1. Joined
    28 Mar '07
    Moves
    957
    07 Mar '08 14:32
    Played this game on a different site. Normally i play solidly, win a pawn or two, then trade down to a won ending. In this game, I was all set to win a pawn or two, when my opponent opened up the game. The position demanded an aggressive response, so I had a go. Its not usually my thing, so I'm hoping you will be able to comment.
    This is the first time I've annotated a game, so comments also welcome on that front.
    Enough chat, heres the game:

    [Event ""]
    [Site ""]
    [Date "02-Mar-08"]
    [Round "-"]
    [White "white"]
    [Black "mr_phil"]
    [Result "0-1"]
    [WhiteElo "1851"]
    [BlackElo "1739"]
    [TimeControl "3 days per move"]

    1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6 3. Nc3 b5

    {Black stakes a claim on the d5 square by controlling
    c4. Also threatens to undermine White's support of e4 by b4. I've always felt that the knight is misplaced on c3, and that white is better playing c3 in the event that Black plays c5.}

    4. Nf3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5

    {Black strikes back in the center. The d-pawn is denied support on c3 by the knight.}

    6. Bg5 Qb6

    {f6, then cd is tempting, but seems to weaken the king's position
    too much. Qb6 adds pressure to the attack on White's d-pawn, and eyes the pawn on f2.}

    7. dxc5

    {d5 may be an option for white, but b4 could make
    the pawn look uncomfortable. Maybe be3 would hold the center better.}
    Bxc5

    {Black has chipped away at White's center and now pressures f2}

    8. O-O

    {tucking the king away and defending f2}

    Nf6

    {Pointing another piece at
    e4. Not really threatening b4 just at the moment as Whit has Na5. I'm
    not at all bothered by bxf6 as the half open g file is more than enough
    compensation for the doubled pawns. Not castling isn't a problem either
    as the black king is safe in the middle. }

    9. a4

    {White attempts to break
    open Black queen side, but has taken away A4 from the knight}

    b4
    {Threatening to win the e pawn if the knight moves}

    10. Bxf6

    {Keeps the e pawn safe, but opens the g file.}

    gxf6 11. a5 Qc7 12. Na4 Ba7

    {covering b6, preventing
    the knight from moving. Black threatens qxa5}

    13. e5

    {White open some lines on the kingside. The bishop eyes h7 and the pawn sacrifice frees g5 for the knight. With all blacks pieces on the queenside, this could be decisive. Black must be careful. }

    fxe5

    {Also possible was f5, but
    taking looks better. e4 is a possibility, shutting out the bishop and
    f5 might be playable.}

    14. Ng5

    {White launches the attack. h7 is threatened,
    and Qh5 hits all the vulnerable points on the black kingside}

    h5

    {moving the threatened pawn, covering the h5 square. Also useful as a threat in its own right, Black may need the pawn to weaken the enemy castled position.}

    15. Be2
    {Nh7 looks tempting. Its hard to see a good continuation for black.Rxa7,
    bxa7, Qc6 is strong looking, however white can play qf3. Qc6 is met by
    nf6+, ke7, be4 Rg8 fails to nf6+ Other ideas like e4 also fall foul of
    nf6+. Does black have anything better than ke7? }
    Rg8

    {Black has h4, but white answers bh5 and black is on the defensive. Black abandons the h pawn to its fate and points another piece at g2} 16. Qd2 f6

    {Seeking to clear the g file. Black will drop some pawns here, but gains good piece activation. The undeveloped Knight and Rook on the Queenside are no worse than whites rooks which are struggling to enter play at the moment.}
    17.Bxh5+ Ke7 18. Qxb4+ d6 {Black is now behind on material, but on the attack. d6 clears d7 for the knight to develop without blocking the bishop. Blacks king is precarious and care must be taken.}

    19. Nf3

    {I was worried about nb6, blocking the black squared bishop. I had resolved to let white take the rook, but there was no guarantee that the knight wouldn't simply stay there. Candidate moves are nd7, nc6,e4. The overambitious rxg2 doesn't seem to go anywhere. }

    e4

    {Black clears the h1-a8 diagonal}

    20. Nh4

    {Covering g2. Both white pieces are safe - rh8 drops the rook to ng6+} Qc6 {Another piece lines up on g2. }

    21. Rfd1

    {Attacking d6, but also clearing f1. black has some lines with e3 and then ef+. If the king is forced to h1, then sacrificial possibilities are opened on f3. This way, the king can run to f1}

    Nd7

    {Black doesn't have quite enough material to force the issue on the kingside. This move frees the Queen's Rook, covers the worrying Nb6 and also looks to hop to e5, where it adds another piece to the important f3 square. }

    22. Ng6+

    {White closes the g files}

    Rxg6

    {Black is having none of it. Moving the king is not a good option as qxd6 puts paid to blacks attack.}

    23. Bxg6 e3

    {Also possible was rg8. I'm not sure which was better, but seeing as white is probably going to play be4, it seems better to preserve
    the e3 pawn.}

    24. Be4

    {Yep, there he goes}

    exf2+ 25. Kf1 Qxe4

    {Black equalises on material, but that pawn on f2 is going to be a problem for white, long term.}

    26. Qxd6+

    {White grabs some material before swinging back to protect
    his king. Trading queens may have been a better option}

    Kf7

    {White cannot take the knight. Qxd7, Kg6 leaves white with no way to defend the g2 pawn. One threat is qxg2, ke2, f1=Q double check and mate.}

    27. Qg3 {defending g2}

    Ne5

    {Activates the knight, stops checks on c7, and threatens qc4+ withthe
    knight now covering d3}

    28. Nb6 {blocking the bishops defense of f2}

    Bxb6
    {Not sure if taking is a good option or not. It seemed to me that if Black
    doesn't take the knight, then it'll just sit there. White then has the
    option to move it. Black is giving white the choices and extra power.
    So, it was taken.}

    29. axb6 Rg8 30. Qh3 Qxg2+
    {I was worried about queen checks coming round the back, so opted to get queens off. Rxg2 instead, qh5+ and blocking with the rook on g6 lets the king take that fabulous pawn on f2. I'm hanging on to that pawn if I can!}

    31. Qxg2 Rxg2 32. b4
    {I'm not entirely sure what thats about. Possibly white intends to play
    b5, when black has no good way to deal with bxa6 an a big pawn avalanche. axb5 drops the bishop after ra7. I thought rxa6 was likely, but that still doesn't help. Its hard to find a good reply for white now. } Bf3
    {Threats here are ng4, rg1 mate. and rg1+, kxf2 and rxd1. Black must take care not to play bxd1 which allows Kxg2. Also the b6 pawn must be watched, however the bishop covers b7 and the knight can get to c6, so its all in hand}
    33. Ra3 {What else would be good?}

    Rg1+ 34. Kxf2 Rxd1 35. Rxf3
    {White seems to give up here, rxa6 might be better}

    Nxf3 36. b7 Rd8 37. Kxf3 Rb8 38. c3 Rxb7 39. Ke4 Ke7

    {The king is heading for d6 to keep an eye on the white pawns. Then the rook will swing over and gobble up the h pawn.}
    40. h4 Kd6 0-1

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