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Unless you're a King's Indian Defence player (or if you're in fatcat's KID 4-pawn opening mini-tournament) you might not get a chance to have a 4-pawn strong centre . This game, which was in the 65th GK tournament, allowed me to exploit, for the first time, the full power of the four pawns (which, strangely enough, would not have been possible without a mistake I made early on)
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1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
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The King's pawn opening, followed by knight development threatening the pawn. All standard stuff for me
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2... Qf6
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?! 2...Nc6 and 2...d6 both seem to be better here. Bringing out the queen this early could be bad for Black...
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1 comment
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3. Nc3
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White brings out his other knight, while threatening to pressure the queen with 4.Nd5
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3... c6
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Although this is mainline (according to the DB) and it does prevent Nd5, it also blocks any of the good squares for Black's queenside knight
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4. Bc4
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continuing development, but this move can be dangerous in light of...
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4... a5
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...this move (though I didn't understand it at the time). I say 'can be dangerous' because the bishop isn't threatened with capture yet, as it can still retreat along the f1-a6 diagonal... (but if White wishes to keep the bishop on the a2-f8 diagonal, the best move would be to move the a-pawn)
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5. d3
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? Blocking that retreat is probably the worst thing that White can do here...
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5... b5
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! now 4...a5 is justified. White's bishop can't retreat to the b3 square because of 6...a4
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6. Nxb5
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the best way to get something out of the situation - Black will end up a point up
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6... cxb5 7. Bxb5 h6
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?! too slow - it allows White at a lead in development which may compensate for the point disadvantage...
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1 comment
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8. O-O
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developing, getting my king to safety
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8... Qb6
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Threatening the knight, but that's easily countered...
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1 comment
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9. c4
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White doesn't want to retreat the bishop, so he simply supports it with the pawn. Since Black has left the e-pawn hanging, his next move would probably have to be defending that pawn
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9... g5
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nope - Black looks to be thinking about a kingside pawn storm. I don't fear that yet...especially since Black has no developed pieces other than his queen... (also, the h5 square could prove to be a weak square for White)
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10. Nxe5
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White eagerly snatches the chance to regain material equality - a knight for three pawns
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10... Rh7
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this move makes no sense whatsoever... even if Black was looking to move the rook over to the g-file, why didn't he just move the knight first? (though as I look at this, I see a knight sac opportunity if Black hadn't made that move; 11.Nxf7 Kxf7 12.Qh5+ Kg7 [any other move is met with Bxg5, as the h-pawn is pinned to the rook] 13.b3.... it seems to be a powerful attack from White, and I would have tried it if I had the chance, but whether it amounts to anything...) [actually, I would have given this move a ??, but it actually saves Black from a devastating attack later on in the game...]
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11. Be3
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White brings his other bishop into the action, with a threat to the queen as well!
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11... Qc7
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Black sidesteps the attack and makes a counter-threat on the knight on e5.
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12. d4
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White is playing aggressively here - again, his piece chooses not to escape, and remains a threat to Black
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1 comment
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12... Bd6
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Black threatens to win a pawn with 13...Bxe5 14. dxe5 Qxe5, while developing one of his pieces. The best move for Black in this position, I think
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