now, for black i like the e4/f5 idea, opening up the diagonal for the bishop.   also possible is Bb7.

17. ...Bb7

oops i had been waiting for your move...

I would like to find a way to get back on the offensive again and start putting some pressure back on @zrylam, so if anyone can see a couple of moves that could turn the table for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

For the most part, I am pleased with the stuation on the board.  His King doesn't have much of a fortress to hide behind, whereas mine is rock solid.  His dark Bishop is trapped in the back, essentially doing the job of a pawn, whereas my dark Bishop is nicely out in the middle of the board threatening muliple squares and lines.

My only trouble seems to be my doubled up pawns at the centre of the board.  However, that is easy to rectify and I think that will be my next move by capturing his e5-pawn, dxe5.  It would also have the benefit of openning up some protection for my d5-pawn.

I have until tomorrow night to make my official move.  So unless someone can come up with a different strategy, I think my next move will be the pawn exchange on the e5 square, and I would expect him to recapture right back.

Well its time to fix that doubled-up pawn situation and open up some protection for my d5-pawn.  My next move is . . . 18.dxe5

Ah...for White, the plan after 18.dxe5 seems quite simple...damn, I'll wait until zrylam makes a move. Then I'll divulge.

I like white though. The position is familiar, and the king is rock-solid.

 I expect @zrylam to re-capture the e5-pawn back.  Then I will be free to go back on the offensive.

I look forward to hearing your plan . . . I hope it is sneaky and puts @zrylam on the run. 

My next move is . . . 18.dxe5

Bugger, I forgot that plan. Sorry IncrediBill...I'm writing this to say, and I'll see if I can remember.

UPDATE: Looking at previous moves, 18.dxe5 was a blunder - better was 18.Qc3. A passed pawn in this case is not good - his double bishop advantage becomes clear after Rf7 - Bf8. Now if 18.Qc3 exd4 19.Nd4 followed by Ne6 is great, punishing Black for shoving his king in the corner.

stubborn_d0nkey's suggestion seems good, but actually, it's not - again, the bishop at b7, and the pawn at e5, truly kills any aspirations for the danger of a passed pawn.

Bc5 followed by d6??

 Hello ScaredEyes,

My Queen is curently on the d1 square so I do not have access to the c3 square.  Perhaps you meant to say 18.Qd3. 

I do not like the idea of his passed pawn either, but technically, I have a passed pawn as well.  I guess it remains to be seen which one of us can keep their passed pawn.

For now, I think that I will play the move that both yourself and Stubborn Donkey have suggested . . .  to bring my Bishop up to c5 square.  This will force him to have to move his Rook to safety, giving myself the time to push my d-pawn up to safety.

Unless someone comes up with something different, I will make that my official move later tonight.

Well, there seems to be lots of ideas as to how the game is going to unfold in the next several moves.  Fortunately I only have to think about one move right now . . . the next one . . . . and everyone seems to agree that its going to be . . . 19.Bc5

.

My options are: Rf7, Re8, Rg8, Bxd5, Qxd5, and even e4 seems ok... anyone disagree with playing Rf7 here?

 Sorry IncrediBill, I meant 18.Qb3...but that ties up a Queen to a bishop. What better can it do, though?

stubborn_d0nkey, may I suggest a line for your analysis?

awesome improvement! Thats a good line for white. I cant believe I missed it (well I can, since I didn't spend much time on the analysis. :P)

edit: lol, i didnt look at the whole line before i commented :P 

 Ah. That's better - I'm not so depressed anymore =) I feel sorry for Black now. I take it Black won't be playing this line any time soon.

However, I presented the Greek-like sacrifice, thinking that it becomes a win-draw situation. However, it seems that if the line was played, Black has no chance after 26.Ng5 - countering one threat allows the other. The Black Queen wanted to be overloaded, but is not...since it never was in a position that lets it counter both of them, one at a time.

However, I'll stop and let zyrlam play his (or her) move - I don't want to hijack the thread any more. Our analysis only showed a few lines ... Black could play a5, for all we know.

I'll play 19. ...Rf7 - I don't think I'm in trouble just yet

yeah, there are several places where white can deviate, but so far it does seem that white can keep the passed pawn for the time being. I think that right now d6 is completely natural

Holy Smokes!!!  I've got tonnes of analysis to sift through that pretty much takes me right through to the end of the game.  Some excellent and thorough work by both @stubborn_donkey and @ScarredEyes.

Since they both agree on 20.d6, who am I to argue???

So my next official move is . . . . 20.d6

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