Basmanian Devil

In late October the sad news reached the chess world of the passing of Mike Basman. It is hard to sum up such a complex man in one word, but perhaps maverick comes close - an independent thinker with his own ideas and the courage to stand up for them, I think Mike was at heart a bit of a romantic, but not a blinkered one. Hence whilst he liked pairing by hand and guillotine time scrambles, when I arbited at a Megafinal he considered my pairing by computer then displaying it on a pairing board a good compromise, and he advocated using increments only after the time control so as to preserve the mad rush to move 40 but have the safety net thereafter.

Above all, Mike's legacy will be of his tireless efforts to share his love of the game with as wide an audience as possible, most famously through the UK Chess Challenge. It occurred to me at the time that I only got into chess because of Sutton Grammar entering the UKCC - given the impact it has had on my life ever since, I owe him a very great debt. Mike was very supportive of Epsom Chess Club when it revived, and I played him a few times there even as recently as April; I can only hope that my passion for chess is similarly undimmed to the very end.

I begin with this long preamble both because I think it is deserved, and because today's game was played in the same week, inspiring me to pay homage in a small way. Facing 2136-rated Nicholas Briggs as part of a much stronger Kent team for Surrey in the Open section of the SCCU Championship, I decided to have some fun and play the St. George Defence! Sadly I was denied the happy ending that should have been, but it was still a very interesting contest:

[Event "SCCU Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2022.10.29"] [Round "1.8"] [White "Briggs, J Nicholas"] [Black "Young, Daniel J"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2136"] [BlackElo "1984"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.01.22"] [WhiteTeam "Kent"] [BlackTeam "Surrey"] {This game was played a few days after the death of Mike Basman, the legendary iconoclast, innovator and IM who did so much to promote chess for juniors - including me. My first game for the Surrey Open team for several years was an opportunity to pay a small tribute, though I must admit I was glad to have the black pieces - unlike a team-mate I wasn't sure I had the courage for a Grob! Time control: 2 hours for all moves + 10 seconds/move.} 1. d4 {(2:00)} b5 $5 { (2:00) This is the Polish Defence, but will soon transpose to the St. George. For my money this is one of Basman's better inventions, but objectively still isn't very good. Still, energetic play is required from White to stop Black reaching a perfectly acceptable ...e6 Sicilian - and even ignoring the surprise value, talking about objective merit is missing the point.} 2. e4 Bb7 3. Bd3 {Naturally White prefers to keep his pawn centre rather than trade the b- and e-pawns.} e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 a6 {Not yet necessary, but inevitable sooner or later. Now we are in true St. George territory.} 6. O-O Nf6 7. Qe2 Be7 $6 {Slightly careless, allowing White to gain a tempo. It would have been better to fight for the e5 square with 7... d6, and Basman also played 7... h6!? a few times, preventing White's next move and preparing to castle without allowing a Greek gift.} (7... Nc6 {If I can be indulged in showing just one Basman game, the following miniature is good fun:} 8. d5 Ne7 9. d6 $2 {It's easy to be provoked by Black's play, but this is too ambitious - White can only keep his centre together by weakening his king and opening the h-file, which soon leads to trouble.} Ng6 10. e5 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Nd5 12. Kh1 {Essential in order to have Rg1 in answer to ...Nf4 followed by ...Qh4, playing for mate on g2, but now Black has the initiative.} f6 13. Bxg6+ hxg6 14. Qd3 Kf7 $17 15. Rg1 g5 16. Nd2 $2 {Obstructing the bishop's defence of f4 and therefore losing at once.} Bxd6 $1 17. f4 (17. exd6 {The bishop sacrifice is made to connect the heavy pieces; if it is taken then} Rxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qh8+ $19 {followed by ... Nf4 wins the queen or mates.}) 17... Nxf4 {and White resigned in Afek-Basman, Biel 1979. The ...Rxh2+ mate is threatened again, and if 18. Qg3 simply 18... Bxe5 leaves Black three pawns up.}) 8. Bg5 $6 {A simple move and not bad; if White is allowed to play 9. e5 and 10. Bxe7 I will be left with chronic dark square weaknesses. But it's possible to extract more from the position.} (8. e5 $142 Nd5 9. dxc5 {is the tempo Black gave away on move seven, and gives White the opportunity to chew at the queenside structure.} Bxc5 10. a4 b4 11. c4 Ne7 12. Nbd2 $16 {White has secured his space advantage and misplaced Black's pieces on the queenside. A possible continuation is} Ng6 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Rd1 O-O 15. Bg5 f6 {(allowing the exchange of dark-squared bishops is even worse)} 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bh6 {, and Black must surrender either the exchange or a major positional concession - if} Rf7 18. Nd6 Bxd6 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Rxd6) 8... h6 $6 {Fighting the above-mentioned plan, but another lost tempo! 8... cxd4 was more prudent.} 9. Bh4 $6 {I was relieved to see this move, which Briggs played instantly. White's advantage is one of time as well as space, and by exchanging on f6 he could have taken my position to breaking point. Instead I now get a chance to put my house in order.} (9. Bxf6 $142 {In this case I was intending to recapture with the pawn, but it is impossible to maintain the compact pawn centre.} gxf6 (9... Bxf6 10. dxc5 Be7 11. b4 $16 {and Black remains a pawn down}) 10. d5 $1 {Black is completely choked by this pawn sacrifice, which can hardly be accepted - then the centre would be opened and all of the light squares exposed.} d6 {Further weakening the centre, but how else can the knight get into the game?} 11. Nbd2 Nd7 12. a4 c4 (12... exd5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. axb5 axb5 15. Be4 $1 {This is even stronger than Bxb5, forcing the exchange of bishops to trample all over Black's destroyed light squares.} Bxe4 16. Nxe4 Ne5 17. Ng3 $18 {followed by Nh4-f5 with a devastating bind.}) 13. Bc2 Nc5 {The knight stands well on c5, it is true, however the rest of Black's position is falling apart.} 14. Nd4 Qb6 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8+ Bxa8 17. Ra1 Bb7 18. b4 $1 cxb3 19. N2xb3 $18 {followed by Na5 and the white knights reach c6.}) 9... g5 {Basman would undoubtedly have played this move. In any case I still wanted to prevent the exchange of bishops.} 10. Bg3 {(1:41) } Qb6 $6 {(1:29) This only works out because White's play in the next stage of the game is too pedestrian. It was reckless to let him gain further time like this.} (10... Nc6 $142 {At least this way White is forced to sacrifice material to convert his advantages of space and time into anything real.} 11. d5 $5 (11. Nbd2 {is similar, inasmuch as} g4 {still forces him to sacrifice a pawn, and following} 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. Nxc6 dxc6 14. cxd4 Qxd4 15. Nb3 Qb6 16. a4 $14 {it becomes clear that Black has overextended himself - the game is opening up and there is no happy abode for the black king.}) 11... exd5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Re1 Nf4 {Hoping to dampen things down with exchanges.} 14. Bxf4 gxf4 15. a4 $14 {White's queenside initiative and the disharmony in Black's position are more than worth the pawn invested, but at least there is something to look forward to if Black can somehow survive.}) 11. dxc5 Qxc5 { I can't remember seeing a specific line that made me capture this way, and it may feel more natural to take with the bishop, but intuitively I felt that it belonged as a defender on the kingside. Now White should have continued 12. b4 followed by 13. a4, physically preventing 13... b4 and forcing the opening of lines. The more he dithers, the closer I get to reaching a normal position.} 12. Nbd2 $6 Nc6 13. Nb3 Qb6 14. Rad1 $6 {From the above variations, it should be evident that this rook belongs on its starting square. White should have preferred 14. h3 to evade the following exchange.} Nh5 {As well as ridding Black of any dark-square worries, this also creates a pawn lever in front of White's king. At last Black is able to generate some counterplay.} 15. e5 $1 { (1:10) White reacts well to the change in circumstances. It is important to keep Black out of the e5 square, and this also makes e4 available for the White pieces.} (15. Rfe1 $143 $2 {By contrast, a neutral developing move would lead to trouble surprisingly quickly, for example} Nxg3 16. hxg3 g4 17. Nfd4 Ne5 {(the difference)} 18. Bc2 h5 $17 {and Black has a much easier time opening up the kingside than in the game. This is why the books always tell us to open the centre when faced with a flank attack.}) 15... Nxg3 {(1:02)} 16. hxg3 {I'd played my 14th move merely to terminate White's DSB with extreme prejudice, but having got this far I couldn't see what White was meant to do if I just rammed the kingside pawns down the board. It seemed to be in keeping with the spirit of the game, so why not?} h5 {Now I was starting to enjoy myself. Briggs, however, clearly was not.} 17. Nfd4 $6 {This is not the best move order. Perhaps White was scared of 17... g4, but Black needs to complete his development before he can hope for success like this. Moving the knight away from the kingside allows Black to get in his preferred break directly, because it is momentarily impossible to keep the h-file closed.} (17. Be4 $142 {White needs to start thusly, to neutralise the long diagonal.} O-O-O (17... h4 $6 {doesn't get anywhere thanks to} 18. g4 h3 19. g3 $16 {and the lines remain closed}) (17... g4 18. Nfd4 h4 $6 {is rather speculative before Black has castled - instead 18... O-O-O would transpose to the main line of this variation.} 19. Qxg4 hxg3 20. Qxg3 O-O-O 21. Qe3 $16) 18. Nfd4 g4 {It is worth investing a tempo to prevent White closing lines.} (18... h4 $6 19. g4 h3 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. g3 $14 {and again White defends successfully.}) 19. Qe3 {Now if 19... h4?? 20. Nxc6 wins. But Stockfish finds the unnatural defensive move} Kc7 {after which Black will get his pawn storm through after all, even at the cost of a pawn.} 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. Rd4 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 h4 23. Qxg4 Rhg8 (23... Rdg8 $2 24. Qd1 $18 {is an unwanted counter-attack.}) 24. Qe4 hxg3 25. fxg3 Rg7 $44 { In such an open position with all of the heavy pieces on the board, White's doubled extra pawn is of no real significance.}) 17... h4 18. Be4 (18. g4 $143 {Alas for White,} h3 19. g3 $4 {loses on the spot to} h2+ 20. Kh1 Nxd4+ $19 { - this is why Black can't have the long diagonal to himself!}) 18... hxg3 19. Bxc6 $2 {Cracking under the strain. Maybe he underestimated my reply, but in any case he won't achieve further exchanges and now allows me control of the long diagonal after all.} (19. fxg3 {Now Black probably can't justify castling as he would prefer - it is the g-pawn he wants to sacrifice, not the f-pawn. So instead Stockfish comes up with} Rc8 {, overprotecting c6 and contemplating ...b4.} 20. Rf2 b4 21. cxb4 Qxb4 22. Bxc6 Bxc6 23. Qxa6 Qb8 24. Nxc6 Rxc6 25. Qd3 Qa7 $15 {A strange position which Basman would surely have relished - the kingside calls to mind a Botvinnik Semi-Slav, and the queenside a Benko Gambit! Black's centralised king looks safer than its counterpart and the e5 pawn is almost as weak as the ones on the queenside, so I think Black is for choice despite his material deficit. Of course this isn't forced, but it illustrates that the overall conception beginning with 16... h5 appears sound.} ) 19... dxc6 $1 {Closing the diagonal (for now) and also exposing the d-file, which risks trapping my king in the centre. But this is much the best way to recapture, preserving my light squared bishop which will soon be brought back to life by ...c5.} 20. Qe3 $2 {(28) Too slow!} (20. fxg3 $142 {Besides removing an attacker, this would have given White hopes of counterplay down the f-file. Even so, after} c5 21. Nf3 Bd5 {(this feels more natural to me than the engine's 21... a5, prioritising development)} 22. Qe3 O-O-O $17 { White is faced with a strong attack on his king.}) 20... O-O-O $2 {(36) It isn't everyday that you castle on move 20, and yet I am rushing to do so unnecessarily! I was worried that White could unblock the d-file and thereby stop it altogether (which would be worse news for my a8 rook than my king) but it's more important to keep the initiative up.} (20... c5 $142 21. Nf3 g4 22. Ne1 {Black could certainly take on f2 (it's easy to forget, but he is a pawn up in this position!) with a huge advantage, but on reflection I prefer Stockfish's} Qc7 $1 {. The point is to sidestep the pin on the g1-a7 diagonal in preparation for ...c4, after which the knight's only serious squares are on the d-file - and then Black can castle.} 23. Qxg3 c4 24. Nd4 (24. Nc1 f5 $1 $19 {threatens to bring the black queen to h7 via the newly-opened seventh rank, and rests on the line} 25. exf6 Qxg3 26. fxg3 Bc5+) 24... O-O-O $19 {As I alluded to above, I was so desperate to castle not to secure my king but to get my second rook into the attack. Once it joins the party White is swiftly overrun, for example} 25. Nec2 Rdg8 26. a4 Bh4 27. Qf4 Bxg2 $1 {Consummating Black's plan for the entire game.} 28. Kxg2 Qb7+ 29. Kg1 Bg5 {, and White is mated in a few moves.}) 21. Nf5 $2 {White's eagerness to exchange queens is understandable, but this merely forces Black to head for a won ending.} (21. fxg3 $142 {was the best hope; true, after} c5 22. Nf3 Bd5 23. Nh2 $17 {his king is exposed and his knights are lousy, but one of them will emerge on g4 and there is pressure against f7, so Black would at least have had things to ponder.}) 21... gxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Qxe3+ 23. Nxe3 c5 $19 {At the board I remembered Botvinnik remarking of a line deemed modest by Keres (in Botvinnik-Euwe, W-Ch. 1948) that "I am always prepared to be satisfied with such a 'modest' continuation, having an extra pawn and two strong bishops." I was in no doubt that this position ought to be won, and indeed it was an oft-commented feature of Basman's play that if he reached such a position he would happily switch straight back to classical chess and smoothly convert it to victory. Unfortunately, now it was up to me to carry the torch...} 24. Kg3 Rxd1 25. Nxd1 {(24)} Rh7 {(30)} 26. Ne3 Kd7 $6 {Not a great square for tactical reasons.} (26... Bd8 $142 $1 {Straightforwardly activating the king is OK, but this is the prelude to a winning bind. I didn't consider a move that deprives me of both the extra pawn and the bishop pair, but once the e5 pawn falls White suffers a fiasco with his king.} 27. Nxc5 Bc7 28. Nxb7 Kxb7 ( 28... Bxe5+ $2 29. Kg4 Kxb7 30. Kxg5 $17 {is less effective.}) 29. Ng4 (29. Kg4 Rh4+ $1 {and now} 30. Kxg5 {fails to} Bd8+ $19) 29... f5 30. Nf2 Bxe5+ 31. Kf3 g4+ 32. Ke2 Rh2 33. Rg1 Bc7 $19 {Black intends ...Bb6 and ...g3, and there isn't much White can do about it.}) 27. c4 $6 (27. Ng4 {is a tricky computer try, exploiting the position of my king and rook - the idea is} f5 28. Nxc5+ $1 {. Even so, Black can carry on regardless, and still enjoys some advantage after} Kc6 29. Nxb7 Kxb7 30. Nf6 {If the knight retreats then e5 will fall soon anyway, but in any case Black soon restores his material advantage.} Bxf6 31. exf6 Kc7 $17) 27... Ke8 {Now my rook is free to move, and} 28. Nd2 $6 { , moving away from d4, lets me take advantage of that.} Rh4 29. b3 Rd4 { (29... Bd8, intending 30... Bc7, was even better)} 30. Nf3 {(15)} Rd3 {(19)} 31. Re1 {Up to this point I have played quite well and very consistently, but now I made a double error based on a strange hallucination:} Bxf3 $6 32. Kxf3 Rd2 {Somehow I had convinced myself that} 33. Re2 {was impossible, but the king moved closer when it recaptured! Of course I wouldn't have given up my wonderful bishop if I'd seen the truth, and this was a vexing miss particularly after the game a week earlier in which I failed to win with three extra pawns. Even so, there is no need to make White's task even easier by my next move.} Rxe2 $2 {Looking back, I did not understand this ending very well - misled by the old adage that all rook endings are drawn, I was content to exchange them, but in fact this eliminates any chance of converting the extra pawn. As we will see, White easily sets up a blockade.} (33... Rd4 $142 { Patience is the watchword, something I failed to show.} 34. g3 Kf8 35. cxb5 axb5 36. Rc2 Kg7 37. Re2 Kg6 $17 {I should point out that Stockfish still considers this position to be winning for Black. I'm not so certain, but in any case White is condemned to defend passively.}) 34. Kxe2 Kd7 35. Kf3 {(12)} f5 {(14)} 36. exf6 Bxf6 37. Ke4 $11 Kd6 38. g4 Kc6 39. Nc2 {The knight is perfectly placed here, covering the squares that White's queenside pawns cannot. There is no way in for the black king.} bxc4 40. bxc4 {(10)} Kb6 {(8)} 41. Kd3 Ka5 42. Ke4 Kb6 {(Black draw offer) More than irritating, especially under the circumstances, but at least it didn't have any bearing on the match result this time: the under-strength Surrey team was crushed. It was fun to let my hair down for once, and for all the joviality I did learn something useful from this game: I was surprised how uncertainly my strong opponent handled the position when forced to think for himself from very early on. Kent's captain Alan Hanreck gave me a knowing smile when he saw my opening, and I was touched when he said to me afterwards that Mike would have enjoyed the game. Despite the butchered ending, I hope he was right.} 1/2-1/2

I really should have won this game, but sometimes you don't get to tell the story that you would like to. When faced with a shocking opening like the St. George, the two ways to go wrong are by trying too hard to punish it (as in the Afek-Basman game quoted in the notes) or playing too timidly, as Briggs did in the main game. In particular, I think it's important to include a2-a4 at some point to get to grips with Black's premature pawn pushes on the queenside, and it's also striking how powerful the d4-d5 push could be, even as a pawn sacrifice. These more assertive measures would have shown up Black's failure to develop quickly. As it was, I was struck by how uncertainly a good player handled being forced to think right from the start. We got a somewhat normal game, and having scored this psychological victory I then went onto the attack, which spooked my opponent even further; within a few moves he was happily embracing a lost ending to get the queens off.

Unfortunately, my failure to actually win that won ending is characteristic of my play at the time - I've already mentioned that it wasn't the first winning position to have evaded my clutches this season, nor would it be the last, and my confidence was shot to pieces. Overvaluing knights relative to bishops isn't a failure I can ever be accused of, and I would never play 31... Bxf3?! unless I thought it would lead to a tangible immediate gain like invading the second rank. What happened next exposes the illusion, and allowing the rook exchange betrays a lack of understanding of the minor piece ending; White easily blockades the queenside and draws as he pleases.

Overall, I can't complain too bitterly; if you'd offered me a draw as Black (with 1... b5 no less!) against  someone of Briggs's strength in advance I would certainly have taken it. But it was one of many cases around this time of what might have been. Despite what this game might have you believe, I was playing very cautious chess, more afraid to lose than anything. This was a negative reaction to the Major Open, which I was starting to unpick in depth at this time - if I was making so many oversights in messy positions, then I should keep things dull. By mid-January, after a lot of dispiriting draws and no wins, I had gotten fed up with this approach and started to swing back to the other extreme.