|
« TAP TO LOG IN
|
ANNOTATED GAME
Beating an IM in a simul
IM White Player (2384) vs. l-d-j (1332)
Annotated by: l-d-j (1747)
Chess opening: Bishop's opening (C24), Berlin defence
IM White Player (2384) vs. l-d-j (1332)
Annotated by: l-d-j (1747)
Chess opening: Bishop's opening (C24), Berlin defence
 Interactive |
• |  Show all comments |
• | All annotated games | • | View chessboard as: |
| |||||
In this game I got, in my opinion, my biggest chess achievement ever. It was played yesterday at my local club. Instead of the normal competition, our club had organized some activities to try and get some new members. One of the activities was a simultaneous exhibition by the strongest player at our club, an IM. Last year he had won on every single board (21 to 0), so we knew it would be a tough evening for us. However, this year he was not as unbeatable, and lost 3 out of 15 games. One of those was the game that follows. | |||||
|
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 |
I know the IM is an expert in this line, so I had prepared for this. Last year he also played this against me. However, he doesn't always play this: at the board besides mine, he played 1.b3, 2.Bb2, 3.g3 and 4.Bg2. | ||||
| 1 comment | |||||
|
2... Nf6 3. d3 c6 |
The Berlin defence. The idea is to strike in the centre as soon as possible with ...d5. Last year I opted for 3...Nc6 and after 4.Nf3 we had a quiet two knights. In that game he had no advantage after the opening, however he managed to outplay me in the middlegame and got an endgame with two extra pawns which he easily converted (I'm planning to annotate that game as well). | ||||
| | |||||
|
4. Nf3 d5 |
So here it is. Both sides have easy development, though White has good stats in this line so he should be slightly better. | ||||
| | |||||
|
5. Bb3 Bd6 |
I have to defend my e5 pawn now that the bishop has saved itself. | ||||
| | |||||
|
6. Nc3 dxe4 |
Afterwards I found a game with my opponent as White in which the less popular 6...d4 was played. He managed to win that game after a long fight. However I continue with the main line and I was still well within my preparation. | ||||
| | |||||
|
7. Ng5 |
White does not take back immediately. He'll still manage to win his pawn back, however, because he's threatening a fork on f7. My next is virtually forced. | ||||
| 2 comments | |||||
|
7... O-O 8. Ngxe4 |
Normally 8.Ncxe4 is played, however it doesn't make any difference as the two lines transpose. | ||||
| | |||||
|
8... Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Be7 |
?! Here I was out of my preparation, and I immediately play a move that's not the best, as the game continuation shows. Usually 9...Bf5 is played. Black then doesn't have to be afraid of losing the bishop pair (which was the main reason for my 9...Be7 because after 10.Nxd6 Qxd6 he has strong centre control and easy development in return. I considered 9...Bc7 as well, but I didn't like the look of 10.Nc5 so I decided to keep his knight out of c5 for now. | ||||
| | |||||
|
10. O-O Bf5 11. Qf3 |
Not bad, but 11.Qh5 (as played in one game that I found on another website) was probably stronger. It seems as if I'm forced to give up the bishop pair anyway with 11...Bxe4 12.dxe4, because if I move my bishop the e5 pawn is hanging. After 11...Qd7 12.Ng3 seems very strong (the bishop has to move anyway and then the pawn can be taken), and 11...g6 creates huge weaknesses in the king's position. | ||||
| 1 comment | |||||
|
11... Bg6 12. Re1 Nd7 13. Ng3 |
The plan is to move the knight to the nice f5 square. White is slowly building his attack while Black is developing and defending. It seems as if Black holds for the moment. | ||||
| 2 comments | |||||
|
13... Qc7 |
13...Bc5 may be a bit more active, but I wanted to play it safe by defending e5 once more. | ||||
| 3 comments | |||||
|
14. Nf5 Bf6 |
Played to preserve the bishop pair once more and to put some pressure on the long diagonal (...e4 may become a threat). | ||||
| | |||||
|
15. a3 |
!? This gives the bishop a flight square on a2. Possibly it's also meant to prepare b4 after further preparation (first the ...e4 threat must be dealt with) and thus take some space on the queenside as well. | ||||
| 3 comments | |||||
|
15... Nc5 |
I couldn't help but feel I was getting back in the game, because I was able to make some active moves of my own instead of defending against his threats. | ||||
| | |||||
|
16. Ba2 |
Of course he couldn't let his strong bishop be exchanged for the knight, which would also create a weakness on d3. | ||||
| 1 comment | |||||
|
16... Rad8 17. Be3 Na4 |
It was at this move that I needed some time to think, so I asked him if he could pass by and move on to the next board (he had said that it was possible to ask for some extra thinking time). I was pondering this move and 17...Ne6, but I didn't like the fact that after 17...Ne6 he could exchange with 18.Bxe6 fxe6, creating doubled isolated pawns on an open file. The computer prefers 17...Ne6 slightly, but doesn't suggest the exchange after that (apparently the bishop is too strong to be exchanged for that knight). But I also had a knight manoeuvre in mind which we'll see in a moment. | ||||
| 4 comments | |||||
|
18. Rab1 |
Obviously 18.Bxa7?? fails to 18...b6 and the bishop is caught. | ||||
| | |||||
|
18... Nb6 19. g3 |
Maybe he wants to prevent my knight from coming to f4, and he's probably also planning to push his pawns forward (h4 etc.) to give his attack some new power. However, this also creates some weaknesses of his own. Maybe 19.Bc5 should be considered (as I expected and was also suggested by the computer). | ||||
| 2 comments | |||||
|
19... Nd5 |
I like this knight placement very much. Everything is defended on the kingside now and moreover this knight controls some key squares in the centre and blocks the White bishop's line to f7. | ||||
| | |||||
|
20. Bd2 |
Here we had a short break. Others were already getting into trouble and some had nearly resigned their games already. I was content with my position though, and felt I had almost equalized after a difficult opening. | ||||
| 1 comment | |||||
| |||||
