Mutkin’s masterpiece

This Saturday, 11 March, the annual Oxford v Cambridge Varsity match is being hosted by The Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall. Cambridge lead the series with 59 wins to Oxford’s 53 in a contest which goes back to the 1870s. Primum mobile at the RAC is Henry Mutkin, who himself led the Oxford team in the mid-1950s. This week’s game sees Mutkin felling not one but two former British champions, both grandmasters, with a series of mighty blows. Thanks to Henry for providing variations.
 
Hodgson/Sadler-Mutkin: London 2016, Trompovsky Attack
 
1 d4 Nf6 2 Bg5 Ne4 3 Bf4 d5 4 e3 e6 5 Bd3 Bd6 6 Ne2 Nd7 7 Bxe4 dxe4 8 Nd2 Nf6 9 Bg5 c5 This leads to complicated play. White wins a pawn but Black gains practical counterchances. 10 Nxe4 Qa5+
 
(see diagram 1)
 
11 b4

11 Qd2 Qxd2+ 12 Nxd2 cxd4 13 Nxd4 Be7 gives Black some chances based on the bishop pair.