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This is an exciting game from the 94th GK Tournament. My early aggression with the Black pieces leads me to overextend quite badly, and I end up a pawn down and facing a deadly attack while I struggle to produce counterpressure strong enough for my opponent to take seriously. Both players behave very aggressively, sacrificing position and material in their race for a mating attack. Enjoy!
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1. Nf3
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This opening goes by a variety of names (Reti is the one I've encountered most frequently), or sometimes by no name at all--1.Nf3 is a transpositional move, used in a variety of ways to avoid certain lines (generally those including an early ...e5) in other common openings. In this game, for example, White wants to play the English, but avoid a reversed-Sicilian (1.c4 e5). |
 
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1... c5
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More popular are 1...Nf6 and 1...d5. With this move Black offers a transition to the main-line Sicilian (after 2.e4). |
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2. c4
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But White was intending to play the English, so now we have a Symmetrical English opening instead. |
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2... Nf6 3. g3 d5
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Black makes a claim for the center before White's King's Bishop can get in the game, aiming at d5. The game still has a large amount of transpositional potential; the move order is not critical. White will continue to attack the center from the wings, while Black seeks to occupy it directly. |
1 comment
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4. Nc3 Nc6 5. cxd5
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It may be stronger to play 5.Bg2 first, but this move is coming sooner or later. |
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5... Nxd5 6. Nxd5 Qxd5 7. Bg2 e5
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Black now has a solid foothold in the center. Even his Queen is not trivial to harass right away, as the loss of White's QN restricts his options--only the Bg2 is available to attack the Queen, and that only via moving his Knight to a much more marginal location (either Nh4 or (after castling) Ng5-h3 (after Black's Queen's retreat and ...h6)). |
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8. O-O Be7 9. Qc2
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Both sides have continued to develop logically, though White's untouched d-pawn is cramping his QB needlessly-- I think 9.d3 would have been stronger here, freeing the bishop, preventing ...e4 and allowing the White Knight to threaten a jump to g5 after 10.Qc2. |
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9... e4
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Black creates space and forces the White Knight to make a tough decision. |
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10. Ne1
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I think 10.Nh4 is probably better, but it's understandable that White doesn't want to let Black weaken his castle with 10...Bxh4 11.gxh4. The Knight also has an easy-looking redeployment to d3 if White can get rid of the e-pawn, on d3 or e4. |
1 comment
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10... f5
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Black supports his overextended e-pawn. Now he needs to find time to get his Queen out of that pin and free the e-pawn to move, before White manages to win it. |
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11. d3 Nd4
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Black does not have any other defenders for e4, but he can drive away an assailant. |
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12. Qd1
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Attempting to maintain the pressure on e4 with 12.Qb1? fails against 12...Nxe2+. |
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12... O-O 13. b3 b5 14. Bb2 Rb8
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Getting off the long diagonal and preparing ...Bb7, for the inevitable moment when the BQ needs to leave the h1-a8 diagonal. |
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15. Qd2
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I'm not sure about the intent behind this move. The Queen doesn't threaten anything new from d2, and if the point is to defend b2, it could wait until something actually threatened the Bishop. |
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15... Bb7 16. Nc2
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Preparing to win a pawn by starting a bloodbath in the center. |
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16... h6
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? Threatening ...Bg5, complicating White's attack, but hanging a center pawn in the process. The defensive 16...Bf6 was probably better here. |
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17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. dxe4
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Less about taking the pawn than opening the d-file. |
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18... fxe4 19. Rfd1
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Black cannot hold the d4 pawn now, and when it falls, e4 will be isolated and weak. |
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19... Qf5
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Black finally breaks the pin, maintaining control of e4 for now and putting pressure on f2. |
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20. Bxd4 Bf6 21. Bxf6 Rxf6 22. Qd4
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The most active way to defend f2. |
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(1771)
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