Anyone care to evaluate this game for me? I won as White. Not sure
how soundly either of us played, but it's my second game in a decade
and I really had to fight!
[Result "1-0"]
[Ply "65"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. e4 c6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O
O-O 7. Bf4 Bd7 8. e5 Ne8 9. g3 d5 10. Bd3 Nc7 11. h4
b5 12. Bg5 Nba6 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Ne2 c5 15. c3 c4
16. Bc2 b4 17. Ng5 g6 18. Nf4 f5 19. exf6 Rxf6 20. Qe2
bxc3 21. bxc3 Rb8 22. h5 Qg7 23. Rab1 Rxb1 24. Rxb1
h6 25. Ngh3 Nb5 26. Rxb5 Bxb5 27. Nxe6 Qe7 28. hxg6
Rxe6 29. Qh5 Rd6 30. Qxh6 Qe1+ 31. Kh2 Rd7 32. Bf5
Bc6 33. Bxd7 1-0
I played the game over and made some notes. Wow was that a game
with balancing chances! careful with my comments, they may not all
be correct, but I should not be too far off. let me know if you find
errors or want more info. sin.
1. d4, Nf6
2. Nc3 unusual, normally c4, or nf3 or Bg5
2. ....., d6 passive , better d5
3. e4, c6 again passive, g6 is better
4. Nf3, e6? better g6 or Bg4 (or Qa5)
5. Be4, Be7
6. 0-0, 0-0
7. Bf4 or directly e5!
7. ....., Bd7 better Nbd7 or Qa5, now e5 is strong
8. e5! , Ne8
9. g3 ? gives up advantage, better Bd3 or Qd2
9. ....., d5!
10. Bd3, Nc7? c5! better
11. h4, b5? Nba6
12. Bg5? again gives away advantage, still slightly better
better was Ng5, h6, Nh7, Re8, Qg4.....
12. ....., Nba6
13. Bxe7, Qxe7
14. Ne2, c5
15. c3, c4
16. Bc2? better Bb1 and preserve c2 for the queen looking at h7
16......., b4
17. Ng5 ? its equal again; better Nf4 or h5
17. ...., g6? h6 was necessary
18. Nf4, f5? better bxc, or Rfb8 or Rab8 or h6
19. exf6, Rxf6 (or Qxf6)
20. Qe2, bxc3
21. bxc3, Rb8? defense required! Qg7 or Raf8; white is better again!
22. h5, Qg7 (yes)
23. Rab1 or directly hxg6
23. ......, RxR
24. RxR, h6
25. Ngh3 ?? here hxg6! hxNg5 Nh5! much stronger
25. ....., Nb5? with g5! black could equalize!
26. Rxb5, Bxb5
27. Nxe6?? better hxg6 and winning; now its equal again
27. ... Qe7
28. hxg6 ?? should have lost the game, with Nhf4 takes the
advantage
28. ...., Rxg6
29. Qh5, Rd6?? don't understand this move. Nc7, Qxh6, Re2, ... wins
for black
30. Qxh6! takes over control
30. ....., Qe1? gives it away, with Nc7 or Be8 black equalizes
31. Kh2, Rd7
32. Bf5? a4! stronger
32 ....., Bc6??? gives up; with Rg7! black has advantage
33.. Bxd7 wins
1 - 0
I have a rather lengthy analysis I can send to any interested as an
email, but here's a synopsis:
The Nc3 blocks off the c-pawn, allowing black to equalize with an
immediate ...d5
Black's tentative pawn moves allow White to amass an impressive
pawn center and carry the initiative well into the middlegame.
An early ...c4 by black would have solved many of his later problems:
cramped position, lack of communication between queenside and
kingside, lack of counterplay, etc.
Rather than retreating the knight to 38, 8...Ng5 would have turned the
tables by attacking the B. 9. g3 weaked the kingside and was
unnecessary even to support the later h4
After 12. Bg5, black should have captured 12...Bxg5, slowing or
halting White's kingside attack. The text just allows white to send in
reinforcements (the knights).
The swinging closed of the queenside starting at move 13 effectively
ruins Black's chances for counterplay on the Q-side. He's forced to
watch helplessly as White bulldozes the kingside.
18..f5? should have been left at f6. 18...f6! is an excellent pawn
break that reinvigorates black's pieces by providing coordination
between the king and queenside and new weak pawn targets to attack.
29... Rd6 If I were a rook, I'd be humiliated to be defending a lowly
pawn like this. Nc7 moves the knight in the right direction and allows
the rook to keep watch over the kingside. Also, it's important to note
that d6 is a light square. Check 32.Bf5 to see why this matters.
Ok, so... Summary? both sides missed a number of chances. Both
sides should look at pawn breaks such as c4 and ...c5 and ...f6 to free
their position. Your pieces look better placed immediately, and you
don't even have to move them!
Study Kasparov for a textbook on freeing pawn breaks (among other
things!!). Part of Kramniks plan in the Championship involved denying
Kasparov the chance to play these moves. They should never be
underestimated.
So, what do you think of my analysis? please ask questions and give
me some follow up on it. It's here to help!
Rein