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ANNOTATED GAME
Fluctuating Fortunes
borisd (1806) vs. ineedaname (1792)
Annotated by: archduke_piccolo
(2334)
Chess opening: English opening (A20)
borisd (1806) vs. ineedaname (1792)
Annotated by: archduke_piccolo
(2334)
Chess opening: English opening (A20)
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Talk about 'fluctuating fortunes'! This game swings wildly from one side to the other as first one gains the ascendancy, then the other, and back and forth. Who will win the game? Let's see. The outcome remains in doubt until the last few moves. Annotated 'on request.' | |||||||
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1. c4 e5 |
The P-K4 Defence to the English Opening. This can lead to a Reversed Sicilian, but Indian or Dutch type defences are also possible from here. | ||||||
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2. e4 |
What to call the beast? Note that the thing can arise from this move order: 1.e4 e5 2.c4 - and how often do you see that? Yet the thing is not all bad, provided White is cognizant of the hole that has appeared at d4 - a long-term strategic concession. It remains to be seen whether White gets any benefit from this. | ||||||
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2... Nc6 |
At once taking control of the d4-square. The d4-break won't be easy for White to achieve, but for the time being he probably won't want to try for it. | ||||||
| 1 comment | |||||||
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3. g3 |
[!?]Aiming for a King's Indian Attack, or a Botvinnik System, maybe? The Gameknot engine (hereafter GK) prefers more 'normal' development by 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.Be2 ... But there is something to be said for this arrangement: g3/Bg2/Ne2/Nc3/d3/Be6 - the solid Botvinnik system. | ||||||
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3... Bc5 |
There is no such thing as too much control of a vital central square. This might turn out to be a problem for White. | ||||||
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4. Bg2 d6 5. Ne2 |
Consistently carrying out his plan of development. But Black takes the opportunity here for an early strike in the centre - before completing his K-side development. | ||||||
| 2 comments | |||||||
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5... f5 |
Also playable was ...Ne7 or ...Nf6 and then ...0-0. But this early strike can hardly be convenient for White! | ||||||
| 2 comments | |||||||
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6. d3 |
GK mislikes this move on account of 6...fxe4 7.dxe4 Nf6 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nd2 Ng4 -(look at the pressure on f2 right now!)- 10.Nf3 Be6 11.Qd3 Qe8 12.Nc3 ... -(See how the knights criss-cross manouevres has led them to take 4 moves to carry out a 2-move development!)- 12...Qh5 13.Nd5 ... Here GK stops short, with Black about to play the killer: 13...Rxf3! A clear case of the so-called 'horizon effect'. Preferable, according to GK, is 6.Nbc3 Nf6 7.exf5 Bxf5 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.d4 ... I don't buy it. White's K-side looks very porous to me in this line. | ||||||
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6... fxe4 7. dxe4 Nf6 |
So far, as GK has foreseen, but now... | ||||||
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8. h3 |
Keeps Black's pieces out of g4, and so limits Black's operations against f2. | ||||||
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8... O-O 9. O-O Be6 |
Black has a slight lead in development - all minor pieces now in action. White has yet to begin mobilizing his Q-side. Black has a distinct lead towards getting his rooks into the game. | ||||||
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10. b3 |
White's situation was not helped by Black's bishop developing with a threat that required a response. There is no convenient way of defending c4, but after this move, White might have reason to fear for the dark squares on his Q-side. | ||||||
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10... Qd7 |
Striking towards h3. | ||||||
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11. Kh2 |
There is no other way of reinforcing the defence of h3, but this will do. But Black looks to be well set up for a direct K-side attack. | ||||||
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11... Nxe4 |
[?] GK calls this a mistake, and I'm inclined to agree. True, Black is in a fine position to attack, and needed to find a plan. I rather like 12...Nd4 here, as 13.Nxd4 Bxd4 is very nasty for White. | ||||||
| 1 comment | |||||||
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12. Bxe4 |
Accepting the sacrifice, as he ought, for it is hard to see that Black gets enough attack for the Knight. After 12...Bxh3 13.Bd5ch! ... -(a useful finesse)- ...Kh8 14.Bg2 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Rf7 16.Nd2 Raf8 17.Ne4 Bb6 18.c5! (...dxc5 19.Qxd7 Rxd7 20.Be3. Although Black obtains 3 pawns for the piece in this line, his attack would have been repulsed, and white would have a fine game. On the whole one feels that Black's advantage would have been the greater for keeping his knight, and playing 11...Nd4. | ||||||
| 3 comments | |||||||
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12... Bxh3 13. Bg2 |
Omitting the Bd5 Kh8 intermezzo. Probably not very significant, but placing the BK on the half-open h-file might have been beneficial to White. A small thing, but worth a look all the same. | ||||||
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13... Bg4 |
The alternative was .13...Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Qg4. Possibly Black simply wanted to shift the focus of his attack onto the d1-h5 diagonal. But White's response looks effective enough. | ||||||
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14. f3 |
[!] White's K-side is looking pretty battered right now, but Black's first wave of attack has been beaten back. | ||||||
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14... Be6 15. Nbc3 |
Seizing the moment to resume developing. Black would very much like to bring a rook or maybe the queen over to the h-file... | ||||||
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