Jiang, Louie (2202) - Barbeau, Sylvain (2404) [C74] Montreal Pere Noel (4), 29.12.2008 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Bg4 This move isn t the best choice; it s a rather dubious one. This pin works mainly when white had advanced d4 since it increases the pressure in the center; otherwise the bishop is rather misplaced here and white can win time by attacking it. The solid approach is 5...Bd7. 6.d4 White not only fails to take advantage of the early bishop sortie but makes it useful; the bishop indirectly presses the center. Better would have been 6.h3 Bh5 After 6...Bxf3 7.Qxf3 white already has a large advantage due to his control over the light squares and his pair of bishops. 7.d3 Nf6 8.Nbd2 Be7 9.Nf1. With Ng3 white has arranged his pieces well with a gain of time by harassing black s bishop. Note that the bishop is badly placed on g6 since in general it belongs on the a8-h1 or c8-h3 diagonal. 6...b5 7.Bb3 Nf6 Heading for the endgame with 7...exd4 8.cxd4 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Qf6 10.Be3 Qxf3 11.gxf3 favors white since he has the pair of bishops and control over the center; his slightly inferior structure isn t that important since black is unable to take advantage of it. 8.d5 This advance is a little hasty and gives black comfortable play. It would have been better to maintain the tension in the center and simply develop the pieces. After 8.Be3 Be7 9.0 0 0 0 10.Nbd2 white is slightly better since he has greater influence over the center. 8...Ne7 This move isn t a mistake but 8...Na5 9.Bc2 c6 looks like a more appropriate choice since sooner or later black has to challenge the center with c6. The point is that by placing the knight on a5 black leaves the e7 square available for the bishop. 9.Bc2 White is not anticipating the future course of the game. As we previously mentioned, sooner or later black has to advance c6. In this case control over the d5 square is quite important so the bishop is better placed on b3. Therefore a better solution was to defend the e4 pawn with 9.Qd3; after all this is a developing move. Always try to anticipate the opponent plans and act accordingly. After 9 Ng6 10.0 0 Be7 11.h3 Bd7 12.Be3 0 0 13.Nbd2 the game remains complicated but white s pieces are better placed than in the game. 1
9...h6 This is a pointless move that loses time and only weakens the kingside. Better would have been the immediate 9...Ng6 followed by Be7. 10.h3 Bd7 This is a good call since the bishop has nothing to do on the kingside. 11.Be3 c6 After a rather inaccurate opening, black starts to play consistently. By challenging white s center black is making more room for his pieces leaving white without a space advantage. 12.dxc6 Bxc6 13.Nbd2 Ng6 14.Qe2 Be7 15.0 0 0 This is a bold yet dubious decision. White goes for a sharp game; he simply intends to advance the kingside pawns in order to open the side. From a psychological point of view this is a good decision since it tells the stronger opponent that white is not afraid of a real fight; he is not playing for a draw. Still, from a positional point of view it isn t such a great decision since it is quite obvious that black is able to create dangerous threats on the queenside sooner; therefore he will have the initiative. We should act on positional grounds instead of psychological ones. The solid approach 15.0 0 0 0 16.a4 was better. 15...Qc7 16.Ne1 Qb7 It would have been better to go ahead with the queenside play at once with 16...b4 17.c4 a5 since the queen is better placed on c7 than b7. 17.f3 2
17 a5 This looks normal since after completing development black is starting his queenside game. Still, white can do the same on the kingside and since black lost time with Qb7 the chances of creating dangerous threats are even. Therefore it makes sense to delay white s expansion on the kingside before starting the queenside game. When playing on opposite wings it makes sense to delay the opponent s play on his wing, particularly if it can be delayed for several moves. Better would have been 17...Nh5 threatening Ng3 so white s next move is rather forced 18.Nf1 0 0. Compared with the game black is in better shape. He has a lot of time to prepare the queenside game since on the kingside white has a hard time making progress; any g4 advance is met with Nf4. 18.g4 White doesn t give a second chance and takes control over the h5 square. 18 0 0 19.h4 Rfb8 20.Nd3 White is improving the piece s position but it would have been better to go ahead with the kingside game at once. This could be done by 20.g5 Nh5 21.gxh6 b4 22.c4 b3 23.axb3 a4 24.hxg7 axb3 25.Bb1 with a complicated game. The main advantage of opening the kingside is that black is unable to bring his knights to the queenside since they have to defend the kingside. Also after any f4 advance white is able to create dangerous threats. Note that 20.h5, trying to open the kingside with g5, is weak since after 20 Nf4 21.Bxf4 exf4 although the game remains complicated, black has better chances to gain the initiative since without the dark squares bishop white will have problems in defending and attacking. 20...b4 21.c4 Nd7 Also good was 21...a4. 22.g5 h5 This is the point of black s previous move: for the moment he closes the kingside. 23.f4 exf4 24.Nxf4 b3 Black is concentrating on queenside play, but this decision has a drawback; it leaves the dark squares bishop passive for a long time. Therefore it would have made sense to play 24...Nxf4 25.Bxf4 g6 followed by Bf8-g7. 25.axb3 a4 3
26.Qxh5 This is a mistake that allows black to gain the initiative. White can t afford to lose valuable time in order to gain an unimportant pawn. When the attacks are on opposite wings every tempo is extremely important. Since black has already managed to open files on the queenside, white should think of defense. After all with all his pieces around the king, black s chances of a successful attack aren t that great; an attack has chances of success if we have more pieces in attack than the defender. Better would have been 26.Nxg6 fxg6 27.Bd4 axb3 28.Bb1 Nc5. The main advantage of choosing this line is that white makes sure that black is unable to bring the dark squares bishop into play. Also, he can use the f file in order to organize counter play. 26...axb3 27.Bb1 Nde5 28.Nxg6 fxg6 Worse would have been 28...Nxg6 29.Bd4 since black lacks a piece for an attack. 29.Qe2 Rc8 30.Bd4 There is no time for 30.h5 since after 30 Nxc4 31.Nxc4 Bxe4 black has a decisive advantage. 30...Nxc4 31.Nxc4 Bb5 32.Bd3 Better would have been 32.Bc3 although after 32 Rxc4 33.Qf3 Rac8 black has a strong attack. 32...Ra4 Black could win the queen by force at this point. We are quite sure that black was calculating the line 32...d5 33.exd5 Qxd5 34.Kb1 Bxc4 35.Bc3 Bxd3+ 36.Qxd3 Ra1+ 37.Kxa1 Qa8+ 38.Kb1 Qa2+ 39.Kc1 Bb4 40.Qd8+ Rxd8 41.Rxd8+ Kh7 42.Bxb4 Qa1+ 43.Kd2 Qxh1 44.Bc3 Qxh4 45.Rd5 quite easily; it is a single branch line so at this level shouldn t be a problem. Still, the resulting position is draw since white has a fortress; his pieces are well coordinated to keep both pawns defended and black s king out of play. Therefore the decision to avoid entering this line was correct. 4
33.Kd2 Even now it was not too late for 33.Bc3 although after 33 Bxc4 34.Rhe1 Bd8 black has a strong attack. Still it would have been better since now white is lost. 33...Bxc4 Black misses the chance to gain a decisive advantage. After 33...Rcxc4 34.Bxc4+ Neither would 34.Bc3 save white since after 34 Rxc3 35.Kxc3 Bxd3 36.Kxd3 d5 black has a devastating attack. 34...Rxc4 35.Ke3 Rxd4 black should win without any trouble. 34.Rc1 d5 This is the right call; black is opening the center exposing white king. 35.exd5 More chances were offered by 35.Qg4 Re8 36.h5 Bxg5+ 37.Qxg5 Bxd3 38.Rc7 Qxc7 39.Qxd5+ Qf7 40.Kxd3. Although black has a large advantage the game is not over yet. 35...Qxd5 It looks that white was inspired since black misses another chance to finish the game. After 35...Bb4+ 36.Bc3 Bxd5 37.Rh3 Ra2 there is no defense against Bc3 or Rb2. 36.Qe5 White takes his chance and enters the endgame; although it s an unpleasant one he has good practical chances. 36 Qxe5 5
37.Bxc4+ White is making the wrong choice. This move allows black to gain a decisive advantage quite easily; although in the game he failed to do so. The main drawback to this move is that it allows black to bring his pieces into play; therefore obtaining a strong attack even without the queens. A better alternative was to take the queen not allowing black to activate his pieces at once. After 37.Bxe5 Rd8 otherwise black has no advantage 38.Rh3 Bb5 39.Rd1 Rxh4 this unexpected blow allows black to gain the advantage 40.Rxh4 Rxd3+ 41.Kc1 Bxg5+ 42.Rf4 black has a large advantage. Still. The presence of opposite color bishops gives white good practical chances. 37...Rcxc4 Black returns the favor and fails to take advantage of white s mistake. He had a forced line that allows him to win white s bishop. After 37...Raxc4 38.Bxe5 Rd8+ 39.Ke3 Bc5+ 40.Kf3 At 40.Ke2 Re4+ wins the bishop. 40...Rd3+ 41.Ke2 After 41.Kg2 Rg4+ 42.Kh2 Rxh4+ 43.Kg2 Rg4+ 44.Kh2 Re4 black also wins the bishop. 41...Re3+ 42.Kd2 Rxc1 white is lost since he loses the bishop. 38.Bxe5 Rxh4 39.Rxh4 Bxg5+ 40.Kc3 Rxh4 41.Rg1 Bf6 Weaker would have been 41...Rh5 42.Bd6 Kf7 43.Kxb3 since black retains only an edge; this should hardly be sufficient for a win. 42.Bxf6 Rh3+ Of course not 42...gxf6 43.Rxg6+ Kf7 44.Rg3 since black loses the b pawn; the position is equal. 43.Kd4 gxf6 44.Rxg6+ Kf7 45.Rg2 Ke6 After a forced line we have reached a rook s endgame where black has good winning chances; white has a hard time preventing the f pawn from advancing and keeping the b pawn defended. 46.Ke4 Rh4+ 47.Kf3 Kf5 48.Rd2 Ke5 Better would have been 48...Rh1 with the idea of playing Rb1 in order to keep white s rook passive. 49.Re2+ Kd5 50.Rf2 Nothing is gained with 50.Rd2+ since after 50 Kc4 51.Ke3 f5 52.Rf2 f4+ 53.Ke4 Of course after 53.Rxf4+ Rxf4 54.Kxf4 Kd3 white is lost. 53...f3+ 54.Kxf3 Kd3 black retains a decisive advantage. 50...Rc4 This is a bad decision that allows white to strengthen his defense by activating the rook. 6
Better would have been 50...f5 51.Kg3 Rg4+ 52.Kf3 Rc4 and black retains the decisive advantage. 51.Ke3 White loses the previously mentioned opportunity. Better would have been 51.Rd2+ Rd4 After 51...Ke6 52.Rd3 Rh4 53.Kg3 white has nothing to fear since it is black who has to put the rook on defense; he has to defend the b pawn. Also after 51...Kc5 52.Ke3 f5 53.Rd8 white manages to activate the rook, getting sufficient counter play. 52.Rh2 Rd1 53.Rh8 and white manages to activate the rook. Black has a hard time making further progress; for example after the tempting 53 Rb1 allows white to drive black s king back after 54.Rd8+ Ke6 Of course not 54...Kc4 since after 55.Rc8+ Kd3 56.Rc3+ the position is draw. 55.Re8+ Kf7 56.Re2. 51...Ke5 52.Kd3 Rc6 This is another inaccuracy that allows white to further strengthen his defense. Better would have been 52...Rg4 53.Re2+ Kf4 54.Re8 f5 55.Rb8 Rg3+ 56.Kd2 Rh3 and black retains the decisive advantage. 53.Re2+ Kf5 54.Kd4 White returns the favor; he fails to understand that only by activating the king is he able to get counter chances. After 54.Rf2+ Kg4 55.Rg2+ Kf3 56.Rg6 black has a hard time making further improvements. The point is that black is on defense; the game should end up in a draw. 54...Rc2 55.Re1 Rf2 Black is defending against the checks along the f file and prepares for an advancing f pawn. There was no need for it since the immediate 55...Kg4 56.Rg1+ Kf3 57.Rf1+ Rf2 58.Rb1 Kf4 59.Kc4 Rf3 worked just fine. Note that the tempting 55 Rxb2 is bad since after 56.Rf1+ Ke6 57.Re1+ Kf7 58.Kc3 white gains the b pawn and has sufficient time to return with the king. 56.Kc4 Rf3 57.Re8 White is finally activating the rook but this time it is too late since the king is badly placed; it should be in front of the f pawn. 57 Kf4 58.Rb8 f5 59.Kd4 Kg3 60.Rg8+ Kf2 61.Rb8 After 61.Kc4 f4 black easily wins. 61...Ke2 62.Rc8 Neither would 62.Rh8 Rd3+ 63.Kc4 Re3 save white. 7
62...Rd3+ 63.Ke5 Rd2 This is a good call; black gives up the f pawn to win the b pawn. The point is that white s king is too far away so winning is quite easy. 64.Kxf5 Rxb2 65.Ke4 After 65.Rb8 Kd3 black also wins. 65...Rc2 66.Rh8 Rc4+ Black decides to place the rook behind the pawn; on general grounds this is the right call. Still, there was no need for it since the passed pawn is already unstoppable. After 66...b2 67.Rb8 Kd2 followed by Kc1 white has to give up the rook. 67.Kd5 Rb4 68.Kc5 Rb7 69.Kc6 b2 This is the point of black s previous moves, he enters by force intp a theoretically won endgame; queen against rook. 70.Rh2+ Kf3 71.Kxb7 b1q+ 72.Kc7 Qf5 73.Kc6 A stiffer defense would have been 73.Rh6 Ke4 but still black should win with no trouble. 73...Qe6+ 74.Kb7 Qd7+ Since the rook is lost in a couple of moves white resigned. 0 1 CONCLUSIONS: 1. Always try to anticipate the opponent s plans and act in accordance. 2. We should act on positional grounds instead of psychological ones. 3. When playing on opposite wings it makes sense to delay the opponent s play on his wing, particularly if this is delayed for several moves. 4. When the attack is on opposite wings every tempo is extremely important. 5. An attack has chances of success if we have more pieces in attack than the defender. 8