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14... O-O 15. Bg2
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A good moment to assess the overall situation, since both sides are close to completing their development. White is a pawn ahead. That Black has nothing to show at least partially to offset this, indicates White has the advantage. Black will have to play hard to close the gap! |
 
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15... b6
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(!?) Mobilising his Q-side. With this move, Black makes it clear he isn't going to lie down, even though his plan does have its risks. Also possible were 15...Qe7 or 15...Re8, but it is by no means clear they are any better than the move played. |
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16. Qc3
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(!) Not just a transparent, easily parried threat (17.Qxg7#). White plans to make use of the c-file to bear down upon Black's backward c-pawn that will soon appear in the file. |
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16... Nf6 17. cxb6 Qxb6
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It was no good taking with the pawn, of course! |
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18. O-O Rd8 19. Rac1 Bb7
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As good a place for the bishop as any. Black has now a 'hanging pawn couple' (Nimzovitch), the backward pawn of which at c6 is under heavy attack. Black has somehow to mobilise these pawns - a tall order! |
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20. Rfe1 Rac8 21. Ba1
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(?!) An imaginative idea that says much about White's flexibility of thought together with fixity of purpose. White wants to maintain the pressure on the long diagonal, but to bring his rooks into the front line of the attack down the c-file. But there is one small consideration that White has overlooked that, had he seen it, would have made him wait a move. The right move was 21.b4!, because... |
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21... c5
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(!) ... a White pawn on b4 would have held the c-pawn backward and vulnerable. Black takes immediate advantage of the omission. |
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22. Qb2
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(!?) The foregoing is not to say that Black was out of the woods yet. With 22.d4, White could still have faced Black with the problem of his vulnerable pawns, e.g. 22.d4 c4 23.bxc4 Rxc4 24.Qb2 Rb4 Black would have lively play, and have masked the weakness of his d-pawn (having rid himself altogether of his backward c-pawn), yet White still has that niggling pawn surplus, and no real weakness for Black to attack. |
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22... d4
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(!) Now, I rather like this move, though it is true Black has brought back into existence a backward and vulnerable c-pawn. Against that, Black has closed down the long dark-square diagonal, for the time being at least. |
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23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. Rc4 Nd5
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Black has his beady eye on ...Nc3 - an attractive-looking prospect. But it seems to me that Black's central pawn structure is too unstable for the knight to achieve much there. Apart from that, the rooks can offer no protection for the knight at c3 either. Maybe 24...Qd7, centralising and overprotecting d4 would have been worth a look. |
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25. e3
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(!?) Immediately attacking Black's shaky pawn centre. Yet there was a lot to be said for regrouping a bit first. 25.Qc1! added pressure against the c-pawn whilst covering the c3 and e3 squares. Less effective would have been 25.Rec1 (25...Qe7). |
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25... Rde8
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(?) Pinning the e-pawn (26.exd4?? Rxe1 ). But the move is a mistake, although the reason is not at all easy to spot! Better was 25...Qe7, with the same idea of pinning the e-pawn. |
2 comments
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26. Rec1
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Obvious and good, but even better was this tactical shot: 26.Rxc5!! with the idea 26...Rxc5? 27.Qxd4! with a double attack against the c5-rook and against g7 (28.Qxg7#). This motif forms a curious pendant to the similar double attack opportunities Black had earlier in the game! |
1 comment
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26... Nc3
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As planned, and it looks good, but the knight can't stay there after, say, 27.Qd2. Maybe 26...Nb4 might have given White more to think about...? |
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27. Rc1xc3
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(?!) A very interesting decision. It is often worth considering trading down 'at a loss', in order to bring about a more easily realised advantage, or in the interests of simpler planning. This can be especially useful if the defender is otherwise finding plenty of counterplay. Possibly White was impressed by the counterplay Black had recently conjured up, which makes the exchange offer understandable. At that, White may have been figuring on getting 2 pawns for the exchange, and hence preserving his material edge. All the same, 27.Qd2 looks much the better option. |
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27... dxc3 28. Qxc3 f6
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Black had to cover the mate threat at g7, whereat White now picks up the c-pawn... |
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29. Rxc5 Rxc5 30. Qxc5 Rc8
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(!) |
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31. Qa3
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(!) Just about White's only good move in this position. |
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31... Qc6
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Playing to win maybe? Black could have won a piece here by 31...Qf3! 32.Qb2 Qd1 33.Kg2 Rc1, but then White can hold everything together by 34.Qd4 Rxd1 35.Qd8 Kf7 36.Qd5 ! with a perpetual check (Not Qd7 ? Kg6). This would have been a nice exciting tactical finish to the game. But, whether or not Black considered this line, he's not compromising much by trying other methods. |
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32. Bb2 Qc5
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Possibly this offer ought to be avoided here, although it is true that the exchange comes later with no ill-effects to Black... Ordinarily the defender (Black) does best to keep pieces on, and look to exchanging pawns. |
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