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1. d4
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Grdelica's rating of 1907 is probably high than my own. |

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1... Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 g6
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Already I was a little uncomfortable out of the opening, since I thought it might be good for black if the position were to open. |

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4. e3 Bg7 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Nbd2 c5 8. c3
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Eight moves in, the tension remains. I would rather have black take cxd. |

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8... b6
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This move looked like it significantly weakened the long diagonal. However, I could see no practical ways of exploiting the possible weakness. |

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9. Qe2 Bb7 10. O-O d6
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My idea here is to weaken black on the light squares. |

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11. h3 Nbd7 12. Rac1 Rc8 13. Bg5
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I considered the bishop not very good in f4, while black has a useful knight. |

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13... Qc7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Rfd1
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I played this move after a lot of consideration. I have consolidated my pieces defensively. I am waiting for the black attack to begin. |

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15... Bg7 16. Be4 Nf6 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. Qd3 cxd4 19. cxd4 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Rc8 21. Rxc8+ Qxc8
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After the long sequence of forcing moves, pawn structure remains symmetrical in a simplified position. |

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22. Kh2 Qc6 23. Nf1
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An awkward, bad move. |

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23... Qc1 24. Ng3 Qxb2
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I thought, OK, maybe black is winning this. |

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25. Ng5 Qxf2 26. Qc4
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White threatens Qxf7#. |

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26... Ne8
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This move turns out to lose the game, as the black queen will be trapped after N3e4. |
1 comment
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27. Ng3e4 Qf5 28. g4 d5 29. Qc6
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And where is black's queen going? White's knights dominate the position. |

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29... Be5+
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A desperate attempt. |

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30. Kg2
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And black just resigned here. How is black saving the queen? The black position is under tremendous pressure; Qxe8+ is also a threat. |

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