18.Bxd6
Game 624856
I'll make the bishop trade. Right now I'm not up material, but I'm going to be. My bishop wasn't as mobile as yours, although it was outside of my pawnchain and it was on a good square. White is attcking the b-pawn with one attacker and the a-pawn with 2. I don't see any moves for black that defend both of those pawns with one piece, so white is going to win one of them. Qxd6 looks forced for black. My plan after that is to capture the b-pawn and begin putting pressure on the half-open a-file and the fully open b-file with my rooks and queen. Black has an outpost (and a great one on c4. E4 is also a strong square for black, but not as good due to white being able to play f3. White has b4, c5 and most of the a-file as good squares.
18 ... QxBd6
Game 624856
My reply here seems forced. Material may be even, but with four isolated pawns (a personal record!) and two about to fall, I'm already feeling like this game is losing.
I'm looking at
(a) using my forward f-pawn to attack your pawn chain, and
(b) getting my knight to c4 where it covers 2 squares on the a-file, and the square in front fo the b-pawn.
19. Qxb3
Game 624856
Ok, I considered Ra6 here to try and make things tactical, but honestly it looks too compicated for me. So I kept it simple. I took the b-pawn. I don't see much I can do to prevent black from playing Nb6 then Nc4 in the future. But I'll be up a pawn and I'll have attacking chances on the a-file and down the b-file even if I can't keep my b-pawn. Qxb3 looks like the only really good move.
19 ... a6
Game 624856
I have been ignoring a6 as I thought it lost my pawn, but I think now it has good possibilities.
a6:
(a) bxa6 loses the c6-N and the pawn is blocked and attacked twice
(b) b6 also loses the knight, and the pawn can be stopped
(c) Rxa6 is about the same but with an exchange interposed
(d) if White makes another move, axb5 and Qxb5, but Black has changed a lost pawn into a traded one. I think other moves I discussed before can be used later.
20. Qb4
Game 624856
I'm gonna offer a queen trade here and try to keep my one pawn advantage. I can recapture with the knight and attack the black d-pawn from the b4 square. With my queen on b4 for now I can throw in Ne7+ later and fork the king and advanced f-pawn. If black trades queens though I'll take back with the knight. So it looks like the white b-pawn might be a goner, but I can get back either the d or f pawn. The black queen and f-pawn are the only two undefended pieces on the board for now.
Long term plan - I'd like to remove the black d-pawn. That would remove the possible pressure on my currently backward c-pawn and would help take away c4 as a good outpost for black. The a and b files look like they're going to be completely open soon and I want control of them with my rooks. I'd rather not have to defend my c-pawn with a rook
20 ...Qf6
Game 624856
I don't think I can protect against both the Knight-fork at e7 and the a6-pawn. I don't want to trade Queens as it won't damage White's pawn structure.
Qf6: prevents the capture of the f5-pawn, White needs its Q or a Rook to prepare to recapture on b5.
Qc7: prevents the trade, but seems to accomplish nothing else.
21. Ne7+
Game 624856
Forking the king and the d5 pawn here. Removing the white d-pawn takes away the black outpost on c4, plus I gain more material and I keep the initiative. After Nxd5 the black queen will have to move.
21 ...Kh8
Game 624856
Good moves. I'm apparently not too good at this dance, so you lead I'll follow.
22. Nxd5
Game 624856
Nxd5 wins the d-pawn and attacks the black queen. Now the c-file doesn't bother me.
22 ...Qd8
Game 624856
I am impressed by how you can control the game right now. Earlier you told me how you think the knight is an under-rated piece, and now you're showing me! When you started this sequence of attacks, could you see to this point, where my Q can only retreat to the side or to the back rank? (I cannot see that far yet.)
unguarded pieces: white: d5-N, black: f5, d7-N
Silman space count: white=15, black=4
I see only one move:
Qd8: covering the knights forward squares.
Any move to the g- or h-file removes the Q from a protective role. And Nc7 wins my a6-pawn. I would be happy to trade knights, so I can attack e3 with my pawn. I also want to get rid of your b-pawn as soon as possible.
23. Rxa6
Game 624856
No, I was just looking for a way to attack e7 and the black d5 pawn, and then try to win your d-pawn to take away your strong outpost on c4.
At our level the knights really are much better than bishops in my opinion. Most players don't understand how to defend against them or use them properly when they're attacking. I've still got a lot to learn myself, but it's surprising how much material I've won on RHP with decent knight play.
I played Rxa6. I'm up 3 pawns so I'm going to trade down if I can. Push my 3 passed pawns and try to eliminate any tactical shots black may have. The white knight on d5 is undefended but he can escape if he needs to.
23 ...RxRa6
Game 624856
Well, you definitely are better with your knights than I am. My main plan now is defensive: I am concerned with stopping pawn promotion. Maybe, since you are better with your knight, I might want to trade them!
I only see one move:
Rxa6: exchanges rooks, but isolates the pawn. This also takes control of Black's 3rd rank away from white.
24. bxa6
Game 624856
bxa6 is forced.
So now my plan is to use my queen and rook to help the passed pawns down the board.
When you're down material, trading material is usually a bad thing. When I'm down material I'll try to find tactical shots that can get me back in the game or at least give me some hope that my opponent might make a mistake and overlook something. Sometimes it works, but not often.
24 ...Qa8
Game 624856
Do you think the rook trade here was bad? I know the general rule you stated, but I'm looking at seven connected pawns, and I see no way to fight them. I saw it as my last chance to separate the chain. Otherwise it would steamroll over me. (which is still going to happen with six).
Qa8: threatens the knight, probably followed by Qb5/Qa5 or Nb6.
I still want to attack your pawn chain at e4, but I can't see how to do this without trading knights first. I think I can hold my own against your heavy pieces, but the pawns scare me!
25. Qb7
Game 624856
No, I thought the rook trade was fine. You really didn't have a lot of other options.
Take a look at white and imagine you're playing white. How would you win? White has 3 passed pawns, two of them are connected. Now imagine all of the pieces are off the board except the pawns and kings. What's the simplest way to win? And by simple I mean the way that leads to the least possible chance of white screwing up and letting black get back into the game. :-) For me that usually means trying to force trades on the other player. Once I get up material, sometimes even just a pawn, I look for simplifying trades. I don't always make them or find the right ones, but I keep an eye out for them.