Annotated chess game: Turnaround!

ANNOTATED GAME

Turnaround!
paulg3121 (1532) vs. jstevens1 (1505)
Annotated by: jotheblackqueen (1200)
Chess opening: Giuoco Piano (C54), Krause variation

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1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5	3. ......... Bc5 - I initiate the Guico Piano (Italian Game)
	1 comment freeman8201 (1718) on 22-Jan-08: Cool endgame. perceiving through all the increments possibilities


4. c3	4. c3 - this is the Guico Piano proper - 4. d3 is the Piannissimo.



4... Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+	6. ...... Bb4 - a standard follow up to 4.c3. The next move deviates from the standard.



7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Bd3 dxe4 11. Bxe4 O-O 12. Bxc6 bxc6	12. ......... b x c6 I thought that this was a very sensible way to deal with 7. Bd2. However, after a plethora of exchanges my queenside pawns are busted, oh dear!
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2352) on 23-Jan-08: Black's position is quite OK. To balance the weakness of the doubled c-pawns, White has an isolated d-pawn (which is restraining and being restrained by Black's c-pawns), and Black has the bishop pair on an open board. Black has at least an even game, it seems to me!


13. h3 Qe7+ 14. Qe2 Qxe2+ 15. Kxe2 Bb7	15. ..... Bb7 - the queens have been exchanged and white's king looks handily placed for the endgame. White siezes on this with his next move .....
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2352) on 22-Jan-08: [Move 13] I can understand White's worry about a bishop landing on g4, but after 13.h3 Black could have played the alternate check: 13...Re1+ 14.Kf1 Ba6+ 15.Kg1 Be2 threatening to break up White's K-side, or 15...Re2 firmly establishing a rook on the 7th rank. [Move 15] Instead of ...Bb7, I think I would prefer 15...Be6 followed by 16...Bd5, or 15.Ba6+ Kd2 16.Bc4 also with the idea of blockading the isolated pawn and establishing the bishop on a well-protected central square.


16. Rac1 f6 17. Rhd1 Rfe8+	17. ....... Rfe8 drives the king back to f1 though.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2352) on 22-Jan-08: After this check 18.Kd2 seems playable enough.


18. Kf1 Rad8	18......... Rad8 - brings out my last piece and puts pressure on white's isolated d pawn. After white's next move, 19. Rd2 I try and turn the tables on him by returning the compliment. This leads to the loss of a pawn, but amazingly I manage to get some real play for it!



19. Rd2 Ba6+ 20. Kg1 Re2 21. Rxe2 Bxe2 22. Rxc6 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rxd4 24. Rxc7 Rd2 25. Rxa7 Rxb2 26. a4	26. a4. After a plethora of pawn exchanges I am now a pawn to the bad in the rook and pawn ending, but as I said earlier, it is not all bad news and I now get the rook behind the enemy passed pawn. It does make his rook passive. I now firstly create a luft for my king on h7 and then g6 will be his new den! It is vital that the king is sheltered from checks when the pawn reaches the 7th rank so that the enemy rook is unable to steal a vital tempo!
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2352) on 22-Jan-08: A good assessment of the game. White has (for the moment) whatever winning chances are going, but they are pretty slender. lighttotheright (1200) on 23-Jan-08: White pushing the a pawn simply because it is a passed one is not necessarily the best strategy in this position. The white rook is caught in front of the pawn. Pushing it is useless because there is no way to promote it without the help of the White King once Black's rook attacks it from behind. 30. a7, as Ion points out, is expecially bad. All this should be easy to see, even for an intermediate player. White doesn't appear to be thinking very far ahead and does not have a viable plan. * 26. Kg2 was much better...centralizing the King. Pushing the King-side pawns with the support of the white King while it still can happen gives White better chances. * As for black, 27. ... h6 was the start of a good plan by Joanne.


26... Ra2 27. a5 h6 28. Ra8+ Kh7 29. a6 Kg6 30. a7 Kg5 31. Kg2 Kh4	31. ...... Kh4 - the black king moves towards the enemy pawns so that if the white king goes over to help the passed white pawn, the king will gobble them up!
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2352) on 23-Jan-08: Probably 30.a7 was ill-advised, as it cuts back White's options. Apart from anything else, if the BK avoids possibilities of tempo gaining checks by White, Black can now make no further progress on the Q-side. The a7 square might have proved an invaluable post for the WK. But also White would have had in reserve the option of attacking g7, hoping by giving up the a-pawn he might make progress on the other wing. All this in unlikely to win against accurate defence, but it is usually a good idea for the attacking side to retain plenty of options to make the defence more difficult. Now White doesn't even have the option of Ra8-g8 as ...Rxa7 protects g7. lighttotheright (1200) on 23-Jan-08: The Black King needed to be stopped. White should have played something like 26. Kg2 h6 27. Kg3 Kh7 28. f4 Kg6 29. Ra5...and the White King's advance with the pawns is now supported by White's rook. Pushing the a file pawn simply deactivated that rook and wasted moves. IMO, White should have only moved the a file pawn when the Black rook moved first. With the advance of the white King-side, the rook could have possibly abandoned the a file pawn to take another Black pawn or two. That would have likely assured at least a draw.


32. f4 Ra3	32. ....... Ra3 - rook doing all he can to cut enemy king off!
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2352) on 22-Jan-08: A fine move. How can White progress now? lighttotheright (1200) on 23-Jan-08: I agree. This is the sort of plan White should have executed.


33. f5 Kg5 34. f3 Kxf5 35. Kg3 Kg5 36. h4+ Kf5 37. Kg2 Kf4	37......... Kf4 - material is now even as the king has managed to gobble up one pawn. Paul pushes his h pawn on but that is more foodie woodie for my hungry king!!
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2352) on 23-Jan-08: Suddenly White is in a bad way. How did that happen? However he plays he must lose a pawn. Probably White ought to bite the bullet right now, and play 38.Rb8 Rxa7 39.Rb4+ with a reasonable chance of saving the game.


38. h5 Kg5 39. Kg3 Kxh5	39. ........ Kxh5 - yum, yum!!



40. Kf2 Kg5	40. ......... Kg5. As I have now created a passed pawn of my own and his king still cut off my opponent decides to throw in the sponge. This proved to be a turnaround in more ways than one because during this game I was dangerously on the 1500 watermark. Despite a few losses since then, a few further wins have pushed me further north of it! Thank Goodness!!
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2352) on 23-Jan-08: Very tricky things, rook endings. White could have fought on by 41.Rb8 and, though objectively losing, might have caused Black enough problems to avert defeat. I suspect he was disgusted at the sudden turn of events. There's a lot to be learned from this ending. Well played, Joanne!