Annotated Game #184: One tempo and the initiative

In this next tournament game, the role of the initiative is again highlighted.  As White, by move 16 I have achieved a great-looking position against my opponent's Dutch setup, but by a couple of moves later he is firmly in the driver's seat on the kingside, thanks to my losing the initiative.  I also make a critical mistake letting his knight into the e3 outpost, but then bravely (and somewhat desperately) sacrifice the exchange to get rid of it, in the hopes of eventual counterplay.  My opponent returns the favor later on, getting distracted and giving me a crucial tempo to let my queen penetrate his now-bare kingside, which gets me a perpetual and a draw.

It's interesting to see the importance of not wasting even a single move in tense positions and how quickly the initiative can turn - and then turn back.  It also yet again points out the importance of never giving up the fight until you are actually lost, with the game following a similar trajectory in that respect to Annotated Game #183.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class A"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A10"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 11.2"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventType "simul"] [EventRounds "6"] {[%mdl 8192] A10: English Opening: Unusual Replies for Black} 1. c4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. d3 {making this an English rather than a true Dutch Defense. The placement of the d-pawn is a critical difference, as here White contests Black's control of the e4 square.} Be7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 d6 {a Classical Dutch setup.} 7. O-O Nc6 8. Rb1 {initiating the standard queenside expansion plan, with a b-pawn advance as the main idea.} a5 9. a3 e5 {Black counters by advancing in the center. This however gives up the d5 square.} (9... Qe8 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Qh5 12. b5 Nd8 13. e3 g5 14. Nd2 Qg6 15. Qe2 Nf7 16. Bb2 g4 17. Ra1 Rb8 18. e4 e5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Nce4 Ng5 21. c5 Nh3+ 22. Kh1 Nd7 23. b6 c6 24. cxd6 {Schiendorfer,F (2190)-Kleinhenz,H (1920) Triesen 2013 1-0}) 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Nd4 $6 {Black will need to do something with the Nc6, but this doesn't help him.} (11... Qe8 {is almost always played here, with the idea of transferring the queen as part of the standard Dutch attacking plan on the kingside. Let's see a high-level treatment of this:} 12. b5 Nd8 13. Nd5 Ne6 14. Bd2 Bd8 15. Bb4 Qh5 16. e3 Ne8 17. Nd2 Qf7 18. Bc3 Kh8 19. Ra1 Rxa1 20. Qxa1 Bd7 21. Nb4 b6 22. f4 exf4 23. gxf4 Bf6 24. Rf3 Bxc3 25. Qxc3 Nf6 26. Rh3 Re8 27. Nd5 Nxd5 28. Bxd5 Rf8 29. Kf2 Qe7 30. Nf3 Rf6 31. Qa1 h6 32. Qa8+ Rf8 33. Qa1 Rf6 34. Qa7 Qd8 35. Rg3 Nc5 36. Ke2 Be6 37. Qa8 Qxa8 38. Bxa8 Rf8 39. Bc6 Bd7 40. Nd4 Bxc6 41. bxc6 Kh7 42. Rg1 Ra8 43. Nxf5 g6 44. Ne7 Ra2+ 45. Kf3 Nxd3 46. Nxg6 Nb4 47. Ne7 Rxh2 48. Ng8 {1-0 (48) Rustemov,A (2475)-Kobalia,M (2430) Moscow 1995}) 12. Nxd4 $16 {the next sequence is mostly forced.} exd4 13. Nb5 { I debated some time between this and Nd5. The text move is more critical.} c5 { otherwise the pawn on d4 is hanging.} 14. bxc5 dxc5 15. Bf4 {at this point White has a clear advantage, with the two bishops being especially effective. The Nb5 also combines well with the dark-square bishop in targeting c7 and d6.} Ne8 {this looks passive but does a good job of covering the weak squares.} 16. Bd5+ {here I wanted to dominate the e6 square and centralize the bishop, although it is also more exposed here. I thought that the gain of tempo would offset any problems.} Kh8 17. Re1 {I had another significant think here, as this is a critical position for White to try and find a good plan. The text move is OK, looking at opening the e-file, but I did not give Black's ...g5 response enough credit, even though I spotted it.} (17. Qd2 $5 $16 {and now if} g5 $2 18. Be5+ Bf6 19. Qxg5 $1 {and the Bf6 is pinned on both diagonals. Black's hanging Qd8 is a key component of this tactic.}) 17... g5 $14 {clearly the best and most active move. Now Black regains some initiative.} 18. Be5+ { I had seen this far but incorrectly evaluated how the piece exchange would result in a benefit to Black.} (18. Bd2 Nf6 19. Bf3 $14) 18... Bf6 $11 19. Bxf6+ Nxf6 {now Black has really solved most of his problems and can make some counter-threats on the kingside.} 20. Qb3 f4 {Black gets more space} 21. Bg2 { I thought for a while before playing this retreat. I had also considered the below option, but thought it would lead to a clear Black advantage.} (21. e4 $5 Nxd5 (21... dxe3 22. fxe3 fxg3 23. hxg3 {was what I was concerned about, but Komodo considers it equal.}) 22. exd5 $15) 21... fxg3 {now Black fully takes over the initiative.} (21... Ng4 22. Rf1 $17) 22. fxg3 Ng4 {targeting the f2 square and also eyeing the outpost square on e3.} 23. Qb2 $2 {with the idea of defending the second rank, but Black's next move keeps the queen shut out.} ( 23. e4 {was necessary to not let the knight into e3.} Ne5 24. Rf1 Rxf1+ 25. Rxf1 $17) 23... Ne3 $19 24. Rf1 {I considered sacrificing the exchange the only real way to continue playing with any hope of a draw, with some compensation due to the strong light-square bishop and Black's open king. Komodo shows this as a top choice as well (although all choices are bad by this point).} Nxf1 25. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 26. Kxf1 {I wanted to keep the bishop on the long diagonal, although this was not necessarily critical.} (26. Bxf1 Qe7 27. e4 $19) 26... Qf6+ 27. Kg1 Qe6 28. e4 (28. Nc7 {I of course looked at, but Black's queen goes to e3 with tempo and I really didn't like the idea of allowing it to get there.} Qe3+ 29. Kf1 Ra5 $19) 28... Qa6 {while this is still winning for Black, it indicates a lack of focus on the kingside, where I now have some hope for counterplay due to the open f-file and Black's exposed king.} 29. Qf2 {I had been looking at this idea previously and was very pleased that my opponent allowed me to play it. Now there is only one way for my opponent to keep the advantage, and he does not find it.} Qa1+ $2 {now it's a draw!} (29... Qh6 {is not an obvious move to find, for a human. Black has to keep the f6 square covered.} 30. Qf1 Bg4 $19) 30. Bf1 $11 {now Black cannot successfully defend both f6 and f8 from my queen.} Bh3 {defending against the mate threat on f8 and threatening to exchange the Bf1, but he never gets the necessary tempo.} (30... Kg7 31. e5 Ra6 32. Nc7 Rh6 33. Ne8+ Kg8 34. Nf6+ $11) 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Qxg5+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2