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11... dxe5
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Naturally. But now what for me? Sure, moving the bishop will cause him to move his queen, but he wants to play Qc7 anyway. What I really want to do is pawn-storm the king, but what to do about the threat on the f4 pawn? |
 
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12. g4
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Well, apparently, I'm going to ignore it. g4 is a move that has its advantages, but basically commits white to having three pawn islands if black plays exf4. |
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12... Nbd7
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?! It's hard to argue with this move too much, but white is controlling the entire flow of the game now, and black needs to do something to reduce white's edge; I prefer exf4 here. |
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13. f5
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This is much stronger with g4 behind it; white's pawns are going to roll up the black kingside if he's not careful. |
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13... b5
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Counterplay on the opposite side of the board is an excellent idea. But I will not be distracted, especially since black's pieces are out of position to support this push (and if b4, Ne2 or even Nb1 is fine). |
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14. g5
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I had thought about fxg6 here, but this really cramps black on the kingside, and tempos the knight, AND forces it to a bad square (h5). |
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14... Nh5
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...otherwise it gets taken for insufficient compensation. |
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15. h4
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looking to make a very strong play down the h-file eventually. I also considered f6, but I'm in no rush; it's better for me if black plays gxf6 first. |
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15... Qc7
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Reasonable, but this never accomplishes much, other than letting the Nd7 move freely. |
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16. f6
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Undoing black's fianchetto. |
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16... Bf8
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Better than the entombing option, Bh8. |
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17. Be2
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Some think the spectre of Nc5 is my reason for this move; in reality, I want to attack the h5 square. The game has been pretty straightforward for me so far. |
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17... Bc5
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Who does this help? If Bxe3, Qxe3 allows me to attack h5, which is what I wanted in the first place. |
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18. Kb1
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?! Maybe my only inefficient move of the game. I didn't know what was going to come on the queenside, but this move seemed like it was better protection for the king, plus it stops black from knight-checking the king on e2 or d3 (the knights are 2 moves away from those squares). |
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18... Bxe3
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You say goodbye... |
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19. Qxe3
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...and I say hello. Hello, HELLO! And now there seems to be a lot of kingside pressure again, while black must address the threat to the Nh5. |
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19... Nf4
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?! If ever there was a time for b4, this was it! Why, because it forces white to play the awkward Na4 or else face something like 19. ...b4 20. Bxh5 bxc3 21. Bg4 cxb2, with good counterattacking chances. |
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20. Bg4
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While this solves all of white's problems; b4 is now met with Ne2. Additionally, h5 is now threatened. |
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20... Rad8
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Preparing to strike back in the center. |
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21. h5
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But black's attack is getting there quickly. |
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(1986)