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1. e4
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I played this game at the Norwalk Championships. It shows the dangers of castling on the wrong side of the board. |
 
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1... Nf6
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The Alekhine Defense.
Black wants to lure my pawns to attack his knight, causing me to overextend my position. |
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2. Nc3
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Most people play 2. e5 here, but I didn't study the Alekhine back then, so I preferred the safer Nc3 over the sharper e5. A lot of times playing Nc3 will transpose into other openings less familiar to an Alekhine player. |
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2... d6
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2...d5 is a more common move. Black can also play 2...e5 transposing into a double king-pawn position. |
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3. d4
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But Black's d6 move has simply transposed into the Pirc Defense. |
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3... c6
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This variation of the Pirc is somewhat passive. Black's sharpest plan is to play Nbd7 and e5, then fianchetto the king's bishop, transposing into a King's Indian Defense-type formation, but where I don't have a pawn on c4. |
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4. Bg5
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I usually develop my bishop to e3 in this opening, but I would have to play f3 first to avoid Ng4. |
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4... Nbd7 5. f4
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I am equalizing the control of e5. |
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5... h6
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I thought it was okay for Black to play e5 here, because after 6. fxe5 dxe5 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Qxd8 Kxd8 9. O-O-O Kc7, Black's position is fine, and my isolated e-pawn may be a problem in the resulting endgame. |
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6. Bxf6
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Bh4 still allows e5, and I did not want that. I want to play e5 before Black does. |
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6... Nxf6
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Black lets me play e5, because gxf6 gives my queen the good h5 square where I can control the 5th rank along with my pawns. And exf6 brings the e-pawn to the f-file, where Black can no longer play e5, also f7 becomes vulnerable after Bc4. |
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7. e5
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Although Black is no longer threatening e5, I must take dynamic action, because in the Pirc Defense, White needs to crush Black's passive position before Black finishes development and gets equality. |
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7... dxe5 8. fxe5 Nd5
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Nd7 cramps Black's position. |
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9. Bc4
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Not the best move, because usually you should only develop your bishop to c4 if Black's e-pawn is gone or has passed e6, because then you are pressuring f7. |
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9... Be6
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I thought e6 was more solid, but Be6 is more agressive. |
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10. Bxd5
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I don't like my misplaced bishop. |
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10... Bxd5 11. Nf3
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After Bxf3 gxf3, both sides should castle queenside, resulting in an equal game where Black focuses on undermining my advanced central pawns, and I focus on attacking the newly opened g-file. |
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11... e6
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Black missed his chance for equality, and gives me more chances to get an advantage. |
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12. O-O
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I place my rook on the open f-file. |
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12... Be7
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Black clears the way to castle kingside, which I believe is a mistake. I think Black's king is much safer on the queenside, because I don't have any open files there, and most of my pieces are active on the kingside. |
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