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ANNOTATED GAME
Storming the citadel
nuntar (1630) vs. untateve (1691)
Annotated by: nuntar (1702)
Chess opening: Modern defence (A40)
nuntar (1630) vs. untateve (1691)
Annotated by: nuntar (1702)
Chess opening: Modern defence (A40)
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22... Nb6 23. Qa5 |
I had seen Nb6 coming, and decided that the queen was also well-placed on a5. White threatens Nxd5, winning a pawn and forcing two piece exchanges, or Qc5, threatening the queen exchange and driving Black's queen into passivity unless he accepts. | ||||
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23... Nc4 |
Inevitable, but it does allow White to exchange off Black's most active piece. | ||||
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24. Bxc4 dxc4 25. Ne5 |
White throws yet another attacker into the fray and Black is forced to accept another exchange, since 26. Nbc6 was threatened. | ||||
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25... Bxe5 26. Qxe5 Qd7 |
White finally forces the passive queen retreat I mentioned several moves ago. Now the focus suddenly changes, since Black has exchanged a fianchettoed bishop for a knight, always a dangerous move. It's time to storm the citadel. | ||||
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27. Bc1 Reb8 |
Black's next reveals that the intention behind this move was to give his king somewhere to flee. I thought the intention was to play 28... Rb5, quite a good defensive move as it interrupts White's plans. I pondered for some time and decided my best option was to go ahead anyway with the planned 28. g4, robbing Black's knight of the f5 square so that it cannot defend against Bh6. | ||||
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28. g4 Kf8 |
Black's king sees that the citadel walls are crumbling and tries to run. But a royal robe isn't an easy garment to run in, and he's left the back door unlocked. | ||||
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29. Qh8+ Ng8 30. Bh6+ Ke7 31. Bg5+ |
All forced so far. Now 31... Kd6? or 31... Ke8? allow mate in one; 31... Nf6 loses the knight, with mate to follow; 31... f6 is the least bad, since I can't see a checkmate and would have taken the queen exchange, but the endgame is a dead loss for Black. The only other option is for the king to return to the ruins and await events. | ||||
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31... Kf8 32. Bf6 |
The swiftest way, I think, of forcing a conclusion. | ||||
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32... Qd6 |
If 32... Qc8, giving the king d6, he can't get any further: 33. Qg7+ Ke8 34. Qxg8+ Kd7 35. Qxf7+ Kd6 36. Be5# | ||||
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33. Qg7+ Ke8 34. Qxg8+ Kd7 35. Qxf7+ Kc8 36. Rxe6 |
The last few moves were all conditional, and in my hurry to input them before my opponent moved, I missed 36. Qe8+ Qd8 37. Qxd8#. The move played is, however, almost as forcing. Black can delay mate by sacrificing the queen and rooks, but he chooses the gentlemanly way out. | ||||
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36... Qxe6 37. Qxe6# |
And the neat little finishing touch is that the pawn I advanced to a6 earlier has a vital role to play in the final checkmate. Untateve is so far the highest-rated player I've won against, but as he's beaten me once as well it's no big deal. I'll just enjoy my victories as they come, one at a time. | ||||
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