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White: the World
Black: GM Arno Nickel
Date: August 2006 - January 2007
Time Control: 2 days per move
Host Organization: chessgames.com
World Voting Format: current number of votes for each move displayed
at all times - move with largest number of votes at end of time period is played as the World's move
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 e6
3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 a6
(Sicilian Kan)
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| after 4...a6 |
5.Bd3
(5.Nc3 and putting the king Bishop on e2 is another plan)
5...Bc5
6.Nb3 Be7
7.Qg4
(Some wanted to play 7.0-0)
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| after 7.Qg4 |
7...g6
(7...Nf6 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qh6 would not be recommended in a correspondence game unless Black had
prepared analysis, according to GM Nickel)
8.Qe2 d6
9.0-0 Nd7
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| after 9...Nd7 |
10.a4
(10.Nc3 was the favored move until the last minute. Here are some comments from the world team:
RookFile: WOW!!! This is no joke.... 10. a4 was down by 20 votes
with 10 minutes to go.... WOW!!!
dakgootje: Lol like 30 secs before voting closed nc3
was still ahead with one vote... glad we made it with a4 =P
0.32/25 10.Nc3 Ne5 11.a4 Nf6 12.Bg5; 0.21/24 10.f4 e5 11.Nc3 Ngf6; 0.24/25 10.Na3 Ngf6 11.Bh6
Ne5 12.f3 all were alternate lines of play. The machine scores the move played (10.a4) as 0.32/25, and this line
transposes into the 10.Nc3 line.)
10...Ne5
(10...b6 was tried in Jakubiek-Grycel, 2006; Hanner-Kotronias, 2008; and Real de Azua-Flores,
2008. 10...Ngf6 was played in Naiditsch-Svidler, 2007)
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| after 10...Ne5 |
11.a5
(11.Nc3 was tried in Nisipeanu-Sax, 2006 and 11.h3 was tried in Varga-Horvath, 2004 and in
Lakos-Schneider, 2004)
11...Nf6
12.Be3
(12.Nc3 has been played here, as in Kasimdzhanov-Lutz, 2005. 12.Bh6 was played in Smeets-Werle,
2007)
12...0-0
13.Nc3
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| after 13.Nc3 |
(13.Bb6 was tried in Lutz-Epishin, 2001; Golubev-Epishin, 2003 and in Bekemann-Riemer, 2004.
The idea for playing Bb6 first enters our minds at this point. We start to ask ourselves how we can play this move in a more
effective way.)
13...Bd7
(13...Nxd3 14.cxd3 [14.Qxd3 is worth looking at] followed by 14...e5 is another plan that could
be tried here, as in Lane-Epishin, 2003; in Golubev-Epishin, 2003; and in Bastida -Epishin, 2004. White could then choose
among 15.Nd2, 15.d4, 15.Bb6 or another move.)
14.f4
(We are now out of the opening book. 14.Bb6 had been played before in Kasimdzhanov-Lutz, 2005.)
14...Nxd3
15.cxd3
(15.Qxd3 was considered.)
15...Bc6
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| after 15...Bc6 |
16.f5 exf5
(16...Rc8 might have been safer.)
17.exf5 Qd7
(17...Re8 or 17...Nd7 might have been tried here.)
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| after 17...Qd7 |
18.Qd2!
(The World team realized that most options at this point were leading to positions
without an advantage for white. Many ideas were discussed, at the last minute we switch our move from 18.Nd4 to 18.Qd2.)
18...Rfe8
(The other choice might transpose into the moves played: 0.31/23:
18...Ng4 19.Bb6 Rfe8 20.Nd4 Bf8 21.Qf4 Ne5 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.d4 Nd3 24.Qd2 Nb4 25.Rf3)
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| after 18...Rfe8 |
19.Bb6!?
(Chessgames member 'monad' showed that 19.Bb6 creates a trap if black does
not play correctly. If 19...Nd5?! [the most logical choice] 20.Bd4! gxf5 21.Rf3 f4 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Rxf4 Bxb3 [23...Bf8,
23...Bd8, or 23...Bg5 leave black in an uncomfortable position] 24.Qf2 Bg5 25.Qg3 Re6 26.h4 or Bf6 and black has big
problems. See below - my on-the-fly analysis of this line is presented at the end. 19.Bg5
was the alternative here.)
19...Ng4
20.Nd4
(20.h3 Ne5 21.f6 Bf8 22.Be3 Qd8 was considered, but rejected.)
20...Bf8
21.Qf4
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| after 21.Qf4 |
21...Ne5
(21...Nh6 or 21...h5 lead to a small white advantage)
22.Nxc6 bxc6
23.d4
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| after 23.d4 |
23...Nd3
(23...Nc4?! 24.d5! is not good for black. Many chessgames members suggested we take a serious
look at the consequences of 23...Nc4, but It takes some deep analysis to see that black would get an inferior game.)
24.Qd2 Nb4
25.Rf3
(The move 25.Ra4 was also being considered. We predicted that Black would move the knight to
d5 himself, so there was no need to force it with 25.Ra4.)
|
| after 25.Rf3 |
White has a slight advantage, but black can probably draw with best play.
25...Nd5
26.Nxd5
(26.Raf1 and now 26...Nxc3 or 26...Nxb6 was again not the favorite line for the world team)
26...cxd5
27.Raf1
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| after 27.Raf1 |
(Look at the white Bishop on b6 - how are we going to get it back into play? It does seem to
prevent black from obtaining any counterplay on the queenside.)
27...Rac8
(This move caught the world team by surprise - we were expecting 27...Re4. We had computer
analysis that suggested 27...Rac8 was not best play, but we had not looked extensively at variations. The computer had
suggested 28.h3 and 29.Kh2, and the world team independently decided that these moves were best.)
28.h3 Bg7
29.Kh2 Qb5
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| after 29...Qb5 |
30.fxg6
(This move won by 8 votes over 30.R1f2. GM Yury Shulman analyzed this position with
chessgames member 'chesstoplay' and suggested we play 30.R1f2 and maintain the tension with our f-pawn. It is unknown how
long Yury spent looking at the position - it is likely that he spent just a few minutes.)
30...fxg6
31.Qg5
(The move 31.R1f2 was also considered.)
|
| after 31.Qg5 |
31...Re4
(31...Rc2 32.Rf7 Ree2 33.Kh1 was determined to be winning for White, but the doubled black
rooks on the 2nd rank caused much fear, and this line was called the "rooks of death" line. Deep analysis shows that Black
must voluntarily withdraw both rooks from the 2nd rank due to mating threats.)
32.Bd8
(Finally we get to exchange this piece, which some had considered permanently trapped. Rybka3
now scores the position [+1.10] d=25 32...Re2 33.Rf7 Re6 34.R1f2 h6 35.Qf4 Qe8 36.Bb6 h5 37.Qf3 Rc1 38.Qxd5 Qxf7
39.Rxf7 Kxf7 40.Bd8 Bh6 41.Qf3+ Kg8 42.Bh4 Be3 43.Bf2 Bxf2 44.Qxf2 d5 45.Qf3 Rd6 46.Qe3 Rc7 47.Qe8+ Kh7 2771651kN, tb=136)
32...Re6
33.Bf6 Rf8
34.Bxg7 Rxf3
35.Rxf3 Kxg7
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| after 35...Kxg7 |
36.b4!
(The consequences of this move might have been overlooked by Nickel. Perhaps he saw the consequences
and just took a risk that we would not find this move.)
36...h5
(Nickel had few choices at this point and is now arguably lost. 36...Qb7 or 36...Qb8 are
likely followed by 37.Rf1 and evaluated as 1.78/25. Not 36...Qxb4? 37.Qd8 and mate in a few moves is unstoppable.)
37.Qd8 Qe8
38.Qb6 Qc8
(The white and black queens magically change sides.)
|
| after 38...Qc8 |
39.b5! axb5
40.a6 Re1
41.Qb7+
|
| after 41.Qb7+ |
Black resigns
(After 41...Qxb7 42.axb7 Re8 43.Rb3 Rb8 44.Rxb5
|
| after analysis to 44.Rxb5 |
the mobility of the black rook is severely restricted, and the ending is won for white.)
Grandmaster Nickel was playing several other correspondence games at the
same time he played the World team. Mr. Nickel indicated that he was interested in a rematch with the World team at a later
date.
Arno Nickel: I am sorry, I couldn't spare any time for further analysis, but I will come back in some weeks.
Also I am eager to have a rematch here vs. The World in some months or may be in early 2008. I suppose after another challenge,
where you will have White vs. any strong GM. After that we could play the rematch "GMAN-TheWorld" - let's twist again... :)
Best regards,
Arno
*
<**Section E** -- 18.Qd2 Rfe8 19.Bb6!? The "monad trap"
Chessgames user <monad>
discovered this curious move sequence, now called the "monad trap" -
18.Qd2 Rfe8
19.Bb6!? Nd5 (Black falls into the trap)
20.Bd4! gxf5 (forced)
21.Rf3, Rae1 or Qh6
19.Bb6!? appears to be a loss of tempo, but it actually
is a clever waiting move.
Black's 19th and 20th moves are pretty much forced (analysis
follows). White then plays Bd4 or Nd4 depending on how Black responds.
Black's 19th move: (24-ply, 1 of 33 moves examined)
1. (see below for evaluation): 19...Nd5 (the trap)
2. = (0.21)/20-ply: 19...Ng4 20.Nd4 Bf8 21.Qf4 Ne5 22.Nxc6
bxc6 23.d4 Nd3 24.Qd2 Nb4 25.Rf3(This move sequence avoids the trap but is uncomfortable for Black - also playable is the
line 20.h3 Ne5 21.f6 Bf8 22.Be3 Qd8 23.Bh6 Nd7 24.Bxf8 Rxf8 25.Qf4 Re8 26.Nd4)
3. (0.29): 19...Rac8 20.Nd4 d5 21.Rae1 Nh5 22.g4 Nf6 23.Qf4
Bd6 24.Qg5 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Rf1
4. (0.29): 19...d5 20.Rae1 Bd8 21.Rxe8+ Nxe8 22.Bd4 Qe7
23.fxg6 hxg6 24.Rf3 Rc8 25.Rh3 f6 26.Rh6
5. (0.33): 19...Nh5 20.Nd4 d5 21.Rf3 Qd6 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Raf1
Nf6 24.d4 Ne4 25.Nxe4 dxe4 26.Rh3
6. (0.35): 19...Bd8 20.Nd4 Ng4 21.Bxd8 Qxd8 22.Qf4 Ne5 23.Rad1
g5 24.Qg3 f6 25.Ra1 b5 26.Ne6
Black's 20th move: (19-ply) (diagram above)
1. (see below for evaluation): 20...gxf5 forced - there
is nothing better
2. (0.32): 20...Nc7 21.Rf2 Nb5 22.Nxb5 axb5 23.Qh6 Bf8 24.Qh3
Qc7 25.Bb6 Qd7 26.Nd4 Bg7 27.Nxc6
3. (0.35): 20...Nxc3 21.bxc3 Rac8 22.Rf2 Bh4 23.g3 Be7 24.Raf1
Bf8 25.fxg6 fxg6 26.Qf4 Bd5 27.Nd2
4. (0.35): 20...Rad8 21.Rae1 Rc8 22.Re2 Nxc3 23.bxc3 Bf8
24.Ref2 Qd8 25.fxg6 fxg6 26.Qf4 Qc7 27.Qh4
5. (0.35): 20...Rac8 21.Rf2 f6 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.Ne4 Qg4 24.Rf3
g5 25.Rg3 Qf4 26.Rf1 Qxd2 27.Nbxd2
6. (0.37): 20...Rab8 21.Rf2 Nxc3 22.bxc3 Bh4 23.g3 Be7 24.Raf1
Bf8 25.fxg6 fxg6 26.Qf4 Bb5 27.c4
Once Black falls into the trap, White gets a nice position
with 21.Rf3, 21.Rae1 or possibly 21.Qh6 due to Black's weakened pawn structure around his King (analysis follows).
(25-ply)
1. (0.29): 21.Rf3 f4 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Rxf4 Bg5 24.Rxf7 Bxd2
25.Rxd7 Be3+ 26.Bxe3 Rxe3 27.Nd4 Rxd3
2. (0.26): 21.Rae1 f6 22.Nc1 Nc7 23.N1e2 Bd8 24.b4 Qg7 25.Ng3
Rxe1 26.Qxe1 Qg4 27.Qe3 Bd7
(22-ply) or even:
3. = (0.23): 21.Qh6 f6 22.Qh3 Bd8 23.Rxf5 Ne3 24.Bxe3 Rxe3
25.Qxe3 Qxf5 26.Nd4 Qe5 27.Qf2 Qc5
Will a correspondence GM fall for this? Unlikely - he will
just play 18...Nd5.
Why don't we play 18.Qd2 and see if he falls for it!>
| Chess Boxing anyone? |
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The fight was between Marc Breuer from Cologne, 35 years old, 81 kg (178,6 pounds), with an Elo rating of 1972 and Sascha
Wandkowski, 28 years old and 79 kg (174,2 pounds), with an Elo rating of 1850. During the chess the contestants wear headphones
to shield them from the din of the audience and the commentary by a strong chess player.
The boxing part – four minutes of chess are interspersed with three minutes of boxing
| photo of CCGM Arno Nickel attending above match |
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