bxg7 Nb6 is a mess, but White is better.(22... Kxg7 23. Qxd5+-)
19... Ree4 How often do you see rooks doubled on a rank, instead of a file?
20. Nd4 c5?! The red mist has well and truly descended. Black intends to rip White's kingside apart, or die in the attempt.
21. Nxb5 Rxg4?! 22. hxg4 As Freddie Mercury once sang....."Another one's gone......."
22... Rxg4 23. Qf3? White has nothing better than a draw after this natural move.
23. Qxd5! is winning for White (as it was on the previous move) as it defends g2, hits the Bd6 and threatens to drive a minor piece to f8 by Qa8+.
23. Qxg4 Qxg4 24. Nxd6 is also winning.
23... Ne5 The only move, but good enough.
24. Qxd5? This throws away the second half-point. The lost tempo is crucial.
24. Qh3 Rh4 25. Qg3 is a draw by repetition or perpetual check 25... Rg4 (25... Nf3+ 26. Qxf3 (26. gxf3? Bxg3 mates)
26... Bh2+ 27. Kh1 Be5+ 28. Kg1 Bh2+=)
26. Qh3 Rh4=
Black was expecting White to try 24. Qxg4 Nxg4 25. Nxd6 Qxd6 but Black is better as his attack continues even with reduced material, e.g. 26. Rfd1 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 Qh1+ 28. Ke2 Qxg2 29. Bxc5 Qe4+ 30. Be3 Ne5-+ according to Tim. Totally unclear according to Black.
24... Rxg2+! 25. Kh1 The rook cannot be taken. Now the queen zigzags drunkenly and one square at a time towards the White king to deliver mate.
25. Qxg2 Nf3+ 26. Kh1 Qh5+ 27. Qh3 (27. Qh2 Qxh2#)
27... Qxh3#
25... Qh5+ 25... Rh2+!? 26. Kxh2 Nf3+?? (26... Qh5+ returns to the game continuation.)
27. Kh3! wins for White
26. Kxg2 "And another one's gone...."
26... Qg4+ 27. Kh1 27. Kh2 Nf3+ 28. Kh1 Qh3#
27... Qh3+ 28. Kg1 Nf3+ 29. Qxf3 "Another one bites the dust... ." Two rooks and a knight down,the tattered remnants of Black's army in fact constitute an elegant sufficiency.
29... Qh2# SWINDLE!!
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