Annotated Game #314: Opening disasters will happen, drive on

This next tournament game features an opening blunder which neither I (until I had actually moved the piece) nor my opponent spotted, thankfully for me. No surprise that it occurred in a new, unfamiliar opening setup that was not particularly good for me as White to begin with. One of the advantages of opening study is knowing that you are safe until the end of a "book" sequence you know well. Checking for tactics early on otherwise is necessary, something I fail to do as early as move 7. Luckily I had enough of a poker face and both my opponent and I moved quickly past the blunder point, to an even game. Although I miss some ideas and tactics later in what became a fast-paced open game, I will give myself credit for finding the one correct defense on move 22, then the queen sac idea which wins the game.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class A"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2188671080808509"] {[%evp 0,13,13,14,14,15,50,37,38,5,-12,-21,-36,-42,-29,-316]} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. h3 {the idea was to try to play a Colle-Zukertort type setup without having the annoying ...Bg4 as an option for Black.} (4. dxc5 $5 {directly challenges Black's reversed Queen's Gambit.}) 4... Nf6 5. b3 $6 {unfortunately this is a premature weakening on the queenside.} (5. Bd3 {would transpose to a line that has been played by GM Hikaru Nakamura in rapid, with} c4 {the critical response.} 6. Be2 Bf5 7. b3 b5 8. a4 {and the engines favor Black slightly.}) 5... cxd4 {correctly exploiting the situation.} 6. exd4 (6. Nxd4 $2 e5 $17) 6... Bf5 {now ...Nb4 is a threat to c2} 7. Bb5 $4 {a blunder, due to unfamiliarity with the position and no tactics checking. Nc3 normally would be available to protect the Bb5, but not now.} (7. Bd3 $15 {would admit the opening was not a success and limit the damage.}) 7... a6 $2 {however my opponent has the same tunnel vision I did, only focusing on the dynamics involving the pinned knight.} (7... Qa5+ {wins a piece.}) 8. Bxc6+ $11 {played quickly} bxc6 {the position is now very even.} 9. O-O (9. Ba3 $5 {would pose some issues for Black, ruling out advance of the e-pawn.}) 9... e6 10. c4 {played after some thought. Black could force a hanging pawns structure by exchanging on c4, but I have enough pieces to support them properly.} h6 {putting to rest any ideas by White of chasing the bishop with Nh4 to exchange it.} 11. Nc3 Bd6 12. c5 {a long think here. Normally this sort of advance is not worth releasing the central tension, even if it gains space, but I thought I could control e5 and restrain Black from undermining d4.} Bb8 13. Qe2 {it was not clear to me how best to follow up, but I wanted to control e5 and developing the queen seemed reasonable.} (13. Re1 {is more logical, first moving the rook which is doing nothing and saving the queen placement for later.}) (13. Ne5 $5 {immediately is also possible.} Bxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 15. Qd4 $11) 13... O-O 14. Ne5 {physically blocking the e-pawn from potentially advancing, while centralizing the knight.} Qc8 15. Na4 {more thought here. The fork threat on b6 is obvious, but it is still annoying for Black to deal with. Also, the Nc3 is not doing much else at the moment.} Ba7 $6 {locking away the bishop like this is detrimental to Black, but I did not find the best way to exploit it.} (15... Ra7) (15... Nd7 {is also viable, for if} 16. Nxd7 $6 (16. f4 $11) 16... Qxd7 17. Nb6 Qc7 18. g3 Ra7 $15) 16. Bd2 (16. Nb6 $1 {is found by the engine. When originally examining the position, I did not bother looking further than the exchange on b6, assuming the pawn would be weak.} Bxb6 17. cxb6 Qb7 18. Ba3 $1 {is the key, gaining a tempo by attacking the Rf8.} Rfd8 19. Bc5 $18 {the b-pawn is now passed and strong, despite being doubled.}) 16... Nd7 $6 {neither of us spotted the Nb6 idea, evidently.} (16... Ne4) 17. f4 {maintaining equality.} (17. Nxd7 $1 Qxd7 18. Nb6 Bxb6 19. cxb6 Rfb8 20. Ba5 {is similar, as Black is unable to effectively attack the b-pawn, lacking the right minor pieces.}) 17... f6 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Ba5 $6 {the idea was to support Nb6, but this is unnecessary and takes two of my pieces out of the fight on the queenside.} (19. Nb6 $16 {is still good, if not as decisive.}) 19... g5 $2 {this, however, is overly aggressive.} (19... Rae8 $17 {simply removing the possibility of a fork on b6, while preparing to push the e-pawn, would give Black some advantage.}) 20. g4 $6 (20. Nb6 $1 {it is ironic that after so much preparation of this move, now that it should win I don't play it.} Bxb6 21. cxb6 $18 {I still was blind to the power the advanced b-pawn would have.}) 20... Be4 21. Bd2 $2 {incorrectly giving up on the Nb6 idea. Black should now be able to consolidate his position in the center and kingside, gaining space after ...f5 or ...e5.} Qh7 $6 {almost the right idea, but this gives me a key tempo to bring back the knight for defense.} (21... Qg7 $1 {lining up on the unprotected d4 pawn and threatening ...f5, for example} 22. fxg5 fxg5 23. Be3 e5 $19) 22. Nc3 {I'll give myself credit here for the backwards saving move.} gxf4 $6 {too aggressive again.} 23. Nxe4 (23. Bxf4 {immediately is better, seizing the diagonals.} Bb8 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 (24... dxe4 25. Qc4 $18) 25. Qxe4 dxe4 26. Bxh6 $16) 23... dxe4 $6 {still playing for the win by keeping the queens on the board, but this is more beneficial to me after} 24. Bxf4 (24. Rxf4 {also works and the engine rates better, but I was starting to worry about my remaining clock time and the bishop recapture looked like a safer bet.}) 24... e5 25. Be3 $6 {the safe choice, blocking the diagonal to the king.} (25. dxe5 Bxc5+ {is what deterred me, but after} 26. Kg2 fxe5 27. Bxe5 $18 {material is even but White has a won endgame and much better attacking possibilities.}) 25... exd4 26. Bxd4 Rad8 27. Qc4+ $11 {while the position is still dynamically balanced, Black needs to take care with his king position.} Qf7 28. Qc3 {the Q+B battery poses challenging problems for Black to solve and causing him to use up significant clock time. The engine however has no problem abandoning the f-pawn to its fate for defense.} Qe7 (28... Qd5 {and now} 29. Bxf6 $2 (29. Be3 $11) 29... Qxc5+ 30. Qxc5 Bxc5+ 31. Kh1 Rd3 $15) 29. b4 {I debated between this and the better} (29. Rf5 $14 {which physically blocks the f-pawn.}) (29. Rxf6 $4 Rxd4 $1 {wins a piece, thanks to the c5 pawn being en prise and a lurking skewer on the a7-g1 diagonal.} (29... Rxf6 {is the variation I calculated, which is still not advantageous, so I avoided it.} 30. Bxf6 Qxc5+ 31. Qxc5 Bxc5+ 32. Kh1 $11)) 29... f5 30. gxf5 $11 (30. Rxf5 $11 {is equivalent, but gets a pair of rooks off.}) 30... Bb8 {getting the bishop back in the game.} 31. Kh1 {I used up some time here making sure this was safe and that I had a clear plan afterwards. Opening the g-file provides obvious follow-up for the White rooks.} Rf7 $6 (31... Kh7 $11 {Black needed to follow a similar logic here.}) 32. Rg1+ $14 (32. Rf2 $18 {is found by the engine, maintaining protection of the f-pawn while clearing the way for the other rook to swing to the g-file. However, I did not have time remaining on the clock for subtlety.}) 32... Kf8 $4 {this loses, although putting the king on the edge of the board without piece cover probably looked worse to my opponent.} (32... Kh7 $11) 33. Rg2 $6 {Black can still defend (with an only move) after this, but it was the best I could find.} (33. Rae1 $18 {is the subtle-looking first choice of the engine.}) (33. Rg6 $18 {is the improvement to the Rg2 idea, moving with an attack on h6; Black cannot handle the multiple threats.} Rxf5 {this does not work after} 34. Rag1 Qf7 35. Qe3 $18) 33... Rxd4 $2 {an interesting idea that almost works} (33... Rxf5 {was Black's only defense.} 34. Rag1 Qe6 $11 {covering g8:} 35. Rg8+ Qxg8 36. Rxg8+ Kxg8 {leaves White with insufficient attacking material.}) 34. Qxd4 $18 Be5 {and my opponent evidently missed the queen sac after} 35. Rag1 $1 {as with mate threatened on g8, the Qd4 can be left en prise. There is now no defense.} Rg7 36. Qxe4 {now I was able to focus enough on consolidation of the position to make this "small" best move.} Rxg2 37. Rxg2 1-0