King's Gambit
Friday, January 14, 2005
Annotated Game
Lassila, T. - N.N (D06 Queen's Gambit)
1.d4 d5
This game features an unusual approach to one of my main openings with White. More interestingly it presents a psychological struggle, where I play precisely for a long time, build up an attack while smothering my opponent's counterplay, and just when the attack is about to strike through, something unexpected happens.
2.c4 h6?!
My opponent has a tendency to make these early rook pawn moves in all of his games. I suppose it's more his way of getting out of book lines rather than genuine concern about anything coming to g5. However, it's not an accurate method of combatting the Queen's Gambit as can be seen from the results of the opening.
3.cxd5 Qxd5
4.Nc3 Qd8
Better than 4...Qa5 5. Bd2 Qb6 6. Nd5!
5.e4 e6
6.Nf3 Bb4
7.a3 Ba5?
I could also have tried to kick the bishop with Qb3. He really should have taken on c3, as after the retreat I gain space on the queenside while his pieces still sit pretty in their home squares.
8.b4 Bb6
9.Be3 Nf6
9. Na4 wins the bishop pair, but I had no reason to go into that. His bishop is somewhat misplaced on b6 and as long as I'm concerned might as well stay there.
10.Ne5 Nbd7
Ne5 was an important grab for the center, before Black gets a chance to play Nbd7. He could also have castled here but correctly presumed I was planning something.
11.f4!? Nxe5
My king is still in the center but stopping Black from developing is more important here. Not liking my knight on e5 he trades, but now I get a very strong pawn center.
12.fxe5 Nd7
13.Qg4! g6
A move that forces Black to undermine his kingside. The white pawns on b4, d4 and e5 and strangling Black's position and hindering the development of his pieces. On top of this he can no longer castle kingside safely. Things are starting to look good for White.
14.Rd1 g5!?
I don't really understand this move. Perhaps Black planned to bring his knight to g6 through f8, but this plan is not very active nor very useful considering the play will be on the queenside now.
15.Bc4 Qe7
Finally the light-squared bishop comes out. Black tries to untangle his pieces to prepare to castle queenside. Of course now I know his plan, I have time to mobilize on attack there.
Position after 15...Qe7
16.Rd3 Nf8
A mistake would have been 16.O-O? Nxe5! 17. dxe5 Bxe3+ and all my hard work goes down the drain. Despite having a much better position it is so easy to play a plausible looking move and fall prey to a tactical trick.
17.O-O Bd7
18.Rb1 O-O-O
Signalling my intention to push the a-pawn. Black figures his king has to go somewhere, even it means castling into it.
19.a4 c6
Certainly no more pleasant for Black is 19...a6 20. a5 Ba7 21. b5 axb5 22. Nxb5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5.
20.a5 Bc7
Or 20. b5 c5 21. a5 Bxa5 22. Ra1 cxd4 23. Bxd4 b6 with difficulties for Black.
21.Na4? f5!
Here I made a mistake, this plan is just too slow. Instead I should have pushed on with 21. b5 and 21...cxb5 22. Nxb5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5 a6 24. Rb1 Bxa5 25. d5 with a powerful attack. Black immediately breaks for initiative.
22.exf6 Qxf6
23.e5 Qg6
Black is getting some counterplay but more importantly has time to play a6, making it very difficult for me to gain ground on the queenside. Meanwhile, his counterplay will consist of pushing his kingside pawns and trying to harass my queen.
24.Rdb3 Qc2??
A stupefying blunder. After quickly seeing the line to trap the queen I decided the game was in the bag and started to relax. A dangerous moment in the game. My opponent later confessed he had nearly resigned after seeing what he had done.
25.Bd3 h5
Obviously.
26.Qe4 Qa2
I could have just taken on g5 here but didn't want to fall into any swindles by opening lines for his rooks.
27.Nc3 Qxb1+
28.Bxb1 c5
A difficult moment in the game. I know I'm winning, and simply have to find the correct way to convert. I got impatient and tried to find some forced line that hangs his king. In the process I manage to make it too complicated and disaster strikes.
29.a6 Bc6
Forced of course.
30.axb7+ Bxb7
31.Qd3 cxd4
31. Qc2 would have removed any tactics related to the rook on d8. The fork is illusionary since White can play Bxg5! attacking the rook. But I miss this simple move and instead play a horrible blunder that lets Black straight back in the game.
32.Bxd4?? Rxd4!
A jackhammer blow. Suddenly my material advantage is all but gone, the black bishops are aiming dangerously at my king. Too late I realize the clever combination that protects the rook.
33.Qxd4?! Bb6
After 33. Qe2, White is still much better, but I don't like the counterplay promised by the bishop pair and give up my queen for rook and bishop and truly equal chances. Now I have to win the game all over again. An interesting mental situation. Until now I have played well and my opponent has been in lots of trouble almost from the start. Then my opponent blunders his queen, I relax and blunder myself and now we're back in the starting point. The game is now up for grabs to whoever can recover from the sudden turmoil. Of course my position is still slightly better.
34.Qxb6 axb6
Position after 34...axb6
35.Nb5 Bd5
The black king is somewhat vulnerable, so the only plan possible is a straightforward king attack.
36.Nd6+ Kd7?
Needlessly dropping a pawn. Now the passed c-pawn is very strong and White is again close to a win. The only option was 36...Kb8.
37.Rc3 Ke7
The black king tries to run to the kingside, but tactics prevent this escape.
38.Nc8+ Kd8
If 38...Kf7 then 39. Rc7+ Kg8 40. Ne7+.
39.Nxb6 Bb7
40.Bd3 Nd7?
Of course 41. Bb5 just wins a piece for nothing, but even without Black is in serious trouble.
41.Nxd7?! Kxd7
42.Bb5+ Kd8
43.Rd3+ Kc7
44.Bc4 Bc8
45.b5 Bd7
Here comes the pawn!
46.Rd6? Re8
Stronger is the immediate b6+. Black could muster up a good defense with 46...Rb8 and it's not at all easy to win with White. After 47. Bxe6 Bxe6 48. Rxe6 Rxb5 the e-pawn will eventually fall and then the position will become a book draw with RPP vs. RP. But such defenses at this point in the game, after all that's taken place, are hard to see and Black is already succumbing to the realization that he is about to lose the game.
47.b6+ Kc8
48.Be2 h4
Again missing a faster win with 48.Ba6+ as the bishop hangs on d7.
49.h3 Re7
50.Bf3 Kb8
51.b7 Bb5?? 1-0
Realizing his mistake my opponent resigns at once.
Lassila, T. - N.N (D06 Queen's Gambit)
1.d4 d5
This game features an unusual approach to one of my main openings with White. More interestingly it presents a psychological struggle, where I play precisely for a long time, build up an attack while smothering my opponent's counterplay, and just when the attack is about to strike through, something unexpected happens.
2.c4 h6?!
My opponent has a tendency to make these early rook pawn moves in all of his games. I suppose it's more his way of getting out of book lines rather than genuine concern about anything coming to g5. However, it's not an accurate method of combatting the Queen's Gambit as can be seen from the results of the opening.
3.cxd5 Qxd5
4.Nc3 Qd8
Better than 4...Qa5 5. Bd2 Qb6 6. Nd5!
5.e4 e6
6.Nf3 Bb4
7.a3 Ba5?
I could also have tried to kick the bishop with Qb3. He really should have taken on c3, as after the retreat I gain space on the queenside while his pieces still sit pretty in their home squares.
8.b4 Bb6
9.Be3 Nf6
9. Na4 wins the bishop pair, but I had no reason to go into that. His bishop is somewhat misplaced on b6 and as long as I'm concerned might as well stay there.
10.Ne5 Nbd7
Ne5 was an important grab for the center, before Black gets a chance to play Nbd7. He could also have castled here but correctly presumed I was planning something.
11.f4!? Nxe5
My king is still in the center but stopping Black from developing is more important here. Not liking my knight on e5 he trades, but now I get a very strong pawn center.
12.fxe5 Nd7
13.Qg4! g6
A move that forces Black to undermine his kingside. The white pawns on b4, d4 and e5 and strangling Black's position and hindering the development of his pieces. On top of this he can no longer castle kingside safely. Things are starting to look good for White.
14.Rd1 g5!?
I don't really understand this move. Perhaps Black planned to bring his knight to g6 through f8, but this plan is not very active nor very useful considering the play will be on the queenside now.
15.Bc4 Qe7
Finally the light-squared bishop comes out. Black tries to untangle his pieces to prepare to castle queenside. Of course now I know his plan, I have time to mobilize on attack there.
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16.Rd3 Nf8
A mistake would have been 16.O-O? Nxe5! 17. dxe5 Bxe3+ and all my hard work goes down the drain. Despite having a much better position it is so easy to play a plausible looking move and fall prey to a tactical trick.
17.O-O Bd7
18.Rb1 O-O-O
Signalling my intention to push the a-pawn. Black figures his king has to go somewhere, even it means castling into it.
19.a4 c6
Certainly no more pleasant for Black is 19...a6 20. a5 Ba7 21. b5 axb5 22. Nxb5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5.
20.a5 Bc7
Or 20. b5 c5 21. a5 Bxa5 22. Ra1 cxd4 23. Bxd4 b6 with difficulties for Black.
21.Na4? f5!
Here I made a mistake, this plan is just too slow. Instead I should have pushed on with 21. b5 and 21...cxb5 22. Nxb5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5 a6 24. Rb1 Bxa5 25. d5 with a powerful attack. Black immediately breaks for initiative.
22.exf6 Qxf6
23.e5 Qg6
Black is getting some counterplay but more importantly has time to play a6, making it very difficult for me to gain ground on the queenside. Meanwhile, his counterplay will consist of pushing his kingside pawns and trying to harass my queen.
24.Rdb3 Qc2??
A stupefying blunder. After quickly seeing the line to trap the queen I decided the game was in the bag and started to relax. A dangerous moment in the game. My opponent later confessed he had nearly resigned after seeing what he had done.
25.Bd3 h5
Obviously.
26.Qe4 Qa2
I could have just taken on g5 here but didn't want to fall into any swindles by opening lines for his rooks.
27.Nc3 Qxb1+
28.Bxb1 c5
A difficult moment in the game. I know I'm winning, and simply have to find the correct way to convert. I got impatient and tried to find some forced line that hangs his king. In the process I manage to make it too complicated and disaster strikes.
29.a6 Bc6
Forced of course.
30.axb7+ Bxb7
31.Qd3 cxd4
31. Qc2 would have removed any tactics related to the rook on d8. The fork is illusionary since White can play Bxg5! attacking the rook. But I miss this simple move and instead play a horrible blunder that lets Black straight back in the game.
32.Bxd4?? Rxd4!
A jackhammer blow. Suddenly my material advantage is all but gone, the black bishops are aiming dangerously at my king. Too late I realize the clever combination that protects the rook.
33.Qxd4?! Bb6
After 33. Qe2, White is still much better, but I don't like the counterplay promised by the bishop pair and give up my queen for rook and bishop and truly equal chances. Now I have to win the game all over again. An interesting mental situation. Until now I have played well and my opponent has been in lots of trouble almost from the start. Then my opponent blunders his queen, I relax and blunder myself and now we're back in the starting point. The game is now up for grabs to whoever can recover from the sudden turmoil. Of course my position is still slightly better.
34.Qxb6 axb6
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35.Nb5 Bd5
The black king is somewhat vulnerable, so the only plan possible is a straightforward king attack.
36.Nd6+ Kd7?
Needlessly dropping a pawn. Now the passed c-pawn is very strong and White is again close to a win. The only option was 36...Kb8.
37.Rc3 Ke7
The black king tries to run to the kingside, but tactics prevent this escape.
38.Nc8+ Kd8
If 38...Kf7 then 39. Rc7+ Kg8 40. Ne7+.
39.Nxb6 Bb7
40.Bd3 Nd7?
Of course 41. Bb5 just wins a piece for nothing, but even without Black is in serious trouble.
41.Nxd7?! Kxd7
42.Bb5+ Kd8
43.Rd3+ Kc7
44.Bc4 Bc8
45.b5 Bd7
Here comes the pawn!
46.Rd6? Re8
Stronger is the immediate b6+. Black could muster up a good defense with 46...Rb8 and it's not at all easy to win with White. After 47. Bxe6 Bxe6 48. Rxe6 Rxb5 the e-pawn will eventually fall and then the position will become a book draw with RPP vs. RP. But such defenses at this point in the game, after all that's taken place, are hard to see and Black is already succumbing to the realization that he is about to lose the game.
47.b6+ Kc8
48.Be2 h4
Again missing a faster win with 48.Ba6+ as the bishop hangs on d7.
49.h3 Re7
50.Bf3 Kb8
51.b7 Bb5?? 1-0
Realizing his mistake my opponent resigns at once.
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