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I never thought I would ever annotate an Internet game, but this game is very instructive for people who play the Caro-Kann. Both players played superb! |
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1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4
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The Classical Variation. My favorite as Black and as White! |
  3 comments
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4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. h5 Bh7 8. Nf3 Nd7 9. Bd3
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The best use for this bishop is to get rid of Black's light squared bishop. |
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9... Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Qc7 13. Qe2 O-O-O 14. Ne5 Nb6
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!? A new move for me. I am very familiar with the white side of this opening, so I didn't use the chess database at all. Considering my opponent and I are not paying members, we were working on our own since move nine. Although, it seems we continued with book moves all the way up to move 17! |
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15. Ba5 Rd5 16. Bxb6 axb6
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My plan of attack from here was to put as much pressure on Black's weak f7 square, and to try to eliminate Black's knight. |
1 comment
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17. Kb1
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Considering that the center could open up soon, I decided to clear the c1-h6 diagonal to prevent unwanted checks from Black's queen. |
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17... Bd6 18. f4 Rf8 19. Ne4
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! I wanted to push my pawn to g3 and this was the only good spot for my knight. Plus, I have a chance to eliminate his knight! |
1 comment
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19... Nxe4 20. Qxe4 b5
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!? Another interesting move. At first glance it seems to do nothing really. But it actually does two things. First, it allows ...Qb6, putting more pressure on my d-pawn. Also, Black can undermine my future plans to push my pawn to c3, with ...b4. This could open up my king's defences and keep my d-pawn weak. |
1 comment
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21. g3
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Perhaps a waste move, I should be stopping Black from having a chance of pushing ...b4! |
1 comment
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21... Rd8 22. Rd3
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Preparing for ...Bxe5. |
1 comment
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22... f5 23. Qe3 Bxe5 24. dxe5
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?! An inaccuracy on my part. I thought it was in my best interests to open the d-file, because I figured getting my c-pawn to d4 would strengthen my pawn structure and then I wouldn't have to worry about ...b4. |
1 comment
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24... Rd5xd3 25. cxd3 Qd7 26. Rd1 Kc7 27. Qc5
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? This was my big mistake for the game. I played it to prevent him from pressing any of his pawns on the queenside. 27...b6? 28 Qa3! and I could force draw (but I wouldn't), eliminate his pawn at b6, or force a queen trade (which I would love at this point)! |
1 comment
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27... Qf7
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! Winning my h-pawn? |
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28. Kc2
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! The best possible move in this position. Now if Black plays 28...Qxh5, I simply reply 29 Qe7+ winning Black's e-pawn. |
1 comment
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28... Rd5
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! |
1 comment
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29. Qa3
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?! This was the hardest move of the game for me. I couldn't decide whether to move Qa3 or Qb4. Qa3 has the advantage of supporting the d-pawn and giving the queen access to the a-file, which comes in handy for attacking Black's king. Qb4 on the other hand allows the queen the ability to provide protection and support at the d2 square, and should the g-pawn fall, support the f-pawn. I believe Qb4 is the stronger move. |
1 comment
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29... Qxh5
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Down falls the h-pawn. |
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30. Qe7+ Kb6 31. Rd2
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This is when it dawned on me that I couldn't take the e-pawn! 31 Qxe6 Rc5+! and I lose my rook. Additionally, Black was threatening ...Qh2+ with the capture of my g-pawn! |
2 comments
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31... Rc5+
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? Doesn't work now! |
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32. Kb3 Qg6
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? With this move, Black allowed me to force the draw, which I gladly did, since I could not see a way to win this game. |
1 comment
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33. Qd8+ Ka7
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33...Ka6?? 34 Kb4! b6 35 Qa8++ (34...Ka7 prevents mate, but it drops the rook with 35 Kxc5) |
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