outcome: French Exchange

ok, here's the game
it's a draw, but I think I had some missed opportunities somewhere in here...

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. exd5 exd5


here is the French Exchange...
now I can't easily develop a knight, because any knight move either hinders a bishop's development or is met with a pin, or just sucks (Na3 or Nh3)

4. Be3 Nc6
5. c3

here I already have to give up the .5 move advantage, but I get a better center for it
5. ... Be6
6. Bd3

this move looks kind of retarted, but I couldn't find much anything better to do...

6. ... Nf6
7. Nf3 Bg4
8. Nd2 0-0
9. h3 Bh5
10. Qc2

I thought this was a good square for the queen, releasing the pin at f3 and connecting the rook

10. ... a6?

Umbrage of Snow explained the reasoning behind this move while we were playing, but I don't remember it, and it still doesn't seem to make sense

11. 0-0 Bg6
12. Rfe1 Na5?
13. Nh4?

we both managed to consecutivally put our knights on bad squares...

13. ... Bxd3
14. Qxd3

obviously he can't just let me trade off the bad knight on h4 for his g6 bishop...

14. ... b6
15. Nef3?

he was planning the obvious c5 break, and I did nothing about it...
not only did I not do anything about it, but I further weakened my h4 knight... don't ask what I was thinking...
sometimes I make these moves seeing some invisible kingside attack that isn't really there...

15. ... c5
16. dxc5

giving up the center, but leaving me with the better pawn position with him having an isolated a pawn...

16. ... bxc5
17. Bg5 Nc4
18. b3 Nb2?
not realizing that the knight is trapped after...
19. Qc2 h6
20. Bxf6 Qxf6
21. Rab1

not 21. Qxb2 because g4 wins my knight...
I was still playing to hold on to the whole piece advantage.
I'd still be better after Qxb2 g4 and sacking the bad h4 knight...
i left the queen on c2 to let my knight have the g6 escape square...

21. ... d4
22. cxd4 cxd4
23. Qxb2

I saw some trap if i took with the rook here, but I don't remember what the trap was...
might have been seeing nothing, and Rxb2 was better...

23. ... g4
24. Nxd4 gxh4
25. Nf3 Qf4
26. Qd4 Rfe8?

letting me trade queens and rook with a material advantage, not good...
but i lost the advantage, and we slipped into a draw

27. Rxe8+ Rxe8
28. Qxf4 Bxf4
29. Nxh4 Re2
30. a4 Ra2
31. Nf3 a5
32. h4 f6
33. h5

these moves (32 and 33) were made so I could stay inside the time controls until I came up with a better plan...

33. ... Kf7
34. Rd1 Rb2
35. Nd4 Be5
36. Nc6 Rxb3
37. Nxe5+ fxe5
38. Rd5 Rb1+
39. Kh2

and thus we begin a rook-pawn endgame that I think I could have won...
It played out with, what i believe to be my mistake on move 43:
39. ... Rb4
40. Rxa5 Rh4+
41. Kg3 Rxh5
42. Rb5 Rg5+
43. Kf3 (Kh2 and he doesn't get the passed pawn)
43. ... e4+
44. Kxe4 Rxg2
45. Rb2 (preparing to put the rook behind the passed pawn)
45. ... Rg6
46. a5 Ra6
47. Ra2




47. ... Kf6?!

by that notation, I mean that I can't tell if this is a blunder, or a brilliancy ensuring the draw...
he is abandoning the idea of stopping my a-pawn by moving his king to defend the rook on a6. and he is trying to get his king closer to his own passed pawn...
I thought at the time that I had the game in the bag after this, and I think I blundered in here, but my endgames are horrible anyway, so I can't tell

48. Kd5 h5
49. Kc5 h4
50. Kb5 Ra8
51. a6 Rb8+
52. Kc6 h3
53. f3 Kg5
54. a7 Ra8
55. Kb7 Rxa7+
56. Kxa7 Kf4

with a book draw that was agreed upon at move 62

Game 3263598

i, rubberjaw, am white, by the way

Originally posted by rubberjaw30
i, rubberjaw, am white, by the way

Post a link to the game.

D

Originally posted by Ragnorak
Post a link to the game.

D

alright, i edited it into the original post...

Originally posted by rubberjaw30
ok, here's the game
it's a draw, but I think I had some missed opportunities somewhere in here...

1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. exd5 exd5


here is the French Exchange...
now I can't easily develop a knight, because any knight move either hinders a bishop's development or is met with a pin, or just sucks (Na3 or Nh3)

4. Be3 Nc6
5. c3

here I a ...[text shortened]... a7 Kf4

with a book draw that was agreed upon at move 62

Game 3263598

Why not 48.Kf4 taking the opposition?

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Why not 48.Kf4 taking the opposition?

i thought about that...
but the idea of beating his king to the a-pawn was tempting, so i started over to b5...
it turns out that this was a mistake as he was able to simply exchange his rook for my a-pawn and get an easy draw out of the kingside....
before going to b5, should i tried to get rid of his h-pawn?