Analyzing this game was helpful in highlighting certain clusters of turning points and strategic choices, for example around moves 17-19 and again on moves 27-31. Hopefully I can make better future decisions as a result.
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "ChessAdmin"]
[Black "Class C"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A28"]
[Annotator "ChessAdmin/Komodo 10"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventType "simul"]
[EventRounds "5"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd7 8.
d4 Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. Qc2 e4 12. Nd2 {now e4 becomes an easy
target to focus on, although the position is still equal.} Re6 $2 13. f4 {
here I believed my opponent a little too much, when he failed to defend e4,
although the text move is also good for White.} (13. Nxe4 {I correctly saw
there was a threat for Black involving ...Qh4, which made me avoid this line.
However the engine shows that this is unnecessary, since Black's attack just
looks scary rather than being effective.} Qh4 (13... Bxh2+ 14. Kxh2 Qh4+ 15.
Kg1 Qxe4 16. Qxe4 Rxe4 17. f3 Ree8 18. Kf2 $16) 14. f4 Rh6 15. h3 Rg6 16. Bf3
Bxh3 17. Nxd6 cxd6 $16 {and White is fine.}) 13... exf3 14. Nxf3 $16 {here
Komodo considers White to be about the equivalent of a pawn ahead. The central
pawns are quite powerful and I have some nice open lines on the kingside.} Re8
15. Bd3 h6 16. e4 {mobilizing the central pawn majority} Bg4 17. e5 {this is
premature; I should bring more pieces into play first, or (as shown by the
engine) challenge the Bg4, which is Black's only good piece on the kingside at
the moment.} (17. h3 {would help get the pesky bishop out of the way. For
example} Bh5 18. e5 {now this pawn advance has more bite, since g4 is
threatened and the bishop has no good square to go to. So} Bxf3 19. Rxf3 $18 {
and White is rolling on the kingside with four pieces (queen, two bishops and
rook) currently versus zero for Black.}) (17. Rb1 $5 {is a simple move that
gets the rook in play and makes life more awkward for Black.}) 17... Be7 $2 {
an obvious retreat but not a good one.} (17... Bf8) 18. Rb1 {a good move but
not great.} (18. Bc4 $1 $18 {pinning the f-pawn causes major problems for
Black, as now Qg6 is threatened.}) 18... Rb8 19. Be4 {right piece to move, but
not the best square for it (per above). I thought for a while here on where
the best spot for the bishop would be, but ultimately was too focused on
queenside play, when in fact the big payoff is on the kingside.} Qd7 20. h3
Bxf3 (20... Be6 {is more solid.}) 21. Rxf3 $18 {with the f-file now open and
two strong bishops pointing towards the king, along with the dominating
central pawns, I have a major advantage.} Bd8 22. Rg3 {going for the somewhat
cheap-looking, but still effective, threat of Bxh6.} (22. Qf2 $5) 22... Nxd4
23. Qd3 {seeking to avoid having to take on d4 with the pawn and then give
Black ...Qxd4+. However, that would in fact be fine for White as well.} (23.
cxd4 Qxd4+ 24. Kh1 Rxe5 {here I was too materialistic and thought that the
three pawns for a piece wasn't a good deal for me.} 25. Bh7+ Kh8 26. Bb2 $18)
23... Rxe5 24. cxd4 Rh5 25. Bb2 {lining up against g7.} (25. Rxb7 $5 {would
pursue a simpler winning strategy, based on my material advantage.} Rxb7 26.
Bxb7 Bf6 27. d5 $18) 25... Bg5 26. Rf1 {now all pieces are in on the attack
and the engine evaluates this as the equivalent of White having an extra piece
and then some.} Re8 27. Qf3 $6 {a significant slip, since it would be much
better to double the rooks on the f-file rather than leading with the queen.
Also, the lack of a battery on the b1-h7 diagonal leaves me with fewer options
for the bishop and allows Black's next move. I did not in fact have a concrete
plan here.} (27. Rgf3 Bf6 28. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 29. d5 $18 {and Black's king is
stripped of cover.}) 27... Rh4 {well played. Black now starts taking back some
of the initiative by making his own threats, the first in a while.} 28. Bf5 Qb5
29. Qc3 {now I am responding more to Black's threats than looking for my own.}
(29. Bd3 {would take advantage of the weakness on f7.} Qd7 30. Qxb7 $18) 29...
Rf4 30. Rxf4 Bxf4 31. Rf3 $2 {missing the way to keep an advantage. The
position is now equal.} (31. Bd3 $1 $18 {extracts the bishop with tempo, also
saving the Rg3.}) 31... Qxf5 {by this point the game has fully turned around
and Black is the one with all the threats. Psychologically this was a blow and
I was tired of calculating variations, prompting the next error.} 32. g3 $4 {
this in fact should now lose.} (32. Bc1 {is in fact the only move to preserve
the draw, as it blocks Black's next.}) 32... Qb1+ 33. Rf1 Qxa2 $2 {allowing me
to draw.} (33... Be3+ {should win for Black.}) 34. Rxf4 {at least I was able
to correctly calculate the next sequence.} Re2 35. Rf2 Qb1+ 36. Bc1 Rxf2 37.
Kxf2 $11 {now the engine evaluates the position as dead drawn.} Qf5+ 38. Kg2
Qe4+ 39. Kf2 Qf5+ 40. Kg2 Qe4+ 41. Kf2 1/2-1/2