Flashcard

卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – Trần Tuấn Minh
7th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament; Ho Chi Minh City, March 14, 2017
English Opening A20

1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Qb6 6. e3 Na6!? It does not seem an improvement on 6. ... d5 7. Qc2 Bd7 (after 7. ... Nbd7 Mark Evgenievich Taimanov regards 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Ncb5 as a strong continuation) 8. a3 Be7 9. b4 0-0 10. Bb2 with a slight edge for White, Najdorf – Rossetto, Buenos Aires 1968. 7. d3 Bb4 8. Bg2 Nc5 9. dxe4 Ncxe4 10. 0-0 Bxc3. 10. ... Nxc3 looks hardly better than the text, as after 11. bxc3 Bxc3?! 12. Ba3! White gets a (very) powerful initiative. 11. bxc3 d6 12. Qc2 Nc5 13. e4 Be6? Stockfish does not like this move – and rightly so. I think Black should have castled.

14. Bf4! 0-0-0. If 14. ... Bxc4 there might follow 15. Bxd6! Bxf1 16. Rxf1 and, in spite of the lack of any material compensation, White carries too many overwhelming threats. 15. Rfd1 Qa6 16. Nxe6. Securing the whole Bishop pair. 16. ... Nxe6 17. Bxd6 Qxc4 18. Rab1 Nc7. It loses outright, but 18. ... Qa6 19. Rb4 could not have saved Black anyway. 19. Bh3+ 1 : 0. For after 19. ... Ne6 (or 19. ... Kb8 20. Rd4 Qa6 21. Ra4+−) 20. Rd4 Qa6 21. Ra4+− the curtain falls.