C90 Closed Spanish Game with 7...d6: Early deviations (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 d6 7.Re1 Be7 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4)

Before I looked at this game again after a few years break, I would have said if asked that I have only recently started experimenting with 3...a6 in the Spanish game instead of my more common reply 3...Bc5. Of course the amount of information that is coming my way these days is so vast that I can't remember these kind of things all that clearly anymore. I can only hope that information that I do remember is useful in some way. This game was played in early 2011 when my rating at Red Hot Pawn was probably over two hundred points lower than it is now. My rating there now is at its peak 1885. When I started to play actively at RHP again and even became subscriber there my rating was below 1700, so it has increased quite nicely over a few months time. Unfortunately as the game load has increased my move speed has become extremely slow.

This and the following paragraphs have been added November 19th, 2016. Only small mistakes were made by both players for the first 30 moves, but when adding the mistakes of the moves 29.Nh4 and 30.Nhf5, my advantage was for the first time clear according to Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT. The position in which my opponent played 30.Nhf5 can be seen below.

The downhill that started for my opponent with the move 30.Nhf5 continued to the end of the game and rienaperdre resigned after 49...d1Q+, when my opponent was facing a forced mate.

[Event "Corr game 16.1.2011-22.4.2011"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2011.01.16"] [Round "?"] [White "rienaperdre"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "1547"] [BlackElo "1831"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2011.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 d6 {Spanish Game: Morphy Defense (#2)} 7. Re1 Be7 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 cxd4 (10... Qc7 11. a4 {Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Balla Variation} (11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Nf1 Bg4 13. Ne3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 {Spanish Game: Closed Defense. Alekhine Gambit})) 11. cxd4 {C90 Closed Spanish Game with 7...d6: Early deviations} Nc6 12. a3 $146 { Prevents intrusion on b4} (12. a4 bxa4 13. Nc3 O-O {1/2-1/2 (13) Lubos,A (2077) -Liskan,L Budapest 2004}) (12. d5 Nb8 (12... Nb4 13. Bb3 a5 14. Qe2 Bd7 15. a3 Na6 16. Nc3 Nc5 17. Bc2 b4 18. Nd1 b3 19. Bd3 a4 20. Nc3 O-O 21. Be3 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Qa5 23. Nd2 Rfc8 24. f3 Bd8 25. Rad1 Qa6 26. Qxa6 Rxa6 27. Rc1 {Villegas, B-Lynch,J Carrasco 1922 0-1 (58)}) 13. a4 bxa4 14. Nc3 O-O 15. Nxa4 Nbd7 16. Be3 g6 17. Nd2 Ne8 18. Nc4 f5 19. exf5 gxf5 20. f4 e4 21. Qd2 Nef6 22. Na5 Qe8 23. Nc6 Ng4 24. Bd4 Bf6 25. h3 Nh6 26. Ra3 Qf7 {Klovans,J (2464)-Ljubarskij,J (2317) Bad Sooden 2004 1/2-1/2 (42)}) (12. h3 Qc7 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Be3 Nb4 15. Bb3 Qb8 16. Rc1 a5 17. a3 Na6 18. Nd5 Bd8 19. Bg5 Nxd5 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. exd5 exd4 22. Nxd4 Qb7 23. Nc6 Rf8 24. Bc2 g6 25. Qd4 f6 26. Re7 Bd7 {Amdouni,Z (2333)-Alnami,S (1791) Zeralda 2014 1-0}) (12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qxd8+ Bxd8 14. Nc3 Bg4 15. Bd1 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Nd4 17. Bd1 O-O 18. Bd2 Ba5 19. a3 Rfd8 20. b4 Nc2 21. Bxc2 Rxd2 22. Re2 Rxe2 23. Nxe2 Rc8 24. Bd3 Bb6 25. Ng3 Ng4 26. Ra2 Rc3 { Chromik,T (1885)-Cap,A (2032) Kouty nad Desnou 2013 0-1 (47)}) (12. h3 O-O $14) 12... O-O (12... Bg4 13. dxe5 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 $11) 13. dxe5 (13. d5 Na5 $14) 13... dxe5 $11 14. b4 (14. h3 Qxd1 15. Bxd1 Be6 $11) 14... Bg4 15. Nbd2 Qc7 { Black has an active position} 16. h3 {White threatens to win material: h3xg4} Bh5 17. Bb2 Rfd8 18. Qc1 (18. Qb1 Rac8 19. Rc1 Bd6 $11) 18... Rac8 $15 19. Bb3 (19. Bd1 Qa7 20. Qb1 Bd6 $15) 19... Qb8 (19... a5 20. bxa5 Qa7 21. Qb1 $17) 20. Qb1 (20. Bc3 Nd4 21. Qb2 Nxb3 22. Bxe5 Nxd2 23. Bxb8 Nxf3+ 24. gxf3 Rxb8 $11) 20... Rd7 (20... a5 21. Bc3 $11) 21. Bd1 (21. Qa2 Bd6 $11) 21... Rcd8 (21... Bd8 22. a4 $15) 22. Bc3 Rd3 {Black threatens to win material: Rd3xc3} 23. Qb2 Qb6 24. Be2 {White threatens to win material: Be2xd3} R3d7 25. Bd1 (25. Rac1 Bg6 $11) 25... Bg6 26. Bc2 Nh5 27. Nf1 f6 {Controls g5} (27... Nf4 28. Ne3 $11 (28. Nxe5 $2 {is inferior since it leads to} Nxe5 29. Bxe5 Bh4 $19) (28. Bxe5 $143 Nxe5 29. Qxe5 Ne2+ 30. Rxe2 Bf6 $17)) 28. Ne3 (28. g3 Kh8 $14) 28... Nf4 $11 29. Nh4 (29. Bb3+ Kf8 30. Nd5 Nxd5 31. exd5 Na7 $11 (31... Rxd5 $143 32. Bxd5 Rxd5 33. Rad1 $16)) 29... Bf7 30. Nhf5 (30. Bb3 Nd4 31. Nd5 Nxd5 32. Bxd4 Qxd4 33. Qxd4 exd4 34. exd5 Bf8 $15) 30... Bf8 $15 31. Rad1 Nd4 32. Kh2 (32. Bb1 $5 $17) 32... g6 33. Nh4 Qe6 34. Bxd4 (34. Bb1 Qb3 $17) 34... exd4 $19 ( 34... Rxd4 $6 35. Nf3 R4d6 36. Rxd6 Rxd6 37. Rd1 $15) 35. Ng4 $2 (35. Nd5 $142 Nxd5 36. exd5 Qxd5 37. Nf3 $19) 35... Bg7 36. f3 (36. g3 Nxh3 $1 {the decision} 37. Rd3 $19) 36... d3 37. Bb1 (37. e5 {does not win a prize} dxc2 38. Rxd7 Rxd7 39. Qxc2 f5 40. Qc8+ Be8 $19) 37... f5 38. Qd2 (38. Ba2 {is not much help} Bxb2 39. Bxe6 Bxe6 40. exf5 Bb3 $19) 38... fxg4 39. Kh1 Qf6 (39... Ne2 $142 { and Black can already relax} 40. Bxd3 Nc3 41. fxg4 Nxd1 42. Qxd1 Rxd3 43. Qe2 $19) 40. Nf5 gxf5 (40... Ne2 $142 $5 {seems even better} 41. Bxd3 gxf3 42. gxf3 $19) 41. Qxf4 gxh3 42. e5 hxg2+ 43. Kg1 Qg6 44. Qh2 d2 45. Re2 Bb3 46. Rxg2 Qb6+ 47. Kh1 (47. Kf1 {does not improve anything} Bxd1 48. Ba2+ Kh8 49. Bd5 Rxd5 50. Rxg7 Be2+ 51. Kg2 Kxg7 52. a4 Bxf3+ 53. Kh3 Qh6+ 54. Kg3 Qg5+ 55. Kf2 d1=Q 56. Qh6+ Kxh6 57. a5 Rd2#) 47... Bxd1 48. Bxf5 (48. Qg1 {is not the saving move} Bxf3 $1 {Mate threat} 49. Qxb6 d1=Q+ 50. Kh2 Bxg2 51. Qe3 Qh1+ 52. Kg3 Qh3+ 53. Kf2 Rd2+ 54. Qe2 Rxe2+ 55. Kxe2 Qf3+ 56. Ke1 Rd1#) 48... Bxf3 49. e6 (49. Bxh7+ {is no salvation} Kf8 50. Qf4+ Rf7 51. Kh2 Rxf4 52. e6 Qxe6 53. Bf5 Be5 54. a4 Rxf5+ 55. Kg1 d1=Q+ 56. Kf2 Qb6#) 49... d1=Q+ (49... d1=Q+ 50. Qg1 Qbxg1#) 0-1 [Event "Obsessive try again!! - Board 15"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.04.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "arpadsusniflinta"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "1929"] [BlackElo "1852"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 (4... Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 { 1-0 (42) Ostojic,P-Tserenbat Marianske Lazne 1962}) 5. Bb3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 {C88 Spanish Game: Closed} d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 { C90 Closed Spanish Game with 7...d6: Early deviations} Bg4 {1.21/18} (11... O-O $14 {0.40/21}) 12. d5 {0.38/22} ({White should play} 12. dxe5 $16 {1.21/18} dxe5 13. Qxd8+ Bxd8 14. Nxe5) 12... Qc7 {1.04/21} (12... Bd7 $14 {0.38/22}) 13. Nbd2 {0.15/23} (13. Na3 $16 {1.04/21}) 13... O-O {0.87/21} (13... Nb7 $11 { 0.15/23}) (13... Rc8 14. Bd3 O-O {1-0 (42) Ostojic,P-Tserenbat Marianske Lazne 1962}) 14. Nf1 {-0.30/21} (14. h3 $16 {0.87/21} Bh5 15. Bd3) 14... Rac8 $2 { 1.23/20 [#]} (14... Bxf3 $11 {-0.30/21} 15. gxf3 Nh5) 15. Bd3 $16 Nd7 {1.43/22} (15... Nb7 $142 {0.95/24}) 16. Ne3 {0.82/24} (16. Ng3 $142 {1.43/22}) 16... Bh5 17. Nf5 $146 (17. Bd2 Nc4 18. Rc1 Nxe3 19. Rxe3 Qb7 20. h3 Bg5 21. Re1 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Rxc1 23. Bxc1 Bxc1 24. Qxc1 Qc8 25. Qd2 Nc5 26. Bf1 f5 27. b4 Na4 28. Rc1 Qd8 29. f4 Qf6 30. fxe5 Qxe5 31. f4 Qxe4 {Ostojic,P-Tserenbat Marianske Lazne 1962 1-0 (42)}) 17... Bf6 18. Bd2 Nc4 19. Bc3 {0.00/23} (19. Bxc4 $16 {1.26/21 Strongly threatening Bf1.} bxc4 20. Rc1) 19... Ndb6 $2 {2.07/19 [#]} (19... Bg6 $11 {0.00/23}) 20. b3 $36 {White is in control.} Na3 $2 {4.96/19} (20... Bg4 { 1.86/26}) 21. Bb4 {White is clearly winning.} Nc2 22. Bxd6 Qc3 {6.62/27} (22... Nxe1 $142 {4.27/21} 23. Bxc7 Nxf3+ 24. gxf3 Rxc7) 23. Bxc2 Qxc2 24. Qxc2 Rxc2 25. Bxf8 {Accuracy: White = 28%, Black = 8%.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.10.30"] [Round "?"] [White "sdenzv"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "1870"] [BlackElo "1839"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 (5... b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. c3 d6 {0-1 (28) Flores,V-Torres,L Bucaramanga 2008}) 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 {C88 Spanish Game: Closed} d6 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 c5 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 {C90 Closed Spanish Game with 7...d6: Early deviations} Qc7 {0.96/19} (11... O-O $14 { 0.49/23}) 12. b3 {-0.21/23} (12. h3 $16 {0.96/19}) (12. Bd3 Bg4 13. d5 O-O 14. Nbd2 Nb7 15. h3 Nc5 16. Bc2 Bd7 17. Nf1 Rfc8 18. Bd2 a5 19. Rc1 b4 20. Ng3 Qb7 21. Bb1 b3 22. axb3 Nxb3 23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. Bc3 Bd8 25. Bc2 Nc5 26. Qd2 Ra8 { Gullaksen,E (2380)-Zapata Arbelaes,E (1999) Barcelona 2013 1-0 (66)}) 12... Bg4 $146 (12... Nc6 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nbd2 O-O 15. Bb2 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 17. a3 Rfd8 18. Re3 Bc5 19. Rd3 Nd4 20. Rc1 Qe7 21. b4 Bb6 22. Bxd4 Bxd4 23. g4 Bg6 24. Nxd4 exd4 25. f3 Qe5 26. Qe1 Nd7 27. Nb3 {Granados Ortiz,M-Al Fayyadh,Z (1705) Batumi 2018 0-1 (34)}) (12... Bd7 13. Bb2 Rc8 14. Bd3 Nc6 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nbd2 O-O 17. Rc1 Bd6 18. Nf1 Qb8 19. Bb1 Ne7 20. Ng3 Ng6 21. Qe2 Rc6 22. Nf5 Bc5 23. b4 Ba7 24. Rxc6 Bxc6 25. Ng3 Rd8 26. Qc2 Ng4 27. Nh1 {Flores,V-Torres, L Bucaramanga 2008 0-1}) (12... O-O 13. h3 Nc6 14. Bb2 Nd7 15. Nc3 exd4 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Qxd4 Bf6 19. Nxf6+ Nxf6 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. Re2 Bb7 22. Qxd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Rfd8 24. Rb6 Rd7 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rxf6 Kg7 27. e5 {Hungeling,D (1435)-Bardorz,S (1671) Willingen 2018 1-0 (44)}) 13. d5 {-0.69/21} (13. Bb2 $11 {0.00/22}) 13... O-O {0.29/22} (13... Bxf3 $1 $15 {-0.69/21} 14. gxf3 O-O) 14. Bd2 {-0.20/25} (14. Bd3 $142 {0.29/22}) 14... Rfc8 {0.73/23} (14... Nb7 $11 {-0.20/25}) 15. Bd3 $16 h6 {0.76/20} (15... Nb7 $14 {0.34/23}) 16. h3 {0.29/23} (16. Nc3 $16 {0.76/20}) 16... Bh5 $1 $11 17. Na3 {0.07/24} ({White should try} 17. Nc3 $16 {0.81/20}) 17... Qd8 {0.78/23} (17... Nb7 $11 {0.07/24}) 18. Nc2 { 0.23/23} (18. Qe2 $16 {0.78/23}) 18... Nh7 {0.81/22} (18... Nb7 $11 {0.23/23 remains equal.}) 19. g4 $16 Bg6 20. Nb4 {0.11/24} (20. Ne3 $16 {0.86/21}) 20... Ng5 {0.69/24} (20... Qd7 $11 {0.11/24}) 21. Kg2 $14 Nxf3 22. Qxf3 Bg5 23. Be3 Bxe3 {0.97/22} (23... f6 $1 $14 {0.40/24}) 24. Rxe3 {-0.09/24} (24. Qxe3 $16 { 0.97/22} Nb7 25. Nc6) 24... Rc3 {0.69/20} ({Black should play} 24... Qb6 $11 { -0.09/24} 25. Qd1 Ra7) 25. Be2 Rxe3 {1.42/20} (25... Rc7 $14 {0.32/22}) 26. Qxe3 $16 Nb7 {2.01/21} (26... f6 $16 {1.15/25}) 27. Nc6 $18 Qd7 28. h4 {1.04/26 } (28. f3 $18 {2.18/22}) 28... Nc5 29. f3 f6 30. b4 $36 {Black is under strong pressure.} Nb7 $2 {4.02/25 [#]} (30... Na4 $16 {1.32/22}) 31. h5 Be8 32. Rc1 Nd8 33. Qb6 $1 Qb7 34. Qxb7 Nxb7 35. Ne7+ Kf8 36. Rc7 Nd8 37. Nf5 Nf7 38. Ne7 Ng5 39. Nc6 {1.37/27} (39. Nf5 $18 {2.83/29 has better winning chances.}) 39... Nf7 $2 {2.89/25} (39... Bxc6 $16 {1.37/27} 40. Rxc6 (40. dxc6 Ne6 $11) 40... Nf7) 40. Kg3 Kg8 {3.13/27} (40... Ng5 {2.09/28 was necessary.} 41. Bd1 f5) 41. Rc8 $2 {0.00/42} ({Better is} 41. Ne7+ $18 {3.13/27} Kh7 42. Rb7) 41... Rxc8 $11 {The position is equal.} 42. Ne7+ Kf8 43. Nxc8 {Endgame KBN-KBN} Bd7 44. Nb6 Be8 45. Na8 Bd7 46. Kf2 Ke7 47. Nb6 Be8 48. Bd1 Kd8 {[#] And now ...Kc7 would win.} 49. a4 $1 Kc7 50. a5 Ng5 51. Kg3 Bf7 52. Be2 Be8 {Accuracy: White = 42%, Black = 34%.} 1/2-1/2