A36 Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4.Bg2 Bg7 (1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.a3 e5 6.b4)

The game below was played on the first round of the weekend tournament that was played at Espoo between February 22nd and February 24th, 2008. This was the first over the board tournament that I played in 2008 and it started with a win against a higher rated opponent. While this game might have been a promising start to the tournament, I could not have anticipated what happened on the remaining rounds. This tournament became the best tournament that I have ever played in view of how much rating points I was able to gain just from these five rounds. For some reason I had forgotten about this tournament when I have thought about my highest rating increases in one tournament until I saw the results of this one once again some time ago.

I think it was around this time that I had spent a lot of time watching chess videos at chessvideos.tv and during this tournament thought when making my moves, what would Greg do in this position. Greg otherwise known as curtains made a lot of videos to that site and I started watching them after my friend suggested I should check out curtains' videos. I did watch videos also from other people there, but Greg's videos especially were enjoyable to watch and still are, but these days I watch them at YouTube when I have the right mindset.

Out of the few games I have analysed with the Fritz 16's Full Analysis function to make tactical analysis to the game, this game is my best so far in terms of my precision, which was 41% in this game. It seems that the LiveBook has been updated once again, so the 4th most favorite first move 1.c4 (result 56%, Elo-average 2440) has appeared in 128254 games. The only thing that had changed in the statistics for the more popular moves 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.Nf3 since my last post, was the amount of games played. Therefore I will not retype them here. The statistics for the rest of the opening moves are as follows: 1...c5 (4th most played, 15758 games, result 56%, Elo-average 2426) 2.g3 (3rd most common move, 3604 games, result 54%, Elo-average 2424) 2...g6 (most popular reply, 1690 games, result 53%, Elo-average 2434) 3.Bg2 (most often played, 1772 games, result 53%, Elo-average 2436) 3...Bg7 (most often played, 2700 games, result 51%, Elo-average 2434) 4.Nc3 (most popular choice, 4082 games, result 50%, Elo-average 2422) 4...Nc6 (most popular choice, 6689 games, result 51%, Elo-average 2427) 5.a3 (2nd most common reply, 1589 games, result 53%, Elo-average 2435), the most popular move was 5.Nf3 (5201 games, result 49%, Elo-average 2409), 5...e5 (7th most common reply, 60 games, result 68%, Elo-average 2362) and the more often played moves were 5...d6 (519 games, result 51%, Elo-average 2436), 5...Nf6 (292 games, result 58%, Elo-average 2390), 5...e6 (290 games, result 53%, Elo-average 2418), 5...a6 (223 games, result 56%, Elo-average 2422), 5...a5 (155 games, result 56%, Elo-average 2408) and 5...b6 (132 games, result 50%, Elo-average 2466), 6.b4 (2nd most played, 40 games, result 70%, Elo-average 2440), the most often played move is 6.Nf3 (403 games, result 59%, Elo-average 2465).

The statistics for the moves that came after the ones included in this opening line are as follows: 6...d6 (most played move, 28 games, result 71%, Elo-average 2394) 7.Rb1 (most popular alternative, 26 games, result 67%, Elo-average 2500) 7...Nge7 (the most common reply, 27 games, result 65%, Elo-average 2397) 8...d3 (2nd most often played, 19 games, result 71%, Elo-average 2486), the most often played move is 8.Nf3 (20 games, result 73%, Elo-average 2443), 8...O-O (most popular choice, 18 games, result 72%, Elo-average 2373) 9.e3 (2nd most commonly played, 15 games, result 80%, Elo-average 2528), the most popular alternative is 9.Nf3 (17 games, result 71%, Elo-average 2491), 9...Rb8 (shares the most played move status with 9...f5, 5 games, result 80%, Elo-average 2541) 10.Nge2 (most popular move, 6 games, result 75%, Elo-average 2542). The next move, 10...Qe8, is a novelty, according to the LiveBook. The moves that had been seen before were 10...Be6 (4 games, result 88%, Elo-average 2542), 10...f5 (2 games, result 75%, Elo-average 2289), 10...a6 (1 game, result 50%, Elo-average 2499) and 10...b6 (1 game, result 50%, Elo-average 2525).

[Event "Matin päivän turnaus"] [Site "Mattlidens gymnasium"] [Date "2008.02.22"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Piippo, Mikko"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "1539"] [BlackElo "1698"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2008.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. a3 e5 6. b4 {A36 Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4.Bg2 Bg7} d6 7. Rb1 Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. e3 Rb8 (9... f5 10. Nge2 g5 11. b5 Nb8 12. f4 gxf4 13. exf4 Nd7 14. O-O Nf6 15. Kh1 Kh8 16. Be3 Qc7 17. a4 Rb8 18. a5 b6 19. a6 Be6 20. Qc2 Rbd8 21. Rbe1 Qd7 22. Bc1 e4 23. dxe4 Bxc4 24. Bb2 {Kasparov,G (2851)-Wendt,R (2332) Frankfurt 2000 1/2-1/2 (45)}) 10. Nge2 {LiveBook: 6 Games} Qe8 $146 {0.62/24} (10... a6 $11 {0.00/24}) (10... Be6 11. b5 (11. O-O b6 12. b5 Na5 13. e4 Qd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Bh3 16. Bd2 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Nb7 18. Qc2 f5 19. f4 Rbe8 20. a4 c4 21. Qxc4 Rc8 22. Qa2 Nc5 23. fxe5 dxe5 24. Bb4 fxe4 25. Bxc5 Rxf1 {Pogorelov,R (2512)-Granados Gomez,M (2328) Tarrassa 1999 1-0 (47)}) 11... Na5 12. e4 f5 13. exf5 gxf5 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Bxf6 Rxf6 16. O-O b6 17. Qd2 Qf8 18. Rfe1 Re8 19. Kh1 Qg7 20. Ng1 Rff8 21. Nh3 Kh8 22. Nf4 Bg8 23. Nfd5 e4 24. Ne3 exd3 25. Qxd3 {Bistric,F (2440)-Ni,H (2638) Dubai 2005 1/2-1/2 (70)}) (10... b6 11. b5 (11. O-O Bb7 12. Nd5 Qd7 13. Nec3 f5 14. b5 Nd8 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Nd5 Qd7 {1/2-1/2 (16) Domingo,M (2200) -Valet,R (2097) Germany 2008}) 11... Na5 12. e4 f5 13. exf5 gxf5 14. O-O f4 15. f3 Ng6 16. Nd5 Be6 17. Nec3 Kh8 18. Bd2 Rg8 19. Ne2 Rb7 20. Qc1 Rf7 21. Kh1 Bh6 22. Rg1 Rfg7 23. Bxa5 bxa5 24. g4 Bg5 25. h3 {Nieto Rodriguez,A (2221) -Sepulveda Herrera,J (2223) Santo Domingo 2016 0-1 (49)}) 11. Ne4 {0.12/25} ( 11. O-O $14 {0.62/24}) 11... Qd8 $11 12. bxc5 dxc5 13. O-O b6 $1 14. Qc2 Qc7 { 0.27/23} (14... Rb7 $142 {-0.30/26}) 15. N2c3 a6 {0.82/22} (15... f5 $11 { -0.10/30 remains equal.} 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. cxd5 fxe4 18. dxc6 Qxc6) 16. Nd5 $36 {White is more active.} Nxd5 17. cxd5 Nd8 {1.30/26} (17... Na5 $14 {0.66/28}) 18. a4 {0.52/24} (18. d4 $1 $16 {1.30/26}) 18... f5 {1.03/24} (18... Nb7 $14 { 0.52/24}) 19. Nd2 {0.60/25} (19. Ng5 $16 {1.03/24}) 19... f4 {1.37/24} (19... Bd7 $14 {0.60/25}) 20. Ba3 {0.71/26} ({White should try} 20. exf4 {1.37/24} exf4 21. Re1) 20... Nb7 {1.53/24} ({Better is} 20... fxe3 {0.71/26} 21. fxe3 Rxf1+ 22. Rxf1 Nb7) 21. Rfc1 {0.92/26} (21. Nc4 $142 {1.53/24}) 21... a5 $2 { 2.81/22 [#]} (21... Bd7 $16 {0.92/26}) 22. Qb3 $18 Kh8 $2 {4.95/23} (22... Qf7 {2.57/26} 23. Ne4 f3) 23. Qxb6 Qxb6 24. Rxb6 fxe3 25. fxe3 Rf6 26. Rxf6 Bxf6 27. Bxc5 {2.62/29} (27. Rb1 $142 {6.35/25}) 27... Nxc5 28. Rxc5 Bg5 {4.21/24} ( 28... Be7 {2.71/28 might work better.} 29. Rc6 (29. Rxa5 Bb4 $14) 29... Bd8) 29. Nc4 Bd7 30. Rxa5 Bd8 31. Ra7 Bf5 32. e4 Bg4 33. Bf1 Bg5 34. Kg2 Bd1 35. Ra6 Rf8 36. Nxe5 Be3 37. d6 ({Inferior is} 37. Nc4 Bd4 $11) 37... Rf2+ 38. Kh3 h5 39. d7 Bg5 40. Ra8+ Kg7 41. d8=Q Bxd8 42. Rxd8 Bxa4 43. Bg2 Bd1 44. Rd6 Bg4+ 45. Nxg4 hxg4+ 46. Kxg4 Rxg2 {Endgame KR-KR} 47. h4 Re2 48. Kg5 {White mates.} Rg2 49. Rxg6+ Kh7 50. g4 Ra2 51. Rd6 Re2 52. Rd5 Re1 53. e5 Kg7 54. d4 Re2 55. Rd6 Re1 56. e6 Kf8 57. d5 Ke7 58. Rd7+ Kf8 59. Kg6 Re4 60. Kf5 Re1 61. h5 Kg8 62. Kg6 Kf8 63. h6 Rh1 64. d6 Ke8 65. h7 {Precision: White = 41%, Black = 17%.} 1-0

I could only find these two games when I searched the position after 6.b4 and set the rating requirement for both players 2500 or above.

[Event "Thaelmann Memorial"] [Site "Berlin East"] [Date "1988.??.??"] [Round "8"] [White "Boensch, Uwe"] [Black "Uhlmann, Wolfgang"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2575"] [BlackElo "2505"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "1988.04.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "DDR"] [EventCategory "11"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2001"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.11.22"] 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. a3 e5 6. b4 d6 7. Rb1 Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. e3 f5 10. b5 e4 11. Nge2 exd3 12. Qxd3 Ne5 13. Qc2 Nxc4 14. O-O Kh8 15. Rd1 Qa5 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Ne5 18. Nf4 Qc7 19. Bg2 Rb8 20. Bb2 b6 21. h3 Rd8 22. Rd2 Qe7 23. Rbd1 Bb7 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Nf7 26. h4 Bf6 27. h5 Kg7 28. a4 Bxb2 29. Qxb2+ Qf6 30. h6+ Nxh6 31. Qxf6+ Kxf6 32. Rxd6+ Ke7 33. Rxd8 Rxd8 34. Ra1 Nf7 35. a5 c4 36. Rc1 Rc8 37. Bc6 Ne5 38. axb6 axb6 39. Bg2 c3 40. Bf1 g5 41. f4 Ng4 42. fxg5 Nxe3 43. Bd3 Kf7 44. g4 Kg6 45. gxf5+ Nxf5 46. Re1 Rc5 47. Re6+ Kxg5 48. Rc6 Rxc6 49. bxc6 Ne7 50. c7 h5 51. Kf2 Kf4 52. Ke2 h4 53. Ba6 h3 54. Kd3 h2 55. Bb7 Ke5 56. Kxc3 Kd6 57. Kd2 Kxc7 58. Be4 Nf5 0-1 [Event "ITA-chT 46th"] [Site "Condino"] [Date "2014.05.01"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Iordachescu, Viorel"] [Black "Georgiev, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2601"] [BlackElo "2553"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2014.04.30"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ITA"] [SourceTitle "Mega2014 Update 19"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2014.05.10"] [WhiteTeam "Partenopea Westend"] [BlackTeam "Torino"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"] [BlackTeamCountry "ITA"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. Nc3 g6 5. a3 Bg7 6. b4 d6 7. Rb1 Nge7 8. b5 Na5 9. d3 h6 10. e4 O-O 11. Nge2 f5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. O-O Kh7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Nxc4 16. Bxc4 d5 17. Ba2 Bg4 18. h3 Bf3 19. Qd2 Rf5 20. Kh2 Rh5 21. Ng1 Qd7 22. Bb3 Bg4 23. Bd1 Bxh3 24. Bxh5 Bxf1 25. Bxg6+ Kxg6 26. Bb2 Bxd3 27. Qxd3+ Qf5 28. Qxf5+ Kxf5 29. Nf3 d4 30. Nd2 Ke6 31. f3 Kd5 32. Rc1 h5 33. Ne4 c4 34. Kg2 a6 35. b6 a5 36. Rb1 Ra6 37. Ba1 Kc6 38. Rc1 Kd5 39. Rb1 Kc6 40. Rc1 Kd5 41. Rb1 1/2-1/2