1.e4
Nc6
2.Nc3
e6!?
3.d4
d5
I had remembered there was an article in Dangerous weapons The French called "Swearing in Church" where Black answers 3 Nc3 with 3...Nc6. I haven't (yet) played through the lines, but I remember that the article concluded that best play, White gets only his normal small advantage.
4.e5
[Next time, I think I'll try 4.Nf3
]
4...f6
5.Bd3?!
g6
[5...Nxd4
6.Qh5+
didn't feel like a win, but I liked the positions that seemed to come about for White.]
6.Nf3
Bg7
7.Bf4
Nh6
8.exf6
Qxf6
9.Qd2
Nf5
10.Nb5
I thought I was going to win a pawn where Black gets very little compensation. [10.Bxf5
with an advantage for White]
10...0-0
11.Nxc7
Nfxd4!
I had failed to consider this (in hindsight not-difficult-to-find) move.
12.Nxd4
Qxd4
13.Bg3
Qxb2
14.0-0
Rb8
15.Nb5
Ra8
16.Bd6?
[16.Nc7
offering to repeat was very tempting--I considered my position much worse here.]
16...Rd8
White has only slight compensation for the pawn.
17.Ba3
Qf6
18.Rab1
Bf8?!
A little passive
19.Bb2
Qf7
20.Ba1?
a6
[20...Bc5??
21.Qc3
; 20...e5!
is bad for White.]
21.Nd4
Bg7
22.Nxc6
bxc6
23.Bxg7
Qxg7
[23...Kxg7
24.Qc3+
]
24.Qa5
I've now got some reasonable activity to compensate for the pawn deficit. [Grand Rapids Life Master Kevin Czuhai was adamant that the Queen belongs on g5. "The king is over here!," he said, pointing at g8. "Kill the king." 24.Qg5
]
24...Qd7
25.Rb6
Qc7
26.Qc5
[26.Rfb1
c5
seemed much less appealing to me.]
26...Qd6
27.Qxc6
Qxc6
28.Rxc6
e5
Black now offered a draw. I considered the position complex but balanced, where Black's pawn center compensates for White's more active pieces. I felt the (irrational?) advantage of momentum, having gone from a bad position to a reasonable one in the last few moves. There are some painful but important lessons for me to learn over the rest of the game, where I feel like I drifted into a lost position--or maybe the central pawns were worth a lot more than my assessment during the game? How should White proceed here. (And objectively, was accepting the draw my best move?)
29.Rb1
[With the benefit of hindsight, the more prophylactic 29.f3!
recommended by Michigan Chess webmaster Dr. Bruce Elenbogen gains in appeal.]
29...e4
30.Be2
d4
31.Bc4+
Kh8
32.Kf1
Bf5
33.Ke2
[33.Ke1
staying off the light squares, is more accurate [Czuhai]]
33...Re8
34.Kd1
Rad8
35.h3
h5
36.Rb7
Rc8
37.Rcc7
Rxc7
38.Rxc7
d3
39.cxd3
exd3
40.Bxa6
Re2
I felt during the game that I was probably lost here.
41.g4
I panicked here--no time trouble to blame--just the feeling that I had a very bad position. Dr. Tim McGrew talks about the path narrowing, but I lost my tenacity. [41.Rc3!
[Czuhai] 41...Rxf2
42.Bxd3
Bxd3
43.Rxd3
Rxg2
and White should draw.]
41...hxg4
42.hxg4
Bxg4
43.Rc4??
Bh5
44.f3
Bxf3
45.Rh4+
Kg7
46.Rh3
Bg4
47.Rh4
Rg2+
48.Rxg4
Rxg4
White resigns. Michael seemed surprised that I threw in the towel here. 0-1