Need help retrieving an obscure(?) line in the French Winawer Poisoned Pawn

Unfortunately i lost all my score sheets from when i played in the Bristol league in the mid-late 1980s and i can't remember how a particular line in the French Def. Poisoned Pawn went.

The first occasion i played it was against a very strong player (Board 2 for the 1st team) in our club's knockout tournament and i had the White pieces. I knew he played the French Defence so i looked through my copy of MCO - 11th edition (which i no longer have) for some ideas in preparation for the game. I noticed a wild looking line for White that ended in (i think) an evaluation of "clear advantage to Black" but it wasn't clear to me why so i played through some possible continuations and decided that the evaluation depended on Black finding quite a subtle King move a little later on which ended White's attack, otherwise he would be dead lost. I thought it was worth a gamble and in the game my opponent didn't find the saving King move and so lost in 29 moves.

Are there any French Defence experts who can recognize the variation in question? It may possibly be an offshoot from the 10. Kd1 variation but i can't remember for sure  . Also, if someone has a copy of MCO 11 (and maybe other editions too) they could perhaps retrieve the variation from my description?

I played it once more a year later, also in the club KO tournament and won in 21 moves against a lower rated opponent who had previously kept beating me with his blasted French Def. so i was looking for revenge!

After checking all the Winawer columns 41 through 65 of MCO-11, I only saw one column that ended in an evaluation of a slight advantage for Black (no others ended in better than equality or unclear for Black, except possibly one of the foot notes before the end of the column in a 10 Kd1 line). Column 44 went (after 6 PxB N-K2 7 Q-N4) 7 ... O-O 8 N-B3 QN-B3 9 B-Q3 P-B4 10 PxP e. p. RxP 11 B-KN5 R-B2 12 BxN RxB 13 Q-R4 P-KN3 (h), then footnote h continues another 6 moves, ending - over + (slight advantage for Black). However, that wouldn't be considered a poisoned pawn line. (MCO 11 would put + after a last move for a "distinct advantage" for that side). That game referred to was Korchnoi-Bronstein, USSR 1958.
The only other possibility I saw was in a footnote after 6 ... N-K2 7 Q-N4 PxP 8 QxNP R-N1 9 QxP Q-B2 10 K-Q1 QN-B3 11 N-B3 PxP 12 N-N5 R-B1 (a) when Footnote (a) (A) gives "Better is 12 ... NxP, answered by", then of two possibilities, the only one for White that ended in a slight advantage for Black was 13 B-B4 Q-N3 14 BxN RxN 15 P-KR4 R-KN1 16 K-K1 B-Q2 17 R-R3 R-N5 -+ (was given as - over + which I can't replicate), Matulovic-Uhlman, Budapest 1967.
Does that line look familiar? Otherwise, I would need more clues to go on.

Actually, the Winawer lines were 41 through 75 ... the only other line ending in advantage to Black was line 75, which wasn't a Poisoned Pawn (Qg4xg7), going 4 B-Q2 PxP 5 Q-N4 QxP 6 O-O-O!? P-KR4 7 Q-N5! B-K2 8 Q-N3 B-Q3 9 B-KB4 P-KR5! etc (it goes further but I don't think this is the line you're looking for).

Thanks for replying. Yes, i think it might have been this line.

Thanks Zugerzwang, for looking through MCO 11 in search of this elusive line. I really hope i'm not totally misremembering it but perhaps it wasn't a 'good for Black' line after all. Can't imagine that the UK version of the book is any different to the US version though. Are there any wild looking lines of the Winawer Poisoned Pawn Var. given where White goes on a King hunt pretty early, Black King remains in the centre and ought to emerge on top if he defends correctly?

 

I thought you were looking for an offshoot of the 10.Kd1 line.  What was given here is the primary alternative to the main line, 10.Ne2.  I thought maybe you were trying to figure out some obscure response to 10.Kd1 by Black, which I would not be so sure what that is as I play 10.Ne2 as White and have not played the poisoned pawn as Black in well over 15 years (7...Kf8, 7...O-O, and non-Winawer lines like the Classical and McCutcheon, and of course the Steinitz, which I also play as White against 3...Nf6, and then the Rubinstein occasionally).

I only have the Pitman (US) edition of MCO-11, but it would certainly be the same as the U.K. Edition and I don't believe anything would have been changed after 1972 (if it was reprinted) until the 12th edition came out in 1982. I can check that also, since that would have been the latest edition out at the time you were playing it in the mid to late 80's and maybe you misremembered the edition you were using?
If Black came out on top, then it seems the MCO would have concluded the column with an advantage to Black. There was also a book out in 1971 on the French Poisoned Pawn by Zeuthen and another author, which I was checking. I'm not an expert in the French or those lines, but have been studying it recently. I will post back (if you still haven't found it) if I come across anything that looks likely (many of those Poisoned Pawn lines look a little wild). MCO-11 and/or 12 shouldn't be too hard to find in the used book market and used to come up on eBay fairly frequently at nominal prices. I understand what it's like to not quite remember something or where you saw it and then go crazy trying to find it again.

Maybe it could have been the first line in the footnote I gave above, where the Black king does move in the center? It ends in =, so I had only given the second line in the footnote above.
This is line 51 from MCO-12 now (but I think MCO-11 had the same line) after 6 ... N-K2 7 Q-N4 PxP 8 QxNP R-N1 9 QxP Q-B2 10 K-Q1 QN-B3 11 N-B3 PxP 12 N-N5 R-B1 (a) when Footnote (a) (A) gives "Better is 12 ... NxP, answered by (1) 13 P-B4 RxN! (or 13 ... P-B3! 14 B-N5+ K-Q1 =) 14 PxR N/4-N3 15 B-K2 P-K4 16 R-B1 B-K3 17 B-N5+ K-Q1 =. Matalovic-Tatai, Venice 1969"

Footnote (a) (B) "Korchnoi suggests to try 12 ... QxP 13 QxP+ K-Q2" with an unclear evaluation.

From a cursory review of MCO-12 (unless I missed something in a note), I don't see any other Poisoned Pawn lines where the Black king doesn't castle queenside and gets kicked around or makes a king move in the center, except this one in a 6 ... Q-B2 line:
7 Q-N4 P-B4 8 Q-N3 N-K2 9 QxP R-N1 10 QxP PxP 11 K-Q1 B-Q2 (k) 12 Q-R5+ K-Q1! 13 N-K2! PxP (l)

Note (l) goes on through move 20, ending in "=", which I can give if you think this is the line (from Collins-Lobdell, corr. 1971-1972)

That last line is line 60 in both MCO-11 and MCO-12, the column line in both is the same, though the note l in MCO-11 is briefer, giving "14 Q-B3! QN-B3! 15 Q-QBP NxP 16 QxQ+ KxQ 17 N-Q4 +-. Pachman. So far the latest novelty in an exhaustively analysed line."
Apparently, 15 Q-QBP was a typo corrected in MCO-12 note l, which gives the same moves but continues further, giving 15 QxQBP NxP 16 QxQ+ KxQ 17 N-Q4 N-N5 18 K-K1 P-K4 19 P-KB3 PxN 20 PxN PxP =. Collins-Lobdell, corr. 1961-1972.
I don't see any other possibilities at this time which seem to meet your criteria. If I come across something later that I missed, I will let you know.

There is another somewhat wild line (48) in MCO-11 where the Black king gets kicked around with a knight check from d6 (and White's rook at b7) after Black forks them, but it is after the queens are traded on the 19th/20th moves (in note (h)). It looks like Black might get the advantage in that line after a bishop fork of White's rook and knight, but White has a saving knight check which will mate if Black makes the wrong king move, but with the correct moves, it is a forced draw and Black can't escape the draw. I don't know how to put a diagram on here (if it's even possible from the phone I'm using or without an upgraded membership) but in Forsyth notation, the final book position in the note is:
r3k1r1/pR3p2/2b1p3/4P3/3nNP2/4p3/2P3PP/4KB1R

The book stops there after 21 moves with "=" and White to move, but it seems an obvious draw after 22 Nd6+ Kd8 (22 ... Kf8?? 23 Rxf7#) 23 Nxf7+ Kc8 24 Nd6+ etc (or 23 ... Ke8 24 Nd6+) and White can easily force a draw. I haven't analyzed trying to play on for White, but at a glance it looks like it could get a bit double-edged, with Black maybe getting on top with a king move if White tries 25 Rb2 Bxg2 26 Rg1, for example.
If that looks like the line, I can send the moves leading to that position.

It looks like the last two lines of the position were cut off:
2P3PP/4KB1R were ranks 2 and 1.

Thank you, PawnstormPossie.
I'm not sure if that's what the OP was looking for, but an interesting position anyway.

It looked like you had the correct diagram posted, but it's gone now.

No, I just meant I wasn't sure if it is the line the OP was looking for, but it is the correct position for the end of that line in MCO-11. If White tries 25 Rb2, Black might be OK after a king move at the proper time, though he appears to be losing if he tries 25 ... Bxg2 26 Rg1 Kc7? 27 Bxg2. More interesting would be 26 ... Bxf1?! when White could get mated after inaccurate moves following 27 Rxg8+, but it looks like White would come out on top there too with accurate play. I haven't checked it with a computer. I'm not sure of best play for Black if White tries to win with 25 Rb2 (maybe 25 ... Kc7 works for Black?) or another move, though White has the earlier draw option if there is no winning line for him.

(From the diagram position, that would be after 22 Nd6+ Kd8 23 Nxf7+ Kc8 24 Nd6+ Kd8)

It will be nice to use algebric notation (descriptive is hard to read and not used anymore) and/or diagrams with the moves...

I should have said "Yes, i think this could have been the beginning of the line." (or something like that) I haven't faced many French Defences since joining this site, though currently I'm trying to get to know the Advance Var.

I'm feeling more & more sure that these are the relevant lines from the book - thanks very much for your efforts Zugerzwang! Lots of possible variations to look at later... looks like the book evaluation of 'better for Black' was imagined by me (well, it was 30 yrs ago)! Thanks again PawnstormPossie, for your diagram.

 

I thought i'd checked all my later scorebooks/sheets for any relevant French Winawer games but overlooked this one, a postal game from '92/3 against a lower rated opponent. It's obviously not the exact same line as in the Bristol OTB games as they finished early and this reached an endgame but it belongs to the same cluster.

Black resigned on move 45. A few notes i made at the time: (14. Be2!?) (16. Ng7+?! RxN)