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ANNOTATED GAME

Walking the Walk and Learning to Run Welcome MT #1
king-nothing (1415) vs. dynamic_dv (2092)
Annotated by: king-nothing (1345)
Chess opening: Sicilian defence (B40)
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Pages: 123
1. e4
This was a game I recently played against dynamic_dv. While he is a +2000 player and a member of the club Walking the Walk, this isn't technically considered a W the W game because I had played him and been defeated by him previously. I'm proud of my performance in this game, even though it all fell apart for me in the end game, I was in a position to possibly win or draw when we reached end game.

 
1... c5
Looks like the Sicilian Defense. I like to play the Sicilian, I'm not fond of playing against it though.

 
2. Nf3
Open Sicilian. I am currently playing a version of the Sicilian closed that turned into the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. I didn't really want to find myself in that position here, the positions are a bit too complex for me and the advantage would likely go to DV.
2 comments
 
2... e6 3. Bb5
A discussion with Elyhim during our previous W the W game led to me making this choice. Normally I would have gone Bc4 instead, but this seemed to cause a weakness in his defenses early, one I saw and tried to remember to exploit later.
3 comments
 
3... a6 4. Bc4
Back to my comfort zone, there's a good chance I'll want to exchange this Bishop later with all of DV's pawns currently inhabiting white squares and this Bishop not being placed on the most optimum of diagonals.
3 comments
 
4... Nc6 5. d4
Time to challenge the c5 pawn. As white I rarely play this move, opting usually to let the piece occupy the square, defending it might have been a bit difficult for my opponent later, but I wanted to see where this line would lead.
2 comments
 
5... d5
I didn't expect that response... I see pursuit of the Bishop in order to stall development on my end. The problem is it delays black's proper development as well, so I'm not too concerned for this right now.
3 comments
 
6. exd5
We'll trade and open up the center a little bit. This open e-file ends up being the crux of our game, all the action seems to take place within this alley.

 
6... exd5 7. Be2
Time to end the pursuit of the bishop and begin developing all the other pieces in my arsenal. I do realize I have a slight development advantage, but at this time I don't feel it's enough to really capitalize on and gain a solid advantage.
2 comments
 
7... Nf6 8. O-O
When I play 1. e4 I like to be castled by move 4. This wasn't possible in this game because of the bishop pursuit. To wait any longer could have been disastrous, it was the right time to do this.

 
8... cxd4
One of the rules of chess I try to follow is "To take is a mistake." That is unless it gains you a clear positional or material advantage. I break this rule often enough, which is why I clung to it in this game like a drunken sailor clings to his wonderful wooden legged dance partner (which really was a chair, we got pictures). But I digress, I wanted my opponent to capture here and I continue to feel good about my position and development.
3 comments
 
9. Nxd4
Equalizing material...

 
9... Bc5 10. Nxc6
I broke the rule here. I decided that crippling his queen side pawn structure was crucial to my game and position. This move pretty much forces bxc6 as my knight is sitting pretty if left unbounded.
5 comments
 
10... bxc6
At this point it looks as though I should prepare a king side attack.
2 comments
 
11. Bg5
Just pinning the knight to the queen. I have no intention of trading a bishop for a knight when the board is beginning to open up.
3 comments
 
11... O-O
Castle, just in time too. A quick rook step towards the queen and things might have started to look ugly.

 
12. Nd2
Developing the knight to d2 is an attempt to move it to more useful positions on the king side of the board, and to get it there quicker. Developing to c3 would have rendered the piece pretty much jammed on the queen side for a good portion of the game. With my opponent's rating, I needed ALL of my pieces at my disposal to be useful and productive, else I needed to try to exchange them for the strongest pieces possible from DV's arsenal.
3 comments
 
12... Re8 13. Nb3
Which is the explanation for this move. I actually made an in game note to try to trade this knight for this bishop. With the board being open in the center, I'd speculate that knights are worth about 2 points here and bishops about 4 points rather than 3 and 3. Ideally I want to see the queen come out and cover the bishop here so I could get my exchange. I felt brilliant and crafty at this point.
3 comments
 
13... Bd6
Well, I must have been on to something...
2 comments
 
14. Qd3
Trying to get the queen into the game and this square is a hub to the game, my queen is very productive in this position, eyeing the h7 square, defending the e2 bishop, dominating the 3rd rank and just taking up a lot more space on the board than simply the d3 square.

 

Pages: 123