Scottish Annotated Games

Last updated 11 July 2001

Gillam, S R (2385) - Mackintosh, I (2295) [D31]
SCCA Championship, 1999-00
[Notes by Simon Gillam]

1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 [This was the first time I had played the Slav gambit. I think that I was first made aware of the ideas behind the opening 3 or 4 years ago when Edinburgh West were preparing for a Richardson Cup match, but I had never tried it OTB. My book knowledge was limited to the final chapter of Peter Wells' 1994 book on the Complete Semi- Slav, which featured the game Lautier-Gurevich, Biel IZ 1993.]

4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 9.Bc3 Ne7 10.Bxg7 Rg8 11.Bf6 Qf4 12.Bc3 Rxg2 13.Nf3 f6 [Analysis by Lautier and Wells suggests that 13... Rg8 should be looked at as an alternative to 13... f6.]

14.Qd2 Qxd2+ 15.Nxd2 e5 16.Ne4 Kf7 17.Rd1 Rg8 [Lautier and Wells analyse 17... Nc7 as better than 17... Rg8.]

18.f4 Nf5 [Departing from the Lautier- Gurevich game, which continued 18... Ng6 19.Rd6 Ke7 20.Rxf6 Nxf4 21.Bxe5 Nxe2 22.Bd6+ Ke8 23.Kxe2 Bh3 with a large advantage to White, who won in 37 moves. Wells also gives 18... exf4 19.Bh5+ Ng6 20.Nf6 as "crushing".]

19.fxe5 fxe5 20.Rf1 [Black had offered the conditional 20.Bxe5 Nb4, but I thought that the extra tempo of 20.Rf1 was needed to keep control.]

20...Ke7 21.Bxe5 Nb4 [Black's plan of giving up the e5 pawn to mobilise the Q-knight is a reasonable try.]

22.Rd6 Nc2+ 23.Kd2 Rg2 [I had analysed 23... Nce3 24.Bf6+ Kf8 (24... Kf7 25.Bh5+ Rg6 26.Ng5+) 25.Rd8+ Kf7 26.Bh5+ but 23... Rg2 looks much better than this line.]

24.Bf6+ Kf7 25.Bc3 Nce3 26.Rf6+ Kg8 27.Rf2 Rxf2 28.Nxf2 [Here I thought I had let much of my advantage slip, because lines like 29.Ng4 Nxg4 30.Bxg4 left me with very little (30... Rd8 and 30... Rf8 are both ok). Had I missed a better attacking plan in the last 10 moves, or is White supposed to be happy with this late middlegame position? If I am supposed to be winning, then 29.Ne4 followed by 30.Nd6 looks the only serious try.]

28...Bd7 29.Ne4 Rd8 [Black had several alternatives here, but I thought I retained enough advantage to have good winning chances. Perhaps the best was simply 30... Nxd6 31.Rxd6 Nf5 32.Rd3. Other possibilities included 30... Be8 31.c5 Nxd6 32.Rxd6 Rxd6 34.cxd6 Nd5 35.Bg4 Nb6 36.Be6+ Kf8 37.Bd4 (good for White) or 30... b5 31.c5 Nd5 32.Nxf5 Nxf6 33.Bxf6 Rf8 34.Nh6 mate.]

30.Nd6 Bc8 31.c5 Nxd6 32.Kxe3 Re8+ 33.Kf3 Ne4 34.Bc4+ Be6 35.Rxe6!! [When analysing the line played from move 31, I thought at first that I would have to try 35.Bxe6+ Rxe6 36.Rxe6 Ng5+ 37.Kf4 Nxe6+ 38.Ke5 Nxc5 39.Kd6 when I still have winning chances. Just before playing 34.Bc4+ I realised that 35.Rxe6!! was a killer. A good example of the power of two bishops working side-by-side. A move a computer would find hard to spot, as it relies on a zugzwang when Black runs out of pawn moves.]

35...Ng5+ 36.Kg4 Nxe6 37.Kf5 Kf7 38.Bf6 b5 39.cxb6 axb6 40.a4 b5 41.axb5 cxb5 42.Bd5 b4 43.b3 Kf8 44.Bxe6 [I was sure that the 2B+2P versus R+2P ending should be winning, but it isn't as easy as I first thought. I felt there should be a way to get at the Black b-pawn, using the 2 bishops to fend off the rook.]

44...Ra8 45.Bd4 Ra2 46.h3 Ke8 47.Kf6 Rc2 48.h4 Rc6 [Manoeuvres to pick up the loose b-pawn are not so easy, as lines like 48.Bf5 Rd2 49.Bc5 Rd5 50.Bxb4 Rb5 demonstrate. I need to use the h-pawn as well, to threaten mate if the Black king stays on the k-side, or to pick up the h-pawn for the b-pawn and win the pawn race. The only thing to watch for is by pushing the h-pawn to h6 to threaten mate, I could leave a stalemate if Black sacs the rook.]

49.h5 Kf8 50.Be3 Ke8 51.Ke5 Ke7 52.Bd5 Rc2 53.Bg5+ Ke8 54.Bc4 Rg2 55.Kf6 Kd7 56.Bd3 Rf2+ 57.Kg7 Rg2 58.Bxh7! [The final tactic, which I spotted after 55... Kd7. The threat of Bf5+ stops Black winning the b-pawn and returning to h3. The sac isn't essential, as 58.Kh6 Rg3 59.Bxh7 Rxb3 60.Bf5+ Ke8 61.Kg7 Rg3 62.Bg6+ Kd7 63.h6 also wins, but the game continuation is clearer.]

58...Rxg5+ 59.Bg6 Ke6 60.h6 1-0