Annotated chess game: Let's play chess

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ANNOTATED GAME

Let's play chess
rafaeloliveira (1675) vs. byakuugan3 (1714)
Annotated by: byakuugan3 (1200)
Chess opening: Modern defence (A40)

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1. d4

I'm Black in this game where I mistakenly took material and ended up having to fight for a draw, but then miraculously I got lucky at the end and won.

1... g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Be2 Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. O-O

So far both sides have castled kingside, but White has a lot more control of the center. I personally don't like putting many pawns in the center, and instead I play flexible setups that will contest the center later. Even though I don't have much space, I am more flexible and I can play to break in the center with e5 or c5.

6... a5

At first glance this move seems strange and unorthodox. I couldn't really think of a better move to do. I mainly wanted to stop b4. My plan was to play for a c5 boost with b6-c5, but after b6, b4 is annoying. This stops the annoying b4, and I can follow up with b6 and c5.

7. Be3 Nfd7

This puts more control on the dark squares

8. Qd2 b6 9. Bh6 c5

This move doesn't appear as strong now that White has the option of removing my fianchetto, but the control of the dark squares remains the same if both dark-squared bishops are gone, White will have simplified the control. This is sort of like the Kavutskiy variation of the Modern Defense, but White sets up his pieces Bd3 c3 Na3 in that opening. Trading dark bishops usually isn't a problem for Black in the Kavutskiy variation.

10. a3

I'm not sure if playing for b4 should be White's best plan, he already played Bh6, so it seems like White would want to trade bishops and think about starting a kingside pawnstorm

10... cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb7

Now the position has turned into a variation of Sicilian Dragon where Black hasn't played Nc6, and has made a lot of odd moves. White can play b4 here, but after axb4 axb4 Na6 I can put pressure on the b-pawn, and if Black advances the b-pawn then my knight gets an outpost on c5.

12. Bc4

White moves his bishop to a more agressive square, but I think it's better if White trades bishops and starts an attack f4-f5

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12... Na6

This stops b4 and makes way for Rc8, and also there are ideas of putting a knight on c5.

13. Rfe1

Maybe White wants to trade bishops and play f4-e5 gaining space in the center.

13... Rc8 14. b3 Nc7

I know this move is terrible but I was probably moving through my games too fast and I made a lot of hasty moves, but that happens a lot in correspondence chess.

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15. b4

Since I blocked my rook's path, White decides the pawn isn't needed to defend the bishop anymore, and plays the b4 advance, but like I mentioned before, I can put pressure on the b-pawn and play Nc5 if White ever plays b5

15... Ne5 16. Bb3 axb4 17. axb4 Na6 18. b5 Nc5

White has given my knight the c5-square, but he can remove my other knight with Bxg7 and f4. My knights aren't really dangerous, so I need to find some kind of play quick before White generates some activity.

19. Bd5 Bxd5 20. Nxd5 Nc4

White delayed trading dark bishops for too long, so now I can gain some tempo

21. Qg5 Bxd4

Here I get two minor pieces for a rook, which can be a crushing advantage in a lot of positions, but White's rooks get active and my minor pieces take awhile to coordinate, so White was able to get a lot of play and almost won.

22. Bxf8 Kxf8

Qxf8 hangs the e-pawn

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23. Ra7 Nd7

I thought blocking was the safest and soundest option, even though it moves my knight off the outpost I spent so much time getting it too, the outpost is useless now

24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Nb4

White threatens Nc6 here, so I should've played Bg7 and been safer, and after that I shouldn't have any problems. My material advantage should be enough to win, but I played more risky moves and White got a huge initiative. A material advantage is only useful if your extra pieces can coordinate well, and my minor pieces cannot coordinate well at the moment.

25... Nce5

I decided to play the riskier variation where I threaten to play Ng4, but it is too greedy to grab more material and stall the coordination of my minor pieces.

26. Kh1

This move shocked me I thought Rf1 was probably the best move. Here I should just play Bxf2 and have a comfortable advantage of two minor pieces and a pawn for a rook, but I played to win more material which gave White some tempo

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