The theme of this last-round tournament game echoes an earlier post on unforced errors. Mine occur mostly in the opening phase, with a mis-remembered line against the Dutch Defense; my opponent surprised me with it and it was the first time I had played the actual opening as White, although I had experience with it from the Black side and playing against similar setups after opening with the English.
Despite some missteps on my opponent's part in the opening which gave me some breathing space, eventually he focused on my queenside positional weakness and awkward piece placement to inflict permanent structural damage. He then tortured me with pressure from his major pieces down the c-file, but could not quite find a way to break through. His last, best shot fell prey to an equalizing tactic which left me, I felt, with the winning chances in the endgame (two rooks vs. queen). Although we both missed seeing chances for Black, the two rooks prevailed in the end. Not a clean game, but an interesting look at how persistent defense can pay off.
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 f5 the first time that I've played a true Dutch Defense as White. 2.Bg5 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 4.Bxf6!? it's probably best to inflict the
structural damage on Black immediately. 4...e6 5.Nf3 Bd6 this is in
keeping with the standard Modern Stonewall development plan, but it leaves the
Bg5 rather strong. 5...Nbd7 would be less commital. 6.h4?! in some
variations with 2. Nc3 this is standard, but here there's no good follow-up
for White on the kingside. 6.Bd3 6...0-0 7.Ne5?! Nbd7 7...c5 would
be the strongest response, immediately hitting at White's center. Black is
already castled and can do so solidly. 8.f4?! Black now has a pleasant
choice of how to proceed with an advantage, for example with the
above-mentioned ...c5, ...Bb4, or even an immediate ...h6. The text move is
trappy, in the sense that Black cannot simply take the Bg5 because of threats
on the h-file, but he could proceed with normal operations in the center and
be better. 8.Bf4!? 8...Qe8 my opponent continues playing stereotyped
Dutch moves, luckily. 8...h6 9.Be2 and now hxg5? 10.hxg5 Nxe5 10...Nh7? 11.g6 Nhf6 12.g4+- 11.dxe5 Bxe5 12.fxe5 Nd7 13.Qd4 Qxg5 14.0-0-0= 9.Be2 still thinking about the mirage of a kingside attack, as
could happen if Black played into the above variation with ...h6 and taking
the bishop. However, now my opponent realizes my structural weaknesses on the
queenside and seizes a small but persistent advantage. Bb4 with the
positional threat of taking on c3 and doubling my pawns, which will make his
queenside play more effective. Unfortunately there is no good way to meet this
and I have no compensation for it. I therefore decide to start swapping down
pieces to reduce his middlegame attacking chances. 10.Nxd7 10.Qd2? Ne4-+ 10...Bxd7 11.Bxf6 Rxf6 12.Kf2 this was the product of a long think.
The king will be needed in the future to help cover holes in the position,
rather than being tucked away in the corner on the kingside, or subject to
Black attack on the queenside, after castling. c5?! this gave me an opening
to avoid the positional threat, but unfortunately the retreat did not occur to
me. 13.a3 13.Nb1 c4= 13...cxd4 13...Bxc3 14.bxc3 Rc8 would
leave Black with more prospects of targeting the c2 pawn. 14.axb4 dxc3 15.bxc3 Bb5 this should lead to equality after an exchange of pieces, but I
miscalculate here and play a too-fancy move. 16.Ra5?! 16.Bxb5 Qxb5 17.Qd4= 16...Bxe2 my opponent immediately finds the problem with the previous
move. 17.Qxe2 b6 in contrast with the previous variation, the queen is on a
less useful diagonal and Black can organize himself to pressure the c-file
without worrying as much about the a-file. 18.Ra6 Qc6 18...Rf7!? better
to immediately reactivate the rook. 19.Qd3?! played with the idea of
going to d4 if need be, which occurs on move 25. 19.c4 Dragon 2.5.1 likes
the pawn sacrifice. Let's see why: dxc4 20.Qf3 Qe8 20...Qxf3+ 21.Kxf3
and now if Black wants to put a rook on the d-file, he will have to jettison
the a7 pawn, leading to equality. 21.Rha1 Rf7 22.Rxb6 and equality is
restored, thanks to the pin on the a-pawn due to the double attack on a8 by
rook and queen. 19...Rf7 at this point it is clear that I will have to
be completely on the defensive, but I assessed that I could hold under
pressure. 20.Rha1 Rc7 21.R6a3 21.R1a3!? would keep up the physical
blockade on the a-file and the lateral pin on the b6 pawn. 21...Qd7 22.Ke2 Rac8 23.Kd2 Qe7 the correct general idea, to swing around and target the
weak kingside. 23...Qf7!? 24.g3 Qf6 25.Qd4 this at least temporarily
stymies Black's efforts at targeting the c-pawn. Qe7 26.Qe5 Rd8 27.R3a2 Rdd7 28.Rg1 overly optimistic about potentially generating counterplay on the
kingside. 28.Qd4 28...h5 preventing any ideas of advancing the g-pawn. 29.Qd4 just marking time on the defense. Rc4 30.Qd3 Rdc7 31.Rga1 Qf6 32.Ra3 a5 best try for a breakthrough. 33.bxa5 bxa5 34.Rb1 this is a tricky
move which allows the following sequence. Qe7? 34...Rc8 would maintain
the advantage and take away a back-rank tactic that comes into play in the
game. 35.Rxa5 Rxc3 this had also been an earlier possibility. However,
exchanging two rooks for queen and pawn I judged would be advantageous to the
side left with the double rooks vs. queen. 36.Qxc3 Rxc3 the point being
that if White retakes immediately on c3, Black can win material. 37.Ra8+! 37.Kxc3? Qc7+ 38.Kb4 Qc4+ 39.Ka3 Qc3+ 40.Ka4 Qxc2+ 41.Rb3 Qc4+ and
White will go on to pick up the g3 or e3 pawns with more checks. 37...Kh7 38.Kxc3= the engine now evaluates the position as completely equal, but I
figured all the winning chances that existed were now on my side, making it
much easier to play. My opponent had also suffered the psychological shock of
going from an advantage with major pressure to having to defend a complicated
endgame. However, queen endings are always tricky and I had to constantly take
into consideration the possibility of a queen fork on my K+R or against both
rooks. e5 39.Kd2? this looked like a harmless defensive move, but the
engine points out it is a blunder. Luckily my opponent was also low on time by
this point, so had less ability to do complex calculations. 39.Rbb8= 39...exf4 39...d4! 40.exd4 exf4 this is what I had missed in my own
calculations. 41.gxf4 Qxh4 and another pawn now falls as well, because 42.Ke3?? 42.Rf1 Qh2+ 43.Ke1 Qxc2 43...Qg3+ 44.Rf2 42...Qg3+ 43.Kd2 Qxf4+-+ 40.exf4 d4 still a good move, but no longer a breakthrough. 41.Rb3 the only good move for White, defending along the third rank. Now Black
has no more real threats. Qe4?! 41...d3 it appears that jettisoning the
pawn is the only way for Black to maintain equality, giving his queen more
avenues to check the White king. 42.Rd8 now Black will lose material
anyway, as the queen cannot cover all of his weaknesses, while I can maneuver
the rooks both defensively and offensively. Qg2+ 43.Kc1 Qf1+ 44.Kb2 Qc4 45.Rdb8 Qc7 46.R8b4 targeting the d-pawn first Qc5 47.Rb5 now the f-pawn Qc8 48.Rd5 now both Qc4 49.Rxf5 g6 50.Re5+- now further material losses
will come for Black while I can maintain myself perfectly safe. Low on time,
my opponent resigned. 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 A | - | 1–0 | A80 |
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.