1.d4
Nf6
2.c4
g6
3.Nc3
Bg7
4.e4
d6
5.Be2
0-0
6.Bg5
Na6
7.Qd2
A common developing move in the Averbakh to prevent h6.
7...c5
An unusual move in this line. Usually Black plays e5 here.
8.d5
Re8
[I thought Black's maneuvering here was fishy. Often he plays Qe8 instead, with an eye to supporting b5 later. It seemed to me that Black has a tough time developing in a sensible way in this manner. In analysis, IM John Donaldson confirmed my suspicions after the game. If I were Black, I might try to freemyselfwith 8...e6
9.dxe6
fxe6
10.Rd1
which looks like it hangs the pawn, but he can hang onto it with 10...Qa5
threatening e4 and preparing perhaps Ne8. Black's position is wobbly but at least he is doing something.]
9.f4
Nc7
10.h3
Black is slow to get his stuff moving, so I thought I would take a move to prevent a potential Bg4 after I play Nf3.
10...h6
11.Bh4
e6?!
Hanging a piece. Or is he sacrificing a piece? Hard to tell.
12.e5
[Instead of jumping aboard this roller coaster, I could have certainly played other things, e.g. 12.Nf3
exd5
13.exd5
with a comfortable position. Hindsight is 20/20!]
12...exd5
13.Bxf6
Bxf6
14.exf6
d4~~
Fritz evaluates Black as having full compensation for his piece. In the game I was more optimistic, but I realized that I would have a difficult time restraining his pawns.
15.Nb5
[A different structure might occur after 15.Nd5
Nxd5
16.cxd5
Qxf6
but I was concerned that Black would mobilize his pawns too easily with support from b5, e.g. 17.Nf3
Bd7
18.0-0
b5
19.Rfe1
Re3
I was concerned about playing into positions like these, because my pieces are all tied down to restricting his pawns, and my d5 pawn seems like it will hang eventually.]
15...Nxb5
16.cxb5
Qxf6
17.0-0-0
Fritz thinks castling queenside is OK. I wanted to get out of the pin quickly and I hoped that I could get my pieces developed fast enough to trade off rooks. [Lesser mortals might have considered 17.Nf3
with plans to castle kingside. I was personally critical of this because I was concerned abouttheimmediate 17...Qe7
,after which to get his rooks in play White has to try something like 18.Kf2
Qe3+
19.Qxe3
dxe3+
, which I found frightening.]
17...Re3
Threatening Qxf4. I didn't want to throw my kingside pawns into the fire for nothing, since if he wins a pawn on the kingside I could have a hard time scoring a point in a knight-up endgame against pawn majorities on both wings. [Note that the pawn on b5 prevents Black from quickly opening up the a- and b-files, e.g. 17...a6
18.b6
]
18.Bc4
Now Qxf4 is answered by the frightening-looking Rf1.
18...Be6
19.Bxe6
Qxe6
20.Kb1
b6!
Slowly but surely opening the a-file to create a threat on a2 that is very hard to defend against. Even with three moves to organize my pieces, I have a hard time covering the square in any way or creating counterplay.
21.Nf3
a6
22.Rhe1
axb5
23.Rxe3
Qxa2+
24.Kc1
Qc4+
25.Kb1
[When calculating this variation five moves ago, I had very fuzzy vision. I anticipated playing 25.Qc2??
Ra1+
26.Kd2
but I didn't realize that I was hanging my lady friend after 26...dxe3+
. As a result, I had no choice but to meekly play back to b1.]
25...Qa2+
26.Kc2?!
Trying to tempt Black into an endgame (perhaps misguidedly.)
26...Qc4+
[Black eschews 26...Qa4+
27.b3
after which the game could plausibly proceed 27...Qa2+
28.Kd3
Qxb3+
29.Ke2
dxe3
30.Qxe3
and most of the heavy pieces are liable to be traded, leaving Black with a big pawn majority against the knight. Fritz evaluates this poorly for White (about -1.0 to -1.5 depending on how Black trades off) but at the time I felt that with my more-active King I could at least draw.]
27.Kb1
Qa2+
1/2-1/2