|
|
1. e4 c5
|
Sicilian Defense. This is a ladder game, I'm the challenger looking to move up a handful of rungs here. |
 
|
| |
|
|
2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6
|
I frequently see 2. Bc4?! which I consider quite dubious at best. It has a horrible track record in every DB I've seen after 2. ... e6. And yet, 2. Nf3 2. d6 is the main line Sicilian, and now suddenly 3. Bc4 is the best move in the DB. Bc4 on move two, bad, Bc4 on move three, good. What a difference a move makes. 3. ... Nf6 seems to be black's best reply, though everything in the DB favors white at the moment. It keeps the illusion of control over d5 but better, putting pressure on white's pawn on e4. |
1 comment
|
| |
|
|
4. e5 dxe5 5. Nxe5 e6
|
4. e5 was pretty deep down the DB list of options. It forces the next couple moves. 4. ... dxe5 is better than any alternative. 4. ... Ne4? is a trap, after 5. d3 black's knight has nowhere to run. 4. ... Nb4 is little better; while it doesn't lose the knight, it pushes it over to a6 where it will likely stay for a long time. And 4. ... Nd7 saddle's black with a backward d-pawn and both bishops are hard to develop. 5. Nxe5 is just about forced if white doesn't want to gambit a pawn. And 5. ... e6 is the only way to protect f7. Not 5. ... Nd5? which fails to 6. Qf3. |
2 comments
|
| |
|
|
6. d3 Be7
|
We're almost out of the DB now. Down to just 3 games. 6. ... Be7 was played by the highest rated player and he won, so it looks good to me. 6. ... Bd6 was split 50/50. It invites the white knight back to f3 which pretty much equalizes for black, but it also limits the queen's scope a little and worse, white's Bg5 seems inevitable, and black's knight on f6 might need the bishop's support. Either move looks good to me so I went with the higher-rated advice. |
|
| |
|
|
7. O-O O-O
|
And now we're out of book. From here, white needs to develop, and he has a lot of freedom about how to do that. Black needs to develop too, but c6 is not a good home for a knight and the queen's bishop has nowhere useful to go right now either. All things considered, this position is still white's to press his advantage. |
|
| |
|
|
8. f4 Nfd7
|
This move took me some head scratching. I wanted to play 8. ... Nbd7 leaving my good knight on f6. But then I reasoned that after 9. Nxd7 Qxd7 I would just have a knight that cannot go to e4 or g4 and won't get much traction on d5 either. So, why not use that limited knight to drive off the white knight and then later I can play Nc6, developing my queen's knight to a square that actually reaches into white's camp with some meaning. |
|
| |
|
|
9. Re1 Nxe5 10. fxe5 Nc6
|
As planned. Development is looking a little more equal now. |
1 comment
|
| |
|
|
11. Re4 b6 12. Rg4 Nxe5
|
11. Re4?! was an attempt at a classic rook lift, aiming to bring a rook to bear on black's castle. Not a bad idea, but perhaps e3 was a better lift, since from e4 the rook is unable to safely reach h4, but it would be safe on h3. Black solidifies his pawn on c5 so he won't have to worry about it later. 12. Rg4? was a blunder by white, at it cost him a pawn. Worse, white now has his rook and bishop forked and black will be quite comfortable with the idea of trading material, doubling some white pawns, and enhancing his new found material lead. |
|
| |
|
|
13. Bh6 Nxg4
|
Evidently white figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. This just loses the exchange and lets black trade queens in the bargain. |
|
| |
|
|
14. Qxg4 Qd4+ 15. Qxd4 cxd4
|
Exchanges like this won't help white's cause. Down by the exchange and a pawn, white really needs to keep material on the board. |
|
| |
|
|
16. Bf4 Bb7 17. Nd2 Rac8 18. Bb3 Rfd8
|
Black has a plan (not really a very clever one - I was going for inexorable rather than clever), and it involves Bd5, but right now, white would just take that bishop and ruin black's central pawns. Hence 18. ... Rfd8. |
|
| |
|
|
19. Rf1 Bd5 20. Nc4 b5
|
First step accomplished, now it's time for the knight to take a hike. |
|
| |
|
|
21. Ne5 Bxb3
|
And now white has no good recapture. 22. axb3 just loses a pawn immediately and another soon to follow. |
|
| |
|
|
22. cxb3 Rc2 23. Bg3 f6
|
Recognizing that his queenside pawns are about to be in ruins, white tries one final counterattack exposing a double attack against black's pawn on f7. Black shut down that attempt and white, seeing no way out, resigns. 24. Rf2 RxR followed by 25. ... Rc8 and 26. ... Rc2 puts the screws right back on. |
|
| |
