Annotated chess game

11...d6 seems to be indicated.

Keep in mind something very important kenneth_fiore_3, engines are only good when the position is open. Black's position isn't even close to being open. All I see black doing in the game is just development, but has no real plan, no attack, no way to penetrate into white's position.

I'm guessing that he did not like any of the squares on the c8-h3 diagonal for his bishop, and may have thought undermining the pawn chain would be easier than it actually was. Fritz actually calls this 0.00, but it's opening book in this opening is not as good as mine. teardrop34, I was aware that Fritz did not judge this position well, but in some, more standard closed positions, Fritz is quite accurate. When I said my 'opening book' I meant only that I've got 20k games of experience with Larsen's.

Black might be thinking about breaking that echelon formation of pawns.

black seems blissfully unaware that lightning bolt are about to hit the q-side

I take back my comment then - maybe it is the best move.

The position is not a usual one, so non-usual methods need to be sought. From White's point of view, the centre is near-on closed to counter-measures from Black, so a flank thrust like this is justified. By striking immediately at one of the defenders of the - in effect - isolated pawn at e4, White bids fair to win the latter, at the same time inducing a weakness in Black's K-side. White has the initiative. ++++++ kenneth_fiore_3 You have that book! I have a copy of it in translation, with (for some reason) an added chapter by Harry Golombek. It is a great read!

Fritz says g4 is best, o.64+ There's an old chess book, Art of the Middle Game, by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov. They said vast practice shows that opposite side castling requires a pawn storm. True, I haven't played OOO yet, but it is coming, which is why g4 works. archduke, that is exactly the copy I have, the translated version. It is as you say a great read.

Black has allowed a wedge driven into his position, interrupting communication between flanks. The e-pawn must be a goner.

14...h6 actually doesn't stop g5 at all. It makes it more powerful. You are quite right that neither 14..d6 or 14..Kh8 are going to save black. Fritz now says I am +1.25

As the Russians say: 'If you say 'A', then you must follow with 'B'. Black must be in a very bad way, here.

16.g5 would have been fine: 16...hxg5?! 17.hxg5 Nh7 18.f4 ...

Black was busted anyway, though this makes it worse. 17...Nd7, but to contemplate such a move is to know your position is in ruins.

No...  

Fritz now says White is +8.62 This move had the appeal to me that it was possible to attack the pawn twice and while it was defended twice I could still play 19.Nxe4 because after 19..Qxe4, I knew the zwishenzug (the inbetween move) 20.Bd3! was victorious.

Black actually found a move worse than ...Qxe4.

Absolutely right Charles absolutely right. I had seen this possibility when I played 14.g4. I knew that I could castle Q-side and the k-side attack would be very powerful.

Nice execution

Flank attacks are always justified - given the availability of resources - when the centre is closed, or one has a preponderance in the centre. The reason why a move like 14.g4 can be hard to find is that so often such a move is simply terrible. But here it was so clearly called for hardly any alternative suggested itself.

Very well played at the end Kenneth. Nice annotation Charles.

Many thanks for the comments, especially Ken for adding the Fritz evaluations - they always add to an annotation!

another fine job annotating. It was kinda fun to play a k-side attack out of the flank opening. 1.b3 and other flank openings are usually derided as dull slogging games, but this game was an old-fashioned king hunt out of a very modern opening. Fritz did OK, except for that 0.00 evaluation earlier, only a computer could feel happy with that position.