00048.6.18
Analyzed by Expert Tim Smith
1.
e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6 3. b4
cxb4
The
Sicilian Defense Wing Gambit Deferred is a rare line
in the
Sicilian because both sides would end up with a
slightly
poor position in their different respects with
long-term
advantages siding with Black. The
natural 3. d4
is a
much better response for white increasing his advantage
in
central space while not making any positional or tactical
compromises.
Now
Black has two options. 1. He should try to retain
the
extra pawn, which is not a difficult task to do in
this
variation making it a slightly incorrect gambit
(not as
bad as the Morra though) or 2. He
should attempt
to gain
development and initiative with Nf6 (the stronger
line -
for details, look at annotation about move 4. Nf6).
4.
d4 Nf6
5. Nbd2 g6?! 6. Bb2?
Bg7
Immediately,
White claims the black central squares as his
with 4.
d4. He intends maximum piece deployment
and speedy
development,
while gaining space. Arguably, it's the best
move on
the board.
4...Nf6
a move earlier, declining the gambit, was probably
a
stronger opening line theoretically as opposed to the
accepting
of the gambit. Typically the best way
to refute
a
gambit is to accept it as you did, but not if you can
gain so
much time, development and static advantages in pawn
structure
that you can create a won game before the opening
ends. Observe: After 3. Nf6, a line might be 4. bxc5 Nxe4
5.
cxd6 Nc6 6. Bd3 (required in order
to keep black's
advantage
in time less felt and because the queen's bishop
can
come out actively on b2, not requiring the movement of
the
d-pawn) Nf6 7. Nc3 e5 8. d7+
Bxd7 9. 0-0 Bd6, and
you
have an advantage in time (2 tempi as black!) with open
lines,
attacking chances, and an advantage in pawn structure.
A
master would typically consider those advantages unrealistic
with
perfect play by white, but it's very achievable after
3...Nf6
in this opening variation which is a main reason
this
line hasn't been analyzed in depth over the years.
But,
since you accepted the gambit on move 3, 4. Nf6 was
a
logical and required move.
I
question your idea at move 5, not just the specific move
you
made. It's not a bad idea
certainly. A fianchettoed
bishop
is needed in the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian
to
coordinate a queenside attack, but in this precise
position,
due to all the open lines not usually there as
well as
a pawn you're now trying to hold on to, 5. e6 would
seem
more logical setting up a Scheveningen-type formation,
the
purpose being mainly to allow the queen's knight to
come
out without being harassed, which otherwise would occur
by Bb5
and d5. Observe the resulting position
after you
play 5.
e6 with the following line: 6. Bd3 Be7
7. 0-0
0-0 8. Qe2
Nc6 9. Bb2 (mainly threatening
10. d5 with
the
unleashing of a dangerous bishop harping on the king)
d5 in which you're successfully defending your
b4 pawn
remaining
a pawn ahead, while now possessing the c4 outpost
on your
half-open c-file.
6.
Bb2 was the first positional blunder by
white. White
should've
put the question to the limiting pawn by Rb1 and
an
eventual a3 because it's not easy to defend it after your
faulty
5th move. Another reason it's important
to eliminate
that
annoying b-pawn is to allow him to advance to c4
increasing
his spatial plus. The text is a move
without
specific
purpose. It's unclear yet where the
queen's bishop
should
reside. Also, later in the game in
order to activate
that
bishop, it requires giving up control of e5 with a pawn
as well
as loses time by not attacking with the advance.
7.
Bd3 0-0 8. Qc1? Bd7?
9. d5 e6 10. Bc4
exd5!
7. Bd3 is a typical developing move
adding pressure
on the
center. It isn't the best one,
however. In this
position,
e2 is a much better post for the bishop.
The
advantage
at e2 is one of avoiding the cramp that d3 entails
and the
supporting eventual kingside expansion via h4-5
destroying
black's fianchettoed position.
8. Qc1
was an extremely questionable move by your brother.
It
doesn't seem to have any active plan associated with it
at all
according to his next moves. I'm not
sure whether
he
played it to unpin a possibly pinned knight at f3, to
push
the c-pawn (a good plan, but a bad first move to carry
it
out), or to clear d1 for a different piece.
Whatever
his
initial thought was with that move, if he had any, he
didn't
follow up. Much better is a3 or
castling immediately,
which
continue to undergo a plan. Observe the
resulting
position
after this line: 8. a3 bxa3
9. Rxa3 Nc6
10.
0-0 Nb4 11. Be2. Things look
about as decent as
they
can with white after his previous play.
8. Bd7
was your first major strategically related mistake.
D7 is
the worst square for the queen's bishop.
This is a
passive
and hindering move as opposed to 8. Nd7 the ideal
move
for the situation. Even 8. Bg4 had its
own merit.
The
reason 8. Nd7 would be preferred is because it allows
for the
excellent queenside play including the moves:
a6,
b5,
Bb7, Qc7, Rc8, Nb6 following with Nc4 supported by the
b-pawn
and heavy pieces on the c-file. Another
major plus
of
having the heavy pieces on the c-file is the pressuring
of
white's backward c-pawn. Bd7 hindered
the plan the board
wanted
you to play.
9. d5
was a poor choice of move by white.
First off, he
wrongly
developed his bishop to b2 earlier in the game making
it a
handicap that he's trying to get rid of now, secondly,
he's
wasting time trying to activate it, lastly he gave up
control
of the important e5 square with a pawn.
Much better
was the
obvious 9. 0-0.
It's
good that you played by principle (opening up the
position
when your opponent hasn't castled), but it leads
to a
dead end since he can castle with one move at any
time. Better was Na6 trying to get your rooks into
play
and
protecting your pawn that you're trying to hold onto.
Instead
of moving a piece twice in the opening by 10. Bc4,
white
should've taken his "reasonable" opportunity to castle!
11.
exd5? Re8+! 12. Kf1 b5 13. Bd3 Nxd5 14. Bxg7 Kxg7
11.
exd5 was a poor move. 10. Bc4 would've
been a tiny bit
more
reasonable if he would've captured d5 with it.
After
11.
exd5 white's game starts to go downhill.
11.
Re8+ is making powerful use of the e-file to white's
demise.
Still
better than 12. b5 is 12. Na6 getting the rest of your
forces
into the battle. Again, instead of 13.
Nxd5, 13. Na6
was
once again indicated. The
"material advantage" after
what
you played was only illusory and it also allowed white
to swap
black-squared bishops weakening your king.
15.
Qb2+ Kg8 16. Be4 Bc6 17. Bxd5
Bxd5 18. Qxb4 Qf6
15. Qf6
was preferable to the text.
Preferable
to 18. Qxb4 was a3 still winning the pawn,
however
also un-isolating the a and c pawns.
19.
Re1 Rxe1+ 20. Nxe1 a6 21. h4
Nc6 22. Qg4 h5
23.
Qh3 Bxa2
Much
better than 19. Re1 was Qd4, because it attempts to
trade
heavy pieces and gain the initiative after white
retakes
with the knight because it compels black to do
something
about the hanging pawn.
Instead
of 21. h4, your brother should've looked to the
other
wing of the board and played a4 attempting to isolate
your
a-pawn after the trade.
Better
than 22. h5 was Qa1 taking advantage of him not
retreating
the Queen to b1 on his 22nd move.
23. Qh3
was an incorrect retreat. You shouldn't
back
you
queen into the edge. She needs to be
centralized.
23. Qe2
was indicated, taking control of the open e-file
and
preventing black's rook from doing the same.
In
response,
23. Re8 (remember, chess is a team game!) was
better
than 23. Bxa2.
24.
Qf3 Qxf3 25. Ndxf3 Re8 26.
g4?? Bc4+! 0-1
24. Qa3
was better than the text because it's generally
a poor
idea to trade pieces being down in material.
25. Re8
wasn't as forcing as the immediate Bc4+.
You
were
probably setting up the trap that white fell into,
but you
should play the most forcing moves.
26.
g4 was the game-losing blunder. White went two more
pawns
down and could never recover. In case
anyone was
wondering,
the line to win the extra material would be:
26.
Bc4+ 27. Kg2 hxg4 28. Nh2 Bd5+
29. f3 gxf3+
30.
Nhxf3 Nd4 31. Kg3 Rxe1 32. Rxe1
Bxf3 and white
loses
two more pawns.
You
both played very decently against one another for not
playing
each other in 30 years. Some tips to
remember are
not to
blindly gain material when you can gain plenty of
time
and development, develop a piece one time in the opening
to the
best square (remember Bd7?), and try to work with your
strategical game a little bit. Good overall game.