Maarten Ronteltap / Allies vs Ron Barber / Allies (2006)

Maarten Ronteltap / Allies vs Ron Barber / Allies
chessgames consultation 2006 · Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations. Tartakower (B50) · 1/2-1/2

[Event "chessgames consultation"]
[Site "chessgames.com"]
[Date "2006.01.11"]
[EventDate "2006.01.11"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "M Ronteltap / Allies"]
[Black "Ron Barber / Allies"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "110"]

1.e4 {Notes by "EmperorAtahualpa" *** January 11, 2006. It was
a sunny day in the Kibitzer's Cafe when fellow kibitzer "me to
play" announced he would be running a consultation game on his
chessforum. He immediately found 10 enthusiastic participants,
who would be divided in two teams of five. White: "The
Knightmares" - AdrianP, Chopin, EmperorAtahualpa (captain),
hitman84 and Saruman. Black: "The Dark Horses" -
NakoSonorense, Robin01, RonB52734 (captain), sitzkrieg and
WannaBe. The first chessgames.com consultation match was
born!} c5 {The first few moves for White and Black were made
in a matter of hours, but eventually both teams would agree
that each team would have 24 hours per move. Also, both teams
had their own discussion forum which members of the other team
were not allowed to visit, so that both teams could analyze
the position and vote for their next move at their
discretion.} 2.Nf3 {We're playing a standard Sicilian defense
game so far. Of course, in a correspondence game such as this,
you cannot easily afford to play dubious openings that work
better in Blitz or standard chess, such as the King's Gambit
opening.} d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3 {!? The Smith-Morra Gambit. This
was a suggestion from hitman84 that was widely welcomed by the
rest of the team except the team captain EmperorAtahualpa, who
preferred the normal move 4.Nxd4. As the viewer will notice,
White will hereafter be playing to regain the pawn for a
substantial part of the game, even though it is ahead in
development. For an interesting article on the Smith-Morra
gambit, go here:
www.chessville.com/instruction/Openings/Smith-Morra} dxc3 {As
expected, Black accepts the gambit.} 5.Nxc3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Nc6 7.e5
{! A tricky move. If 7...dxe5?, then 8.Qxd8 Kxd8 and Black is
still a pawn up but at least cannot castle anymore. (7...dxe5
8.Qxd8 Nxd8? 9.Nb5! Rb8 10.Nxe5 e6 11.Nxa7 +/=) Also, if
7...Nxe5??, then 8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+! Kxf7 10.Qxd8 +-.} Nd7
{7...Ng4 was another option with many interesting possible
variations that could have followed, such as 7...Ng4 8.exd6
exd6 9.Ng5 Nge5 9.Qd5, or 7...Ng4 8.exd6 exd6 9.Qe2+ Be7
10.O-O O-O} 8.Bxf7+ {!! Credits go to Saruman for finding this
move.} Kxf7 9.e6+ {9...Kxe6 is impossible, because 10.Qd5+ Kf6
11.Ne4+ Kg6 12.Nh4# mates!} Ke8 10.exd7+ {Gaining back the
knight.} Bxd7 11.O-O {It has been a wild opening, but the dust
has settled a bit now. White's early attack is over and even
though Black is still a pawn up, it is compensated (at least
partly) by the fact that Black cannot castle anymore.} e5
{With 11...e5, Black is seeking control of the center, however
in hindsight perhaps it would have been wiser to keep the
pawns closer to the king for adequate protection.} 12.Qd5 Bg4
13.h3 Bh5 {13...Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qd7 15.Be3 Be7 16.Rad1 Rd8 would
have been solid too.} 14.Ng5 Qd7 15.f4 {The idea here was to
aim at the f7 square while simultaneously attacking Black's
pawn center. If Black's pawn center could be removed, the king
would have been extra vulnerable. However, as you will see,
this plan doesn't work out.} h6 16.Nf3 {-/+ On top of the fact
that Black is a pawn up, it also appears that Black's pieces
are better placed than those of White. It is therefore time
for White to reorganize! 16.Nf3 looked a bit clumsy at first
sight, but probably it is just as good as 16.Ne4. After
16.Ne4, play could have continued pretty spectacularly with
16...Bf7 17.Qd1 d5 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.Re1 dxe4 20.Rxe4 Qxd1+
21.Nxd1 Bd6 22.Bf5 Bd5 23.Re1 Kd7 24.Bxe5 with material
equality but a better position for Black.} Bf7 17.Qd3 {This is
White's first move with newcomer brankat in the team. Chopin
had to quit the game due to a busy schedule, and brankat will
be replacing him for the rest of the game.} Be7 18.Be3 Qe6
{Both sides are developing and it seems that inevitably
another eruption of exchanges is to follow. Here, with
18...Qe6, Black probably intends ...Qc4 seeking queen
exchanges, which would be favorable for Black, given that
Black is already a pawn ahead.} 19.b3 {19.b3 is the most
direct prevention of ...Qc4, however there's more to this
move. White here was in the process of finding a new long-term
strategy and was thinking of bringing the bishop to a3 via
c1.} a6 20.Rae1 {Other good options are 20.Rad1 (which we were
considering) and 20.Rac1. There are an awful lot of variations
to be taken into account here, and we spent a lot of time
analyzing in this part of the game. If 20.Rad1, then possibly
20...Rd8 21.Qd2 b5 22.Qf2 Rf8 =/+. If 20.Rac1, then possibly
20...Rf8 21.g4 Nb4 22.Qd2 h5 =/+} Rf8 21.Bc1 {Another move
White almost went for is 21.Bb6, which could have been
followed by 21...Rc8 22.Nd4! Qg6 23.Qf5 Qxf5 24.Nxf5 =/+} b5
22.fxe5 {Here, hitman84 started to work out his plan for
White's beautiful and controversial 23rd and 24th moves, which
you are about to witness.} dxe5 23.Nxe5 {! A nice knight
sacrifice that in the long run gives White at least a pawn
back. Credits go to hitman84 for finding this move. Computers
suggest the following combination, which funnily the White
team completely overlooked: 23.Nxe5 Nxe5 24.Qe4! Rd8 25.Qxe5
Qxe5 26.Rxe5+/=. However, hitman84 had a deeper move in
mind...} Nxe5 24.Qg3 {!! The point behind 23.Nxe5. For the
next moves you are about to see, White had worked out long
combinations already in the days before so now needed little
time to think.} Qb6+ {Here, both teams overlooked a very
interesting move Black could have made: 24...Bg6!?. This move
was suggested by Robin01, but his suggestion got
outvoted. However, computer analyses say that 24...Bg6 25.Rxe5
Rxf1+ 26.Kxf1 Qf7+ 27.Bf4 equalizes} 25.Be3 Qb8 26.Bf4 {White
has a couple of winning combination in mind no matter what
Black's response is. For instance: 26.Bf4 Qa7+ 27.Kh1 Ng6
(27...Nc6? 28.Qxg7!) 28.Bd6!! Rd8 29.Nd5!} Qb6+ 27.Be3 Qb8
{Here, Black offered a draw, even though they are a piece
ahead! This shows that Black realized that despite their
material advantage they would not be able to convert it into a
win. Or perhaps they were even afraid of losing!} 28.Bd4 {!
White has rejected Black's draw offer and is changing plans!
Bd4 avoids Qb6+, but this move also requires completely new
lines to work out. For instance, one line that White
calculated is this one: 28.Bd4 Nc6 29.Qxg7 Qd6 (29...Nxd4
30.Nd5!) 30.Bf6!} Be6 {? Arguably Black's poorest move of the
game. 30...Nc6 should have been moved here.} 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8
30.Rxe5 Qd6 {?!} 31.Bc5 Qxc5+ {!? Black's most interesting and
controversial strategic move of the game. It would appear
suicidal to give up the queen via 30...Qd6 31.Bc5 Qxc5+, but
Black comes up with a very original and effective defense
later on in the game.} 32.Rxc5 Bxc5+ 33.Kf1 {White now has a
material advantage in the game, but will not be able to
checkmate Black's king before he queens a pawn. And that will
be a tough job! Both teams still have 4 pawns and none of them
are passed pawns. Also, Black appears to still have the proper
resources to prevent White's pawns from reaching the back
rank.} Bf8 34.Qe3 Kd7 {After this move, NakoSonorense (one of
Black's players) would be replaced by Cogano for the rest of
the game} 35.a4 {! A tricky move. Credits go to hitman84 for
this one. If Black responds improperly, he can lose a pawn!}
Bxb3 {? This is exactly the response White had been hoping
for! Now follows a neat trick.} 36.Qd3+ {!} Bd6 37.Nxb5 {!}
axb5 38.Qxb5+ Kc7 39.Qxb3 {Now White is also up a pawn, and
White is counting on a definite win now.} Rf8+ 40.Ke2 Re8+
41.Kd3 Re7 42.Qc3+ Kd8 {The sad reality is by now beginning to
dawn upon White. White will not be able to queen his a-pawn!
White's problem is that Black can defend the a7-square with
both the bishop and the rook. Also the kingside pawns can
easily be defended with the bishop and rook.} 43.a5 Bb8 44.Qc6
Rd7+ 45.Ke4 Re7+ 46.Kf3 Rf7+ 47.Ke2 Re7+ 48.Kf1 Rf7+ 49.Kg1
Ba7+ 50.Kh2 Rc7 51.Qa8+ Ke7 52.a6 Kd6 {And here Black offered
a draw again.} 53.g4 {White seriously considered to accept the
draw here, but in the end decided to keep on fighting for a
win. White was thinking of a plan to sacrifice the queen in
order to promote one of the kingside pawns.} Bd4 54.Qd8+ Rd7
55.Qf8+ Kc6 {And here the arbiter of the game, "me to play",
called the game a draw, much to the disappointment of
White. White believed it was too early to stop the game
because White believed there was a reasonable chance that
either of the teams could make a mistake that significantly
affects the outcome of the game. However, in the end everybody
enjoyed taking part in it. In hindsight, a draw is perhaps the
best result, since it recognizes the effort both teams put
into it.} 1/2-1/2

To move:

Last move:

Annotations by Maarten Ronteltap / Allies.

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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 3 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>
Jun-16-06		blingice: Hmm, maybe I better leave the blissful ignorance alone... [Event "chessgames consultation"] [Site "chessgames.com"] [Date "2006.01.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Chessmaster"] [Black "Chessmaster"] [TimeControl "40/7200"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteELO "?"] [BlackELO "?"] 56.Qe8 Kd6 57.h4 Bc5 58.Kg3 Re7 59.Qg6+ Kc7 60.Kg2 Kb8 61.g5 hxg5 62.Qxg5 Rc7 63.Qd8+ Rc8 64.Qd2 Bb6 65.Qb2 Ka7 66.Qxg7+ Rc7 67.Qf6 Kxa6 68.h5 Rc2+ 69.Kg3 Kb7 70.h6 Rc6 71.Qh8 Ba5 72.Qb2+ Ka6 73.h7 Bc3 74.h8=Q Bxh8 75.Qxh8 Rc4 76.Qb2 Ka5 77.Kf3 Rb4 78.Qa2+ Ra4 79.Qd5+ Kb6 80.Ke3 Ra5 81.Qe6+ Kc7 82.Qc4+ Kd8 83.Qb4 Rd5 84.Ke4 Rd7 85.Ke5 Kc8 86.Ke6 Rb7 87.Qc4+ Rc7 88.Qa4 Rb7 89.Kd6 Rb6+ 90.Kc5 Rb7 91.Qa8+ Kc7 92.Qe8 Rb1 93.Qf7+ Kd8 94.Qg8+ Ke7 95.Qh7+ Kf6 96.Qxb1 Ke5 97.Qc2 Kf6 98.Kd6 Kf7 99.Qe4 Kg8 100.Qb7 Kh8 101.Ke5 Kg8 102.Kf6 Kh8 103.Qg7# 1-0

Jun-16-06		borisbadenoff: Hmm my engine says 64. Bb6 is a blunder. The evaluation drops from -2 to -4. And Rc7 was needed.

Jun-16-06		blingice: <boris> Which engine? Would you mind testing this endgame on 40/120 time control (starting at the final position)?

Jun-16-06		borisbadenoff: Well I used Rybka for this but as we know it's endgame evaluation is not always so good. But I'm willing to do a endgame testing. As I'm not so sure about this time control notions does 40/120 mean 40 moves in 120 minutes and over or 40 moves in 120 minutes repeating.

Jun-16-06		mack: Lovely game lads - it's been added to my collection. I've got to say I'm kinda tempted to get involved with some of this consultation stuff myself, it looks fun. If anyone fancies it, join me on my brand spanking new chessforum...

Jun-16-06		sitzkrieg: You'r the guy with the stonecold hard right? Believe me, you don't want to do this stuff, intern-team fights, team fights, unjustified win-claims, it never stops!

Jun-16-06		sitzkrieg: <blingice> If we had played like that at least some of my team would have died of old age; it doubles the game length!. Besides, I dont know if the computer understands the plan to keep the rook on the 7th row, in your line its played to c8 quite early.

Jun-28-06		dakgootje: Aye lets make it game of the day

Aug-16-06		RonB52734: Can anyone tell me whether there is any truth to the rumor that chessgames.com member (and black consultation team member) NakoSonorense dropped out of this game at precisely the same time that Bobby Fischer was taken into custody in Japan? :)

Sep-06-06		sitzkrieg: Lol:). I can confirm this rumor to be true. And if I remembered correctly, the excuse of Nako and the sorority girls was never really believable anyway.

Oct-11-06		positionalgenius: A great game by both sides.

Nov-13-06		Microbe: This was an excellent game to watch. Great notes too <EmperorAtahualpa>.

May-06-07		Octavia: why did you call it a = when white wanted to play on?

Dec-24-08		WhiteRook48: what a consultation!!

Jan-06-09		WhiteRook48: probably a draw because black can catch that a7 pawn easily.

Jan-12-09		WhiteRook48: why did black offer up the queen?

Jan-25-09		WhiteRook48: 4 c3?! is weird. Why try out a gambit?

Jan-29-09		WhiteRook48: typical pattern for the Bxf7+ sac

Apr-29-09		just a kid: We should have another one of these again soon...

Oct-16-09		JamesMazur2: <blingice> Not 64. ...Bb6?? Try 64. ...Rc7!

Oct-16-09		Kinghunt: The annotation on move 28 claims that 28...Nc6 was necessary, but that simply loses to 29. Qxg7 with the idea of 30. Nd5! While 28...Be6 was also weak, that by no means excuses errors in the annotations.

Oct-31-09		JamesMazur2: <Kinghunt> I agree.

Oct-31-09		JamesMazur2: I am not a hundred percent convinced yet that this game is a draw. About 90, though. Rybka came up with one line where the a-pawn and a kingside pawn were traded for black's two kingside pawns. White could win the endgame. However, I accidentally lost the line...So I'm not sure yet...

Dec-25-09		Eduardo Leon: I want to play a consultation game too! (Unfortunately, my work schedule prevents me from dedicating a decent amount of time to analyzing lines.)

Dec-25-09		returnoftheking: <kinghunt> what do you suggest we should have played instead of 28..Be6? <eduardo> that shouldn't keep you! Just let the rest of the guys do all the work-or at least when you're too busy:-)

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