Annotated chess game

Just a reference for interest: In MCO-14 the Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6) is the mainline, and this game is a transposition which falls into line with the mainline on move 5...Bg7, and continues until move 7.Bc4 (a 3rd variation line), 7...0-0 (5th var) which continues with the last book move 8...a5, where the main continuation is 9.f3 (9.a4 Ng4 10.Qxg4 Nxd4 11.Qh4 Nxb3 12.cxb3 Ra6?! 13.0-0 Re6 14.Rfe1 b6 15.Bh6 Bb7 16.Bxb7 Kxg7 17.Re2) +/= Topolav-Larsen, Las Palmas 1992; 7...Qa5 is an aggressive move (3rd var)

Here white should consider 9.f3 to hold the e4 pawn, or 9.a4 to counter the attacking a pawn. The text move 9.0-0 does not address the problem.

I think that when black gains the center -/= while able to create threats and distract from the lonely b pawn which would be overrun by the abc pawns, at which time +/= may be the scenario.

Personally, I really, really like the central pawn majority (quite a few of my GK games feature a mobile pawn majority squashing my opponents). What makes White's game reasonable, though, is that Black's majority has yet to get going. Mind you, nor has White's Q-side majority. I give White perhaps a short-term edge, here, on account of his more active pieces, but would have no objection to playing with the Black pieces in this position.

An interesting line was 11.Nxc6!? bxc6!? 12.Nb6 Ra6 13.Nxc8, which might well turn into a battle between Black's central, and White's Q-side majorities. Incidentally, it might cross the mind of some maniac to play 11.Nb6? Qxb6 12.Ne6, which is merely a clever way of losing material. Black could simply play 12...Qa5, but he could really create for White a lot of grief by 12...Qxe3!! 13.fxe3 dxe6 14.c3 f5. w Black has some regrouping to do to organise his rather odd-looking position, but he must already have the edge here.

There is a small weakness from Nb6, which white could exploit to gain the bishop pair advantage. (12.Nb6)

Interestingly, 12.Nb6 doesn't seem so attractive: 12.Nb6!? Ra5! 13.Nxc8 (exchanging thus an active for an undeveloped piece seems to be the best White can do here: 13.Nc3? Nxc3 14.bxc3 and Black can choose between 14...Bf5 and ...Bxb2; 13.Na3 Bxb2 14.Nc4 Bxa1 15.Nxa5 Bg7 [though 15.Qxa1 Rh5 might lead down some very murky paths...]; 13.Nd4? Qxb6).

I think the idea behind 12...Ra6 is to counter 13.Nb6 with (13...Rxb6 14.Bxb6 Qxb6), BN vs R

Creates a bad bishop, but then again the bishop is really just a big pawn due to the knight at a4.

This could be a way to re-mobilise the b3-bishop, at the same time to mobilise White's Q-side. I don't think this pawn advance is all that bad, actually (though 13.Nb6 does look preferable). It is thematic, and contributes something towards White's Q-side operations.

This is a good response: driving back the bishop, and seizing control of some important central squares. The weakness along the g1-a7 diagonal is a relatively unimportant matter, especially as White has a pretty firm control over it himself right at the moment.

15.Nb6 posts the knight more aggressively and frees the b3 bishop from guard duty, although now the fork is gone, the positional control and menace to the rook are positives.

The jury is out. The knight move might have led to this shambles: 15.Nb6 Ra6 16.Nd5 ... [inviting the exchange. But Black would have to take with the bishop, as 16...Nxd5 loses a piece]; 16...Na5! 17.Ndc7 Nxb3 18.Nxe6! fxe6 19.axb3. The resulting position is not easy to assess.

Interesting manoeuvres here! White has redeployed his bishop with a gain of tempo, Black having to deal with the fork threat. Yet maybe 16.Rad1 was more to the purpose - or does that come later?

Now was not a bad time for 17.Nb6, with an improvement over the line I indicated at move 15. E.g.: 17.Nb6 Ra6 18.Nd5 Na5?! - in view of the following, Black would probably think seriously after all about 18...Bxd5 - 19.Ndc7 Nxb3 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Qxe6+ ... - a move not available in the 15.Nb6 line - 21...Kh1 22.axb3. White would have emerged a pawn ahead, and Black's central majority would have been reduced to an immobile hanging pawn couple.

This centralising move is fine...

Can you explain your idea for this move please? I would have hesitated to part with what seems to be the better bishop based on the castle pawns and soon to be weakened dark squares.

Broadly speaking, I would agree with chessknave, but give credit here for flexibility of mind. Can White exploit the dark square weaknesses Black has given up about his own King? The thing is, White as been operating mainly on the Q-side hitherto, and remains better geared to continue in that direction. But that would suggest the K-side dark-square weakness is not so significant - in Black's view, at any rate. Bear in mind, too, that White was definitely threatening Nxe6, and there wasn't all that much (else) Black could do about it.