Mike Splane
(2257) Antonio Rabadan
(1590) July 19, 2007
1. e4
c6 2. d4 d5 3. ed cd 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. a3?
A mistake in move order. 6. Bg5 is much stronger, to prevent the fianchetto of the king’s bishop. If 6. Bg5 g6 7. Bf6 ef 8. Nd5 looks tasty.
6. Nf3 allows the Bg4 pin, so it should be delayed until after Black has played … e6.
6. a3 is a useful move only after Black has already played … e6.
The idea behind all of these moves is to keep Black’s bishops ineffective. Black is a bit cramped in this opening, so exchanging a minor piece will help him.
6. …. g6
The best response to 6. a6, putting immediate pressure on White’s center. I thought for over 15 minutes here, trying to understand the position.
My candidate moves were Be2, Be3, Bf4, Bg5, Nf3, h3, h4, cd, c5, and Qb3. I also had to choose a plan. Black’s threats are … dc and … e5. Since he can play them at any time, my middlegame plan has to take those threats into account.
I rejected 7. Be2. If Black plays dc before I move this bishop I can recapture from the f1 square in one move instead of two.
I rejected 7. Bg5 Bg7 8. Bf6 Bf6 9. Nd5 or 9. cd because I lose the d4 pawn. Black’s black square bishop will be a monster in this open position.
I rejected 7. Be3 Ng4 again Black has the edge with the two bishops.
I rejected 7. c5 e5 and 7. h3 e5 when the center is opened up and I am behind in development. In general I think White can afford to give up a tempo to achieve a favorable pawn formation. I’m not so sure he can afford two.
I quickly rejected 7. h4. White should not be considering an attack down the h file with an open center and his king in the middle.
I rejected 7. cd Nd5 8. Bc4 Nc3 9. bc Bg7. The pawns on c3 and d4 are targets that require defending. White doesn’t have effective counter-play.
I rejected 7. Qb3 Na5. He captures on c4 and I have to give him the two bishops to win my pawn back.
I rejected 7. Bf4. This move fits in with a plan to play c5 and expand on the queenside while preventing the counter attack on the center with … e5, but 7. … dc makes the bishop move pointless, not to mention double attacking the d4 pawn.
I rejected 7. Nf3 Bg4 and Black can exchange off his worst minor piece.
That left me with no good moves, only a choice of
evils.
7. Nf3
Despite my reluctance to allow the pin, I choose 7. Nf3 because it seemed like the most rational move. It guards
d4, prevents … e5, and prepares castling. I decided that the best way to combat
his g7 bishop was to build a strong point on d4, and gradually move my pieces
off the long diagonal. This fits in well with a strategy of playing for
queenside expansion after completing my development.
7. … Bg7
This is a strategical mistake. Black’s plan is to put pressure on the center squares e5 and d4. His c8 bishop can not help directly, but it can help indirectly by exchanging itself for the knight on f3, so he should play 7. … Bg4. There is a similar idea, with colors reversed, that comes up in the Tarrash Defense to the Queens Gambit. In that opening White plays Bg5. I would have answered 7. … Bg4 with 8. Be3, trusting in the two bishops to keep me in the game if he captured on f3.
8. h3
Since the threat of …e5 opening the game is gone, I can take time for this non-developing move that leaves Black with an inactive bishop. This game highlights how important it is to develop with a plan in mind. Black makes what look like good developing moves, but his pieces don’t work together.
8. … 0-0 9. Be3 Re8
This move is a waste of time if he doesn’t intend to play e5. He follows this with four pawn moves, allowing me to catch up in development and grab the initiative.
10. Be2 a6
I couldn’t prevent 10. … e5 so I continued developing. Black’s rook looks silly here unless he plays … e5 . If he had played 10. … e5 I would have captured both center pawns and castled. The f7 square will be a weakness I can attack.
11. 0-0 dc
If he doesn’t make this capture I will eventually play c5
and then push the a and b pawns. The problem with the
move is I get great pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal. If he can set up a strong point with a piece
blockade on d5, then this capture is a good idea.
12. Bc4 b5 13. Ba2 e6
I expected 13. … b4. I considered 14. ab Nb4 15. Bc4 Nbd5 when I have two weak pawns and he only has one. The sacrifice 15. Bf7+ Kf7 16. Qb3+ Nbd5 doesn’t work. Since this is good for Black, I would have played 13. … b4 14. Na4 ba 15. ba planning to post the knight on the aggressive c5 square, while stopping his knight from rerouting to d5 via b4.
The pawn on e6 actually helps White to liquidate the center,
exchanging his potentially weak IQP and opening the a2-g8 diagonal.
14. Rc1 Bb7 15. b4
I looked at 15. d5 ed 16. Nd5 Nd5 17. Bd5 Na5 and decided this was just equal. The pawn move prevents … Na5 and removes the pawn from the range of the bishop.
15. … Rc8 16. d5 Nb8
I don’t see how decentralizing the knight helps him. Perhaps he thought he could build a strong point on d5.
After the game I asked Antonio why he didn’t play 16. … ed 17. Nd5 Nd5 18. Bd5. The editor of the tournament bulletin suggested this; he thought the resulting position was equal, but it is actually better for White. Antonio pointed out that f7 is vulnerable to Qb3 and Ng5. What neither one noted was the pin on the d5-b7 diagonal.
I was hoping he would enter into this line and blunder with 18. … Bb2? which runs into 19. Bf7+ Kf7 20. Qb3+ Kg7 21. Qb2+ Qf6 22. Bh6+ Kf7 23. Ng5+ Ke7 24. Rfe1+ winning the queen.
17. de fe
Forced, since the threat of 18.ef is a check,, followed by capturing the rook with check.
18. Nd4
Not just a tactical threat, but part of a plan. It’s important to stop him from creating a strong point on d5, so eliminating the e6 pawn is the key idea.
I looked at trading queens, and I looked at 18. Ng5, allowing him to trade queens. It is tempting to go into an ending since his e6 pawn will be weak, but in general one enemy weakness is not enough to force a win. When I saw the knight move I realized I could capture the e6 pawn, so it became a no-brainer. Winning a pawn up ending is relatively easy if the opponent has no counter-play, so after I capture the e6 pawn most piece trades favor me. Plus his king is somewhat exposed, so he needs to trade pieces. The game has been strategically won by White. The rest is mop up.
18. … Nd5 ?
I thought he had to try 18. … Qd7. I didn’t see any
immediate way to take advantage of this move and was planning to play Qe2 and
Rfd1.
19. Ne6
Taking advantage of the semi pin on the d5 knight. If he captures on e3 or c3, then 20. Nd8 is a discovered check and I can save my queen.
19. … Re6 20. Nd5 Rc1 21. Bc1 Kh8 22. Nf4 Rd6
If 21. … Rd6 22. Nf4+ Kh8 would have transposed
into the game. This move order gave him
the opportunity to trade queens, but it doesn’t help him much. After 22. … Qd1 23. Rd1 Re8 24.
Ne6 White’s pieces dominate the board.
23 Qb3
The threat of mate on g8 keeps his queen pinned to the back
rank, turning it into a virtual rook.
23. … Nc6 !
Before we reached this position I didn’t see any good moves
for him, but he found one. The knight will become very active on d4. If he does
nothing I will play Ne6 and Ng5 with a killing attack.
24. Ne6 Qa8 !
I thought he was completely busted, but this move gets
counter-play with threats against g2 after he plays … Nd4.
25. Qg3
Forces simplification; if he moves the rook I’ll play Ng5 and Qh4. The ending with just white square bishops is completely lost for him, so I am not reluctant to trade pieces. In particular I want to get rid of his bishop on g7. I didn’t capture it immediately because if 25. Ng7 Nd4 and this piece is a monster. The g2 square is also weak and my king gets exposed. When you’re up material, you don’t need to win more material or be overly aggressive. The number one priority is keeping your king safe.
25. … Nd4 26. Nd4
The editor of the club bulletin stated 26. Qd6 is stronger. He is right, but I didn’t need to, nor did I want to, allow any counter-play. One of the major systematic mistakes I see lower rated players frequently making is to try and win more material when they already up material. An example of what could happen is 26. Qd6 Bg2 27. Rd1? (27 Qd8+ is simplest) Be5 28. Qd7? Ne2#.
Rd4 27. Bb2 Rd7
Of course he doesn’t fall for 27. … Rd2 28. Bg7+ Kg7 29. Qc3+
28. Bg7+ Rg7 29. Rd1!
I had a choice of open files, but this one is the killer. It
not only prevents Bd5, remember he wants to avoid the bishop ending,
it also targets the only square on the back rank that the bishop can’t guard.
The threat of Qg5 and Rd8 is impossible to meet.
29. … Qe8
If 29. … h6 30. Qh4 Kh7 31. Rd8 Qa7 32. Rh8+ Kh8 33. Qh6+ Rh7 34. Qf8#.
30. Qg5
Black resigns. If 30. … Qe7 31. Rd8+ and if 30. … Re7 Qf6+. The
only move is 30. …h6 when I intended playing 31. Qh6+ Rh7 32. Qg5 Re7 33. Kh2 putting him into semi-zugzwang. The exposed
nature of his king makes his position hopeless.
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