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Johnny Owens vs Frederick Rhine
WSTT/RD/57 (2023) (correspondence), ICCF, Jul-30
Russian Game: Damiano Variation. Kholmov Gambit (C42)  ·  1/2-1/2

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 11 (minimum 6s/ply) 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.Re1 O-O 6.d3 d6 7.c3 = +0.03 (38 ply) ⩲ +0.79 (36 ply)better is 16...b5 17.Bb3 c5 18.Bd5 Ra7 19.a4 Nf6 20.Bf3 Bd7 21.Rd1 = +0.39 (25 ply) ⩲ +0.94 (27 ply)better is 19.Ne4 Be6 20.Bxe6 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 fxe6 22.f4 Ke7 23.Rhe1 ⩲ +0.88 (25 ply)= +0.34 (34 ply) after 19...Re8 20.Rg5 g6 21.Bxf7 Re7 22.Bb3 Bf5 23.Rg3 Kc7 better is 21.R1e2 Kd6 22.f3 Rfe8 23.Rxe8 Bxe8 24.a5 Ra7 25.b4 c5 ⩲ +0.73 (33 ply)= 0.00 (46 ply)29.g3 g4 30.b4 Bd7 31.c4 c5 32.cxb5 Bxb5 33.Kc3 cxb4+ = +0.37 (39 ply)1/2-1/2

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer).      [35434 more games annotated by Stockfish]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-16-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: This is my seventh ICCF game with the Damiano Petroff (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?!). My opponents were rated between 2172 to 2361. All but one were titled, with titles ranging from CCE (Correspondence Chess Expert) to IMC (International Master of Correspondence Chess). All of them almost surely used the latest version of Stockfish, and possibly one or more other extremely strong (rated 3500+) engines. All my opponents played 8.Nc3 followed by either 10.Nb5 or 10.Bf4, doubtless because the engine(s) told them that those were the most promising lines. All seven games were drawn, in between 28 and 39 moves. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che... 3...Nxe4?! is often thought of as a blunder, but in fact it still keeps the game within the drawing margin.
Feb-23-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: Stockfish 11 thinks 2...Nf6 is a blunder that gives White a +0.79 advantage? Ludicrous. Note that it attaches no punctuation to 3...Nxe4, which is the controversial move.
Feb-23-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  OhioChessFan: I don't play the Russian, but based on reputation, zero chance I'd play 3...Nxe4. I'm trying to figure out why 19. Ne4 scores a half Pawn better than Re5.
Feb-23-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <FSR>, this is a case in point for my view that evals from engines such as <fishie> are not, absent outright tactical errors, entirely trustworthy in the opening stages.
Feb-23-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <perfidious> If you gave it some time it would arrive at a reasonable evaluation. If you give it 5 seconds, maybe not.
May-03-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: After further experience with this line, I don't think that 3...Nxe4, the Damiano Petroff, deserves the dubious (?!) punctuation I previously attached to it. If Black knows the line well, it is a perfectly reasonable way to play for a draw, and arguably an easier way to do so than the standard 3...d6. As everyone knows, the usual Petroff lines give White only a small advantage. At depth 47, Stockfish 17.1 gives White the same small +0.21 edge after either 3.Nxe5 or 3.d4. (The third best move, 3.Nc3, is 0.00.) After 3.Nxe5, unsurprisingly, it gives Black's best response as 3...d6, not 3...Nxe4.

The Damiano Petroff seems, at first blush, ridiculous. White wins a center pawn for seemingly nothing. It seems unbelievable that White doesn't have a line that gives him at least a large advantage. Maybe a winning advantage. But somehow he doesn't. Oddly, White's best line is to give back the extra pawn and play for an advantage in the resulting ending. It is accepted that best play for both sides is 4.Qe2 Qe7! 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5! 7.dxe5! Nc6 8.Nc3! (giving back the pawn) Qxe5 9.Qxe5 Nxe5.


click for larger view

This position doesn't seem like much an achievement for White. He was up a center pawn a moment ago, and has, seemingly inexplicably, given it up to reach an almost symmetrical position where Black is the one with the more centralized knight. But it is White's move, and the c7 pawn/square is a little tender for Black. White can target it with either 10.Nb5 or 10.Bf4, when moving the knight away would hang the c-pawn. Those moves are the only tries for a White advantage, and are about equally good. Black will have to make some concessions to hold onto c7. In the 10.Nb5 line he ends up moving his king and falling seriously behind in development after 10...Bb4+! 11.Bd2! Bxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Kd8 13.Re1, and now the retrograde 13...Nd7! (best, incredibly). In the 10.Bf4 line, he ends up with a weak pawn on d6 (after White takes the bishop with Nxd6+) or e5 (after White takes the knight with Bxe5 and Black recaptures with ...fxe5). In the former case, White also gets the bishop pair. In the latter case, Black sometimes castles queen-side and lets White grab a pawn with Nxa7+.

Since I had Stockfish examine the position after 2...Nf6 to depth 47, I decided to do the same to the key Damiano position arising after 9...Nxe5. It turns out that Stockfish's assessment of that position is similar to that after 2...Nf6. (There is a difference, of course, in that both sides have played an extra seven moves (or 14 ply) after 9...Nxe5.) At depth 47/68 Stockfish gives 10.Nb5 as +0.23 and 10.Bf4 as +0.19. Once again, only a slight advantage, and very similar to the numbers after 3.Nxe5 and 3.d4 from the original Petroff position.

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