29 April 2025

Annotated Game #307: The Colle that wasn't (quite)

After an early opening blunder led to a rapid loss in the penultimate round of the tournament, the following final-round game was a welcome point of stability. Both sides dance around entering the Colle System, with Black never committing to playing ...d5, while as White I pass up some more interesting alternatives on moves 12-13 that would have led either to a small positional plus, or a more imbalanced structure with attacking chances on the kingside. I correctly avoid a tempting-looking tactic later, but in a passive and slightly cramped way. Not my best game, but the careful road to a draw was still a positive outcome after the poor showing in the previous round, guaranteeing me a plus score for the tournament.


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1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 c5 4.c3 4.Nf3 would preserve some flexibility, probably leading to a Colle System after ...d5. However White retains the option of playing b3 rather than c3. 4...Be7 5.Nf3 now the typical approach would be to occupy the center with ...d5, after which we have a Colle System. 5.f4!? would put the game into Stonewall Attack territory. 5...0-0 6.0-0 6.e4 the thematic Colle advance is preferred already by the engine. 6...cxd4 7.exd4 This exchange clears the diagonal for the Bc1, so is preferable for White. b6 8.Qe2 centralizes the queen and also sets up a battery to prevent ...Ba6, exchanging the Bd3. Bb7 9.Nbd2 d6 as I expected, my opponent preferred to refrain from occupying the center, having deferred ...d5 for so long. This Hedgehog-like structure is a little passive, but very solid. 10.Re1 not yet committing myself to a specific plan, but getting the rook into play on its best file. h6 11.Ne4 this invites exchanges on e4, which would lead to a more sterile equality. 11.Nc4 preserves some tension and a slight space advantage. 11...Nbd7 12.Bf4 12.Nxf6+ Nxf6 13.Bf4 again with a bit more space and pressure in the center. 12...Qc7 13.Nfd2 the engine's second choice. I spent some time here thinking about the permutations, but this was made easier by the fact the Nf3 has no good other squares. 13.Nxf6+ Nxf6 14.Qd2 now White even has a slight plus due to the imbalanced queen placements, but this leads to an unconventional position after Bxf3 15.gxf3 Qc6 16.Kg2 which contains some attacking chances. 13...e5 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Be3 Be7 the retreat looks a little funny, but the bishop is doing more on the f8-a3 diagonal and the e-pawn does not need its support. 17.Qg4 with the obvious threat of Bxh6, now that the g-pawn is pinned. Nf6 defense by counterattack, with tempo. 18.Qg3 maintaining the pin on the g-file and also temporarily pinning the e-pawn. Qc6 more defense by counterattack, although is is a little less solid. The point being that Bxh6 does not work due to the riposte ...Qxg2+, forcing the queen trade. 19.f3?! Playing it safe, after a long think, although f2-f3 is rarely the best move on principle. Blocking the diagonal with 19.Nf3 is better and this occurred to me as a possibility. However, I did not like the tactical complications after e4 20.Nd4 and was a little too lazy to follow up with real calculations. 19.Bf1!? my opponent suggested as another improvement. I did not even see this possibility, although I was looking for a way to break away the queen from having to protect g2; I was only considering forward bishop moves, not backwards. 19...Bc5 20.Qf2 this is OK but a passive placement of the queen. 20.Nb3 Nh5 21.Qg4 Nf6 22.Qg3= 20...Bxe3 21.Rxe3 Rad8 22.Bc2 from this point I was just looking to maintain equality, which I succeed at. 22.Rae1 is more active. 22...Rfe8 23.Rae1 Qc5 24.Ne4 I decided it was easiest to go for th exchanges on e4. 24.Nb3!? Qc7 25.Qe2 Rd5 26.f4 e4 27.Bxe4 Rxe4 28.Rxe4 Nxe4 29.Qxe4 Rd8 30.Qe3 Qc4= Black's active pieces compensatie for the pawn. 24...Nxe4 25.Bxe4 Bxe4 26.Rxe4= now a draw is assured. Qxf2+ 27.Kxf2 Rd2+ 28.R1e2 Rxe2+ 29.Rxe2 f6 30.Rd2 Re7 31.Ke3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
ChessAdmin--½–½A47
Posted by ChessAdmin at 8:49 PM

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