[Event "New York International"] [Site "Marshall Chess Club"] [Date "2017.06.16"] [Round "7"] [White "Allicock, Rawle"] [Black "Korley, Kassa"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2198"] [BlackElo "2420"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann: Exchange, 4.Bd3 Nc6"] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 {The Exchange Caro-Kann has long been a popular option for White, particularly at club level. White's plans are easy to understand and implement as they follow a schematic approach: C3/Bd3/Bf4/ Nd2/Nf3/O-O/Re1/Ne5 = Kingside attack. However this line of thinking has recently been adopted once more at the elite level as well, for example noted in the revival of the London System (which follows the same schematic setup mentioned above). For this reason the Exchange Caro Kann has also been recieving some attention in the games of top Grandmasters. Chess opening fashion not only advances our knowledge of popular battlegrounds, but often revisits older and classical setups!} Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 {Classical and not bad at all} (5...Qc7 {Black has been favoring this slightly odd queen nudge in the past decade in order to prevent White's ideal setup mention in the comment to move 4.}) 6.Ne2 {This development is a bit unusual. While White's most popular response is 6. Ne2 to 5... Qc7, here it makes sense to play Bf4 straight away while positioning the Ng1 to Nf3. Actually what we have on the board here is the famous Carlsbad structure (but reversed). The Classical Carlsbad pawn structure often sees Black launching a queenside minority attack with b5-b4 while White mobilizes in the center and plots a kingside attack. 6. Ne2 appears to get in the way of executing this classic plan. Likely FM Allicock's intention was to avoid this classical battle but to infuse some modernity into the setup: Playing to restrict the Bc8. Normally Bg4 would be Black's goal (particularly against Nf3!) but here White has options of chasing the bishop.} g6 {An interesting counter! Black may be considering the idea of Bf5 to trade off his bishop.} (6...Bg4 {Is a classical response, seeking to finish development with e6/Bd6 as well as Bh5-Bg6}) 7.O-O Bg7 8.Bf4 O-O 9.Nd2 Nh5! {The Knight veers off to the side but with a purpose! 1. The Bf4 is chased away to a more passive square 2. The Bg7 increases its scope, with potentially plans of e5 or f6-e5 in the future 3. Black gains more influence on the kingside, maybe even considering ideas of f5-f4-f3 later on} 10.Be3 Qc7 {We've noted this move earlier in the game. Here the role of the Qc7 is to influence the f4/e5 squares, supporting both ideas of f5 and e5 in the future} 11.Qb3 e6 {(%csl Rc8) So Black has never "solved" the issue of the Bc8 and has locked the piece behind the pawn chain. However the bishop may very well find a role in the future while it serves as glue behind the formation. IM Korley has well positioned himself for ideas of both a thematic queenside and ambitious kingside pawn storm.} 12.Rae1 {FM Allicock is mobilizing on the Kingside but it is not clear what his target is. Possibly he is discouraging Black from kingside activities so IM Korley strikes on the queenside first. White appears to be playing "reaction chess", not really having a plan of his own yet but just seeing what Black does} a6 13.a4 {Holding up Black's queenside expansion....} b5! {...but he does it anyway!} 14.Ra1 (14.axb5 axb5 15.Bxb5 Rb8 {The pin appears to be very unpleasant for White. It is possible to unpin and greedily hold the material after:} 16.Qa4 Bd7 17.Bxc6 Bxc6 18.Qc2 {But Black has tremendous compensation. The unopposed Bc6 has an immediate role in the game via the B5 square and Black's queenside pressure will cause passivity in White's camp} Rb7 {(%cal Gf8b8,Gc6b5,Yc6a4,Yf8c8,Yf8a8) }) 14...Rb8 15.axb5 axb5 16.Nf3 Rb7!? {An odd looking move. At first I thought IM Korley has preparing ideas of Qb8-b4 or maybe anticipating a potential invasion on the a7 square (assuming Black plays Na5-Nc4). While these reasons may be true, he also safeguards himself from the surprising idea of g4! and Bf4. Black is obviously trying to make in-roads on the queenside for now so it is easy to miss potential threats coming from the kingside!} 17.Rfc1 Na5 18.Qc2 Nc4 19.Bg5? {FM Allicock may have been worried about ideas of Nxe3 and Bh6 and chooses to evacuate his bishop. He must've anticipated Black's pawn advances but perhaps welcomed them as potential weaknesses.} h6 (19...f6! {Seems extremely powerful, all ready to execute the e6-e6 pawn push. After} 20.Bh4 e5 {All of Black's pieces are perfectly placed: The Bc8 sees the light of day, Qc7/Bg7/Nc4 all support central advances and the Rb7 can even shift along the 7th rank to support the advance}) 20.Bh4 f5 {The intiative is firmly in IM Korley's hands. Once more the position is practically difficult for White as FM Allicock lacks any active plans of his own.} 21.b3 Nd6 {The Knight is perfectly positioned on d6 and can jump to e4 if needed. As a bonus the queenside structure for White is also softened up as the c3 pawn will need protection} 22.Bg3 Nxg3 23.hxg3 g5 24.Ne5 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Ne4 26.Nd4 Qxe5 27.Bxb5 {An extremely favorable exchange for black as he cashes in a flank pawn for a central one. Black's pieces have also assumed a menacing role towards White's king and IM Korley decides to strike:} f4 28.g4 h5! {tearing open files for his pieces to flood in} 29.Be2 (29.gxh5 g4! {(%cal Ge5h5,Gb7h7) Aside from various pawn advances White must also worry about a straight forward h-file advance}) 29...hxg4 30.Bxg4 Rh7 {I wonder if IM Korley imagined such a prosperous future for his rook after his 16th move!} 31.f3 Qh8! {An aesthetically pleasing and effective maneuver. Engines are brilliant at finding "geometrically difficult" moves but humans still appreciate them more} 32.Bh3 g4! 33.fxg4 f3 34.Nxf3 Rxh3 35.gxh3 Rxf3 36.Qg2 Rg3 {Amusingly the Bc8 never moved!} 37.Ra8 Kg7 {A terrific attacking display from Black. IM Korley laid out the groundwork for a complex battle early in the opening with a slightly unusual setup (6... g6!? 9...Nh5!) where he kept all the pieces on the board. His position had great potential with both queenside and kingside breaks. Although there was nothing wrong with FM Allicock's position specifically, it was very difficult for him to conjure any counterplay of his own. Masterfully combining a standard queenside miniority attack with ambitious kingside advancement, IM Korley used the whole board to coordinate his pieces into an unstoppable attack. The final touch with 30.. Rh7 and 31.. Qh8! was a fitting end to Black's terrific maneuvering showcase.} {#R} 0-1