Samb - Buggy game 3
Samb - Buggy 0-2 (12.03.2003)
From 10 to 16 March the rematch between GMI N'Diaga Samb and the computer program Buggy took place in Cannes, during the "Festival des jeux". After two observing games, the third game was very spectacular.
≡ 1.34-29 19-23 2.40-34 14-19 3.45-40 10-14 4.50-45 5-10 5.29-24 20x29 6.33x24 19x30 7.34x25 13-19 8.35-30 15-20 9.39-33 20-24 10.40-35 10-15 11.32-28 23x32 12.37x28 17-22 13.28x17 12x21 14.44-40
Samb is aiming for a reprise of the first game of the 2001 match. Then he was very successful with putting pressure on the black piece on 24.
7-12 15.31-26 1-7 16.26x17 12x21
This time Buggy takes a much more conservative approach than in the previous match. In that match Buggy was inclined to capture towards the center with 11x22 . It is certainly risky to simultaneously possess 22 and 24, but on the other hand it results in very lively games.
17.36-31 8-12 18.41-37 21-26 19.31-27 11-17 20.46-41 2-8 21.43-39 17-22 22.41-36 22x31 23.36x27 12-17 24.39-34 17-21 25.37-32 7-11 26.33-28 8-12
This position is very complicated, and requires a lot of calculations. That makes it of course ideal for Buggy. White can make several mistakes here. For example, after 27.38-33? black has a combination with 26-31 28.27x36 14-20 29.25x23 18x27 30.30x19 27-31 31.36x27 21x14 B+ And after ≡ 27.42-37 the exchange 14-20! 28.25x23 18x29 29.34x23 15-20 30.30x19 9-13 31.19x17 11x22 results in a position that is very dangerous for white. Another idea for white is ≡ 27.28-23 19x37 28.30x10 21x43 29.48x39(!) 37x48 30.39-33 48x30 31.35x24 But then black can reply with 9-14 32.10x19 4-10 33.25-20 3-9!! and 34.19-13 fails due to 11-17 35.13x11 6x17. Finally, after ≡ 27.28-22 12-17 28.22x13 9x18 29.38-33 4-9 (and of course not ≡ 3-9? 30.25-20 14x25 31.27-22 18x29 32.34x3 25x34 33.40x20 15x24 W+) ≡ 30.34-29 17-22 31.29x20 22x31 32.40-34 15x24 33.34-29 black can take a simple combination with 18-22 34.29x20 31-37 35.32x41 22-28 36.33x22 21-27 37.22x31 26x46 again with a very dangerous position for white. Sambs next move was therefore the right decision.
An alternative for Buggy's next move was 9-13. Then white would be forced to temporarily sacrifice a piece with 28.43-39 4-9 29.39-33 12-17 30.27-22! 18x27 31.34-29. But this line is actually good for white, since after 17-22 32.28x17 21x12 33.32x21 16x27 34.29x20 15x24 35.40-34 13-18 36.34-29 11-17 37.29x20 9-13 38.20x9 13x4 39.33-29! white has very good perspectives to break through black's weakened left wing.
Samb has to make a very difficult decision again: play 28.28-23 directly or start with ≡ 28.27-22 like he did in the game. The first possibility ≡ 28.28-23 19x37 29.30x10 21x32 30.42x31 26x37 31.38x27 18-22 32.27x18 9-13 33.18x9 3x5 would result in a very unusual position where black and white can make a break through towards a king. The preliminary conclusion is that this position is about equal. The second possibility however results in a 6x6 position that is clearly better for black.
≡ 28.27-22 18x27 29.28-23 19x37 30.42x22 17x28 31.30x10 15-20 32.25x14 4x15 33.35-30 9x20 34.30-24 20x29 35.34x32 21-27 36.32x21 16x27
There is no doubt that white can still force a draw in this position, but Samb is clearly under pressure now. This is due to the large tempo difference (+9 for black). The most safe defense for white is probably to play 37.43-39 11-17 38.39-33 in this position.
37.40-34 11-17 38.34-29 17-22 39.29-23 6-11 40.43-39 11-17!
During the live chat, many people had the impression that Samb's defense in this game was rather poor. That is a somewhat unjust qualification, because apart from the 44th move he didn't make obvious mistakes. An important factor was surely that during the last phase of the game Buggy has played exceptionally well. In this position Samb had planned the logical move 41.39-33. Here he discovered that this is very dangerous because of 27-31! 42.38-32 17-21, and white cannot proceed with 43.23-19 because of the small combination 31-37 44.32x41 22-28 45.33x22 21-27 46.22x31 26x46, so only the poor continuation ≡ 43.33-29 22-28 44.23-18 28x37 45.18-12 remains.
Again a very strong move from Buggy! Normally it would be very unwise to allow white to possess square 14, but in this particular case it is the best method for keeping the pressure on the white position. After ≡ 3-9 42.39-33 the game would certainly end in a draw.
≡ 42.19-14 27-31 43.39-34 31-37!
Yet again a very effective move. Now white has to decide if he can afford a break-through from black after 44.34-29 28-32 45.38x27 26-31 46.27x36 37-41 At first sight this looks very tricky for white, but after 47.29-24 41-46 48.24-19 it is not clear at all how black should proceed, so a draw is the most likely result. Samb didn't trust this variant, so with his next move he prepared a capture for the black king ( ≡ 44.48-43 28-32 45.38x27 26-31 46.27x36 37-41 47.43-38 41-46 48.14-9 3x14 49.38-32 46x40 50.45x34). This turns out to be a big mistake.
Now the game is definitely lost for white.
45.38-32 37-42 46.32x23 42-48 47.14-9 48x25 48.9-4
Samb has managed to get a king at the cost of one piece. Surprisingly, the piece on 23 can not be defended.
31-36 49.4-13 25-34 50.23-19 34-43 51.13-2 43-32
and Samb resigned. With 2 pieces behind this endgame is indeed hopeless.
© Wieger Wesselink https://10x10.org