Download PGN of April ’25 1 e4 e5 games
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Petroff Defence 3.Nxe5 Nxe4!? [C42]
We start off with a tricky test for a higher-rated player to face, the Damiano Petroff. After the almost-forced 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6, White went for the critical 8.Nc3 Qxe5 9.Qxe5 Nxe5 10.Nb5!? in Gurel, E - Petrovic, A:
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After 10...Bb4+ 11.Bd2 Bxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Kd8 13.Re1, 13...Ng4 led Black into some danger in the game but I analyse the interesting 13...Nd7 14.Bc4 Nb6!? in the notes which seems like a critical option. In this game, Black fought all the way back to a dead-drawn ending before spoiling it at the end by seemingly trying to be a bit flash!
Two Knights 3...d6!? 4.d4 exd4 [C50]
Another idea for Black is this increasingly popular response to the Italian. 4...Nf6 is also topical, whilst the text move leads to Philidor-style positions after 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0:
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White has a multitude of options in this position of which 8.Re1 was one, with White having the much better chances against his esteemed opponent in the hard-fought draw Chinguun, S - Nihal, S.
Evans Gambit 5...Be7 [C51]
Our archives show that it has been ten years since the Evans Gambit received any attention on this site! Black continued with one of the most reliable antidotes, 6.d4 Na5 which was met with the slightly unusual 7.Be2!?:
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7...d6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Qa4+ c6 10.Nxe5 is still all pretty well-known, with White regaining the pawn but a later setup with f4 proved too ambitious as he ran serious risks before escaping with a draw in the high-level clash Bernadskiy, V - Ponomariov, R.
Spanish 3...a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Na5 [C70]
A continuation of the line I analysed in December with 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 exd4 8.Re1!? was this time better-met with 8...Nxb3 9.axb3 c5! in Sokolovsky, Y - Raczek, K:
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Here the main and critical move is 10.c3, although I show how Black can just about hold on, albeit just to suffer in a slightly unpleasant ending. Instead 10.b4 was also interesting although matters soon simplified to a pretty symmetrical ending which White only managed to win in the critical moments later on.
Closed Spanish 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 [C84]
In amongst the various attempts for White to avoid the Marshall, this remains one of the most trendy and interesting. Black was well-prepared with 8...0-0 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 in Gurel, E - Kantor, G:
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Here both recaptures for White are interesting with the rarer 12.Nxa2!? Nc6 13.c4 tried in this game. Both sides reacted well for a while before the game descended into complete chaos in time trouble, but the eventual draw was probably the fairest result.
Spanish, Deferred Exchange Variation 7.d3 [C85]
This also seems the be rising in popularity, normally leading to slower play but in Bartel, M - Sowinski, P, White turned it into a sudden kingside attack! Following 7...Nd7 8.Nc3!? 0-0 9.Be3 Re8 10.Ne2 Bd6:
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We have a very standard position for this type of line where normally I would expect 11.Nd2 and plans of f2-f4. Here, 11.Kh1 was eventually followed up with Ng3-f5, g4 and Rg1, completely ignoring an attack on the knight with ...g6! There was one slip in the attack, but White still converted a pretty brutal game.
Spanish, Smyslov Variation 9...h6 10.d4 Bd7!? 11.Nbd2 Re8 [C93]
We finish with two games featuring this interesting sideline, in this case used by lower-rated players with the black pieces! Firstly in Livaic, L - Salimova, N, Black played the plan I would typically associate with this line after 12.Nf1 a5!? which was met with the misguided 13.a3?!:
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After 13...a4 14.Ba2 Bf8 15.Ng3 Na5 Black had a firm grip on the queenside light squares, although both sides played a little tentatively in an eventual draw.
Finally, Black played differently with 12...Bf8 13.Ng3 Na5!? 14.Bc2 c5 in Ayush, S - Ritviz, P:
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I tend to be sceptical of allowing White to push d4-d5 in any position like this, although the bishop is certainly better-placed on d7 than corresponding lines where it finds itself on b7. White created too many weaknesses in the game with a f2-f4 plan, although he also managed to save half a point in the complications.
All the best, Harry
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