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1. e4
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This game features an interesting positional battle in the modern French Classical. I'm not an e4 player and I haven't played 1...e6 since discovering the Sicilian, however, I can't resist playing in a French tournament. The positions are always interesting, with plenty of play for both sides. As usual, I won't annotate the basic opening moves, which should be common knowledge. |
 
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1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2
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This seems like a good place to start the annotation. Instead of 5. f4 leading to the Steinitz, this move betokens the modern treatment of the Classical. The idea is for White to create a "super-center" with c3, f4, and Nf3. In these positions, the standard break at ...f6 is not so good as it leaves Black with a terminally weakened pawn structure. This is a fact which determines this game, even though we leave book very early. Anand has played this several times with great effect. For some truly amazing games, check out Anand-Shirov, 2000 and Anand-Morozevich, 2000. |
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5... c5
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The typical French counter strike. |
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6. c3
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6... cxd4
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Releasing the tension doesn't help black. 6...Nc6 is better, followed by 7. f4 and either 7...b5, or 7...Qb6, increasing the pressure on d4 in standard French fashion. |
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7. cxd4
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7... f6
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Black is clearly a little nervous about the White center, but a capture on e5 after 8. f4 only solidifies the position in White's favor. Piece development seems more prudent at this stage, in particular, ...Nc6 and ...Qb6, with the standard queenside play. |
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8. f4
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Reinforcing the center. |
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8... fxe5
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9. fxe5
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White comes out of the opening with a clear static advantage. |
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9... Nc6
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10. Nf3
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10... Bb4+
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11. Nc3
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This is not so typical of a defense. Better might be 11. Bd2 Qb6; 12. Bxb4 Qxb4 ; 13. Qd2, with advantage to White. |
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11... O-O
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12. Be3
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My pieces are centrally posted and my center is strong. My short term plan is to deploy the Bishop to d3, castle and lift the queen to connect the rooks. Not exactly rocket science, but you can see how the mass exchange strategy employed by Black has left him in a passive situation. |
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12... Nb6
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Clearing the way for the light-squared bishop to possibly transfer to the kingside with ...Bd7-e8-h5 is pretty common. Also, the b6-knight can come to c4, which will pretty much force me to exchange my light-squared bishop to keep Black's activity under control. |
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13. Bd3
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Taking aim at the Kingside in the event the Black knight chooses not to sink into c4. The White queen can move to c2 to pressure the Black kingside and provoke a weakness on the light-squares with either ...h6, or an h-pawn push if Black plays ...g6, also keeping in mind possible sacrifices on g6. |
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13... Nc4
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I wasn't really excited about Bg5 followed by ...Qb6, and decided to chop the knight with... |
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14. Bxc4
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No need to allow complications. By exchanging the knight from c4, I keep the position simple and advantageous for the White pieces. Black gets the d5-square for his pieces, but I get the e4-square for my knight after I castle, as a bishop capture on c3 would only strengthen my center and then Nd2-e4 would come anyway. Black also has an isolated pawn on e6, which will be a problem later. This capture seems like a good example of choosing to use superior technique over complications. |
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