Annotated chess game: Let's Play Chess

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ANNOTATED GAME

Let's Play Chess
pascalbercker (1652) vs. yttrio (1634)
Annotated by: yttrio (1533)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B22), 2.c3, Heidenfeld variation

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24... Qb6

Looking back, I seriously question this move. There was no reason for it. All I did was lose the positional advantages I gained from moving the queen to c7. Fortuanately for me, I didn't lose the game because of this move, but I think I should have played Ne7 instead. This would prepare the knight to move to d5 and attack the weak e3 pawn.

25. Qf1

White is preparing a kingside attack of his own, as well as temporarily making a pawn break at a5 impossible for me.

25... Ne7

Preparing to move to d5, as mentioned before. At this point white should stop this plan by playing 26) e4. With my queen no longer on c7, I no longer have the option of taking the pawn on f4.

26. Qh3

Instead, white continues his attack. The threat is simple: to take the pawn on h7.

26... h6

A good defensive move, and much better than the alternative of g6. If 26) ... g6, then white has the option of 27) Qh6, putting the queen on a powerful square near my king.

27. Qh5

To be honest, I'm not sure what the point of this move was. It has a similar feel to my 24th move: a queen move that doesn't really do anything specific and lets the opponent continue on with their plans.

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27... Nd5

Finishing the knight maneuver and attacking the weak pawn on e3.

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28. Qh3

Defending the pawn on e3.

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28... a5

A possible mistake on my part, as it allows him a tactical shot. Immediately after I played this move I saw the possible move for him and started getting a bit nervous. White's possibility was this: 29) Nxe6!. If I play 29) ... fxe6, then he plays 30) Qxe6 , forking my king and my knight, ultimately winning two pawns with the combination. A possible continuation I looked at was 30) ... Kf8 (Kh8 loses by force) 31) QxNd5 axb4 32) axb4 Bxb4 33) Qxb5 Qxb5 34) Bxb5. I didn't look into many quirks in the position, but I relaxed a hair when I realized that it would become an endgame with bishops of opposite color, so I would stand a good chance at a draw. In any case, the position after white's 28th move was a sort-of static one. I knew that I wanted to undermine his powerful knight, and a5 was the only move I saw that had a chance at doing so.

29. bxa5

Fortunately for me, my opponent didn't see the tactical shot that I did. This move was probably a bit of a mistake on white's part, as it does exactly what I wanted to do: lessen white's control of the c5 square. The line that follows was calculated out by both of us and was the turning point of the game. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see a small nuiance in the position that allowed me to grab an insurmountable advantage on move 31. To be honest, I didn't see the move either until the position arrived.

29... Qxa5

I was still worried about the white knight capturing on e6, but I had no real alternative.

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30. Nb7

Forks the queen and bishop. The entire line played by white puts white in a worse position, but this isn't made clear until move 31.

30... Qxa3

The only move. Now I have a potentially powerful passed pawn on b5. Also, if white plays 31) NxBd6, I will play 31) ... QxBd3, getting rid of the bishops of opposite color and preparing to push my b-pawn while attacking his weak pawn on e3.

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31. Bxb5

The only alternative for white is to get rid of my passed pawn and even the material. Unfortunately for white, my next move proves decisive.

31... Bxf4

! Taking the free pawn and preparing to take on e3. White cannot take back because his pawn on e3 is pinned to his queen! Now both of white's minor pieces are shuttled to the side of the board, allowing me to pick off his central pawns and move into a winning endgame. Note that I could have taken the pawn with the knight to attack his queen, but the attack of the pawn on e3 by the bishop is much stronger.

32. Bc4

The only idea I see behind this move is to remove a piece attacking e3, but it's a little too late.

32... Bxe3+

Continuing to win material.

33. Kh1

The only move. If 33) Kg2, then 33) ... Nf4 wins the queen. If 33) Kf1, then 33) ... Qc1 [or Qc3 ] 34) Kg2 [or Ke2] ... Kf4 , winning the queen.

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33... Qa1+

I was looking for some way to fork one of his minor pieces, but couldn't find one. So I went with forking the final central pawn instead.

34. Bf1 Qxd4

While taking the pawn, this also has ideas of trapping the white's knight with Qb6.

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