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Intro |
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1. d4
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The winner of this game was justifiably chuffed at the manner of its ending. This entertaining 'partay' had its ups and downs, but White had on the whole the initiative throughout. White didn't have matters going all his own way, though, as Black twice fought himself back from the brink. A catastrophic misjudgment finally sealed the game. |
 
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1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
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1 comment
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3... h6
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(?!) To keep a White minor piece out of g5. But this minor consideration could have been deferred in favour of action in the centre: ...c6 or ...Nf6, say. |
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4. Nc3 Bd7
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(?) A gambit? Instead 4.Nf6 would have added to the protection of d5. |
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5. e3
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A 'normalising' move, and accordingly useful. But White could safely have grabbed a central pawn here: 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nxd5. |
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5... Nf6 6. Bd3 dxc4
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A standard tactic: waiting until White have developed his King's bishop before exchanging on c4. However, as this defines the future shape of the game, it is not clear that White loses much by the tempo spent. |
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7. Bxc4 Bd6
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(?!) A little bit risky, this, as very soon Black will have to deal with a threat for a pawn attack upon bishop and knight. |
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8. O-O
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Already 8.e4(!) would have been a fine alternative. |
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8... O-O
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It seems that Black probably already ought to have done something to challenge White's centre: 8...c5, say. |
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9. e4
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(!) Now White strikes! The threat is 10.e5. |
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9... Be7
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The obvious response, but 9...Nh7 deserved consideration. Black will have to play that retreat soon, anyhow... |
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10. e5 Nh7
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There's really nothing else. But White now has by far the more active game, and must have a considerable edge. |
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11. Bd3 Nc6 12. Qc2
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(?) Not so good, in the light of Black's possible ...Nb4 in response. But Black comes up with something even better... |
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12... Ng5
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(!) Inducing exchanges, and freeing up his game. |
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13. Nxg5 Bxg5 14. Bxg5 Qxg5
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White's edge has been much reduced by the reduction in material. Against the central majority, the backward d-pawn is for Black a tasty target. |
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15. Ne4
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(?!) A good looking move that has a considerable downside: the b4 and d4-squares.
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15... Qd8
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Instead, 15...Nxd4 picked up a pawn. That pawn on d4 even LOOKS like low-hanging fruit. |
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16. Qc3 Ne7
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Relocating the knight. But 16...Be8 would have opened a nasty attack on d4 again. |
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17. f4
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Thematic. |
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17... Nf5 18. Rac1
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A good-looking move to begin operations on the c-file, but Black is quite well placed after this move. Instead, 18.g4 would have heralded K-side operations for White. After 18.g4 Ne3 19.Rf3, the Black knight would be well advised to return to d5, as after 19...Nxg4 20.h3 ... would have left the knight trapped.
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(2355)