Annotated chess game: A Pleasant Surprise!

ANNOTATED GAME

A Pleasant Surprise!
jstevens1 (1949) vs. stalhandske (2097)
Annotated by: jotheblackqueen (1200)
Chess opening: French (C01), exchange, Svenonius variation

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1. e4	Hi everyone! After founding my new club I ended up playing a few games with my fellow Runners (Experts), one of those was Torsten. I acquainted him with Operation Joblock - I gave him no opportunities of ingress and even put his queenside under a bit of pressure which was enough to prompt him to hit the Offer Draw button - and to result in an equally prompt acceptance - 4 rating points gladly gained there! So how did all this happen? Please read the comment in the annotation.
	1 comment jotheblackqueen (1200) on 09-Dec-12: Gameknot Analysis is given here: game


1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5	3. ...... exd5 - as a result of this pawn trade we are in a spacious opening called The Exchange Variation of the French Defense which is slightly favourable to black in the World and the Gameknot Database but I think that white can still get a good game here.
	3 comments stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: well, the chess books I have (admittedly old) all say that the exchange variation is a variant that gives black no problems.....but, boy, did I get problems blitzkov (1200) on 09-Dec-12: The exchange variation of the French. hanibaal (1784) on 15-Dec-12: The position is symmetrical, and it's white turn, so it can't be favourable to black


4. Nf3 Nf6	4. ..... Nf6 - this is more like a Petrov's Defense after both e pawns have disappeared off the board.
	2 comments l-d-j (1747) on 09-Dec-12: Agree, this position is known from the Petroff as well: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5. I don't think it offers White much. blake78613 (1200) on 11-Dec-12: In my OTB days, I was a French player. One thing I had a hard time realizing was that in the Exchange variation of the French, Black needs to play for rapid development. French players are so set on ...c5 being the thematic break that they are hesitant to play ...Nc6 blocking the c-pawn. However the Exchange French is more like an open game then the normal French closed or semi-closed variations. Black should in fact play 4...Nc6 even though this goes against his natural instincts as a French player. Once I overcame this preconception, the exchange French ceased to be a problem.


5. Bd3 c5 6. O-O	6. 0-0 - Henry is tucked away on the kingside and I am thinking about a rook check on e1 which I execute on the following move.



6... c4 7. Re1+ Be7 8. Bf1 Nc6 9. b3	9. b3 - undermining the pawn crimp that Torsten has imposed on me.
	1 comment stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: no doubt the best move here!


9... cxb3 10. axb3	10. axb3 - this opens up the a column and now I inflict an isolani - as a little exercise for the Walkers - spot the isolani!
	3 comments stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: what the h--l is the "isolani"; do you know fellows, or am I in trouble already? or does she mean black's beautiful (but isolated) pawn at d5? jotheblackqueen (1200) on 09-Dec-12: I do indeed mean the pawn on d5. Isolani means isolated pawn. bwaa (1875) on 12-Dec-12: Specifically, an isolani is an isolated Queen's pawn--it gets a special name because it's so frequently a major feature.


10... O-O 11. Ne5	11. Ne5 - as it will take a few moves for Torsten to attack my knight, I can quite safely put him on e5 as my d pawn is defended by Glenda - now when is she not defending pawns!?!
	2 comments stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: for the uninitiated (like me, but after some thought) Torsten is me and Glenda is the white Queen chicoboy (1281) on 09-Dec-12: of course in humorist's UK English jargon Glenda is the Queen and Henry its King!


11... h6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3	13. Nxa3 - bishop trade. For the moment my knight looks dim on the rim but I will find a way of making him very useful indeed - never fear!
	1 comment stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: 11.....h6 is a weak move by Torsten (i.e. me). Be6 or Re8 would have been better


13... Re8 14. Bb5	14. Bb5 - pin.



14... Qc7 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Rxe8+ Nxe8 17. Bd3	17. Bd3 - we are now well into the middlegame after that plethora of exchanges. Torsten exchanges one isolani for another - again, Walkers - do play Spot the Isolani! That weakie may well become a target later on when pieces get traded off.



17... Nf6 18. b4 g6 19. f3 Nh5 20. c3	20. c3 - over the last few moves I have been planning to get my knight back into touch and the first square in mind for that steed is c2. However, I decided to move my pawn to f3 to block up the d1 - h4 diagonal for Torsten's lsb. Fou Leblanc dissuades his counterpart from controlling the a6-f1 diagonal and the b1-h7 diagonal. I will see to it that this barbarian will not get through the gate!



20... Nf4 21. Bf1	21. Bf1 - Fou Leblanc is driven back and I must choose which diagonal I must allow Torsten's lsb to control. I thought the b1-h7 diagonal was the lesser of the two evils and at least Fou Leblanc guards g2 against a potential front-on attack from the Wicked Witch of the West (enemy queen) et al!



21... Kg7 22. Nc2 h5 23. Ne3	23. Ne3 - that's better, at least my knight controls more squares on e3 than on a3!



23... Bd7 24. Qd2 h4 25. Ra5	25. Ra5 - in the absence of a black dsb I can put pressure on c6 with impunity by moving my rook to c5 if I can only get rid of black's nuisance knight on f4. Never mind, where there's a will, there's a way!



25... Re8 26. Nd1	26. Nd1 - step 1.



26... f6 27. Nb2	27. Nb2 - step 2.



27... g5 28. Nd3	28. Nd3 - step 3 and now black trades off his knight and I get Fou Leblanc right back to where I wanted him.
	1 comment elyhim (1200) on 09-Dec-12: Excellent maneuvering Jstevens1!


28... Nxd3 29. Bxd3 Re7 30. Rc5	30. Rc5 - with that little problem of the black knight resolved and my bishop handily placed on d3 I now execute my plan to give Torsten two isolanis to defend by means of milking the pin of the c6 pawn.



30... Be8 31. b5 Qd6	31. .... Qd6 and DRAW OFFER! Torsten did not like the fact that his queenside pawn structure was gonna get busted and so offered me a draw. Gameknot Analysis assessed our position as fairly even so it was a good offer and a good acceptance. This draw game immediately resulted in another one - this time a draw offer from Janet's bro, Battlefleet which I gladly accepted and it bumped my rating back north of 1950. Well, brethren - I hope you have a good read because there will be more annotations from whence that came! Kind regards - Joanne
	4 comments l-d-j (1747) on 09-Dec-12: Good game! stalhandske (2251) on 09-Dec-12: Good game indeed, and a very strong one from Joanne! blitzkov (1200) on 09-Dec-12: Strong game; strong players! elyhim (1200) on 09-Dec-12: Great positional play from both sides