[Event "2024-2025 club championship"] [Date "2025.05.20"] [Result "1-0"] [Variant "Standard"] [Annotator "Dario Melotti"] [ECO "C02"] [Opening "French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation"] [StudyName "For club website"] [ChapterName "Dario Melotti vs John Wilkinson"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/OIFh11FI/LgKxcgw0"] [UTCDate "2025.05.20"] [UTCTime "10:00:46"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 { At our level, theoretical knowledge is often a tangle of half remembered lines that can get you into trouble as much as help you. In this game black borrows a defensive idea from an apparently similar line, and immediately lands in a difficult position. } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O!? { This is known as the Hector variation, an attempt to breathe new life into the Milner-Barry gambit. } (7. cxd4 Bd7 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 { Would be the classical Milner Barry gambit, where it is well know the the most practical way to shut down white's initiative is } 10... a6! { Preventing Nb5. This weakens b6 but white obviously can not exploit this is in the same way as in the game as } 11. Na4?? Qxa4 { Just drops a piece }) 7... dxc3?! { This is just about playable, but very risky. } (7... Bd7! { Is best, inviting white to transpose back to the Milner Barry with cxd4. White can keep things independent with } 8. Re1 Nge7 { Black is trying to delay dxc3 until white runs out of waiting moves and plays Nbd2; there is no rush as even if white plays cxd4 at any stage the pawn will fall on d4 with a sort of inferior Milner barry gambit. After Nbd2 black can take on c3 without accelerating white's development. A sample line is } 9. h4!? Rc8 10. h5 a6 11. Nbd2 dxc3 12. bxc3 { With a complicated position- white has compensation, but not as strong as in the game. }) 8. Nxc3 { This looks a bit like a Milner Barry gambit with black a tempo down (whites position would be identical, but black would already have a Bishop on d7 in the MB. The queen being on b6 rather than d4 has pros and cons) } 8... a6?! { One of the main practical points of this gambit at our level is that many French players have this instinctive reaction, again by analogy with the MB gambit.. Here it's just too slow. } 9. Na4! { This would not work at all in the MB, but now the Knight is bound for b6. } (9. Be3! { Is also good }) 9... Qc7 10. Be3 $16 { Something will land on b6, and black can only choose how to brace for it. } { [%cal Ga4b6,Ge3b6] } 10... Nxe5?? { After this black is already objectively lost. } (10... b5? { Was the main alternative I considered during the game. } 11. Nb6 Rb8 12. Nxc8 Rxc8 { Would not be awful if black were given time but the problem is that after } 13. a4! { White will win back the queenside pawns one way or the other and gain a devastating pin with Bb5 in the process, for example } 13... b4 (13... bxa4 14. Qxa4 { Also loses to some combination of Rc1 and Bxa6-Bb5 }) 14. Bxa6 Rb8 15. Bb5 $18 { And black is completely busted }) (10... Bd7 { Is relatively best, and does not lose immediately but after something like } 11. Rc1 Nge7 12. Bb6 Qb8 13. Re1 $16 { White has amazing compensation for the pawn. }) 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. Nb6 $18 { Black's main problem is not even the hanging a8 rook (although that is surely a problem!) but rather that by blocking the b pawn and controlling d7 the knight creates a mating attack based on Qa4+ } 12... Bd6 (12... Rb8 { Would lose to something like } 13. Qa4+ Kd8 14. Rac1! { Threatening Rxc8 and Qd7 mate } 14... Qd6 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. Rxc8+ Kxc8 17. Qe8+ Kc7 18. Rc1+) 13. g3 { I spent a long time agonising over whether to start with this or include Qa4+ immediately. It does not actually make a difference but I felt I could visualise the winning lines more clearly after g3. } (13. Qa4+ { What put me off from starting with Qa4+ was that the Bd3 would remain undefended and after something like } 13... Ke7 14. g3 Rb8 15. Bf4 Qxb2 16. Bxd6+ Kxd6 17. Rab1 Qc3 { I assumed there would be a winning continuation but I was not able to visualise it at the board, so decided to start with g3 instead. Indeed it's all nonsense as white is winning by force- } 18. Rfc1! Qxd3 19. Qb4+ Ke5 20. Qf4#) 13... Qf6 { Getting out of the way of Bf4. } (13... Bd7 { The main downside of starting with g3 is that it allows this, dreaming of some Bc6 based counterplay, but then white can win in several ways. I was planning so just grab a couple pieces with } 14. Nxa8 Bc6 15. Bf4 Qxb2 16. Bxd6) (13... Rb8 { It's still impossible to save the rook- there are a few ways, but I was planning to keep it simple with } 14. Bf4 Qxb2 15. Bxd6 Qxb6 16. Bxb8 $18 { A solid rook up. }) 14. Qa4+ Ke7 15. Rac1! { I felt grabbing the rook would be selling my position short. This creates a threat of Rxc8 followed by Qd7, and there really isn't an answer. } (15. Nxa8 Bd7 { Is winning, but there is still some work to do and on a vary bad day you could end up allowing some Bc6 based conterplay }) 15... Nh6 16. Rxc8 Rhxc8 17. Qd7+ Kf8 18. Nxc8 { Spare a thought for the a8 rook- it has been left en prise for 6 moves without either player caring. } (18. Qxd6+ Qe7 19. Qxe7+ Kxe7 20. Nxa8 Rxa8 21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. Rc1 { Is winning enough, but I felt I could play for mate from here }) 18... Be7 19. Qxb7 Rxc8 { As least she gets to grab a knight on the way out. } 20. Qxc8+ Bd8 21. Bb6 Ke8 22. Bxa6 e5 23. Bb5+ Kf8 24. Bxd8 { 1-0 } 1-0