Scarpa, Mario – Cantliff, Richard P

Scarpa, Mario (1354)
Cantliff, Richard P (1593)
Result: 0-1

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Date: 5 February 2025
Location: Newcastle Bridge Club
Tournament: 2024/2025 League Season NSDCA Division 4
Round: 1.1.1
Opening: B20 Sicilian, including Smith-Morra Gambit
Submitted by:
Published on: 6 February 2025
Categories: game

[Event "2024/2025 League Season NSDCA Division 4"]
[Site "Newcastle Bridge Club"]
[Date "2025.02.05"]
[Round "1.1.1"]
[White "Scarpa, Mario"]
[Black "Cantliff, Richard P"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo "1593"]
[BlackTeam "Newcastle B"]
[ECO "B20"]
[EventDate "2025.02.05"]
[WhiteElo "1354"]
[WhiteTeam "Crewe I"]

1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.O-O Qc7 {At this point, White thinks that Black's plan is to double Queen and Bishop to eventually disrupt White King's defences (particularly h2). While advancing the pawn in g2 seems the logical response, this would weaken the Knight, defeating its purpose. White strategy is laid out with this in mind.}5.b3 Nf6 6.Bb2 d6 {This might buy White some time, as Black Queen and Bishop cannot be doubled now... but maybe not for long.}7.Nc3 a6 8.a4 Be7 9.d4 {The position is getting stuck: a disruption is needed to free some space for maneuvre.}9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.Nf3 Rd8 12.Qe2 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Bd3 Bg4 {This poses a serius cadundrum: not only is h2 in potential peril, but now the Knight is pinned.}15.Rad1 Ne5 {Sometimes, when you want to hold on to everything, you lose it all piece by piece... it is better to sacrifice one piece for the greater good of the positional strategy. White is aware of the potential Bxh7+, which can offer a surprise effect.}16.Nxd5 Rxd5 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Rxd5 Nxd5 19.Bxe5 Qd7 20.Qd3+ Bf5 21.Qd4 Bf6 22.c4 Bxe5 23.Nxe5 Qe7 24.Qxd5 {The plan worked: White is satisfied to now have even material while maintaining a better position than Black. But the clock is ticking...}24...Be6 25.Qe4+ Kg8 26.h3 Re8 27.Re1 Qb4 28.Nf3 Bd7 29.Qb1 Rxe1+ 30.Nxe1 Bxa4 31.Nd3 Qxb3 32.Qxb3 Bxb3 33.Ne5 f6 34.Nd7 Kf7 35.Nb6 a5 36.f4 a4 {From now on, everything is lost. With such time pressure (less than two minutes left), blunders are inevitable. White can now only hope for an even worse blunder from Black. The notation stops here, but White loses on time very shortly after this move.} 0-1