Random games analysis for beginners and those who care
Our first game is from the Sabadell Open, a tournament played in Sabadell, Spain. http://coralcolon.net/
The tournament is 9 rounds and as of this publishing it is in round 5 with IM Carles Diaz Camellonga with a 1 point lead over a pack of players with 4 points.
So the game that I am analyzing is one of Camellonga's, his fifth round game versus IM Cesar Hidemitsu Umetsubo.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g3 Diaz, playing white choose an offbeat line. 6.g3 obviously means the bishop is coming to g2, but in actual play the light bishop may have a future somewhere else. Virtually every game I have seen with 6.g3 has involved 7.Bg2, . With 6.g3 the light squares are weak and the bishop fills them nicely, but a blitz game on the site lichess.org has the moves 6...Nc6 7.Bc4?? Be7 Of course 7.Bc4 is at least an inaccuracy with the best reply being not 7...Be7 but instead 7...Nxe4 https://lichess.org/934qEt2d#0
Anyways back to the game after 6.g3 the moves 6...Nc6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.Nb3 appeared
Now this is a strange move to me, as I'm not a sicilian buff, so there might be some out there that understand the thinking behind this move better and faster than me. However, the first thing I think about here is why not just castle? The knight is protected by the queen, so whats the big idea? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV1tbKtboaw
Now this is a strange move to me, as I'm not a sicilian buff, so there might be some out there that understand the thinking behind this move better and faster than me. However, the first thing I think about here is why not just castle? The knight is protected by the queen, so whats the big idea? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV1tbKtboaw
Well the thing about analysis is sometimes you come to these moves you have to decide if there is actually something to look at there, or if the guy just had a preference. This just seems to be that. The main move is to castle, while 8.Nb3 is a sideline. And given the fact that white has played a sideline already, maybe he has a preference for sidelines.
So after 8.Nb3 we have 8...Bd7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Kh1 This is a clear sicilian move, white is heading for f4 at some point and getting the king out of any queen checks on b6 or bishop checks on c5 is a great idea.
10...Ne5 if black's intention was to encourage f4 then mission accomplished. But really I'm pretty sure the knight is heading to c4 where it can be a nuisance to the b pawn for a little bit.
11.f4 Nc4 12.g4
The peasants revolt? What would you think if you saw this coming at you? It's clear white is tying for a kingside assault, but black has to have some knowledge of these kind of things going into this. These kind of positions are where players earn their nerves.
12...d5 (13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 exd5 15.Qxd5 Bc6 oops!) 13.e5 Ne8 14.Nd4
14...Rc8 15.b3 Nb6 With the knight hanging on c3 one might go into 15...Nxe5. Black must not have liked whites response 16.Nxd5! ed5 17.fxe5 with pretty good chances for both sides
16.Nce2 Nc7 17.a4 Be8 Black is probably worried about the bishop being taken on c6 at some point. Another possible reason to play 17.Be8 is that it helps with Rf3, Rh3, Qd3 and f5 ideas.
18.f5 Nd7 A unique position at best.
19.Bf4 Bg5 20.Qd2 Clearly white cannot take on g5 and let the blacks queen become active 20...Bxf4 21.Qxf4 f6
Whenever you have pawn tension you have to make sure you don't trade into a less active position. 22.exf6 doesn't give white anything after 22...e5 23.Qg5 Qxf6 and blacks center pawns are going to be trouble.
Instead white goes for 22.Nxe6 Nxe6 23.fxe6 Nxe5 24.Nd4
The perfect place for the knight, blockading the d pawn and maybe some day running into f5
24...Qd6 Keeping an eye on the e pawn and maybe hoping for some discovery? It might be more likely that black is preparing to offer a queen trade.
25.Rad1 Every strong player I have talked to would endorse this move. It makes sense because lining the rook up with the queen, no matter how many pieces are between them, will always set up the possibility for tactical shots against the queen.
25...Bc6 26.g5 When the queen recaptures on g5, black will have to be careful about Nf5 followed by e7
26...fxg5 27.Qxg5 Rxf1+ 28.Rxf1 Ng6 29.Rf7
I had a master friend once tell me years ago, in a similar idea where there is mate behind the knight, that the knight is positionally pinned. It helped me understand tactics a little better at my patzer understanding those years ago. Same thing here. If White gets in h4 and h5, it will take a miracle to save black
29...Qb4
Threatening some relieving checks on e1.
30.Qe3 Rf8
A mistake that doesn't look like a mistake. It makes sense to try and trade rooks, but it allows the rook to stay on f7 until white decides what to do with it
31.c3 Qa3 another threat of check on a1
32.Nxc6
Qa1+ doesn't work because of Bf1, and there is no way to get at the bishop
32...bxc6 33.Qxa7 Rxf7 34.Qxf7+ Kh8 35.Qe8+ Nf8
After 35...Qf8 then 36.Qxf8+ Nxf8 37.e7 wins
36.Bf1
If you thought 36.e7 was the way to go, then you fell into 36... Qa1+ 37.Bf1 Qxf1#
36...Qxb3 37.Qxf8#
