As an annotated game from GM-Norm tournament I’ll present a very special game, which could be titled in the following way… “Is one more than three-or is it vice versa?” This is one of the essential questions in this game.

SIM Štefan Jandek (2491)  –  SIM Auno Siikaluoma (2496), WS/GMN/028, ICCF’s server 2011
(77) Queens’s Indian, Nimzowitsch-variation  (E15)

1.d4  Nf6    2.c4  e6    3.Nf3 b6    4.g3
White navigates the game into the Queen Indian’s 4.g3 variation. Strangely enough I have often played Queen Indian’s opening, and hardly never lost. In troubles I’ve been many times.

4…Ba6

Black chooses the modern variation. In previous decades, it was played almost without exception 4 .. Bb7. Of course, this option is quite safe, and it is designed to fight the e4-square’s control. The purpose of Black’s bishop move, 4…Ba6, is to put pressure on White’s c4-square and at the same time force White to weaken his defense at c4-square’s environment. And that is also what happens.

5.b3
White chose the natural way to defend the c4-pawn.

5…Bb4+    6.Bd2  Be7    7.Bg2  d5    8.cxd5  exd5    9.Nc3  0-0    10.0-0  Re8   11.Ne5  Bb7
This far is reached more or less in accordance with the opening theories

12.Bf4  Nbd7   13.Rc1  Nf8

In the game Klaus Keuter (2459) – Helmut Behling (2234), WC-semifinal 2008 there was played 13…c6 14.e4 Nf8 15.exd5 cxd5 16.Bh3 and White wins. From this position the most played variations of correspondence chess are c6 just mentioned above and the Nf8 played by myself.

14.Bh3  c5
Here ended my database reference games. White, in turn, decided to start the mugging of the dame. Uh-oh, should not touch your neighbor’s dame. It may be a while of intoxication and rest of the life pain and tightening of teeth. Well, hunting begins…

15.Nb5

Black’s options are pretty low. Moves R6d7 and R8d7 give for White a distinct advantage. The move Rc8 is going to lose more or less immediately. Actually, the only alternative is to measure whether three is more than one, or is it vice versa. Black’s queen disappears, but it becomes to White quite expensive. So I play

15…a6   16.Nxf7  Kxf7
Which is the only option. There is only one boardwalk through the swamp. Step in the wrong direction and you sink into the swamp.

17.Bc7  axb5
Same thing with the next few steps, only one boardwalk to step on and the swamp next to you.

18.Bd8  Red8
Black’s move forces White to protect his a2-pawn. Dame has gone, but now we see what’s left.

19.Rc2  Ne6   20.Bxe6+

From the two options (Be6 or e3) White, in my opinion, chose the worse one. He switches off the only bishop and he has only the heavy officers left. The use of this kind of officers is very clumsy in rambling pawn positions. I think, from here on the essential questions of the game are, what is the advantage of space, what is the mobility and how many men you can use to make pressure onto the square you want. To all of these questions I answer, that Black has advantage on his side. The weakness with Black is, that his king is in the middle of the board. So it will have to find shelter. On the other hand there is plenty of time.

White has to prepare his attack again. And the wright attack is of course the pawn attack and the opening of files. This will also be White’s plan. However White has weak spots, that should be defended, like a-pawn. And that is what Black later is going to put pressure on.

20…Kxe6   21.f3  Kf7   22.g4  Kg8

The pawn offensive has begun, but now the black king is protected.

23.Qc1
Not so good. Better would have been to continue even with pawns 23.g5 Nd7 24.Qd2 Bd6 25.e3

23…Re8   24.Qf4  Rac8   25.e3  Nd7   26.b4
Again mistake. Further, it would have been better 26.g5

26…c4

Hardly anybody could resist the free pawn, while at same time White’s pawn attack on the queen side can be stopped. The free pawn, that doesn’t even cost anything.

27.a3  Bd8   28.Re2  Bc7   29.Qg5  Re6   30.Qh4  Rce8   31.Qf2
Black makes pressure on e3-pawn and it is, of course, in order to defend. White’s move is almost the only possible one, although even that can no longer save the situation.

31…Nf8   32.h4  Ng6   33.Rfe1  h6   34.h5
Pawns are on the offensive, of course, but Black has the real bravura still in his pocket, as can be seen in a minute.

34…Nf8   35.Kg2  Nh7   36.Rf1  Ng5   37.f4
Bad is bad. Black’s next move rivets the game.

37…Ne4

Here we are, as a king of the hill. White can not do anything. Black’s knight dominates the broad extensively, even so that White has no possibility to eat or threaten the knight. Oddly enough, that’s up to the e4-square. Now it would be very nice for White to own the white bishop, but the bishop has gone. Black’s knight stops in practice White’s attack and at the same time forces White on the defensive. This is the starting point, where Black’s three officers are going to bite, and we can see that three is more than one.

38.Qg1  Bc8   39.Kh1  R6e7   40.Rf3  Bd6   41.Rf1  Nc3   42.Ree1  Kh8   43.Rf3  Ne4   44.Rc1  Ra7

(0−1)

White performed pawn attack quite wright, but we can ask, if the marching order was correct. Black’s knight in e4-square and c-file’s free pawn and White’s a-file pawn weakness determine the result of the game.

The game could go on in several ways. Black has such kind of an advantage, that victory is certain. As a song without words, finally a couple of examples of possible continuation of the game…

A  45.Ra1 c3 46.Rff1 Bd7 47.Qg2 Rea8 48.Rfb1 Bg4 49.Kg1 Bh5 50.Qh3 Be2 51.Qe6 Bc4 52.Kg2 Ra3 53.Ra3 Ra3 54.Qc8 Kh7 55.Qf5 Kg8 56.Qe6 Kf8 57.Rg1 Ra2 58.Kh1 Ra7 59.Kg2 Re7 60.Qc8 Re8 and Black is going to win.

B  45.Ra1 c3 46.f5 Nd2 47.Rh3 Re4 48.Ra2 Rf7 49.Ra1 Rg4 50.Qg4 Bf5 51.Qh4 Be7 52.Qg3 Be4 53.Kg1 Nf3 54.Qf3 Bf3 55.Rc1 Bg4 56.Rh2 Rf3 57.Rc3 Bg5 58.Rh1 Bf5 59.Kg2 Re3 60.Re3 Be3 61.Rh4 Be4 62.Kf1 Bd4 63.Ke2 Bb2 64.Rh3 Kg8 65.Ke1 Kf7 66.Kf2 Ke6 67.Rg3 Bd4 68.Ke2 Bf6 69.Rb3 Be5 70.Kf1 Kf5 and Black is going to win.