Annotated Game #286: Lessons in the Exchange Caro-Kann

With this next game, I revert to my tendency to lose as Black in the first round of a tournament. Under analysis, however, it reveals some useful lessons in the Exchange Caro-Kann, which I think is regaining popularity at the Class level. The trade-offs involved with 6. h3 I had never previously examined, and I think continuing with the response 6...g6 is fully justified, although breaking in the center with 6...e5!? is now a possibility. In the game, I was too shy of playing Bf5 and delayed developing, then find the wrong idea on move 17 for the middlegame and the trend from there is all downhill.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class A"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [PlyCount "67"] [GameId "2054700566052891"] {[%evp 0,67,19,38,60,60,55,55,51,34,30,24,23,-38,29,31,37,35,25,24,31,21,49,13,25,26,26,26,23,6,4,-1,9,-1,-12,-16,26,33,31,36,46,35,67,65,70,65,64,72,72,61,68,61,72,74,82,65,82,90,106,104,400,411,409,539,543,546,566,808,801,561]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 {this is the first time I recall facing this line, which eliminates Black's possibility of playing ...Bg4. It's quite common nowadays, though still second to Bf4 in popularity.} g6 (6... e5 $5 {is the direct challenge to White's last move and demonstrates the drawback of not playing Bf4, as e5 is now controlled by Black. This leads to an imbalanced IQP position, however, so one has to be comfortable playing that.} 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Qe2 $5 Qe7 {with an awkward position for both sides.}) 7. Nf3 Bg7 {while all right in theory, this move has the worst practical results in the database; despite the open g7 square, a fianchetto may not be the best placement for the bishop.} (7... Bf5) (7... Qc7) 8. O-O O-O (8... Bf5 {this can still be played to Black's benefit here and on subsequent moves.}) 9. Re1 Qc7 {stopping the Bf4 development for White.} 10. Nbd2 Nh5 {this is a common idea, with the knight poised to go to f4.} 11. Nf1 {the knight had no future on d2, so my opponent quickly moves it on.} Nf4 $6 {there was no rush to occupy the f4 square, however, and moving the same piece three times while others (the Bc8) are undeveloped is not principled play.} (11... Bd7) 12. Bxf4 {this exchange validated my last move, however.} (12. Bb1 $16) 12... Qxf4 $11 {despite some missteps in the opening, the middlegame is now balanced.} 13. Ne3 Qd6 {after spending some time here, I correctly evaluated that retreating the queen to its best square was the best move.} 14. Qb3 {this is aimed at preventing my other bishop development, at least for the moment, by targeting b7 and d5 simultaneously.} e6 15. Ng4 a6 {a simple way to tactically protect the b-pawn after the bishop goes to d7, as the White queen would be trapped after taking it.} (15... Bd7 {is fine now, however.} 16. Qxb7 $6 Rfb8 17. Qa6 Rb6 18. Qa3 Qxa3 19. bxa3 Rc8 $17 {despite being a pawn down, Black's pieces are much better coordinated for pressure on the queenside, plus with the two bishops Black's structural and dynamic advantages overcome the material deficit.}) 16. Qd1 Bd7 17. Qd2 f5 $2 {almost the correct f-pawn idea, but this unfortunately forces White into an advantageous position.} (17... f6 $11 {I correctly calculated that the e-pawn would not be a true weakness, and with this move the f-pawn covers e5 and g5, preventing any White attacking ideas.}) 18. Nge5 $16 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 {While superficially the position looks defensible, White has all the play in it, and can bring his forces to bear on the kingside. Meanwhile, I cannot get my counterplay on the queenside going effectively.} b5 21. a3 Rfe8 22. Rae1 Qf8 23. Qf4 Qf7 24. R1e3 Rad8 $6 {unnecessary and also causes problems later with defending against queenside penetration.} (24... Qf6 25. h4 Kh8 $16) 25. Rg3 Kg7 26. h4 h5 $2 $18 {again, one square too far, opening up a hole on g5.} (26... h6 $16) 27. Be2 Rh8 28. Rg5 Qf6 29. Re3 Qf7 $2 {this now loses.} (29... Be8 {was necessary. I was too concerned about the White queen penetrating on the dark squares.} 30. Qc7+ Bf7 $16) 30. Reg3 $18 {Bxh5 immediately is also good.} Be8 31. Bxh5 {and the position is cracked open.} Rxh5 32. Rxh5 Kf8 33. Rh8+ Ke7 34. Qh6 {between the advancing h-pawn and all of White's major pieces available to penetrate on Black's bank ranks, the cause is hopeless and I resign.} 1-0