Varsity match

On Saturday 8 March the 132nd Varsity match between the teams of Oxford and Cambridge will see Oxford seeking to reduce its historic deficit in a match which can claim to be the world’s longest-running chess fixture. Scores stand as follows: Cambridge lead by 58 wins to 53 with 20 drawn matches. This year’s contest is jointly sponsored by Henry Mutkin, the doyen of the RAC Chess Circle and the Royal Automobile Club itself.
 
This week’s game is one of my own experiences from an earlier Varsity contest against a player who went on to win the British Championship on two occasions.
 
Keene-Botterill: Oxford-Cambridge Match 1970; Catalan Opening
 
1 Nf3 d5 2 d4 Nf6 3 c4 e6 4 g3 dxc4 5 Bg2 Nbd7 6 Nbd2 There are now two ways to cling on to Black’s extra pawn. After 6 … Nb6 7 Nxc4 Nxc4 8 Qa4+ Bd7 9 Qxc4 a standard Catalan position has arisen where White has some play against Black’s queenside pawns. More testing is 6 … b5 7 Ne5 Nxe5 8 Bxa8 Qxd4 9 0-0 Nd5 10 a4 which has been favoured for White by Dutch grandmaster and Catalan expert Genna Sosonko. 6 … c5 Black tries to equalise by clearing the centre of pawns. 7 Nxc4 Nb6 8 Nxb6 Qxb6 9 0-0 Be7 Inconsistent. The logical course is 9 … cxd4 as in the later game Taylor-Cabanes, Winnipeg 1997. 10 dxc5 Bxc5 11 Ne5 0-0 12 Nd3 Black’s king’s bishop and queen now become a target for White’s minor pieces. 12 … Be7 (see diagram 1) 13 Be3 Qa5 14 Qc2 Nd5 15 Bd2 Qd8 16 Qb3 b6 This move leads to problems since White can exploit the pressure of his Catalan bishop on g2 but other moves such as the weakening 16 … f5 or the rather pointless 16 … a5 contribute little to ameliorating his situation.