|
« TAP TO LOG IN
|
ANNOTATED GAME
Cambridge Springs!
kurejiyaro (1800) vs. ethansiegel (1714)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Reti opening (A05)
kurejiyaro (1800) vs. ethansiegel (1714)
Annotated by: ethansiegel
(1986)
Chess opening: Reti opening (A05)
 Interactive |
• |  Show all comments |
• | All annotated games | • | View chessboard as: |
| ||||||
So I've been playing the Cambridge springs of the QGD as black recently, with successes and failures, and this is, for me, a spectacular success against a very dangerous opponent!
Hope you enjoy it. And I'm talking to everyone except the lousy haters who leave me one star ratings and don't even comment on the game. These annotations are awesome and you know it! | ||||||
|
1. Nf3 |
A non-committal first move from white. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
1... Nf6 |
This is my preferred response to Nf3, as, since my opponent has the extra tempo as white, I'm content to let him carry the action, rather than forcing it myself with something like 1...d5. | |||||
| | ||||||
|
2. c4 |
Is it the English opening? | |||||
| | ||||||
|
2... e6 3. Nc3 d5 |
Alright, so now I have enough support on d5 to play this, and I stake my claim to the center. | |||||
| | ||||||
|
4. d4 |
Transposing into the Queen's Gambit Declined. At this point, I steer things into the standard Cambridge Springs variation (4. ...c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5!?) | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
4... c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 |
So we've all heard about the dangers of bringing your queen out early, but the Cambridge Springs actually favors this. A little bit on why; black gets a lot of tactical activity. Yes, his exposed queen is a target, but he threatens to win material with tricks like Bb4 followed by Bxc3, if white moves the Nf3, then dxc4 discovers an attack on the Bg5, and black will have plenty of play on the queenside. White has many options as well, and my opponent eschews the main line (7. Nfd2 Bb4 8. Qc2) for reasons all his own. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
7. Bxf6 |
Prevents the tactic of dxc4, but this surrenders the bishop pair and helps me to untangle, as well as solving the problem of my Nd7 for me. | |||||
| 2 comments | ||||||
|
7... Nxf6 8. Bd3 |
After Bd3, I seriously considered playing 8. ...dxc4 just for spite, so that he feels he's wasted a tempo. But there's a better move first... | |||||
| 3 comments | ||||||
|
8... Bb4 |
Forcing white to address the threat by playing either Qc2 or Qb3 (Rc1 fails to Bxc3 , which wins the a2 pawn for black). | |||||
| | ||||||
|
9. Qc2 |
The best choice, creating a battery with the light-squared bishop. | |||||
| 2 comments | ||||||
|
9... dxc4 |
;-) Of course. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
10. Bxc4 O-O |
With a strong queenside presence it makes sense to castle kingside. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
11. O-O |
Likewise for white. | |||||
| | ||||||
|
11... Bd6 |
I wasn't in a hurry to press things here -- I know I don't have much of an advantage (if any), and so I want to let things play out. Right now, I think it's prudent to shift my attentions to the center, where white has amassed a large force. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
12. e4 |
And he knows it -- he's playing for a big center now. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
12... e5 |
So I'll fight him for it. This move has the added bonus of freeing the Bc8. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
13. Rfe1 |
Centralizes the rook, but I'm not so sure about how good this move is, as there isn't anything even potentially happening on the e-file; the e4 pawn is already defended twice. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
13... Bg4 |
That knight is really helping white control the center, and I'm thinking about giving him doubled pawns and opening the area around his king. I'll trade a bishop pair advantage for exposing his king with all my heavy pieces on the board in a heartbeat here! | |||||
| | ||||||
|
14. d5 |
...and he lets me. This is actually a poor move, I think, as this walks into black's defense, which is by no means weak! | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
|
14... Bxf3 |
Told you I was going to do this. | |||||
| 1 comment | ||||||
| ||||||