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ANNOTATED GAME
Round 5 of San Francisco Championships
bakerbaker (1704) vs. Jerome S. (1456)
Annotated by: bakerbaker (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B21), Smith-Morra gambit
bakerbaker (1704) vs. Jerome S. (1456)
Annotated by: bakerbaker (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B21), Smith-Morra gambit
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1. e4 |
I am White. My opponent is a kid I played in a tournament in San Francisco. And later I analyzed the game with his father. So I thought I'd share the game and analysis with gameknot. | ||||
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1... c5 2. d4 |
On Gameknot I usually play 2.c3 here, but I prefer more eradic exciting openings in over the board play, especially when there's only 45 minutes on the clock. | ||||
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2... cxd4 3. c3 |
The Smith-Morra Gambit. If Black accepts the free pawn, then I will have a strong central control with my knight on c3, pawn on e4, and my queen controlling the d-file. It is very risky to accept free pawns in the opening, because by wasting a move to take a pawn, you're giving your opponent tempo, so don't accept free pawns if you're not prepared to take the risk. | ||||
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3... g6 |
I call this "Coward's Defense." I always accept this gambit when I play this opening as Black, because after properly defending, Black can usually hold onto the extra pawn. Black probably wasn't familiar with this opening, so he felt uncomfortable taking the pawn. | ||||
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4. cxd4 |
By not accepting the pawn, Black has given me a good pawn centre. | ||||
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4... d5 |
Black wants to break my centre. | ||||
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5. exd5 |
I considered playing e5, but I thought it was slightly overextensive, and I like wide open tactical games rather than the slower strategic game that would have arisen if I'd played e5. | ||||
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5... Nf6 |
5...Qxd5 isn't good because I can gain a developing tempo with Nc3, and just one extra tempo is all it takes to win in an open game like this. In closed cramped positions, one tempo isn't very important. Black's best chance to get equality is to take the pawn with the knight, where it won't cost him a tempo. | ||||
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6. Bb5+ |
I develop a piece while stalling the loss of my d5-pawn. This position can actually occur from my normal 2.c3 opening after (e4 c5 c3 g6 d4 cxd4 cxd4 d5 exd5 Nf6 Bb5 ) and can also occur from the Caro-Kann Defense after (e4 c6 d4 d5 exd5 cxd5 c4 Nf6 cxd5 g6 Bb5 ) | ||||
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6... Nbd7 |
6...Bd7 is worse because the bishop doesn't do anything on d7 except block the queen's attacking path to my isolated pawns, and after I play Bc4, Black will have a hard time trying to get his pawn back, and I can complete my development a lot easier than Black. | ||||
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7. Nc3 |
I'm going to lose my weak d5-pawn eventually, but the more I try to hold onto it, the longer it'll keep disturbing Black's development. | ||||
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7... a6 |
Black wants to drive my bishop away so he can continue his plan to get back his pawn, and maybe even get my other d-pawn since it is also weak. | ||||
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8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 Nb6 |
Now Black has made it clear that he will get his pawn back. | ||||
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10. Qf3 |
I hold the pawn a little longer while developing a piece, so that maybe my pressure along the h1-a8 diagonal will compensate for my other weak d-pawn. | ||||
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10... Bb7 |
Now Black has enough forces on my pawn to finally get it back. | ||||
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11. Nh3 |
While Black is busy getting his pawn back, I make my own plan to attack on the kingside where Black isn't developed. | ||||
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11... Nbxd5 |
I thought it was too early for Black to be getting his pawn back. Remember what I said about it being risky to waste a move to take a free pawn? Black should've developed his kingside with Bg7 and O-O before taking the pawn. Even though it gives me more time to try to hold the pawn, Black has enough potential forces in his camp to get the pawn back eventually, and then try to get my other isolated d-pawn. | ||||
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12. Ng5 |
Now I have a lot of annoying threats Black needs to look out for. His f6 knight is pinned to his f-pawn and to his d5-knight, while his d5-knight is also pinned to his f-pawn, not to mention his b7-bishop. | ||||
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12... h6 |
Not the best move. Black shouldn't be weakening his kingside while he isn't even castled, and should be finishing developing before my superior pieces crush his position. | ||||
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13. Nge4 |
Black's pointless pawn push doesn't give him a tempo. It actually loses a tempo because h6 isn't an important positional move, it's actually a weakening move (explained later) and it also gives me time to make threats against Black's position which is lacking in development. My immidiate threat is Nxf6 | ||||
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