Annotated chess game: Team match

ANNOTATED GAME

Team match
chuckbo (1826) vs. saagent (1831)
Annotated by: chuckbo (2133)
Chess opening: Nimzovich-Larsen attack (A01), classical variation

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1. b3	I've been playing Larsen's Opening for about ten years (when I played chess), trying to get better at it. It's a good #2 opening, and I've compiled a nice opening database of variations.



1... d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Bf5 5. Bb5+	There's no "main line" for Larsen's, but White usually gets his pieces on these squares. Sometimes the Bishop's on e2 instead. Then you'll see 0-0 and either c4 or d4 or both. What's special here is that Black usually has a knight on c6 for the bishop to pin, so you might say I'm encouraging him some.



5... Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d4 Bd6 8. dxc5	I don't remember making that trade before, but I want to put the knight on e5 without him trading the bishop for it and giving me doubled pawns. I want to see if I can take advantage of my pin before he castles.
	1 comment chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: Also possible [7...a6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Ne5 Rc8].


8... Bxc5 9. Ne5 Qc7 10. Nd2	I'm thinking that knight will go to f3 to help support the one on e5, maybe even take its place at some point.



10... O-O 11. Bxc6	I decided I'd rather have the knight on e5 than the bishop.



11... bxc6 12. c4 Bd6 13. Ndf3 Ng4	I didn't expect that, but I think it's going to work out well for me.



14. Nxg4 Bxg4 15. Qd4	A nice double-attack there. He can thwart me, but it opens his position some and weakens his pawn on e6.



15... f5 16. c5	A move I almost overlooked, and so did he. The bishop's got nowhere to go. If it retreats, the queen's no longer guarding g7.



16... Bxh2+ 17. Nxh2 Bh5 18. Qh4	I'm thinking that I'd like to have the bishop on d6 to keep his rooks off of b8 and f8. And maybe I'll bring the knight to e5 again to harass pawns.
	3 comments chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: better was [16...e5! 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 18.Qxe5 Qxe5 19.Bxe5 Re8 20.Bd4], and black is able to hold the position. archduke_piccolo (2352) on 14-Sep-08: Such a line would have minimised the damage (1 pawn instead of knight for pawn) and, with bishops of opposite coloured squares, Black would have had reasonable chances to draw. riwulof (1933) on 10-Dec-08: 16...e5 17cxBd6 seems to loose a piece anyway, or I miss something ?


18... Bg6 19. Nf3 h6 20. Be5 Qf7 21. Bd6 Rfc8 22. Ne5 Qe8 23. Nxg6	Not an easy decision, but I think I'm far enough ahead that I can win this endgame.
	2 comments chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: Trading material when ahead on points is a winning strategy when the position is in control. archduke_piccolo (2352) on 14-Sep-08: But it's hard to give up such a powerfully posted knight for that rather sorry-looking bishop. An alternative was 23.f4 with the idea of bringing the rook via f3 to g3. If the other rook can be brought over to the h-file, so much the better.


23... Qxg6 24. Qe7 Qf7	Not much choice, really.



25. Qxf7+ Kxf7 26. b4 a6	But now the challenge will be finding a place to break through. Maybe I traded off those pieces a little soon.
	1 comment chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: The queenside pawn majority looks like an advantage. Back the pawns by rooks and push. The bishop has influence in this area and can be of help also.


27. a4 Kf6 28. Rab1	I'm planning to put the rook on b6 or maybe double them on the 7th rank.
	1 comment chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: better may be [28. Rfb1 g5 29. b5 cxb5 30. axb5 axb5 31. Rxa8 Rxa8 32. Rxb5 Ra1+ 33. Kh2 Rc1 34. Rb6 Ra1 35. c6 Ra8 36. c7 Rc8 37. Rb8] also good for white [29... axb5 30. axb5 Rxa1 31. Rxa1 cxb5 32. Rb1 Rc6 33. Rxb5 Ra6 34. Rb6 Rxb6 35. cxb6]. The pawn can promote.


28... g5 29. b5 axb5 30. axb5 cxb5 31. Rxb5 h5 32. Rc1	I should've moved Rb6 first! My plan was that after he plays Ra6, I'll play Rb6 and either get a favorable trade or be able to push the pawn on to c7.
	1 comment chessknave (1560) on 11-Sep-08: Maybe its still okay because if [32...Rc6] then [33.Rb6 Rc8 34.Rxc6 Rxc6 35.Rb1!] with [36.Rb6 Rxb6 37.cxb6] is winning and the king can not catch the pawn. The try [35... Rc8 36. Rb8 Rxb8 37. Bxb8 Ke7 38. c6 Kd8 39. c7+ Kc8 40. f3 e5 41. g3 f4 42. g4 h4 43. exf4 gxf4 44. g5 d4 45. g6 d3 46. Kf1 h3 47. g7 d2 48. Ke2 h2 49. g8Q+ Kb7 50. Qh7 e4 51. Kxd2 exf3 52. Qxh2] does not work for black either.


32... Ra6	Fortunately, I noticed that the pawn is pinned, and I can't play Rb6 yet. Time to find another plan. I looked at Rb8 for awhile, and I also looked at an earlier plan: Rcb1. Then I can go to b6. Or maybe I'll go to b7 and h7 and bring the other rook down. I'm thinking I may want to play g3 first so he can't check me on a1 and go after my f-pawn while his pawns come after my king if I move it to g3. I ended up decided to play Rcb1 then decide on Rb6 or Rb7.



33. Rb7	But when I came back to the game, it's like I forgot that I hadn't made the first rook move yet. As I clicked on the square, I realized what I was doing and was clicking the Cancel button on the browser to see if I could abort the move. Too late, so I offered a draw immediately. I think he felt sorry for me, because he took it. Even if there is a way to salvage the game, I knew that I didn't want to see any more of this game. ----> So my first game for the team, and I threw away the win.
	2 comments ruachessnut2 (1200) on 12-Sep-08: Having said you make less than correct moves you then give an example! 33. Rb6?? Rxb6 34. cxb6 Rxc1+ 35. Kh2 Rb1 36. Bc7 e5 & then d4 Black wins. chessknave (1560) on 19-Sep-08: I make less than correct moves also in some of my games. You have to look at your good games also and stay positive. Keep looking for tactics when playing, and use the analysis board or even an actual chessboard to work out the moves. Try to presume what the opponent will play against your moves. This was an interesting game. I rescind my idea of Rb6, a bad move - a result of too much late night analysis + no sleep. [33.Rcb1] is better as the pawn is secure by way of the bishop and the doubled rooks can provide some counterplay.