1.e4
DS: (!) A surprise, at least it was to me.
I've been playing 1.d4 steadily for some time now. But I knew Evan
wanted to play that sissy, err - Sici opening.
:-)
Actually I was very nervous about playing Evan, who is
rated somewhere between me & Kramnik. Meanwhile I haven't really
been playing or studying for several years. Good thing it's a
correspondence game!
1...c5
EK: For the record, although I like to read about
the Sicilian, I only dabble with it in my own games.
2.Nc3
EK: David plays for a closed version of the
Sicilian, leaving me with little idea what to do, as several of my
following moves demonstrate . . .
David adds: Actually I'm playing this line because it
somewhat approximates my preferred opening - the Stonewall Attack.
2...Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Nge7 7.d3 d6
8.Kh1
DS: This (8.Kh1) is probably one of those moves
that, at the time, make you think you really know something about the
game, but later makes you wonder why you ever took it up in the first
place.
8...0-0
EK: Last book move.
9.Ng5
DS: Trying to provoke a reaction, and hoping for
weaknesses to result from the reaction.
9...h6
EK: Too timid, and playing right into White's
hands -- he's looking to provoke a weakness, and I fall for it.
10.Nf3 a6
EK: A standard Sicilian move, keeping the White
pieces out of b5 and preparing b7-b5.
DS: Black's play on the q-side is pretty minimal,
I think, at best. Meanwhile the whole point of White's thinking is
to attack the king. 10...a6 seems like a wasted move to me.
11.Qe1
DS: Preparing an entry onto the field of battle.
11...b5
EK: Another standard Sicilian move.
12.Nd1
DS: Shifting another piece towards the k-side. Not
real subtle about it, am I?
12...Bb7
EK: The first of several "Where the heck do I put
my bishop?" moves. Given my concerns with a Kingside attack, I
think I should have left the bishop on the c8-h3 diagonal.
13.Ne3
DS: 13.Nf2 was also considered; 13.c3? b4
though just helps Black set the agenda, and play will be on the q-side
rather than what White's searching for: a k-side initiative.
EK: 13.c3 d5=
13...Bc8
DS: Hee-hee. I just love it when my opponent
shuffles a piece back & forth.
EK: 13...Nd4 14.Bd1
(14.Nxd4 cxd4 15.Nd1 Kh7 16.Bd2 {16.Qf2 f5} 16...f5
14.Qg3
DS: 14.g4 - I don't have the guts to play this in
CC, and besides, it doesn't feel sound on the face of it. Black's
pieces aren't sufficiently shut-out from the k-side to warrant opening
the position in this way. Still, I can't help shake the feeling
that this might have been my opportunity to push the attack. One
of my weaknesses, I think, is failing to find the right way to press the
attack firmly enough sometimes.; 14.h4 might have been better.; 14.c3
Same objection as last time.
Still, I really liked my position at this point.
My pieces are massing on the kingside, while half of Black's are stuck
on the queenside. I'll bet in 5-0 games I win 60-70% of similar
positions.
EK: 14.c3 f5
14...d5
EK: = Standard Sicilian move. Shredder
says "Prepares ...c4," but the main point is simply to challenge the
center!
15.e5
EK:
15.Ng4 f5 16.Nf2 Kh7=
15...Bb7
EK: = For cryin' out loud, make up your mind!
Though in a closed position, I suppose I can afford to play around a bit
. . .
The text move leaves things equal, but ...d4!? might
give Black a slight advantage.
DS: Here Fritz thinks Black gets a slight edge by
15...d4 16.Ng4 Nb4 17.Bd1 Nf5
16.Bd2
DS: 16.Nh4; 16.Qh3
16...c4
DS: I completely don't grok this idea. Now
White's got what he wanted - a blocked center with most of his pieces
aimed towards the k-side, while some of Black's - most notably that
well-traveled bishop on b7 - are more or less shut out of the game for
now. 16...d4 would have been much better.
EK: I think this was my worst move. I should
never have allowed White to seal up the center. Now he has free
reign to mobilize a kingside attack, and any queenside counterplay I
might have will be too slow. Better was 16...d4!?, keeping Black
alive. 17.Ng4 Nf5
17.d4 Nf5
DS: Personally, I would recommend 17...b4 because
once Black's started on this course I think he needs to finish it. His
problem is White's central pawn chain, and pawn chains should be
attacked at their weakest link - the base.
18.Nxf5 exf5 19.c3 Bc8
DS: The 4th move in the game by this bishop, only
to wind up back on his starting square once again.
20.a4
DS: Whatever possessed me to play this move, I
can't recall. It completely changes the focus I've had up to this
point. Prior to this move Fritz assessed White as having an
advantage of +0.50, but that starts to drop once he starts playing on
his opponent's playground - the queen-side.
20.Nh4 - I was hoping this sac might have worked out,
but... 20...Be6 21.Nxg6 fxg6 22.Qxg6 Qd7
;
20.h4 would have been more consistent with my plans so far.
EK:
20.b3 Be6±
Evan adds: 20.a4 is not bad, but not the best --
according to Shredder, White's advantage drops from 'clear' to 'slight.'
Shredder seems to like either Kg1 or b3 (neither or which I totally
understand), though it also rates David's suggestion of h4 (which seems
the most consistent move) well enough.
20...Be6
EK: My bishop is basically just a big pawn.
21.Ra2 Qb6 22.axb5
DS: = According to Fritz. 22.Rfa1 b4
(22...bxa4 23.Bc1 Na5) ; Fritz prefers 22.Rb1
22...axb5 23.Rfa1 Ra5
DS: 23...Qb7=
24.Rxa5
DS: 24.h4 Rfa8 25.Rxa5 Rxa5
24...Nxa5 25.Bd1 Ra8
EK: It would be very easy for me to make a stupid
tactical mistake at this point.
26.h4
DS: (!) even, perhaps, I thought. I've got
him all tied up on the q-side, now's the time to start up the k-side
attack again.
26...h5
DS: I didn't like this move from the first moment
I saw it. Now how does White continue the attack? Why hadn't
I even considered this move when I looked at 26.h4? An obvious
move like this, and I didn't even look at it. Now that's
depressing...
EK: Sigh. Look at that huge hole on g5.
27.Ng5
EK: What a lovely outpost, and near Black's king,
too!
27...Qc6
EK: I can't allow 28.Nxe6 fxe6 29.Qxg6.
DS: Fritz would rather avoid the exchange of
minors, preserving some supposed material advantage. Evan
correctly sees that his bishop is little more than a tall pawn, and
allows the exchange. 27...Bc8
28.Nxe6
EK: I'm not sure I would have given up having a
knight on such a beautiful square. White is giving up a knight
with a great outpost for a bishop who's only future is sit there like a
lowly pawn. I can't understand the thinking behind this move, and would
very much like to hear what White was thinking.
Was it the old "bishops are better than knights" idea?
Not in this position, they ain't! With the bishop acting as a
pawn, it's almost like Black is down two pawns worth of material!
DS: Dumb. Ditto. Etc.
28...Qxe6 29.b4
DS: = per Fritz. Back to the queen-side again.
I'd like to claim that it's all part of a grand strategy, but the truth
is that I just kept changing my mind. Especially after that
dratted ...h5! 29.Bf3
per Fritz.
EK: I think this throws White's advantage away and
allows the draw. 29.Bf3 Ra7
29...cxb3
EK: =
30.Bxb3
EK: Shredder says: "White has a new backward pawn:
c3." Worse is that White's kingside attack is vanishing, and his
bishops are relatively ineffectual. Once I un-pin my knight . . .
30...Qc6 31.Bd1
DS: I'd really started to feel uncomfortable about
my position by now. The backward c-pawn is going to be eternally weak,
and my only hope seemed to be to search for some type of counterplay,
but where?
31...Nc4 32.Rxa8+
DS: Here Evan offered me a draw, and I snapped at
it like a brook trout at a minnow. 32.Rxa8+ Qxa8
33.Qe1 Fritz claims this is equal, but I'd prefer Black's position any
day, so I was happy to accept the draw offer. Black just has to be
better - look at all the advantages he has: a weak pawn to target on c3;
possession of the only open file, the a-file; a knight and a relatively
decent bishop, compared to White's worthless bishop pair. The
question, of course, is can he make anything out of all that? Evan
apparently didn't think so.
EK: Whew! The draw. Which of course,
is a good result for Black, so morally speaking, it's like I won . . .
;-)~
Evan added: Though David seems to think Black has
an advantage here, I'm not so sure. Black also has weak pawns (at
b5 abd d5), his apparently nice knight outpost is in the middle of
nowhere, and his bishop is relatively inactive, shut out by White's
pawns. This looks dead even to me, and Shredder 10 agrees.
David added: Fritz 8 thinks it's pretty even also
(actually, at a depth of 15-ply it gives me an edge of +0.06!) but what
do computers know about endgames? However, before Evan adds it,
I'll also state - but what do I know about endgames? :-)
How about you - is the final position drawn, even, or
does one side or another have a significant advantage? Would you
offer/take the draw?
½-½
