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ANNOTATED GAME
sovera's mini-tournament
mossberg4570 (1957) vs. sovera (1862)
Annotated by: mossberg4570 (1996)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B77), dragon, Yugoslav attack, 9.Bc4
mossberg4570 (1957) vs. sovera (1862)
Annotated by: mossberg4570 (1996)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B77), dragon, Yugoslav attack, 9.Bc4
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This game illustrates a number of concepts in chess, including:
A bad (passive) rook vs a good (active) rook.
The weakness of a single bishop when pawns are on the same color.
The power of a blockading knight.
The centralization of the king. | |||||
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1. e4 |
sovera played an unusual version of the sicilian, with the black pieces, in past games I went over, and I looked forward to facing it. It was characterized by an early e5. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5?! | ||||
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1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 |
But, instead, I get the dragon. Ah well. | ||||
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6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 e6 10. O-O-O |
All "by the book" so far. We blasted through the opening in half a day. | ||||
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10... d5 |
And here I was out of the book. The d5 break, in the sicilian, is generally one of the goals for the second player, but I'm not convinced that it can safely be played so early, without preparation. It struck me as premature. It saddles black with an isolated pawn in a position where black is behind in development, never a good thing. | ||||
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11. exd5 Na5 12. Bb3 |
This seemed the best move. Black gains the two bishops at the cost of having to babysit an isolated central pawn. | ||||
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12... Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bh6 |
Typical method of slaying the dragon. | ||||
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14... Bxh6 |
Bxd4 leads to the loss of the e5 pawn. | ||||
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15. Qxh6 Re8 |
Trying to seize the only open file before connecting your rooks generally means losing control of that file later, often permanently. | ||||
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16. h4 |
Nimzowitsch claimed that a flank (wing) attack cannot succeed before the center is clarified. He also stated that if the center is secure, a flank attack is indicated. I decide to take him up on his word and make a kingside pawn advance. | ||||
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16... Nxb3+ 17. Nxb3 a5 18. Nd4 |
Do not underestimate the power of a central, blockading knight. | ||||
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18... Ra6 19. g4 |
Continuing my kingside pawn storm, although with so few pieces, I'm searching for an endgame advantage. | ||||
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19... a4 20. a3 Bd7 |
The d5 pawn is on the same colored square as this bishop, which means the blockading knight is immune from both frontal attacks (by a rook or queen) and from the bishop. It cannot be dislodged by a pawn (since the d pawn is isolated). This has the effect of weakening the bishop considerably, while strengthing the knight, even though the position is relatively open. | ||||
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21. Qf4 Rf6 22. Qg5 Rd6 23. Rhe1 |
I'm not concerned about doubling my pawns on the kingside. A pawn on g5 would be on a dark square, and would block the h6 and f6 squares, hindering the centralization of the king. Furthermore, black would be forced to play f6 or h6, letting me "undouble" the pawn. Playing the rook here lets me claim the d-file as my own. | ||||
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23... Qxg5+ 24. hxg5 f6 25. Rxe8+ Bxe8 26. Re1 Bc6 |
The bishop is essentially forced to hide behind the d5 pawn. It can't easily relinguish control of d8. | ||||
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27. gxf6 Rxf6 28. Re5 |
Centralization of the rook? Hmmm. | ||||
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28... h6 29. Kd2 |
I originally planned on bringing the king over to c5, via b4 and c3. | ||||
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29... Kf7 30. Ke3 |
But, after spending more time on the position, decided to threaten the d5 pawn with the king, or moving him to the kingside, where black's counter chances are greater. | ||||
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30... Rd6 31. f4 Rd8 |
Notice black's position. The a pawn is blocked. The b pawn defends the bishop. The d pawn is blockaded and helpless. The g and h pawn are tied up by my f and g pawns. Black's bishop and rook are forced on the defensive, and I control the open file. My knight is immune to attack and controls the critical central squares. My king has more space. White has a considerable advantage. Is it enough to win? | ||||
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32. f5 |
Played mostly to vacate the f4 square for my king. | ||||
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32... Rd6 33. Kf4 Bd7 34. Re2 |
Again, a move to vacate a square for my king. It should have gone to e3, but oh well. | ||||
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