Annotated chess game: Round 3 of Bakersfield Championships

« TAP TO LOG IN

ANNOTATED GAME

Round 3 of Bakersfield Championships
bakerbaker (1683) vs. M. Ogaz (1300)
Annotated by: bakerbaker (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian defence (B20)

Interactive

•

Show all comments

•

All annotated games

•

View chessboard as:

Pages:

« Previous

11... Be7

Black needs to castle because I may disturb his king during my quest to win the doubled e-pawns.

12. Ne2

I strike the defender of the weak e6-pawn, but I am not threatening to win it because Nxd4 Qxd4 is check.

12... Qd6

Black wants to defend his weak doubled pawns, but he should've taken this opportunity to castle, since I'm not threatening to win anything.

13. c3 Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Rd8

If Black wanted his rook on the open d-file, then he should've at least castled queenside. Black is wasting valuable time and should be making multi-purpose moves like O-O-O.

15. Bg5

I wanted to trade my passive bishop for Black's good knight which takes away some of my queen's squares. Always trade your inactive pieces for your opponent's good defensive pieces.

15... Qb6

I wasn't sure why this move was made, because it doesn't really do anything to help the position, except puts his queen on my king's path.

16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Qg4

This is why I wanted Black's knight gone.

17... Ke7

Black has waved his right to castle, and will soon be punished for leaving his king in the centre.

18. Kh1

I couldn't find a better move here. I thought about Rxf6 gxf6 Qg7 Kd6 Qxf6 Re8 Rf5, but the position was too complicated and I already liked mine. I wanted my king off the queen's diagonal in case I ended up moving my bishop, I didn't want any annoying c4 cxd3 threats.

18... Rd6

18...Rd6?? A losing blunder, immidiately giving me the game.

19. Rxf6

A temporary sacrifice. Never miss tactics like this that will give you an easy win.

19... Kxf6

If gxf6, then Qg7 winning the rook, but taking either way is still losing.

20. Rf1+

Black's king must leave the defense of the g7-pawn.

20... Ke7 21. Qxg7+

This was the move I calculated when I first sacrificed.

21... Kd8 22. Qxh8+ Kc7 23. Qxh7+

This is how much damage can be done if you don't castle. Here I have an extra bishop, and two extra pawns on the kingside with an easy promotion path. Normally I don't like to annotate games where my opponent blunders and gives me a totally winning position, but I like this game because it shows how I saved myself from almost losing.

23... Kb8 24. Qg8+

Qh8 simply wins another pawn. I was too excited about my winning position to make accurate moves, and I had less than 5 minutes on my clock, while my opponent had about 7 or 8.

24... Ka7 25. Qg3

I should've been advancing my pawns instead of threatening an unimportant one. Most of my moves here were split-second decisions with about 3 minutes left. My opponent was moving quickly too, hoping to run me out of time.

25... Qxb2 26. Qxe5 Qe2

Here I was annoyed because of Black's annoying threats. And I was already nervous because I was low on time. If I move my rook, then it becomes inactive, and Black has other annoying ideas like Rb6-b2. The move I made here doesn't allow any of those complications, and instead gives me a simple win, which would've otherwise been a long complicated battle, with less than 2 minutes on my clock.

27. d4

I was afraid of losing on time in a complicated position, so this move simplifies the game and gives me a game that isn't hard to win with less than 2 minutes.

27... Qxc4

It is okay to give up material when you already have a material advantage. If it is essential in simplifying the game and giving you an easier more comfortable win.

Pages:

« Previous