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The short version: if you try an opening that clashes with your style, you get to learn about unfamiliar positions and fix your weaknesses. It helped me gain hundreds of rating points.
The longer version:
I was always a solid, positional player. I didn't feel at home in tactical complications. I could outplay higher rated opponents. But then they would try to complicate, and I would often fail to convert my advantage. At the US Open, I scored just half a point out of three winning positions:
Wilson-Schmakel. White to move
Wilson-Cohen. White to move.
Ji-Wilson. Black to move.
Doing tactical puzzles isn't enough. Navigating complications is about more than avoiding blunders. So I started playing the Benoni. This forced me to get more experience in dynamic positions. I also worked through books of Tal's games. He aimed for the types of positions that I would avoid. His books were written before the computer era, so he mostly explains the ideas and provides a few sample lines instead of overwhelming the reader with lengthy variations (as some modern authors do).
The last round of the Chicago Open was my first serious game in the Benoni. Prize money was at stake. (I don't recommend this. Try a new opening in a training game first. Make sure there is a long time control. In blitz, we have to rely on our instincts, but in a new opening, our instincts haven't been developed yet. If you don't have a sparring partner, test your new openings against an old computer. I train with games against Fritz 5.32 from the 1990s. It's definitely stronger than I am, but most of the games are very competitive; I'm not getting demolished. Modern engines are too strong and will crush you regardless of what opening you play).
[Event "2016 Chicago Open"]
[White "Hamilton, Mark"]
[Black "Wilson, Matthew"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A70"]
[WhiteElo "2046"]
[BlackElo "1942"]
[Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"]
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. h3 {
I wasn't familiar with this move order - a gap in my preparation.} a6 8. a4 Bg7
9. e4 O-O 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. O-O Qe7 12. Bf4 Re8 13. Re1 Nh5 14. Bh2 Ne5 15. Be2 Nxf3+ $6 ({Stockfish (hereafter SF) suggests} 15... Bd7 {as an improvement. I
thought White was threatening to win a pawn here, but that isn't true. Black
hangs on with a tactic very similar to the one in the game:} 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17.
Bxh5 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qe5+ {. The text does White's work for him, but 15...Bd7
would develop a piece. If White played the same way he did in the game, I
would be a tempo up in this variation.}) 16. Bxf3 Be5 17. Bxh5 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2
Qe5+ 19. g3 {A few moves ago, I thought I could play 19...gxh5 and the game
bears some resemblence to the famous Spassky-Fischer duel. But then I noticed
that after 20.f4, Black has to retreat (or try the excessively optimistic 20...
Qd4) and the h-pawn falls.} ({Stockfish insists that} 19. Kg1 {
is best. Its idea is} gxh5 20. Qd2 {and Black's dark squares are weak. If 19...
Qxh5, then White swaps the queens. It turns out that in the game, a tempo
spent on Kg1 is better than a tempo spent on g2-g3 - but this is far from
obvious.}) 19... Qxh5 20. Qxh5 gxh5 21. f4 f6 22. Ra3 $6 ({During the game, I
was initially concerned about 22.f5 followed by Nc3-e2-f4, but Black should
get enough counterplay.} 22. e5 $1 {(SF)} dxe5 23. Ne4 {
and White recovers his pawn with a comfortable advantage.}) 22... Rb8 23. Rb3 b5 $6 ({I can't believe that I missed} 23... b6
{. I thought that I had to prevent Rb6, or else I get crushed positionally.
Because Black almost always goes for ...b7-b5 in the Benoni instead of ...
b7-b6, this move didn't occur to me until after the post-mortem was over!}) 24.
axb5 axb5 25. Rxb5 Ba6 26. Rxb8 Rxb8 27. Nd1 Bc4 28. Kg2 $6 ({I was worried about} 28. Kg1 $1 {, since if I play in the same
way that I did in the game, then the b2-pawn does not fall with check. That
extra tempo is crucial. I was planning} Re8 {
, but I wasn't fully convinced by it.}) 28... f5 29. Ne3
Rxb2+ 30. Kg1 Bd3 31.
Nxf5 c4 32.
Re3 $2 {At first glance, Black is stymied. If he moves the bishop, then the
c-pawn is halted. Advancing the c-pawn loses. Initially, I was concerned about
this move, but then I found a resource.} 32... Rd2 $1 {Now the c-pawn can safely advance.} (32... c3 $2 {
wins the exchange but loses the game:} 33. Rxd3 c2 34. Rc3 Rb1+ 35. Kf2 c1=Q
36. Rxc1 Rxc1 37. Nxd6 {
and Black's rook will be overwhelmed by the phalanx of White pawns}) 33. Nd4 {
The d6-pawn is obviously untouchable} c3 34. Nb3 ({
After the game, we probably looked at lines like} 34. e5 c2 35. Nxc2 Bxc2 36.
e6 Kf8 {Now Stockfish recommends} 37. Rc3 (37. g4 Rxd5 38. f5 Rd3 39. Re2 Bb3 {
freezes the pawns}) 37... Be4 38. Rc8+ Ke7 39. Rc7+ Kd8 40. Rf7 Bxd5 41. f5 Rd3
{and the advance of the pawns is halted - Black wins}) 34... c2 (34... Rd1+ 35.
Kf2 c2 36. Re1 {transposes}) 35. Re1 Rd1 36. Kf2 Rxe1 $2 (36... Kf7 $1 {
(SF) and White is in zugzwang! Obviously, I know about zugzwang, but here my
brain was still in tactics mode rather than endgame mode.} 37. Nc1 ({
White can't blast his way out:} 37. e5 dxe5 38. fxe5 Bc4 {
and Black soon mops up the pawns.}) 37... Bxe4 38. Rxe4 (38. Ke2 Bf3+ 39. Kf2
Bxd5) 38... Rxc1 39. Rc4 {and the move I probably missed was} Rh1 $1) 37. Kxe1
Bxe4 38. Kd2 Bxd5 39. Kxc2 h4 $1 {The only way to keep Black's winning chances
alive. If White is permitted to play h3-h4, then he draws easily.} 40. g4 $2 ({
Missing a forced draw.} 40. gxh4 Bxb3+ 41. Kxb3 Kf7 42. Kc4 Ke6 43. Kd4 Kf5 44.
Kd5 Kxf4 (44... h5 45. Kxd6 Kxf4 46. Ke6 Kg3 47. Kf5 Kxh4 48. Kg6 $11) 45. Kxd6
Kg3 46. Ke5 Kxh4 47. Kf5 $11 {. But seeing all of this requires a lot of
calculation for Round 7 on the last move of the first time control. In these
lines, Black doesn't have to take on b3, but the bishop vs. knight ending
doesn't pose any problems for White.}) 40... Bg2 (40... Bxb3+ 41. Kxb3 {
and the pawn ending should be an easy draw for White.}) 41. Nd4 Bxh3 42. Nf5 {
White offered a draw. I declined since Black can play on without any risk.} h5
$2 ({I had looked at the piece sac} 42... Bxg4 43. Nh6+ Kg7 44. Nxg4 Kg6 {
and then noticed that White hangs on after} 45. Nf2 $1 Kf5 46. Nh3 {. Black can
't play ...Kf5-g4xh3 without allowing the f-pawn to promote. It's a draw.}) (
42... d5 $1 {(SF)} 43. Kd2 ({I probably dismissed this line due to} 43. Ne7+
Kf7 44. Nxd5 {, but actually Black wins easily after} Bg2 {
. White can't stop the pawn.}) 43... Kf7 44. Nxh4 Bxg4 {and there is a crucial
difference compared to the game: Black's king can penetrate on the h-file.})
43. Nxh4 Bxg4 44. Kd3 Kf7 45. Kd4 Ke6 46. Ke4 d5+ 47. Kd4 Kd6 48. Ke3 $6 ({
This doesn't lose the game, but White had a fairly straightforward draw:} 48.
f5 Bh3 49. f6 Ke6 50. Ng6 Kxf6 51. Nf4 {
. White reocvers at least one of the pawns and Black has no winning chances.})
48... Kc5 49. Kd3 d4 50. Kd2 $2 {Now White is lost} 50... Kc4 51. Kc2 Kd5 52. Kd3 Bh3 $1 {
Zugzwang} 53. Nf3 Bf5+ 54. Kd2 Ke4 55.
Ke2 Bg4 0-1
My performance was shaky. You could say I was lucky. But a few years earlier, I would have lost positions like that 10 times out of 10. I kept working on the Benoni and studying Tal's books. A year later, I returned to the Chicago Open and got to play the Benoni again:
[Event "2017 Chicago Open"]
[Site "Chicago"]
[White "Stinson, Marcus"]
[Black "Wilson, Matthew"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "1832"]
[BlackElo "2014"]
[Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4
a6 {This surprised him. Obviously, the e4-pawn is untouchable.} 7. Bd3 Bg4 ({
Black could "punish" White's move order by playing} 7... b5 {, but after} 8. a4
b4 {he only succeeds in handing White the c4-square} (8... c4 9. Bc2 b4 10. Qe2
{and Black's queenside is shaky})) (7... g6 {seems natural, but after} 8. h3 {
I could be move-ordered out of my preferred setup. Here and on the next moves,
I took time to check that Qb3 doesn't work.}) 8. a4 g6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. O-O Bxf3 11. Qxf3 O-O {Here I felt that Bf4 and Qg3
were harmless due to ...Nh5. His next move came as an unpleasant surprise to
me.} 12. Qh3 {With the unsubtle intention of rolling Black off the board.
After f2-f4, White can follow up with either f4-f5 or e4-e5.} Re8 13. Bh6 {
This allows Black to equalize, but perhaps that is okay with White, given the
difference in the ratings. If White wants to preserve the tension, he should
play 13.f4.} Bh8 (13... c4 14. Bxg7 (14. Bc2 Nbd7 {
and Black gets good counterplay}) 14... Kxg7 15. Bxc4 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 {
was playable. It's also Stockfish's first choice; the machine is critical of
my decision. But the text keeps the game imbalanced, and this is important
when your opponent is nearly 200 points below you.}) 14. Bg5 Nbd7 15. f4 {
Stockfish is critical of this move, saying that it throws away White's
advantage. It prefers 15.a5. This is a good suggestion, since the b6-square
and ...b7-b5 will both be quite useful to Black in the game.} Qc7 16. Rae1 c4 17. Bb1 b5 $1 {Creating counterplay} 18. e5 {
I thought this was a blunder, but Stockfish says it's still about equal.} 18... dxe5 19. fxe5 $2 {
This is White's real mistake (SF).} (19. f5 $1 {was necessary (SF). White is
permanently down a pawn, but he has gained access to e4 and Black's e5-pawn
gets in the way of his own pieces.}) 19... Rxe5 20. Rxe5 (20. Bf4 {
keeps things more complicated, but Black is still winning after} Qa7+) 20...
Qxe5 21. Bf4 Qd4+ 22. Be3 Qg4 23. axb5 axb5 24. Qf3 $2 ({
He had 12 minutes to make it to move 40 at this point.} 24. Nxb5 Qxh3 25. gxh3
Nxd5 {put up more resistance.}) (24. Qxg4 $2 {doesn't work. After} Nxg4 {
, White has no time to take on b5 due to his hanging bishop on e3.}) 24... Qxf3
25. Rxf3 b4 26. Nd1 $4 {Losing a piece} (26. Ne2) 26... Ra1 $1 27. Bc2 b3 {
It's over} 28. Bxb3 cxb3 29. Rf1 Nxd5 30. Bh6 Bd4+ 31. Kh1 Bxb2 32. Re1 Be5 33.
Bd2 b2 0-1
My prep had improved; I was ready for the sideline that he played. But more importantly, my understanding of dynamic positions was much better. I won a bunch of games like this one. My rating soared by 200 points, and now I'm in the 2100s. Eventually I switched to the Queen's Gambit Declined - it is much more compatible with my positional style - but I learned a ton from playing the Benoni. My next mission is to learn the Sicilian Scheveningen. There are lines where my opponent gets a big attack, and I'm not very comfortable there. But I'm going to learn a lot about defending.
