ANNOTATED GAME

Let's play chess
bookrat (1167) vs. jahangiri (1244)
Annotated by: bookrat (1235)
Chess opening: QGD (D06), Grau (Sahovic) defence
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Pages: 123
1. d4
I felt like this was one of the better games of my career, so I've decided to annotate it.

 
1... d5 2. c4
I open with the Queen's Gambit, a very popular opening in recent times.

 
2... Bf5
He responds with the Baltic defense, a rather rare variation of the QG declined line. Most Queen's Gambit declined lines have difficulty using their light bishops, and this solves that problem by bringing it out immediately.

 
3. Qb3
I bring my Queen out, looking to attack his pawn on b7, as well as defending my c4 pawn.
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3... b6
He defends his pawn.

 
4. cxd5
I capture.

 
4... e6 5. dxe6
I capture again, to get rid of my doubled pawns.

 
5... Bxe6
Here, I am a pawn up, and have taken both of his center pawns.

 
6. Qf3
I look for weakness on the f file.

 
6... Bd5 7. e4
My other center pawn comes out.

 
7... Bc6 8. d5 Bb7
Notice, he has moved his bishop five times now, losing tempo.

 
9. Nc3
I seek to solidify my hold on the center.

 
9... Bb4 10. Bd2
He pins my knight, so I bring out the bishop to block.

 
10... a6
A defensive move: he doesn't like his options for defending Bb5.

 
11. a3
I work on dislodging his Bishop.

 
11... Bc5 12. b4
Again...

 
12... Bd6
He's move his Bishops a total of eight times in twelve moves now. I've taken control of the center, making it hard for him to use his pieces efficiently in the middle game.

 
13. Nh3
I try to attack his f7 pawn after Ng5.

 
13... h6
Foiled...

 
14. Bf4 g5 15. Be3 Nd7 16. Qd1 Be5 17. Rc1 Qf6 18. Bd2 O-O-O 19. g3 Qg6 20. Bg2
I fianchetto my bishop to prepare to castle, and defend my center pawns. The game continues along this way for a time, with my minor tactical advances quickly rebuffed by him.

 

Pages: 123