00024.5.08
Analyzed by National Master Corey Russell
1. d4
Personally,
I don't recommend my students playing 1.d4
until
they are about class "A" strength.
1.d4 very often
leads
to strategic play, and 1.e4 is often direct and tactical.
The
problem is, there are more strategical concepts than
tactical
in chess, so 1.d4 is harder to play well.
I know
some
players avoid 1.e4 because of the theory involved, but
once
you understand positions resulting of 1.e4, it really
does
help understanding 1.d4. This was true
for myself.
1... d5
2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3
Already
a strategical miscue happens. Because
of black's
inaccurate
move 2, white can get nice central control and
space
with 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nb6 5. Nf3. The
pawns on d4
and e4
are called the "ideal" pawn center.
3... e6
4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3
Unfortunately,
this is one of those positions where the
fianchetto
of the bishop isn't very effective.
White's
bishop
is blocked by the black d-pawn, and there is no way
to
dislodge it except by an eventual e4.
But if white does
that,
then white will be obliged to recapture with a piece,
and
this leaves white's d-pawn isolated.
See all the strategical
concepts
I was talking about? In this position,
much more
promising
is quick development with 5. Bg5, then a later e3,
Bd3,
Nf3, etc. The text should give black a
nice game.
5...
Bb4 6. Bd2
Unnecessarily
passive. Quick king-side castling is
white's
best
chance for an advantage. Therefore 6.
Bg2 is the best
chance.
6. ... Ne4 is not really a threat, because 7. Qb3
defends
against the threat and counter-attacks.
This kind
of
defense-counterattack tactic is fairly common in 1.e4.
6...
Bxc3
Black
shouldn't have released the pressure.
Simply O-O is
logical
and strong. Black could then follow it
up with ...Re8,
...c6,
...Bf5, ...Nbd7, with a nice game because of the clamp
on the
central e4 square. Only if white wastes
a tempo with
a3
should black capture the knight at c3.
7. Bxc3
Ne4 8. Bg2 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Be6 10. e4
?!
Definitely dubious. White is opening up
the center before
he's
completed development. Luckily for
white, black didn't
play
the most active line.
10...
dxe4 11. Bxe4 c6
Stops
white threat on b7, but much more interesting was
11. ...
O-O!? 12 Bxb7 Bd5! 13. Bxa8 Re8+ 14. Ne2 Bxa8, with
a clear
advantage for black! Note that if white
tries
15.
O-O, then white will be extremely weak on the light
squares. Otherwise, 15. Rg1?? loses to 15. ...
Bf3. This
line
just illustrates the dangers of opening up the center
too
early.
12. Ne2
Nd7 13. Bg2 Nf6 14. Nf4
Not
good. 14. ... Bc4! would pose white
some tough problems
...this
would prevent white from castling, and threatens ...O-O
and
...Re8, which would be devestating.
14...
O-O 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. O-O h6 17. Qb3 Qd7 18. Rfe1 Rae8
19. Bh3
Nd5 20. c4 Nb6 21. d5 cxd5 22. cxd5 Nxd5 23. Rad1 Qc6
24. Rc1
Qd7 25. Rc5 b6
The
losing move for black. Of course 25.
... Kh8 would leave
black
in a tenetable position.
26. Rxd5
Qxd5 27. Bxe6+
Nice
tactic! The rest of the game wasn't the
most accurate,
but was
sufficient to convert the point.
27...
Qxe6 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Qxe6+ Kh7 30. Qe7 Rc8 31. Qxa7 Rc1+
32. Kg2
b5 33. Qb7 Rc5 34. Qe7 Rc4 35. Qe2 Rb4 36. a3 Rc4
37. Qe5
b4 38. Qf5+ Kg8 39.Qe6+ Kh7 40. Qxc4 bxa3 41. Qd3+ Kg8
42.
Qxa3 Kf7 43. Qb3+ Kf6 44. f4 Ke7
Since
white already has mating material, simply going for
mate is
sufficient. Therefore, cutting off
black's king is
logical,
with either Qb6 or Qd5, and simply advancing white's king.
45. f5
Kd6 46. Qe6+ Kc5 47. Kf3 Kd4 48. Kf4 Kc5 49. Ke4 Kb4
50. Qc6
Kb3 51. Qc5 g5 52. Kd3 g4 53. Qc4+ Kb2 54. Qc3+ Ka2
55. Kc2
h5 56. Qb2#
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