Annotated Game #368: Play it again, Colle

This next tournament game started out very similarly to the first-round Annotated Game #366. Although it is only an equal line in the Colle System, having just played the same opening successfully - and understanding where the previous middlegame went wrong - I felt confident and comfortable in it. My opponent by contrast was thinking on his own as early as move 3 and got into trouble coming out of the opening. By making moves that visually looked normal and good in an unfamiliar setup, he instead trapped his own queen and had to sacrifice a knight for a pawn to extricate it. After that the pressure was off for me, since I just had to follow a strategy of properly mobilizing my extra piece and simplifying down under favorable circumstances. I kept my focus, however, and found some optimal intermediate moves while never playing anything unsafe. A clean game from my end was certainly welcome.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D04"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2351903693869100"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c5 {this was played after some thought; my opponent did not seem familiar with facing the Colle.} 4. dxc5 e6 5. a3 Bxc5 6. b4 Be7 7. Bb2 O-O $11 {the most played in the database, by far; my earlier round game featured ...a5.} 8. Be2 {I'll need to castle, so might as well do it sooner. Developing with Nbd2 is equivalent according to the engine, with the idea of playing c2-c4 prior to castling.} Bd7 {now out of the database. This seemed to me at the time a bit passive placement for the bishop, but it now could support b7-b5. Therefore I played} 9. c4 {before it could be stopped.} (9. O-O b5 10. Ne5 a6 11. Bd3 $11 {would be an alternate strategic way to play in the center/kingside.}) 9... Qc7 $6 {this commits the queen early on a file which will soon be opened.} 10. Nbd2 Rd8 $6 {taking away a retreat square for the queen.} 11. cxd5 (11. Be5 Bd6 {I rejected this line after seeing the bishop interposition, not wanting to exchange pieces, but did not consider} 12. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 13. cxd5 exd5 $16 {although I've given up my beautiful dark-square bishop - which I hadn't wanted to do originally - Black's multiple structural weaknesses would be well worth it in exchange.}) 11... Nxd5 $2 {the centralized knight looks good optically, but now the queen is out of squares.} (11... exd5 {was necessary to give the queen an escape square on e6.} 12. Rc1 Qb6 $14) 12. Rc1 $1 {I made sure this was safe before playing, although it was "obvious".} Nc6 {there is nothing better than having the knight sacrifice itself to protect the queen.} (12... Qb6 13. Bd4 Qd6 14. Bc5 $18) (12... Bc6 13. b5 Qb6 14. bxc6 Qxb2 15. Rb1 Qxa3 16. cxb7 $18) 13. b5 $18 Qb6 14. bxc6 Qxb2 15. Nc4 {I played this intermediate move after a good deal of thought; it is validated by the engine. The knight gets to a better square with tempo, while preserving the a-pawn.} (15. cxd7 {would cash in the material immediately and is also fine, in objective terms.} Qxa3 16. Ne5 $18 {While White has a big plus, I didn't like giving Black two connect passed pawns on the queenside for counterplay.}) 15... Qb5 16. cxd7 (16. Nd4 {I only saw after I played the text move. During the game I kicked myself mentally for not playing it instead, but the engine evaluates it as only slightly better.} Qc5 17. cxd7 Bf6 18. O-O $18) 16... Qxd7 17. O-O $18 {Now it is only a question of mobilizing my extra piece effectively. I am not afraid of Black's 2-1 majority on the queenside, which is his only positive imbalance.} b5 $6 {this is premature, driving the knight to a better square and making the b-pawn a target.} 18. Nce5 Qb7 19. Qb3 {the queen development consolidates nicely for White.} a6 20. Nc6 {forcing a piece exchange, which brings me closer to victory by simplification.} Rdc8 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Nd4 g6 {evidently played to avoid potential future back-rank problems.} 23. Bf3 {mobilizing the bishop on the long diagonal.} Rc5 24. Nc6 {I took my time here; this is the most forcing/pressing move.} Qd6 25. Nb4 {now the Nd5 is once more pinned and under additional pressure.} Rac8 26. Rxc5 {time for more simplification.} Rxc5 27. Nxd5 (27. Rd1 {immediately is even better, adding pressure and pinning again.}) 27... exd5 28. Rd1 Qc7 29. Bxd5 {I spent a lot of time here making sure this was safe, due to my own back rank. I was fatigued enough to make it slower than necessary, but I had the time.} a5 (29... Rc1 30. g3 $18) (29... Rc3 30. Qb2 Qe5 31. Rd4 $18) 30. g3 {no more back-rank problems.} Kf8 31. Kg2 {safety first} a4 32. Qb4 {the pin against the king is the final nail in the coffin.} f5 $2 {Black was lost anyway, this makes it immediate after} 33. Rc1 {and the rook is doomed.} 1-0