Message:
12... Nc4 13.Qd3 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 d5?! I think is exactly what we should hope for as 15.e5 Nd7 and either 16.Nf4 or 16.f4 activates excellently. I don't think that should be a big problem, our plan is to attack and that hurries us along. I like 16.Nf4 with a possible continuation of 16... Qa5 17.Kb1 Bb7 18.Bh3 Rc8 19.g5 hxg5 20.hxg5 with the plan of g6. Maybe black should play 17... Bc5 but we probably have something at least as good as 18.Nd3 Ba7 19.Nb3 Bxe3 20.Nxa5 where the b4 pawn is a problem for black. This is merely a quick look but I don't see danger in this 14... d5 plan. I think it gives us time to develop an attack against e6, which seems to be a major focal point. On the other hand I think black's play MUST be based around opening up the queenside, so 14... d5 seems more logical than any other move, I just see specific variations favoring white.

yanm

4/05/2007
02:01:25
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vacations

Message:
I'm away until next weeks! So they have plenty of time to come up with a dangerous plan and us to counter that...

Have a nice Easter,

--Yannick

raskerino

4/10/2007
18:49:49
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Message:
-> gameknot.com

just thought I'd put up a link to the game so I can find it more easily.

yanm

4/11/2007
01:22:34
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12...Nc4

Message:
They played 12...Nc4! It seems that our only option is 13.Qd3... The continuation is, as you pointed out earlier, 13.Qd3 Nxe3 14.Qxe3.

raskerino

4/11/2007
13:09:22
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Message:
It seems that's our only option, there's no sacrificial magic to be made with Qxb4. 13.Qd3 gets my vote via process of elimination.

yanm

4/12/2007
02:58:04
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So lets go for 13.Qd3

Message:
Do I set conditional moves for the continuation 13.Qd3 Nxe3 14.Qxe3?

raskerino

4/12/2007
06:12:12
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Message:
Sure.

yanm

4/16/2007
23:32:39
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duh they played 13...Qc7

Message:
instead of 13...Nxe3.

My quick analysis: this impedes Nc6 and starts an counter-attack on the c-file. Now, I think that we have two options. 1) keep the bishops' pair and an play 14.Bf2 and 2) continue our pawns' storm with 14.g5.

raskerino

4/17/2007
14:16:41
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Message:
I dislike 14.g5 as after 14... hxg5 we must play 15.Bxg5 we do not gain the desired space advantage by taking back with the h pawn. Thus let me recommend two completely different moves (leaving us with three I think are reasonable):

a) 14.Bh3 does prepare g5 and it places pressure on the weak e6 square (with g5-g6 and Nf4 we weaken it even more). However, it does seem like it brings it away from being a potential defender of our king. Another nice feature though is it does connect rooks. Another possible drawback is that it may give them a target on the h file.

b) 14.Rg1 also prepares the g5 advance. While I'd tend to prefer Bh3, this move seems less commital, though it creats less threats too.

c) Finally 14.Bf2 seems fine and I always like bishops... but it's SLOW. It also cuts down on control of g5 (though we'll still have enough).

I think (unless you spot a problem) my vote would be with 14.Bh3 but I'd be reasonable comfortable with any of the above moves.

One thing I should mention: I think the c file's a big danger- and I feel we may have to act quickly so that our attack comes first.

yanm

4/25/2007
23:51:50
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14.Bh3

Message:
So I finally played 14.Bh3 since I didn't found any problem with this move...

raskerino

4/26/2007
15:20:01
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Message:
So our idea is g5 and probably g6 or Nf4?

yanm

4/27/2007
06:49:56
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question

Message:
Can they counter-attack in a way that prevent use to push forward with g5? For example, if they answer with 14...d5, we should do something first about it or can we play 15.g5?

In my opinion, we can safely play 15.g5 since opening the d file will benefit us more than them (their king hasn't yet castled)... but I may be wrong :/

raskerino

4/27/2007
13:09:53
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Message:
Sounds good to me:

something like 14... d5 15.g5! hxg5 16.hxg5 Nd7 17.g6 looks very promising.

yanm

4/29/2007
01:00:53
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What about 14...e5

Message:
In pushing that pawn they attack our knight and prevent us to play g5 since after the pawn exchange our bishop will be under fire by both their bishop and rook... We can play 15.Nf5 but I don't like much this idea because A) they can always play g6 and B) it removes a potential defender of our king. Any idea on how to react if we are faced with 14...e5???

raskerino

4/29/2007
08:34:27
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Message:
Good point. We'd be left with a choice between 15.Nf5 and 15.Nb3.

a) 15.Nb3 leaves the knight on the queenside but it might give them free tempo with a5-a4. For example 15.Nb3 a5 16.Bf2 Ba6! seems very, very bad for us.

b) 15.Nf5 g6 16.Ng3 definitely looks problematic too.

So what I think we should go with is 15.Nf5 where somthing like 15... g6 16.Nfg3 a5 17.g5 hxg5 18.Bxg5 Be7 19.f4 might follow, and we're not too bad. I'm probably being overly optimistic (again), but I'd hate to see that a pawn marching down our throats with tempo. It's lucky that they can't play 17... Ba6 18.Qb3 Rc8 'cause our bishop covers that square, though 18...Nb6 threatens to trap our queen (with both ... Bc4 and ... a4), luckily we can rip it with our bishop, so that's not a huge problem. They've got a lot of scary tactics, but I think with a timely g5 and f4 push we'll be fine.

yanm

4/30/2007
23:02:03
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They played 14...Bd7

Message:
I guess their plan is to follow by Bb5 and Ne5 and we lose a pawn! They also have the opportunity of playing Bb4 later on (to force b3)... Maybe we should answer by a pawn push like 15.b3 right now but then they could play 15...Na3 or directly 15...Ne3 (forking pawn and queen). And of course, they still have the possibility of playing 15...e5! As you said, they have a lot of tactics at their disposal but I feel we can resist!

So my candidate moves are:
15.g5 aggressive (maybe overly optimistic)
15.Bf3 freeing some little space for the queen and defending the f pawn (maybe too slow)
15.Qb3 avoiding possible complications (maybe also too slow)

raskerino

5/01/2007
14:11:30
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Message:
15.Qb3 seems unhelpful to me, as it would give them gain of time for an a5-a4 plan.

15.Bf2 seems playable and kind of useful as it defends the f3 square, but my fave of those choice is definitely:

15.g5 displacing their knight, and opening up the kingside, if something like 15... hxg6 16.hxg5 Ng8? 17.Bxe6 is possible. While that's not likely, I'm trying to show some of the sting of 15.g5. Also, as it gains tempo and I don't see too good a square for their knight I don't see a problem. One worry is that we can't play g6 very effectively as Ne5! forks queen and pawn on g6.

So I guess I support 15.g5 but I think 15.b3 is worth a look, it's weakening, problematic but if it gives us an extra turn or two it could be worthwhile.

yanm

5/17/2007
22:51:08
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So lets go for 15.g5

Message:
I didn't opted for 15.b3 because we finally have the same problem than with 15.g5: Queen and pawn get forked...

yanm

6/13/2007
22:50:20
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So, they played 15....Nh5

Message:
What do we do? I went over the game quickly yesterday, and I was thinking about g6 so as to weaken the e6 square...

raskerino

6/15/2007
10:38:15
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Message:
g6 definitely looks very strong. I definitely like getting the e6 pawn, and it opens up the game which should be useful with their king in the center. I think we agree on 16.g6!

yanm

7/09/2007
23:11:31
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Link to new game

Message:
The game was reinstated: board #7735920

yanm

7/26/2007
10:25:26
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16....Ne5

Message:
So they finally played 16...Ne5

I was thinking about 17.bxf7+ followed by 18.Qb3. What do you think?

Best,

yanm

raskerino

7/26/2007
11:36:39
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Message:
thanks for the heads-up on this game.

your plan seems great, the queen looks good on b3, and a5-a4 seems slow compared to out pressure on e6.

yanm

8/06/2007
08:44:02
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18... Qc4

Message:
So they've moved...

yanm

8/06/2007
10:49:02
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Queen exchange

Message:
They want to exchange our queens but I would think that it favour them... Can we avoid it?

raskerino

8/06/2007
11:52:59
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Message:
I don't see a way to avoid the queen exchange, and I think it's clearly better for us if they take our queen instead of us taking theirs. Maybe something like 19.f4 Qxb3 20.axb3 Nc6 21.Nxc6 Bxc6 22.Nd4 is good for us. But perhaps even stronger is 19.Nf4 forking h5 and e6 19... Nxf4 20.Bxf4 with possiblilities of Qe3 and Bxe5. This seems more attractive to me, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

yanm

8/12/2007
06:19:42
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Message:
I prefer you first line, the moves are forced until they play 22...Bxe4 or 2...Bd6. And I prefer our position than theirs after both possibilities.

On the second line: our Bishop on f4 doesn't seem right. He is in the path of our f pawn. And we exchange our more or less good Knight on e2 for their rim Knight.

I vote for 19.f4 and propose to enter the subsequent replies as conditionals. Any additional thoughts?

raskerino

8/14/2007
16:43:58
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Message:
I still like 19.Nf4 as 19... Nxf4 20.Bxf4 Qxb3 21.axb3 Ng6 22.Bg3 and the f pawn is loose again, but it's a good point that the N on e2 is better than the one on h5. I'm happy to have f4 be played and for the moves to be conditional.

I'm on vacation, so I can't get on too much, it'd be great to get more PMs notifying me that there's an update.

raskerino

8/15/2007
16:48:33
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Message:
on 20... Ng6

maybe 21.f5 exploiting the fact that 21...e5 is not an option. 21... exf5 22.Nxf5 with a threat on d6 (though e4 is weak). d6 seems weaker than e4 and I wouldn't envy their king.

Alternatively 21.Rdf1 preparing a breakthrough seems alright, if 21... Nxh4 we have 22.Bxe6.

yanm

8/25/2007
08:06:49
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So they played as expected

Message:
19. ... Qxb3 20. axb3 Nc6 21. Nxc6 Bxc6 22. Nd4

Lets wait and see...

raskerino

9/06/2007
14:17:50
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Message:
Our move must either be forcing or cover g3 as a Ng3 fork.

So my candidate moves are f5 and e5. I'll give some analysis later.

raskerino

9/07/2007
15:04:29
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Message:
alright.

e5 has two continuations:

22... dxe5 23.dxe5 where we get the f file and if the king goes to e7 we might have an eventual Bc5+ to great effect, I definitely like the look of that position, as e6 is much more pressure than e5.

22... d5 23.f5 looks attractive, the only thing to watch out for is Ng3. I like a passed e pawn a lot when their rooks are unconnected.

22.f5 is looking a little less interesting to me as I don't see a ton after 22... e5. Something like 22.f5 e5 23.Ne2 Bc6 makes our position look clumsier.

So I'm thinking e5.

yanm

9/11/2007
12:42:00
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sorry

Message:
not much time those days... So, I played 22.e5!

yanm

9/22/2007
00:13:34
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23...d5

Message:
So they played 23...d5.

24.f5 seems good to me. Then if they play 23...Ng3 24. fxe6+ Bxe6 25. Bxe6+ ... 26. Rg3?

raskerino

9/22/2007
09:27:13
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Message:
A couple spring to mind here.

a) 24.Rg1 leaves there knight without a square, the idea would be Bg4 forcing g6 and leaving their pawns in shambles. But 24... g6 seems a strong responst, so scratch that idea.

b) 24.Rhe1 seems a nice square for the rook preparing an f5 push, but again g6 seems adequate.

c) so that brings me to 24.f5, it seems like we need to make the break now or ...g6 will stop it. 24... exf5 seems forced and we have a choice, probably 25.Bxf5 Bxf5 26.Nxf5 Ke6 27.Rhf1 and it seems like they can probably grab on e5. So what about 24.f5 exf5 25.Rhe1? Nope seems like that loses a pawn too after 25... Re8 26.Bf2 g6.

d) so I have a different idea, I think it gives a slight edge, but nothing so aggressive as 24.f5 which I can't bring myself to see working. 24.Bg4 Ng3 (24...g6 25.Bxh5 gxh5 26.Rf1 with the idea of creating a past e pawn with an f5 advance and weakening d5) 25.Rg1 Ne4 (25... Nf5 26.Nxf5 exf5 27.Bh5+ is probably winning as d5 is bad and our e5 pawn is great) now we have 26.f5 against trying to make the break 26...exf5 27.Nxf5 seems pretty good. We're threatening Nxh6+ and Rxd5 so they've got two move:

d1) 27... Bxf5 28.Bxf5 seems excellent for us.

d2) 27... Be6 28.Bh5+ Kg8 29.Nxh6+ when delightfully enough 29... Kh7 30.Bg6 is mate.

So yeah, I think 24.Bg4 is strongest.

yanm

9/23/2007
05:39:56
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Again not much time

Message:
I played 24.Bg4 because I won't have Internet access until next weekend (at best). Sorry for the few time I can spare for chess those last few weeks... Should be better starting mid-October :D

yanm

10/03/2007
06:47:29
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They played Ng3

Message:

raskerino

10/03/2007
15:49:31
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Message:
I like the look of 25.Rhg1 as given above, but your 25.f5 is definitely worth a look (I completely missed it). 25.f5!?

a) 25... Nxh1 26.fxe6+ Ke7 27.exd7 Ng3 28.Nc6+ 1-0

b1) 25... Nxf5 26.Bxf5 exf5 27.Rhe1 (there might be better) Re8 and I don't see white having enough, so maybe:

b2) 26.Rhf1 g6 (though actually they don't really need the defense as they're up a pawn and if we win f5 they'll have the useful ...Ke6 move) 27.h5 Kg7 and again, black seems to be just good enough.

c) 25... exf5 26.Bf3 seems at first quite strong (26... Be6? 27.Nxe6 Kxe6 28.Bxd5+ 1-0) but they have the safe move 26... Ne4 and again I'm not sure what to do for us.

So unless you have some clever ideas I favor the simple Rhg1.

yanm

10/04/2007
01:42:36
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Go for it

Message:
Okay for Rhg1... f5 will come anyway :D

yanm

10/20/2007
02:31:20
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They played 25... Ne4

Message:
I see:
a) 26.f5
b) 26.Bf3

I would favour the second solution. Their knight is now in a too nice spot and I feel we have to dislodge it.

raskerino

10/21/2007
08:43:33
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Message:
First I think it's important to mention that 26.Bh5+ is not a useful move to interpose, with 26.Bf3 we want the king on a light square for lines like 26... Nc5 27.f5 exf5 28.Bxd5+. And also thr bishop on g4 supporst the f5 push better, so the check is out of the question.

26.Bf3 is strong, they must leave the knight where it is and we will have a permanent target on e4 to attack. My issue with the move is it allows them to connect rooks. 26.Bf3 Bc5 (26... Nc5 27.f5) 27.Bxe4 dxe4 28.Rge1 Rh(a?)d8 and they've gotten a bit more co-ordinated.

26.f5 is definitely more forcing, so it's easier to analyze far ahead 26... exf5 (forced) 27.Nxf5 Bxf5 (basically forced as d5 is attacked and if they try to defend d5 with Be6 we have moves I've given above, I guess 27... Bc6 is an alternative but we have the simple 28.Nd4 winning the c8-h3 diagonal, we're ready to start pushing the e pawn and they still have not connected rooks, oh, yeah, their king is bad too) 28.Bxf5 and now they do have difficulty finding the right way to connect rooks 28... Rd8 to defend d5 and now the tricky 29.Bb6 and 29.Rg6 are probably the two main moves. Rg6 wins the a pawn for sure, and 29.Bb6 leads to a short chase which also seems to favor us 29... Rb8 30.Bc7 Rb7 31.Bd8! Rb8 32.e6+ Ke8 33.Bc7 Rb7 34.Be5 where d5 is still hanging. I guess I see more promise in this line though I think both yield advantage, this is probably a juncture where we should argue over which is better if you see more promise in Bf3.

raskerino

11/21/2007
13:46:52
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Message:
I missed 27... g6. So probably 28.Nd6+ Bxd6 29.Bxd7 Bxe5 30.Rxd5 where both sides pieces look a bit awkward.

yanm

1/20/2008
05:02:43
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We are finally there

Message:

As you have foresaw, the position is a bit awkward for both sides...

yanm

1/30/2008
11:59:30
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17th move

Message:
As I already said, I would propose to move our light square bishop to a safe post : 17. Bh4;
or, alternatively, we can give a in-between check with 17. Rf1+.

raskerino

2/12/2008
13:17:11
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Message:
Here's a thought: 31.Bf5 forking the knight and pawn, 31... gxf5 32.Rd7+ and I think our bishop is better than their knight, the doubled rooks are pretty powerful too.

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