Annotated chess game: Only my third Expert Draw

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ANNOTATED GAME

Only my third Expert Draw
jstevens1 (1781) vs. harpo_marx (2052)
Annotated by: jotheblackqueen (1200)
Chess opening: Reti opening (A04)

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1. Nf3	Hi everyone! At last some happy news to post on another battle on the Expert's Playing Field - a draw game against my expert buddy Michael. We did follow the World DB for most of the game - I deviated on move 23 to exchange down into an opposite bishop ending to give me the chance to play through an ending with an expert on a level playing field. Michael thought it was a little too level and offered me a draw! Although it would have been interesting to play it through I decided that the chance to obtain only my third Expert Draw in my chessic career was too good to pass up, especially given my atrocious record against the Experts. Anyhow, on with the game, I decide to have another stab at the Reti Opening with 1. Nf3.
	1 comment easy19 (1200) on 04-Jun-09: I played the Reti-Opening a lot, and in my opinion one of the best openings to play for white.. it can transpose in a lot of other openings and no wasting tempo,s


1... c5 2. c4	2. c4 - transposes the opening into an English Opening.



2... Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3	4. g3 - preparing to fianchetto Fou Leblanc on the long h1-a8 diagonal.



4... b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7	6. ....... Be7 - black clears the way to castle kingside, however, as you will see later on, his king will remain in the centre.



7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4	8. Qxd4 - pawn trade.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: Though the queen can soon be chased off this square, the capture seems preferable to 8.Nxd4 Bxg2 after which White will have the light squares to worry about.


8... d6	8. ...... d6 - preparing e5 perhaps?



9. Rd1	9. Rd1 - puts pressure on the d6 pawn which although at the moment is guarded by the dsb it may well tie down that bishop to defending it!



9... a6 10. b3	10. b3 - solidifies c5.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: ... and gives the c1-bishop the option to develop to a flank (b2 or a3).


10... Nbd7 11. e4	11. e4 - increases control of d5.



11... Qc7 12. Ba3	12. Ba3 - the back row decks between the rooks are cleared.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: ... and White is applying quite a lot of pressure on d5 and d6. Even d7 will be feeling some of the heat.


12... Nc5 13. e5 dxe5 14. Qxe5	14. Qxe5 - pawn trade - now the d file is opened. A queen trade is on the cards.



14... Rc8 15. Qxc7 Rxc7	15. ........ Rxc7 - the queen trade duly occurs.



16. Bc1	16. Bc1 - Fou Lenoir undevelops but heads for f4. Before that happens we have a knight trade.



16... Nfe4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Bf4	18. Bf4 - attacks c7 rook.



18... Rc8 19. Bd6	19. Bd6 - now a bishop trade is on the cards.



19... f6 20. Bxc5 Bxc5	20. Bxc5 - but a bishop for knight trade occurs instead.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: Now this exchange looks puzzling at first sight. Why cede the bishop pair, merely to establish an enemy bishop instead of a knight on the active square c5? Why not 20.Bxe7 instead? The answer seems to lie in the sequel...


21. Rde1 Bxf3 22. Bxf3	22. Bxf3 - another B for N trade occurs. Suddenly we have opposite colour bishops. Michael defends the e6 pawn by moving his king.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: There's not a lot Black could do the avoid this. If 21...Bf5 22.Nh4! and Black can avoid piece exchanges only at the cost of a central pawn. Now the game is looking very drawish.


22... Kf7 23. Rad1	23. Rad1 - in the World DB white played Bb7. I analysed that taking the a6 pawn after a Rb8 move, say, would have allowed Fou Leblanc to be skewered against my a2 pawn allowing a Bone in the Throat. I decide to force a trade down to an opposite colour bishops ending. Black must trade or allow me to monopolise the d file.



23... Rhd8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Rd1 Rxd1+	25. ........ Rxd1+ and DRAW OFFER! Despite the difference in our ratings and despite the fact that I had previously lost 5 out of my 6 games with him he did not wish to play out the ending. I thought that he would given the fact that his king was more centralised than Henry but he didn't. Michael is still winning overall - by 5.5 points to 1 in our 7 game encounters. Still, after the recent horror show against Master Freddy I am only too pleased to have something like this to write home about.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2355) on 05-Jun-09: Well done. I'm inclined to think Black has the whisker of an edge, here, based on the fact that Black - for the moment at least - seems to have the means - the central dark squares - to break into White's position with his king. White lacks such an invasion ropute into the enemy camp. Whether much can be made of this small advantage is doubtful, although one feels that on another day Black might well have checked it out further.