Hi all, I have another fascinating game to show you of Leela Chester day against xiphos.
Which means double-edged sword by the way.
Not double-edged has in it very easy to stab yourself.
But a leaf shaped sword which is good for both cutting and frosting apparently if you
check on wiki for xiphos.
It is a Greek word and was used in Greek battles.
So d4 from Leela, Nf6 from xiphos, Nf3, e6 so good so far, it's all pretty standard stuff.
Here though after c5 we already get a revolutionary kind of new move which is rarely been seen
in top-level over the board chess, yeah at this position believe it or not move four.
Which makes this game very theoretically interesting in my view?
So the usual move is for example e3.
This is a usual kind of attacking position.
A bit like London system with the Bishop on, g5 Touré attack style and also c3 just transposing
into that.
It’s the same, similar setup.
It looks a very nice safe setup for white.
So white take the risk of anything else.
But Leela decided to play d5.
Very interesting Pawn sacrifice.
E takes, e3 fixing down against d4.
So that's a target on d5, Be7, Nc3.
Black castles.
Now Nc6 has been is one stem game here
which ended in a win for white of Nc6.
So if you want to check out that in the pinned comment.
But here yeah castling was played, and we have Nxd5, d6 there's no tactical vulnerability
to exploit here.
Nxd5 does put a lot of pressure on the Bishop and if yeah white wants to lose a piece here
then Bishop takes, Knight takes.
But if white wants to play normally then Qxd5 actually protects the Bishop on g5 here.
After Bishop takes Knight takes White has a nice advantage here.
For example this possession can get quite nice with d6 pressure for example.
So black played d6, we have Bishop takes, Bishop takes and now blunting out the c3 Bishop.
So voluntarily giving up the dark square Bishop, is that double-edged?
Again xiphos as you could it hurt white giving up the dark square Bishop here.
Well you'll notice these Pawns on dark squares are keeping the Bishop at bay now.
G6 and in fact Leela uses the opportunity for this nice central Knight to kind of form
the basis for attacking the opponent's King directly here with h4.
There's no, with a knight on f6 you might have for h5 is discouraged.
But that does seem to be an immediate idea of h5 now to try to activate this Rook.
H6 is played, now this often forms a good reaction to close up the position.
You know if h5 here then perhaps g5 is very sensible keeping this Rook locked up by its
own pawn.
So an alternative Bg7 allowing the Rook to be more active is a bad idea it seems.
Here for example white is getting a very very nice position with a small edge.
So h6, we have Qd2, Nc6, Rd1.
There is no pressure being built on d6.
This is high priority.
Bg7, now Nf4, Bg4 on a move like a5 as an example Bc4 actually threatens a Nxg6.
Some issues to be aware of if black doesn't do anything to constructive.
But Bg4 and now Be2, the more modest Be2 is encouraged because on Bc4 here actually there's
Ne5 and say Knight takes, this is a sharp line.
Which just favors if anyone's better it's going to be Black.
It is about even.
If we look at this again with Qa5, White's okay there.
But yeah and okay so Ne5 if yeah Be2 might be the best.
So anyway Be2 immediately Qa5, now Qd5 actually technically does protect this Pawn.
You might have thought this Queen was after this a2 Pawn.
Here in fact let's just check out the nuances of this position if white just castled.
For example here this position looks okay, but let's say one side goes a bit crazy we're
taking here.
Then Ra1 and Ra3 is nasty or is it?
No it's not.
Because of Qb6.
But there is a variation which is nasty, Qc2 might be preparing ra1.
But black in time has Bf5 and yeah there's some exotic variations like this, which end
up being about equal.
So if we look at this again with Rfe1 here and instead of Rfe8 here this position is
actually dangerous for blacks to take there.
Because now there's Ra3 here and the Queen is in big trouble here.
Because in this position the Rook means that the Queen has no fling after Nd5.
So Qb6, Nd5 the Queen is trapped here.
So yeah, some interesting variations behind the scenes.
So Qd5, Qb6 now looking to attack b2 it seems.
On Ne7 the Queen can go back to c4.
For example this is okay.
Well white has a small edge.
So Qb6, we have Rd2 which does seem to just officially protect that Pawn.
You might think there's an idea of Nxg6 here it doesn't really work at all because of Be6.
That's kind of refuting the thing after this sequence for example.
But whites in big trouble here.
If white has to give up a piece and go back to this scenario, black can just take them
actually and be better here.
Very sharp tactical line.
So we have Rd2, okay Qc4, Bf5, there is actually a big threat here of Nd5 which hits the Bishop
and also hits the Queen just to put that on the board you know if a6, Nd5 and then just
Qxg4.
So Bf5 gets the Bishop out of the attack potential.
Nd5 hitting the Queen, Qa5.
White castles, Be6 pinning the Knight.
A4, we have Rd7.
Rfd1, Rb8.
I mean Qe8 pardon me.
Qf4, Re8.
So it seems pretty harmonious here for white and Leela plays now on the Queen side with
b4.
So this Pawn is protected by the Knight at the moment and d6 is our target.
So black doesn't play here Bishop takes.
Because this position there's actually B takes with that enormous pin on d7 and this ends
up being very nice for white.
So black can't do something on c3 here, but rather place a5.
Another thing to think about here if black doesn't react on the Queen side just as a
fictional scenario, it is actually white ends up doing this kind torture of c6 with a6 undermining
the Knight on c6 with a big advantage.
So black reacts with a5, that's actually taken.
So this is fragmenting in a technical sense White's Queenside Pawns.
But the upside is this Bishop now is getting a very nice square pinning the Knight and
now it's here that white commits to e4.
So we have Qa5.
It's a very tricky position.
It seems as though black is kind of tied down and the sort of bind here.
Rd3, the Queen just goes back.
It seems aimless play already from xiphos.
Here you might think let's just explore the scenery.
C4 here Bishop takes, E takes, and we see that nasty pin anytime there's a caption on
d5.
Then this is just going to be favorable to white with the Rooks being skewered.
So Qd8, black doesn't seem to be doing too much.
So in this position now Leela gets aggressive.
What would you play which is an aggressive move?
But you have to see that, you have to say that the pieces look optimal, very harmonious
as a basis for this aggression.
So white to play 5 seconds.
Ok g4, yeah, the piece is seeming totally ideal places.
The Queen and Knight coordinating on f6 so actually one idea of this looks as though
the g5 intuitively to reinforce again f6.
So that becomes a great square of interest here potentially.
We have Rf8.
Now g5 yeah sealing that f6 square it seems and now hg and now Qxg5, yeah Qxg5.
Not minding the exchange of Queens we have Re8.
On Qxg5++ here, this is very nice to get a form Pawn on f6 funny enough.
It's very very dangerous for example this scenario where it is pretty disastrous for
black as an example.
In fact yeah that's just one example variation.
It just looks very horrible to have that sort of thing happening.
So we have Re8, Kg2 anyway as if there are operations that are underway for the Rooks.
Either this Rook coming here or there or there or g3 for h5.
Yeah, I mean the Bishops covering h3 here.
But okay we have Rf8.
Now the Queen drops back to g3 eyeing potentially d6 as well Re8, Ng5 which makes way for this
F pawn battering-ram which is becoming like a great theme of Leela.
She's really preparing to batter down the black King side.
Ne5, on Bishop takes here again we've got this theme of the Rooks being skewered.
So anytime that happens you know the Rooks are just skewered white winning the exchanges
at that point doing that.
Ne5, Rd2.
So actually a Rook was offered here actually and it's not, it's actually quite bad for
black this position for Ne5 to be even considered.
Because actually it turns out Bxd7 is a nice advantage for a while already.
So White's already in a great position if this really is what blacks wants to do, Ne5
essentially.
So the Rook just drops back there which is even stronger.
Just keeps the pressure on, because Leela just wants to smash the King side forget about
material and the Knight just goes back.
So xiphos again is just aimless, helpless and repeating moves with absolutely no evident
plan it seems.
Except to be passive and wait for this demolition of the King side to happen.
F4, the demolition is in progress.
We have Bh6 on Bxd5 it might actually be strongest to play Rook takes by the way here this position
is pretty devastating.
So Bh6 as an alternative Rf8.
Let's say black doesn't play that.
Then white is going to pill things like this or let's say if white wants to be sadistic
even can be like this, even stronger attacking the King directly and this is a really nice
behind-the-scenes tactic by the way with check and then check here picking up the Queen.
So there's a lot of nasty stuff if black doesn't do anything.
So Bh6, I guess is trying to discourage h5.
Which is still a strong move anyway.
But it was trying to discourage it.
We have Rf2.
Okay so here Bg7 and now f5 yeah, the battering of blacks King side is occurring.
Also h5 is very dangerous, for example like this.
Yeah there's a wealth of different ways to attack black here.
This position is really nice as well.
But f5 was played, takes.
Kh1 is getting away for the g file to may do some potentially.
Yeah this is starting to be extremely precarious for the black King safety.
Rxf5.
So both Rooks are having a well of the time and there's an imminent h6 now.
So this is actually totally busted now for black.
We see the move f6, it's horrible move to have to play.
But if Kh8 then white can just choose to take the Rook here and this is obviously very good.
As another example this is a very good attacking scheme just wining the Bishop.
This is a nice cute checkmating stuff.
Okay so f6 we have Ne6 it's all over really, [15:20 inaudible] shouting.
Rxe6 is played.
The Knight is attacking the Queen and the Bishop and the Rook.
So yeah, the exchange has given up here and it's all over after h6, yeah black is just
shedding material now.
It's just totally you know just hugely material down, whole rock down.
For what exactly?
Not much.
In fact losing some Pawns and the end is near basically.
So the rook double here.
We've got an outside pass pawn now to push.
The Bishop is controlling this square anyway and these games played to the depth, so [16:15
inaudible] because Leela troll too much, not really, not in this occasion.
So check mate.
So the significance of this game it seems to me that there was an innovative early pawn
sacrifice in this game which is very far from what is frequently played.
So it is unusual game actually and as a basis for attacking the King, getting big control
over the position when the pieces were optimal then pushing the pools on the King side, it
seems simply to get key squares open up lines generally batter down the opponent's King
side.
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