Annotated chess game

This development does make sense, though, as, once on e7 the knight will find it hard to move anywhere constructive. So this bishop development makes way for possible castling short, as much as to mobilise itself.

It is always good to have a plan. Even if the computer grades it as a blunder, at least you have a plan. Playing a over-the-board game, and especially a tournament game, all you have at your disposal is your wits and not a computer engine to guide you threw a game.

He might have considered the more consistent...Ba4...Bb6, though. But he retreat doesn't lose the complete two tempi: it carries the threat of taking on h4 (10...Bxh4).

14.g5 was a strong threat.

This time to exchange it for any knight bold enough to enter d6.

Probably to gain a firmer hold on the light squares (and prevent White's next).

My suggestion 17...h5 with the intention to free the knight.. 17...f6 is to soon and undermines blacks position.

I recomment something else.. Just gxf5 a natural and logical move with a better outcome then the sacrifice Bxe6

My feeling is that its not really a blunder, but it dissipates a large portion of Whites advantage. Why not 19. gf ef; 20. Nd2?

I was reading Minev's "Mastering Tactical Ideas" and had just finished looking at several games in the chapter "Working on the Chain Gang". I had decided that I was going to try some of the ideas I had just read about, the first chance I got. This game seemed like a good candidate.

White had a large advantage before this sacrifice - probably large enough to retain good compensation for the material given up. Black is in a very nasty bind, here.

A good plan!! those pawns proved useful towards the endgame. Maybe black could have defended better and refute you pawn advance?

indeed 22.c4 is much better then the move played.

What line does it give? What version are you using? How long did you let it calculate? It seems white is clearly better.

I'm not sure that White is "clearly better". If Black can constrain the central pawn phalanx, he might well come out on top. In this 13-move sequence, one feels that Black has done well (I don't much like White's long retreats at moves 22 and 23). I have to admit, though, that in this position I would prefer to have the pawns. But then, quite a few of my own more recent games have featured mobile central pawn majorities...

I was using Fritz 7. I used the analysis tool with default settings which were: Verbose, Graphical, Cal 30, threshold 30, last move 33. I don't know exactly what the settings mean. It's exact comments were: "with this move Black loses his initiative. A better idea is ...32 Nc8" and then gave the symbol for Black having a slight advantage. It didn't give a line. When I do a postgame analysis with Fritz I am mostly looking for tactical shots I might have missed during the game and am not that interested in Fritz's strategic ideas, that's why I don't give Fritz a lot of time. New comment: I now know what the settings are: Cal time is 30 seconds and is the minimum amount of time the computer will spend on any move. If the computer creates a variation it will also spend at least 30 seconds on each move in the variation. Threshold is the amount of points a move must be off the computers move before it is considered a mistake [100 points=1pawn].

The point of ...Nc8 is to control the central dark squares, blockade the pawns and immobilise them. The move played, though a spirited attempt to inflict casualties upon the phalanx, fails to arrest its progress.

After 43...Nc8 Black has some draw chances. but if i would play white here. Then i am sure that i wil win.

yup.

(!) At this point, however, Black could have tried the trappy 33...gxf5!? with the idea: 34.dxe7?? Rxd1+ 35.Kc2 Rxe1 36.gxf5 (say) Rc8+ 37.Rc3 Nc5 threatening 38...Rc1#. White would, of course, avoid trouble by playing 34.gxf5 at once.

I did examine 33...gxf5 during the game and definitely would not have replied 34 dxe7??

Black's downhill slide was inexorable from the beginning of this sequence. Another victory for the mobile central phalanx!