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ANNOTATED GAME
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manhattan (1494) vs. tag1153 (1490)
Annotated by: tag1153
(1700)
Chess opening: Scandinavian defence, Lasker variation (B01)
manhattan (1494) vs. tag1153 (1490)
Annotated by: tag1153
(1700)
Chess opening: Scandinavian defence, Lasker variation (B01)
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Here is an interesting game vs. my good friend manhattan. An offbeat opening sequence leaves white with a developmental issue that black pounds on repeatedly, gaining enough of a material advantage to convert into the win. White plays a stubborn defense, and hangs in there until the bitter end with some tactical threats of his own. I hope you enjoy:) | |||||||
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1. e4 d5 |
For those that know me, I play the Scandanavian a lot. It immediately rips up the center, and is a "surprise" move to a lot of players who play 1. e4. This opening leads white into a few very tough decisions right from the start, but is actually more defensive in nature than it appears at this stage (at least the variation that I prefer). | ||||||
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2. exd5 |
White is offered an appetizer, and correctly munches it down. | ||||||
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2... Qxd5 |
Regaining material equality. Now, however, black's queen is vulnerable to attack from 3. Nc6. | ||||||
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3. Qf3 |
?! A rather dubious refutation. As I have played the Scandanavian against manhattan numerous times, I'm fairly sure he wants to get me out of my comfort zone. By offering up this queen exchange, white intends to recapture with tempo by playing 4. NxQ. As I am fairly familiar with manhattan's style of play, I choose to accept his offer. Having lost many more games to him than I have won, I have come to realize that his opening play is stronger than mine, and by getting into the middlegame as soon as possible, I hope to even the odds a bit. | ||||||
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3... Qxf3 4. Nxf3 a6 |
?! R.I.P. "book". Black declines the chance to maintain equality in development, and opts for a very defensive play. By restricting white's light squared bishop, black hopes to dig in a fight a defensive battle. Not aggressive at all, I know, but with the queens off the board I felt it was just as important to decide where I wanted HIS pieces, not just mine. | ||||||
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5. d4 |
White correctly begins to punish blacks passive play by staking a claim in the center. | ||||||
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5... b5 |
?! Yet another extremely dubious move! Black again neglects his own development and further restricts whites light squared bishop. Black has every intention of getting his own light squared bishop to b7 to dominate the all important long diagonal. | ||||||
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6. a3 |
? I'm sure if manhattan were annotating this game, he would have already given me a few well deserved question marks, so I don't feel too bad about questioning this move. White should have gone ahead and extended his lead in development by playing any one of numerous moves. I expected Bf4. By playing 6. a3, I can only assume that he wanted to restrict my dark squared bishop. As he already has a 4-3 pawn advantage on the queenside, I consider this a waste of time. | ||||||
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6... Bb7 |
As intended. | ||||||
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7. Be2 |
Developing, and preparing 0-0. | ||||||
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7... e6 |
Black activates his dark squared bishop, and envisions exchanging pawns on c5 with some tempo. | ||||||
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8. c3 |
? This turns out to be a telling move of the game. At first glance, it appears to be a least worth consideration, as it locks down the dark squares on the queenside after white plays b4. This would give white a pretty strong pawn structure. It's hidden weakness, however, is that it restricts the Nb1. After what I consider to a mistaken 13th move, this weakness will be punished severely. | ||||||
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8... c5 |
Black continues with his plan. Also worth considering was Nf6. | ||||||
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9. dxc5 |
White correctly takes, as he fears the loss of a pawn. | ||||||
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9... Bxc5 10. O-O |
White secures his king. I remember feeling fairly confident at this stage, as both of my bishops are now pointing right towards his king. | ||||||
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10... Nf6 |
Developing and preparing for 0-0. | ||||||
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11. Be3 |
White sees the dangers posed by black's bishop battery, and opts to negate it. Also worth considering was Bg5. | ||||||
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11... Bxe3 |
! White will now be straddled with an isolated pawn. | ||||||
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12. fxe3 O-O |
Black has now almost reached his goal. Developing the Nb8 is all that remains. | ||||||
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13. Nd4 |
? Nbd2 was the play. Now white gets punished for this oversight. | ||||||
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