Annotated chess game: A Tourny To Annotate!

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ANNOTATED GAME

A Tourny To Annotate!
brightnight (1264) vs. tigerzrul88 (1485)
Annotated by: tigerzrul88 (1905)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B20), Gloria variation

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1. e4

As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you spot any logical or orthographic errors.

1... c5 2. c4

White's choice is a tad unusual, but sound. It's called the Gloria variation. Normally, White plays 2. Nf3 or 2. Nc3 to remain flexible, but this works too.

2... Nc6

Black already aims to control the outpost on d4 for his Knight. Variations like this (with Stonewall formations normally) rely heavily on the weak points in the center for Knights to occupy. Often those points are on d4 and d5.

3. d3

White has decided not to challenge the center right away, and leave Black to continue aiming pieces at the hole on d4. Maybe White should have played Nf3 first to threaten d4 and make an active threat to the center, but that could just be a matter of personal preference. This way White opts for a quieter positional game.

3... g6

Black intends to put his Bishop on g2, where it can control d4 from a distance.

4. Nc3

White is playing thematically here, by controlling d5. If Black ever moves his e-pawn so that it can't boot the Knight off of d5 (if it moved there), then he could have serious problems.

4... Nf6

Black prefers to defend d5 rather than add more force to d4.

5. Be2

This move feels out of place to me for six reasons: 1. It doesn't control either d4 or d5, or stop one of Black's pieces from controlling d4 or d5. It doesn't play to what the board demands here. The idea behind this kind of position is to play with Knights and to get them on to key support points, and this does nothing to further than plan. 2. It doesn't control anything new. The Queen already controlled all of the squares the Bishop is attacking. It's even worse that there's nothing to be gained by reinforcing that diagonal. 3. It blocks the Queen. 4. It would be better on g2 where it would add support to d5. 5. It breaks the basic rule (that is very important right now) to develop Knights before Bishops. 6. It wastes a perfectly good tempo that could be used to do something productive.

5... Bg7

Controlling d4 through the Knight.

6. Be3

Finally, White contests Black's grip on d4.

6... Nd4 7. Nf3

White seems to have the idea now. He's applying all the pressure he can to d4.

7... Ng4

Black decides that d5 is now of secondary importance, and that it would be better to get that Bishop off of e3, and adds support to the Knight via the Bishop on g7.

8. O-O

This leaves Black with an interesting choice: Does he keep building pressure in the center or does he trade it all off? Black decides that it looks better to leave White with a huge pawn island in the center that will provide lots of targets.

8... Nxe3 9. fxe3 Nxe2+ 10. Qxe2 Bxc3 11. bxc3

There's the island. Now we can see that the pawns on c3 and e3 are going to be weak, and that the Knight will be much worse than the Bishop in two or three moves. If Black can rally attacks around those target points, then he should be able to win at least a pawn.

11... d6

Black unblocks his poor Bishop.

12. d4

Here Black has two options: A. He can leave the pawn and allow White to open up the d-file to place his Rooks there before Black is done developing. OR B. He can capture the pawn and fix one of White's weaknesses and then exploit the other.

12... cxd4

Black chooses to fix and exploit.

13. exd4

I think it would have been better for White to take with the pawn on c3 because the pawn on e3 is harder for Black to get at. It only takes one move for the Black Queen to attack c3, and she attacks a2 at the same time.

13... Bg4

Black makes the White Knight useless.

14. Qf2

White immediately breaks the pin.

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