Very nice game which reminded me of Steetfighter's one in Thread 111475 in that you sacrificed material in order to get a passed h-pawn.
11. ... c4 was appalling and Black deserved to lose for that move alone. In the French Defence, Black only ever plays c4 if he restricts White's white-squared bishop by doing so. And even then it's usually a bad idea as it eliminates all pressure in the centre.
You are incorrect. In fact 11... c4 is forced! For example 11... Ne7 12. dxc4! Qc3 (or else 13. Nxe6) 13. Nd4 and e6 is lost. 11... Kf7 give white a strategical disadvantage after 12. h5! where 12... gxh5 is forced, weakening the h5-e8 diagonal because after 12... g5? 13. Ng3 Rh7 14. Bxg5! wins.
I assume you're using an engine for your analysis since you seem so confident about it. You should put it away and look at it as a human player. After 11. ... c4 Black has no chance whatsoever, he just has to sit back and allow White to crush him on the kingside. If necessary he should jettison that pawn on g6 rather than removing any chance of counterplay in the centre and on the queenside. I would prefer 11. ... Nc6 12. Nxg6 Rh7 and then hope to quickly castle queenside.
Hi moteutsch
Good hurdle to cross, your first 2000+ player.
See it can be done - players do not get extra pieces for having a
higher grade. They don't suddenly grow two brains.
Classic example of a flank attack going home with no counter-play
in the centre.
...c4 instructive though not uncommon mistake.
It would not have been so bad if Black still had the option of
playing f6 to have a poke at the centre.
But the other centre cracker was sitting on f5.
Fat Lady's Nc6 idea is the best option but even then I can see doom.
Nc6 and then a timed Nxd4 providing White has to take back with
the c-pawn and create swindling chances was an option.
Anything to take your mind off the King-side.
Better to die like a lion than be squashed like a buig.
In the end you simply crushed him - yes very similiar to the SF game.
Did you see it and get an idea? Good Game.
Fat Lady
No, infact I did not use an engine, but thanks for the compliment! The reason I was so sure was because - let's just say that on move 30 I had 2 seconds left on my clock (thank god for the 10 second increment!).
When I said forced, I meant without loss of material. I actually think that, continuing with the games moves, he could have played 15... 0-0-0 instead of 15... Rc8. This, I think, makes the sac unsound, but white would still gain an advantage after Nh2, f4, and h5, while black is trying for a minority attack on the queenside. Still, the position would remain unclear.
By the way, I haven't checked anything with an engine. I think it is more instructive to analyse it completely with humans first.
Greenpawn
Thanks for the encouragement! I'm really disappointed, though. My preformance in OTB tournaments has been creeping towards 2000, and that second brain would really have come in handy.
Incidently, I did see ST's game beforehand, but it didn't even cross my mind!