Annotated chess game: Queenside minority pawn attack proves decisive.

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ANNOTATED GAME

Queenside minority pawn attack proves decisive.
Anonymous (1803) vs. Pierre99 (1200)
Annotated by: pierre99 (1200)
Chess opening: Caro-Kann defence (B10)

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This was a blitz game, so some moves are not as accurate as a rated game's moves would be. Also, I like to not state who my opponents are in Blitz games, because of inaccuracies that would otherwise reflect on my opponent perhaps unfairly. So, having said that, let's talk about the game. This was a bit of a trade-fest for a while. Not by my choice, but white had an initiative for a long time. But a position arose where white could not defend a pawn adequately; at the right time, that pawn came off the board and white's position was suddenly vulnerable. Can we say.... Minority Pawn Attack? Hey, at least I didn't use all caps. Watch, and see how well it worked in this game. Enjoy! ;)

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5

The Caro-Kann again. After Qd5, rather than immediately chase the black queen away, white develops other pieces. In this position, the black queen IS going to be chased away, so white is not worried about doing so immediately.

4. d4 Bf5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3

Typical mainline trade of the white bishop... I think. There are other more profitable continuations for white, in the sense that it takes black out of his preferred strategy, since black wants to trade those bishops. Or perhaps creating positional considerations for the bishop trade. But here, white is content to simply make that trade.

6... Nf6

I chose to develop this knight; from this point on, I have no idea of what the book Caro-Kann is, and develop instinctively. I prefer putting this knight here when there is no white pawn on the e file.

7. Nc3

The black queen is finally chased away.

7... Qd8

Karpov used to play the Karo-Cann a bit in blitz games. And often would do this with the queen, as other moves can end up wasting tempo's, and time.

8. O-O e6 9. Bg5

Sometimes this pin can be annoying.

9... Be7

So I remove it.

10. h3

Qd2 was possible, but white had already moved the queen to d3, and did not wish to move the queen again. h3 prevents Ng4 but I'm not so sure moving h3 is wise unless necessary, as now the white king's defense is a little weaker.

10... h6

H6 to kick the bishop before I castle, also, I don't want it staying on g5. Nd7 is also possible, and perhaps Qc7 or Qb6; however, I did not like any of the queen moves in this position as I ultimately don't think they will work in this position. Often white can sacrifice on h6, but in this position, it appears to me that white is not really set up to do so; and doesn't in the ensuing moves. I am still not developed all the way, and want to not just castle by rote here; let white guess a bit. But I have to be careful not to wait too long.

11. Bf4 Nbd7

This is to prevent Bxb8. Since the light squared bishops are off the board, sometimes an imbalance of two knights verse a knight and a bishop is better, especially if the pawns are mostly still on the board. Yes, the bishop can cover the board more quickly, but two knights can work very well together, and the pawns can hem the bishop in, so it depends on the position. I did not want white to make that particular trade. Besides, this is typically where the queen's knight goes anyways.

12. Rfe1

Now the pressure is increasing some on the black king; white is gearing up his pieces here. However, he does not make decisive decisions... how's that for a phrase? And so black weathers the pressure, but it lasts a looong time. Play continued.

12... Nd5

Normally I don't like making this move with no other piece able to retake but a pawn, as one strategy of the Caro-Kann is to try to keep d5 for an outpost. However, white's pieces are beginning to become coordinated, and so I decide to lessen some of the tension.

13. Nxd5 cxd5

In this position, this is the only move. Taking with the e pawn would be a bad idea, as the black bishop has few defenders.

14. Ne5

I should not have allowed this position; the white knight can be dangerous there. Nxf7 and Ng6, were white prepared to make those moves, could prove unpleasant. For example, were white allowed to, Nxf7 Kxf7 Qf3 and the black king must retreat; but Kg8 is very unpleasant, and Ke8 is just dangerous after Rxe6. I have one move to make before white can consider it, so I do what I think will not allow white enough compensation to make such a move. ::edited:: Yes, black can move the knight to f6 instead of moving the king, but it just seems dangerous to keep having pieces tied up on defense allowing white more initiative, and the white rooks would quickly be able to add pressure down the e file if I chose that. So as I said...::

14... O-O

About time I castled. If white still had three minor pieces, or if white's rooks were positioned to support the kingside, black would be in a dangerous position. Now, however, the move h3 made by white some moves ago makes it more difficult to get both rooks involved quickly, and I think black will be able to defend just fine. White however still has the initiative.

15. c3

I don't like this move. Yes, it shores up the d4 pawn, but why now? I think white should have considered something more threatening to black... and designed to keep black on his heels.

15... Nxe5

I was curious which piece he would retake here with. I did not want to let white initiate the trades when he was ready to, so... begone, knight! That white knight was unpleasant for black.

16. Bxe5

White chose to recapture with the bishop rather than the pawn or rook. Either of the other two would have been interesting; but the bishop recapture seems a little passive to me because it delays other tactics on h6 and doesn't seem to give white any additional pressure.

16... Bf6

Now whether or not I take with the bishop depends on how white's plan develops as indicated by his moves. I am still trying to equalize. Some may say it looks equal, but white up to the last couple moves had maintained an initiative. I am close to changing that. White's attack has really evaporated now.

17. Qg3

I have time before the white rooks get involved in an attempt to threaten the black king. I am already looking ahead to my counter play on the queenside; after a short think, I decide to move the Rook to where I think it will do the most good. When queenside play begins, notice how the black rook moves and black queen position result in an advantage for black. I could not at this point know what my opponent would do, but after considering the possibilities, thought that the c file would become open before long.

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