|
|
1. e4 g6
|
1....... g6 - starting the Robatsch Defense - prepares to develop dsb on g7. |

|
|
|
2. d4 d5 3. e5 Be6
|
3. ....... Be6 - transposing into a Centre Counter (Scandinavian Defence). |
1 comment
|
|
|
4. Nf3 f6 5. exf6 exf6
|
5. ........ exf6 (I'm wondering whether this exchange on f6 is wise in retrospect as it gives black a chance to get a pawn roll going - and he does!) |

|
|
|
6. Be3 g5
|
6. ....... g5 - the pawn roll gets going. |
1 comment
|
|
|
7. h3
|
7. h3 - an attempt to stop the roll in it's tracks but I am slowing down the development of my pieces. |
1 comment
|
|
|
7... b6 8. Bd3 a6 9. a3
|
9. a3 - in retrospect this move may have been a mistake - it will leave the a pawn vulnerable later on and make my dsb bad - in fact later on my dsb is tied to it until very late on in the game. |
2 comments
|
|
|
9... Bg7 10. Nh2
|
10. Nh2 - passive but I thought that the knight might be kicked out of f3 soon so I thought this was the least of 2 evils. But this knight too stays out of the game until very late. |
3 comments
|
|
|
10... b5 11. Be2
|
11. Be2 - to prepare a check on h5 to stop black from castling. In retrospect I am wondering whether Nd2 was better at this point then if black plays f4 then Nb3. |
2 comments
|
|
|
11... h6 12. Bh5+ Ke7
|
12. ....... Ke7 - I prevent the black king from castling, but has it actually achieved anything? |
2 comments
|
|
|
13. Qe2
|
13. Qe2 - I set up a potential pin on the e file - black now expands on the kingside. |

|
|
|
13... f5 14. c3 Qd6 15. Bc1
|
15. Bc1 - in order to develop the knight I have to undevelop my bishop! |
3 comments
|
|
|
15... Nf6 16. Bf3 c6 17. b4 Nbd7
|
17. ......... Nbd7 - black now has a huge lead in development. I now play g3 to screen off the black queen. Black is better at this point - his pieces have the superior mobility. His queen knight will become a menace later on. |
1 comment
|
|
|
18. g3 Rhf8 19. Nd2 Ne4 20. Nxe4 fxe4
|
20. ...... fxe4 - I would have liked to have kept my queen knight on, especially in the light of what was to follow - the h pawn was hanging though so I kept the bishop and moved it to g2 to defend the h pawn. |

|
|
|
21. Bg2 a5 22. Bb2
|
22. Bb2 - necessary, so that if pawns are exchanged and the a file is opened up, then one pair of rooks will be exchanged. Black moves his knight to b6 preparing an invasion on c4. |
1 comment
|
|
|
22... Nb6 23. O-O
|
23. 0-0 - On MOVE 23 I castle!! The black knight now invades on c4 where it stays for the remainder of the game. |

|
|
|
23... Nc4 24. g4
|
24. g4 - protects the h pawn by screening off the black lsb. Take a look at this position now. Which colour would you rather have at this point? |
4 comments
|
|
|
24... a4 25. Rfe1 Rf6
|
25. ....... Rf6 - preparing to double rooks on the f file. |

|
|
|
26. Ref1 Raf8 27. Bc1 Kd7 28. Be3 Qe7 29. Ra2 Qe8
|
29. ......... Qe8 - black has achieved his objective over the last few moves by doubling the rooks. He now prepares to put his queen on g6 - this I was made to realise later, was to prepare a deadly invasion on d3 or b1 - the queen eventually ends up on b1. |

|
|
|
30. Qe1 Qg6 31. Qe2
|
31. Qe2 - my position is so bad I am reduced to moving my queen up and down from e1 to e2. On move 33 I try to relieve the pressure with f3. |
2 comments
|
|
|
31... Ke7 32. Qe1 Rh8 33. f3 h5 34. fxe4 dxe4 35. Rxf6 Bxf6 36. Bc1
|
36. Bc1 - forced move - must remove bishop from firing line - there is a threat of a discovery - NxB would lead me to drop a rook or a piece. Both losses would be ruinous - even against somebody 300 points south of my rating. The bishop stays on his homesquare right until nearly the end. |

|
|
|