Game 7/10
[Event "CGP2024 V CGP 40m/2h 20m/1h Classic Book"]
[Round "7"]
[White "CGPRO"]
[Black "CGP2024"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C10"]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Bc4 Ngf6 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bg5 O-O 9.O-O b6 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.Re1 Nd5 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 {Both out of book} 13.Qf3 c5 14.dxc5 Qxc5 15.Bd3 Qc7 16.c4 Nf6 17.Qe3 Rfd8 18.Rad1 Rac8 19.Bc2 h6 20.Rxd8+ Rxd8 21.f3 Qc5 22.Qxc5 bxc5 23.Rd1 Rxd1+ 24.Bxd1 Kf8 25.Ba4 Ke7 26.h4 Ng8 27.Nd3 Kd6 28.Be8 f6 29.Bf7 Ne7 30.Bxe6 Ng6 31.h5 Ne5 32.Nf4 Bc6 33.b3 g5 34.hxg6 Nxg6 35.Nxg6 Kxe6 36.Kf2 Kd6 37.Nf4 a5 38.Ke3 Bd7 39.Nd5 Ke5 40.g4 Ke6 41.Nc3 f5 42.gxf5+ Kxf5 43.Ne4 h5 44.Nxc5 Bc6 45.a3 h4 46.b4 h3 47.Nd3 h2 48.Nf2 axb4 49.axb4 Bb7 50.b5 Ke6 51.c5 Kd5 52.c6 Bc8 53.Kf4 Be6 54.Kg3 Kc5 55.c7 Kxb5 56.Kxh2 Kc6 57.c8=Q+ Bxc8 58.Kg3 Kd5 59.Kh4 Bf5 60.Kg5 Ke6 61.Nd1 Bc2 62.Ne3 Bh7 63.f4 Be4 64.Nd1 Bd3 65.Nc3 Bc2 66.Ne2 Bb1 67.Nd4+ Ke7 68.Nb3 Be4 69.Nd2 Bd3 70.Nf3 1/2-1/2
In this game the French, Rubinstein variation was played until move 11.
All was level until around the half-way point. Here is the position after the CGP2024 moved 29…Ne7:
The CGP playing with the white pieces made a good move 30.Bxe6! If Black responds by taking white’s Bishop 30…KxB 31.Nxc5+ Ke5 and Black loses his Bishop. However, Black played 30…Ng6 and is a pawn down. Better would have been 30…Bxf3 31.gxf3 Kxe6 with a level position. The CGP2024 mis-calculated the position and not through a lack of search depth!
In the following position the CGP2024 made another bad move:
Black to play and a pawn down. Here the CGP2024 had not benefited from any extra endgame knowledge and made the move 33…g5? This weakens his Queen-side pawn structure after white plays 33.hxg6. White now has a winning chance.
However, as the game ended in a draw then obviously the original CGP must have also mis-calculated. In the following position white is in a good position with three passed pawns. Black does have a pawn on h3 but White can deal with that:
In this position the CGP turned a winning game into a draw with the move 47.Nd3? The game continued 47…h2 48.Nf2 to prevent Black queening 48…axb4 axb4 and now White cannot afford to move his knight and Black can hamper White’s pawn advance. A better move for White would have been 47.Ne4 maintaining the winning position. Play might have continued 47…h2 and now 48.Ng3+ is the best plan because Black cannot queen without losing it and he must move his King losing tempo:
Now White can move 49.b5 and Black is in trouble with passed pawns marching up the board!
I think in this case the CGP was unable to calculate far enough ahead to see the mistake and missed a winning chance.
Play battled on and I persevered in case of more mistakes but when the CGP2024 offered a draw I accepted on behalf of the CGP.
As expected they are level so far, although I really thought the newer model was going to lose this game.
3 ½ – 3 ½
Ray