Tuesday 21 August 2018

A draw by reputation

Sometimes you sit down at the board and decide a draw is the right result. This can happen during the game, or in the case of the following game, this decision can be made 20 years ago. For those unfamiliar with the back story, Ian Hosking and I have debated the soundness of the Traxler since 1985, and while the score is strongly in my favour, recent results have not been so kind to me.
So when we reached move 15 Ian offered me a draw, knowing that I could take a perpetual if I wanted to. After about 30 seconds though I accepted the offer, as I didn't spot anything clear cut. But some advice for those who wish to follow the same path that we did. If you are Black, refuse any such offers, as the position is actually winning after Nd4 (a move I did consider BTW). I leave the actual analysis to you and Stockfish if you are interested.

Hosking,Ian - Press,Shaun [C57]
Korda Classic, 21.08.2018



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