Mike Splane Jose Chau-Lee (1669)
November 29, 2007
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. ed cd 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3
(I invented this move, but other people have played it, of course. I think the position after 6. Nf3 Bb4 is equal, so I prevent Bb4. I often waste a tempo in the opening (as White) to secure a favorable pawn structure. In this case, I think both of Blacks bishops are bad unless he can get in e6-e5, so I dont want to allow him to trade them off.)
6. Be7 7. Nf3 0-0
(White has two basic plans here. He can push the c pawn and try to win on the queenside, or he can allow d5xc4 and play for a kingside attack. I like having the isolated queen pawn structure, so I opt for plan two.)
8. Bd3 Nc6
(I was happy to see this move. 8 . b6, with the idea of Ba6, looks like a good idea here.)
9. 0-0 Bd7
(I often see this kind of thing from my opponents, developing pieces, but not as part of an overall plan. Ive been guilty of it too, especially with the Black pieces. The cure is to do a better job with opening preparation. See my comment after move 21.)
10. Bg5 dc
(I was threatening to win the d5 pawn.)
11. Bc4 Rc8 12. Ba2 Nd5
Steve Zierck suggested 12. Qb6, but I like Blacks move; it relieves his cramped position by exchanging pieces.
13. Ne4
(This was the move I thought the longest on. I considered trading down to a knight vs bad bishop ending with 13. Be7 Nce7 14. Bd5 Nd5 15. Nd5 ed, but decided to keep the bind and play for a kingside attack. I also considered 13. h4, but after 13. h6 the pawn seems to be a weakness.)
13.
Bg5 14. Neg5
(It took a couple of minutes before I noticed that, after 14. Nfg5 f5 Im forced into a speculative attack.)
14. h6
(I was hoping for this move for three reasons. First, the pawn on h6 becomes a target if the g pawn moves. Second, the best defensive structure is pawns on e6, f7, g6 and h7. By pushing the pawn he has weakened the g6 square. Third, I can now force pawn exchanges with g2-g4-g5)
15. Ne4 Qe7 16. Re1 Nf6 17. Nc3 Qd6
(I have three ideas here. One is to play d4-d5. For that the bishop belongs on a2. Second is to play for mate at h7. For that the bishop belongs on b1. The third idea is to clamp down on the center, preventing e5, and then to advance the kingside pawns. The moves Qd3 and Rad1 fit in with all three plans, so I will play them first. He has effectively stopped the first plan, at least temporarily, so I will try plan B, leaving plan C in reserve.)
18. Qd3 a6
(He couldnt take advantage of the pin on the d-file to play 18. e5, because of 19. Nb5. Perhaps this move is preparing for a later e5. I promptly guard my queen to eliminate the pin)
19. Rad1 Ne7 20. Bb1 Bc6 21. Ne5
(I do not want to let him swap his useless defensive piece, the bishop, for my useful attacking piece, the knight. This knight move also prepares g4 or Ng4, depending on his reply. Given time I can play f4, g4, and g5, or maybe even double rooks on the king file first.
(After the game I noticed that I am still in my opening preparation, and I have achieved my ideal set up. If I was this well prepared as Black Id be dangerous!)
21. Bd5
(One alternative was 21. Nf5. During the game I was considering playing 22. g4 Nh4 23. f4. After the game I saw that 22. d5 is crushing.
If 22. de 23. Qf5 wins a piece
If 22. Nd5 23 g4 Nc3 24. Qc3 wins a piece
If 22. Bd5 23. Nd5 Qd5 24. Qd5 Nd5 25. Bf5 wins a piece.
And if 22. Bd7 23. de Qd3 24. ef+ wins two pawns.
This is a good idea that I will remember for future use.)
22. Ng4 Ng6 23. Nf6 gf 24. h4 f5
(After 24. h5 25. g4. f5 26. Nd5 Qd5 27. gf I am winning._
25. h5 Ne7
(If 25. Nf4 26. Qg3+ Kh8 (or Kh7) 27. Nd5 ed 28. Qf3 Rg8 30. g3 when White is clearly winning.)
26. Re5 Kh8
(If 26. f6 27. Re3 the e6 pawn becomes terribly weak.
(If 26. Nc6 27. Rd5 ed 28. Qf5 Re8 [28. Rd8 29. Re1] 29. Nd5 Kf8 30. Ba2 is winning.
(If 26. Kh7 27. Nd5 Nd5 28. Rf5 ef 29. Qf5+ Kg7 30. Qh7+ Kf6 31. Qh6+ Ke7 32. Re1+ Kd7 33. Bf5+ Kc6 34. Rc1+ Kb5 35. Qd6 Rc1+ 36. Kh2)
27. Qe3 Kh7 28. Qf4 Rg8
(If 28. f6 29. Rf5 Qf4 30. Rf4+ Kh8 31. Nd5 Nd5 32. Re4 is winning and if 28. Qd7 29. g4 Rg8 30. Kf1 f6 31. gf crushes.)
29. Rf5?
(This wins a pawn, but simply 29. g3 keeps the bind. I mistakenly thought that 29. Rg2+ 30. Kf1 Qf4 31. Rf4+ Kg7 32. Nd5 won a piece. After 32. Nd5 33. Rf7+ Kf7 34. Kg2 Nf4+ 35. Kf3 Nh5 36. Rh1 Nf6 37. Rh6 Black is a pawn down but has good drawing chances. His king is centralized, all the pawns are on one side and there are no passed pawns. Still, a pawn is a pawn.)
29. . Qf4??
( He thought he could recapture on f5 with the knight, guarding his queen, but at the last minute he saw that the knight would be pinned. Trying to get the queens off looks natural, but falls into mate.)
30. Rf7++ mate next move so Black resigned
1-0