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ANNOTATED GAME
A quick win with the Two Knights
kneilca2 (1485) vs. nuntar (1678)
Annotated by: nuntar (1702)
Chess opening: two knights defence (C57), Ulvestad variation
kneilca2 (1485) vs. nuntar (1678)
Annotated by: nuntar (1702)
Chess opening: two knights defence (C57), Ulvestad variation
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1. e4 |
My opponent in this game, kneilca, sent me a challenge with the message "Please feel free to comment on the game", so, after a long gap, I have another annotation to share with everyone. | ||||
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1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 |
Two Knights Defence, always my favourite response to Bc4, and an opening I've been playing a lot recently thanks to Freddy's mini-tournament on the Traxler variation (4. Ng5 Bc5). Good fun, but for this game I decided to go back to the more mainstream 4... d5. As Ion said in a comment on someone's annotation, the great thing about the Two Knights is that all the variations can lead to exciting play :) | ||||
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4. Ng5 |
White's most enterprising continuation, violating the prohibition on moving the same piece twice but with a strong attack on f7. Black must decide how to meet this attack... | ||||
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4... d5 |
...and the most common response is this pawn sacrifice, hoping to gain an advantage in development in compensation. | ||||
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5. exd5 |
White is forced to block his attack on f7, since 5. Bxd5? Nxd5 6. exd5 Qxg5 7. bxc6 Qxg2 is clearly advantageous for Black. However, White is attacking Black's knight, and the "obvious" 5... Nxd5 is not really recommended (6. d4! is great for White). Most common is 5... Na5, but it's not the only possibility... | ||||
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5... b5 |
...since Black also has this option, my favourite. So far I have a 100% win record in games with this line; partly because the move considered White's best response, 6. Bf1, is simply never found at the board by players who haven't seen it before. The point of this bizarre retreat is to guard g2 and to preserve the bishop from exchange (either 6. Be2 or 6. Bb3 is met by Nd4); and Black still has to deal with the threat to his knight. Since both 6... Nxd5 7. Bxb5 and 6... Qxd5 7. Nc3 are fine for White, Black normally plays 6... Nd4, transposing into the labyrinthine Fritz variation. | ||||
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6. Bxb5 |
Getting back to the actual game: Black has only one realistic response to this move, 6... Qxd5, putting g2 under fire. In this line Black hopes his pressure on White's kingside will be sufficient compensation for the pawn. | ||||
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6... Qxd5 7. Bxc6+ |
This is the most common move here; White hopes to weather the storm. 7. Bf1 is now too passive and usually leads to Black victory in past games in the database. | ||||
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7... Qxc6 8. O-O |
Castling in this position is very bold; maybe too bold. The main alternative is 8. Qf3, hoping to defuse Black's pressure. Of course Black would not exchange but would play 8... e4; however, the long diagonal would at least then be blocked. | ||||
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8... Bb7 |
Black threatens immediate mate, and now 9. Qf3 is less attractive, since the pawn on e4 will be well supported and will cut off the g5 knight's retreat. 9. Nf3 is a possibility, but the pawn move played in the game is in fact the most common. | ||||
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9. f3 Bc5+ |
This move, and White's response, are automatic. | ||||
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10. Kh1 h6 |
Black now "kicks" the knight, hoping to start a kingside pawn storm. Getting a pawn to g4 would be especially good, since White cannot capture without allowing Qxg2 checkmate. | ||||
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11. Nh3 O-O-O |
Since Black intends to storm with the kingside pawns, he naturally castles on the other wing; the h8 rook can support the pawns from its home square, while the a8 rook needs to be brought into the action. | ||||
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12. d3 |
White opens a line for the bishop, and also defends the e4 square, to discourage Black from trying to annoy the crucial f3 pawn. It looks as though this defence is ineffective, the d-pawn being pinned against the queen, but in one game in the database, Black unwisely tried 12... e4, and regretted it after 13. fxe4 Nxe4 14. Qg4+. | ||||
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12... g5 13. Nc3 |
White completes development so more pieces are available to defend the kingside; a sensible decision. | ||||
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13... Rhg8 14. Bd2 Nh7 |
The knight makes way for the f-pawn to advance, and also defends the g-pawn so the h-pawn can advance. This looks dangerous; though perhaps Black is playing a little overconfidently and striking immediately with ...g4 was more to the point. | ||||
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15. Nf2 f5 16. Rb1 |
(?) Not sure about this move. White clearly can't aim to counter Black's pawn storm with one of his own, as his pawns are too far behind. Instead, I suspect the intention was 17. b4 Bb6 18. b5 to kick Black's queen off the long diagonal. A nice idea, but too slow; Black just responds Qg6 and Grond crawls on. What can be recommended instead? Perhaps 16. Ne2, getting another defender to the kingside and creating the possibility of blocking one of Black's lines by d4. | ||||
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16... g4 |
White's slowness gives Black the confidence to (finally!) play this move. Now the enemy are at the gates and the Rohirrim are nowhere in sight. The immediate threat is 17... gxf3 18. gxf3 Qxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Bxf3#; White could instead play 18. g3, but then the knight is frozen in place and Black can easily break open White's kingside by advancing the f- and h-pawns. The only way to defend f3 (remember, it can't move) is to move the f2 knight; but it has no squares. 17. Nh3 gxh3 also undermines g2 and leads to checkmate, while 17. Nxg4 fxg4? 18. Ne4 would dampen Black's attack, but instead 17... Rxg4 and White can't take the rook. | ||||
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17. Bxh6 |
White capitulates rapidly after this move, overlooking that the pawn was defended, but by now it hardly matters. | ||||
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17... Qxh6 18. h3 |
Otherwise Black plays 18... g3 19. h3 gxf2, cutting White's communications so that there's no good defence to the threat of Qg6 and Qxg2#. But against the move played, Black has: | ||||
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