This second-round game had me paired against a much lower-rated opponent. However, his rating was provisional and in practice he played significantly stronger. His main weakness was in not mobilizing his forces in a King's Indian Defense and letting me grab space and eventually win his unprotected d-pawn. After that I followed a strategy of safety first and felt confident in my strategic advantage, which became more apparent as material left the board. NM Dan Heisman's advice of pursuing a "go to sleep" strategy in the endgame paid off, as I covered all my weaknesses and then forced an imminent breakthrough, my opponent losing on time.
New ...
New Game
Edit Game
Setup Position
Open...
PGN
FEN
Share...
Share Board (.png)
Share Board (configure)
Share playable board
Share game as GIF
Notation (PGN)
QR Code
Layout...
Use splitters
Swipe notation/lists
Reading mode
Flip Board
Settings
| Move | N | Result | Elo | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Be2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 transposing into the
King's Indian formation, as I had expected. 6.c4 Nbd7 7.Nc3 c5 much less
popular than the standard ...e5, but a good alternative. However, it's a less
direct way of challenging in the center. 8.d5 database statistics show that
White does better to maintain the central tension, for example after b3 or a3.
I was comfortable immediately going for more space, however. Nb6 targeting
c4 and opening the diagonal for the Bc8. 9.Qc2 this waiting move doesn't
really do much for me, although it reinforces e4. I should do better by
focusing on exploiting Black's slightly awkward setup, for example pushing
a2-a4 immediately to gain further space. Bd7 this is slow, allowing me to
recover the initiative, as the bishop is not placed to do anything useful here.
Challenging in the center with ...e6 or ...e5 looks better. 10.a4 Bg4
despite the double bishop move, this is Komodo's choice as well, pointing out
the flaw in developing to d7 in the first place. 10...a5?! would block
ideas of a4-a5 but leave too many holes on the b-file for White to later
exploit. 11.b3 the idea here is to develop the dark-square bishop before
doing anything else major. More active play is possible. 11.Ng5!? would
offer to trade Black's most active piece and help increase White's
light-square advantage. 11...a6± this keeps my knight out of b5, but
now my structural and developmental advantages are more evident. 12.Bb2
although not winning yet, at this point I was content with what I felt was a
strategic advantage here, with Black's pieces not cooperating well and me able
to pursue longer-term ideas on both the queenside and in the center. For
example, I can think about a4-a5 and Nc3-a4-b6, as well as the e4 advance and
further play in the center. Bd7?! this third bishop move is just a
time-waster. 12...Bf5 13.Rfe1 with the idea of targeting play on the
e-file, which I felt was the most dynamic option and also would keep squeezing
Black. Nc8 my opponent continues time-wasting maneuvers. 14.e4 Na7 15.h3
a prophylactic move, taking away the g4 square from both Black's knight and
bishop, to continue the squeezing motif. 15.e5!? dxe5 16.Nxe5 looks more
active, but I was not in a rush to resolve the situation in the center. 15...Re8 finally developing the rook to the e-file, to be able to aid in a future
fight there. 16.Bd3 this is a bit of a wasted move, as the bishop
accomplishes nothing on the new diagonal and e4 is already overprotected. e6
correctly challenging White's central pawn formation. 17.dxe6 Bxe6 18.Nd5
this obvious-looking move may let Black off the hook in the center. The point
is that Black could then exchange off the bad light-square bishop for the
centralized knight. Nc6 getting the knight back into the fight, as b4
looks like a good place for it. 19.Qd2 proactively moving away from a ...
Nb4 threat and to more open diagonals. Rc8 19...Bxd5!? 20.Rad1 like my
opponent, I try to develop my rook to a more potentially useful file. Bd7?!± while not immediately losing, this creates some targets for me to focus
on and complicates Black's play. The d7 square is taken away from the Nf6,
reducing the amount of space available to his pieces, and the d6 pawn is now
unprotected, creating some tactical possibilities. 21.Bb1 getting out of
the way of the d-file heavy pieces, while keeping up protection of the e4 pawn.
a5? ignores the threat to the pawn and thereby creates a fatal weakness. 21...Be6 22.Nxf6+ Bxf6 23.Bxf6 23.e5!? I did not even consider,
instead going immediately for the win of the pawn. Komodo favors it because of
the extra threats involved, although it is much more complicated. Bg7 24.Qxd6+- 23...Qxf6 24.Qxd6 Qxd6 25.Rxd6 Be6 26.Red1 Rcd8 27.Kf1 following
the simple plan of activating the king. 27.e5!? 27...Rxd6 I was please
to see this, as simplifying down material, especially from double to single
rooks, normally makes the defender's situation worse in an endgame. 28.Rxd6 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ happy to exchange down further Nxd8 30.Ke2 Kf8 31.Ne5 31.Ke3!? no reason to not keep centralizing the king and making it more
powerful. 31...Ke7 32.Nd3 b6 33.Bc2 played with the idea of establishing
a defensive blockade first, then grinding away on the win. Nc6 34.Bd1
now ...Nd4 is no longer a threat. Kd6 35.f4 seizing space. although perhaps
a little premature. 35.Ke3!? would better centralize the king and open up
the diagonal for the bishop. 35...f6 36.g4 my opponent by this point was
quite low on time. I endeavored to play solid moves that kept my advantage and
make the game easier on me, while difficult for my opponent to do anything
useful. Bd7 37.Ke3 Ke6 38.h4+- by this point my 4v3 pawn majority is
fully mobilized and supported by my pieces. The threat is to break through
with g4-g5. Nd4 39.f5+ picking the simplest path to a win. gxf5 40.exf5+ Kd6 41.Kf4 Be8 42.Nf2 Ke7 and lost on time, although the knight maneuver
Ne4-c3-d5 would decide things. 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
| White | EloW | Black | EloB | Res | ECO | Rnd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChessAdmin | - | Class E | - | 1–0 | E61 |
Please, wait...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments and ideas on chess training and this site are welcomed.
Please note that moderation is turned on as an anti-spam measure; your comment will be published as soon as possible, if it is not spam.