Annotated Game #349: Equal is not the same as easy

This second-round tournament game had a different trajectory from the previous two. Instead of having to rally after being significantly worse (and then winning), in this game as White I pass up various opportunities to gain a small advantage, as well as miss spotting a good tactic, keeping things very equal for almost the entire game. I would say there was too much play by rote early on, then perhaps a lack of ambition after that.

The other main issue was taking too much time with largely meaningless calculations on each move, in that the evaluation was not significantly different after many of them, regardless of the choice. This meant that near the end of the game I was down to only a few minutes and was in the position of responding to my opponent's initiative for too many moves. It only takes one miscalcuation or bad idea to give away the game, and that's what happened here. Engine evaluations of "equal" is not the same thing as "easy" to play, which this game is an excellent example of. My opponent did well to try to create practical chances in the latter part of the game, which gave me the opportunity to go wrong.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class C"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "82"] [GameId "2309127055636957"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 {extending the move symmetry / imitation.} 5. O-O {White's move order does not seem to matter much here, in terms of results.} (5. Nbd2 {is played a little more in the database, with the idea of guarding against ...Ne4. The trade-off is that the knight is committed to d2 early.}) 5... O-O 6. Nbd2 b6 {Black finally varies, although does not truly break the positional symmetry until the next move.} 7. b3 {continuing on autopilot with the original plan of going into the Colle-Zukertort, developing early with Bb2.} (7. e4 $1 {the engines agree that this is the only way to take advantage of this particular move-order. Black does not yet control e4, so the standard Colle e3-e4 break is a good one.} dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nbd7 9. Nxd6 cxd6 $14 {White now has the two bishops, and will have a pleasant middlegame with good prospects for all his pieces.}) 7... c5 8. Bb2 Ba6 {evidently with the idea of exchanging off White's pride bishop on d3. However, in response it is the right thing for White to exchange immediately, since Black's knight will be a little misplaced as a result.} 9. Qe2 (9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qe2 Nb4 11. c4 {with an even but easy game for White.}) 9... Bxd3 10. Qxd3 $11 Nc6 11. a3 {preventing the awkward ...Nb4, but perhaps leaving Black with a little too much freedom in the center.} Nd7 {looking to push e6-e5, it seems, but I move to challenge first in the center.} (11... cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Qc7 14. h3 $11 {White is OK, but Black has the better center and the prospect of pressure down the c-file.}) 12. c4 dxc4 $6 {it is easy to not play optimally when there is complex central tension.} (12... Rc8 {Black can develop his rook into the fight.}) (12... cxd4 $5 {capturing toward the center would be better, if Black wanted to release the central tension.}) 13. Nxc4 (13. Qxc4 $5 {I rejected this as being awkward for the queen and a natural place for the knight instead. However, the queen is fine on the square, and the Nd2 can go to e4.}) 13... Be7 14. Rfd1 Bf6 $2 15. Rab1 $6 {another rather rote move, keeping things equal. The engine shows a positional plus after the forcing sequences involving capturing on c5.} (15. dxc5 {dissolving the center, but to the benefit of White's now more active pieces.} Nxc5 (15... Bxb2 16. Nxb2 Nxc5 17. Qc2 $16 {the queen projects power down the c-file and also the b1-h7 diagonal. Black now has to be careful not to lose his hanging Nc6.} Qe8 18. b4 Nb7 19. Ng5 $16 {White now has lasting pressure and the initiative.}) 16. Qc2 Qe7 17. b4 Nd7 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 {the Nd7 is defended tactically.} (18... Nxf6 19. Nd6 $16) 19. Qe4 $16 {with the initiative.} (19. Rxd7 $4 Qxa1+ $19)) 15... Qc7 16. d5 {I focused pretty much only on this idea, not on the dxc5 option, which is still best if not as good as before.} exd5 17. Qxd5 {superficially the queen looks active, but Black has no weaknesses here.} Rad8 18. Qf5 {I thought this was the only move.} (18. Qd6 $5 {offers a trade, with the idea of deploying back to the kingside if refused.}) 18... g6 $2 {this defensive move was unnecessary and left open a tactic, which I failed to spot.} 19. Qc2 $6 {again playing it safe, after not correctly calculating that the tactical option in fact works, although I had seen the basic idea.} (19. Rxd7 $1 {the sequence begins with a straightforward removal of the guard theme, although it becomes fairly complex.} gxf5 (19... Rxd7 {the straightforward continuation.} 20. Qxf6 $18 {and the mate threat on the long diagonal ensures White will win more material.}) (19... Bxb2 {tranposes to the main variation after} 20. Rxc7 gxf5 21. Rxc6 $18) 20. Rxc7 Bxb2 21. Rxc6 Bg7 $18) 19... Nde5 {the position is now very balanced, so I decide to simplify via exchanges.} 20. Nfxe5 Nxe5 21. Nxe5 Bxe5 22. g3 (22. Bxe5 {is more in keeping with the strategic decision to simplify.} Qxe5 {during the game, I didn't want to give my opponent such a nice-looking queen placement, but it is not significant in reality.} 23. g3 $11) 22... b5 23. Rbc1 {again, it was probably easier to further simplify, although the evaluation is not different. In any case, my opponent does it for me.} (23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. a4 $11) 23... Bxb2 24. Qxb2 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rd8 26. Rc1 {in fact the best, according to the engine. Pressure is increased on the c-file and I avoid exchanging into a queen endgame, which would be easier for Black to play with the 3-2 queenside majority.} Rd5 27. Qe2 {the move is fine, but I was starting to get tired of calculating and low on time. Just looking to blockade on the c-file may have been simpler.} Qd7 {protecting b5 and doubling on the d-file, which I now have to watch.} 28. Qf3 {pressuring d5 while keeping control of d1.} h5 29. a4 (29. h4 {I never thought of this idea, which would have helped later in blocking Black's pawn advance. This is a routine type of response in master-level games.}) 29... bxa4 30. bxa4 {while I continue to play correctly, from an evaluation standpoint, Black in effect has the initiative.} Rf5 31. Qd1 {of course I would be happy simplifying to a drawn rook endgame.} Qb7 32. Rb1 {another fine move, but still leaving me with a more complex situation to deal with.} (32. Rc4) (32. h4) 32... Qc7 33. Qb3 {I was down to only a few minutes on the clock now, unfortunately.} Kh7 34. Qc3 (34. Qc4 {blocking the c-pawn and controlling the 4th rank before Black could play ...h4 would have sealed the draw.}) 34... h4 {still completely equal, but creating threats that I now fail to parry.} 35. Qc4 (35. Rb4 $5 {would have been a nice resource, based on the pinned c-pawn.}) 35... hxg3 {now time pressure makes itself felt in my calculations.} 36. Qh4+ $2 {I thought this simplified, but it in fact loses.} (36. hxg3 Rh5 37. Kg2 $11) 36... Rh5 $1 $19 37. Qxg3 {Black of course does not have to trade queens, and can make more threats quicker than I can. The initial problem, which I spotted too late, was that with the open g-file my queen can be pinned against the Kg1.} Qe7 {threatening ...Rg5} 38. Kf1 Qe4 $1 {with a double threat against a4 and h1.} 39. Rb8 {a desperate bid for counterplay, which is too slow, due to my open king.} (39. Ra1 {would resist longer, but I felt Black would inevitably win.} Qh1+ 40. Qg1 Qc6 $19 {the passed c-pawn, combined with Black's excellent queen and rook, will decide things.}) 39... Qxa4 40. Qc7 Qd1+ 41. Kg2 Rg5+ 0-1