17 March 2025

Annotated Game #304: Just enough activity

This last-round tournament game follows a trajectory that is all too typical of many of my games: I play reasonably well in the opening, then neglect the possibility of a pawn break or two, then somehow end up with my pieces passively placed on the back ranks while my opponent gains space. In this Caro-Kann Classical, however, I manage to find just enough activity and then open things up in the endgame, for an almost but not-quite win. In fact White may have had more chances, but I demonstrate how to use my bishop as a long-range piece effectively versus his knight, and thereby seal the draw.


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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 the Classical Caro-Kann 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 11...Bd6 is another option, uniquely enabled by this variation's move-order, as there is no knight on d7 to block the queen from protecting d6. 11...Bb4+ I also considered during the game. 12.c3 Bd6 is considered a better version of the ...Bd6 idea by the engine. The d4 pawn is reinforced, but was not really threatened in the first place, while White having moved the c-pawn means increasing the space around his king if it castles queenside. 12.c3 Qa6 this was drawn from an similar idea in other variations, but perhaps simple development is better. 12...Nbd7= 13.Qxa6 Nxa6 14.0-0 Nd5 chasing the bishop. 14...Be7 is more conservative, also preparing to castle. 15.Bd2 Bd6?! this just loses a tempo after White's next move. 16.Ne4 Be7 17.a3 White essentially returns the tempo here. 0-0= 18.c4 the c-pawn advance against a Nd5 is something Black always has to watch for. Here the knight can simply retreat. Nf6 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.Bf4 Rfd8 21.Rfd1 Rac8 getting my rooks into action before starting anything. My opponent does likewise. 22.Rac1 Nc7 bringing the knight back into play, but foregoing the ..c5 pawn break. 22...c5 I considered this carefully but in the end thought it premature. However, it is likely Black's best plan and natural, it just has to be calculated properly. 23.d5 exd5 24.cxd5 b6 and then the knight can come back into play via c7. 24...Bxb2 is a little wilder. 25.Rb1 Bxa3 26.Rxb7 c4 27.Rxa7 Bd6= 25.Rc2 Nc7 26.d6 Ne6 27.Bg3 Kf8 with the idea of using the king as blockader on d7 if necessary. 28.d7 Ra8 29.Bd6+ Be7= White cannot force the d-pawn to queen and will be tied up defending it. 23.b4 Ne8 24.Be5 Kf8 25.Kf1 Be7 not a good look, with all of Black's pieces on the bottom two ranks. 26.Rd3 Nf6 the idea behind the bishop maneuver. 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 27...gxf6!? should not be feared, as the doubled pawn controls e5. 28.Rcd1 Ke7 29.Ng1 Rd7 this is fine, but now would also be a good time for a pawn break on the queenside, to break up White's formation. 29...b5 29...a5 and Black will easily recover the pawn after ...Ra8 30.Ne2 Rcd8 31.f4 b5 finally some Black pawn action. 32.cxb5 cxb5 33.Kf2 my ability to target the d-pawn is already at maximum pressure, so I play a waiting move rather than commit a rook to the c-file (which also is fine). a6 34.Ke3 Rd5 I had this idea in mind, physically blocking the d-pawn and putting lateral pressure on the h5 pawn. 35.g4 g5 I thought for some time here and could not see anything better. The engine validates my active choice. 36.hxg6 fxg6 37.Nc3 R5d7 38.Ne4 g5 39.Nc5 gxf4+ 40.Kxf4 I now spent a lot of time looking at the various options for capturing on d4, and picked the best (only) one that works. Rxd4+ 41.Rxd4 Rxd4+ 42.Rxd4 Bxd4 43.Nxa6 Kd6 I'd originally thought that I had an advantage here, but the knight cannot be trapped. 44.Ke4 e5 45.Nc5 Bb2 choosing to keep the bishop on the board. I knew I could draw even if White ended up with one pawn left. 45...Bxc5 I thought I might screw up the K+P ending afterwards, so did not choose this option. 46.bxc5+ Kxc5 47.Kxe5 Kc4= 46.a4 bxa4 47.Nxa4 Bc1 48.Nb6 Kc6 49.Nc4 Kb5 50.Nxe5 Bg5 50...Kxb4?? 51.Nd3++- 51.Nf7 Bc1 showing how the bishop as a long-range piece works. 52.Kf5 Kxb4 53.Kg6 Kc5 54.Nxh6 Kd5 55.Kf5 Bxh6 56.g5 Bxg5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
Class C-ChessAdmin-½–½B19
Posted by ChessAdmin at 7:37 PM

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