My battle with the venerable Hank Anzis

Event: St. Francis Date: March 22^nd, 2014

Round: 1 Board: 17 Section: Adult Opening: QG-Dutch

White: Hank Anzis Black: Me

White: Black:

1. d4 f5 // Hank’s head tilted to the side as if in slight disbelief someone would

   offer up the Dutch.

2. c4 Nf6

3. Nc3 c6 // got a conciliatory “Okay..” from Hank on seeing my move to c6.

4. e3 e6

5. Nf3 d5

6. Bd3 Bd6

7. O-O O-O

8. Ne5 Nd7

9. f4 Ne4

10. Bxe4 fxe4

11. Qe2 Nxe5

12. fxe5 Be7 // had a hard time deciding where to place the B, on c7 or e7.

13. Bd2 c5

14. Rxf8+ Bxf8 // Not sure whether this was better than taking with the king.

15. cxd5 exd5

16. Rf1 cxd4 // a bit of a gambit on my part, I was hoping to clear up some of the

    clutter in the center.

17. exd4 Qb6

18. Be3 Be6 // Failure to split and pick apart Hank’s pawns; time for Plan B.

19. Qb5 Qc6 // Not wanting to trade Qs on Hank’s terms, I tried to find a better

    spot.

20. Rc1 Qxb5 // Reluctantly, trading queens to Hank’s advantage.

21. Nxb5 Bd7

22. Nc7 Rc8

23. Nxd5 Rxc1+ // Some would be happy to have the B-pair here, but with all the

    junk in the center, I knew Hank’s pony would be superior. I’m betting Hank knew that too. :) In an effort to cut down on potential problems, I thought removing the rooks from the board was a good idea; but, even better was the chance to eliminate his prized pony from the board as well!

24. Bxc1 Bc6

25. Nc3 Bb4! // Not necessarily a brilliant tactic, just a pointed move to get Hank’s best piece off the board.

26. Kf2 Bxc3

27. bxc3 Bd5 // Opposite colored bishops achieved, now to hang on for the draw..!

28. a3 b5! // A book move.. which book, I can’t recall (probably Andy Soltis)..

    but it was worth its weight, stalling Hank’s Q-side advance and forcing Hank to work K-side. Later Hank noted he was impressed with this move. Compliment accepted, except it really didn’t seem like my invention.

29. Ke3 Kf7

30. Kf4 c5

31. Kf5 g6+ // Hank begging me to play g6+ so he could maneuver his K around my pawns. Like a good sport, I obliged.

32. Kg5 Kg7

33. g3 h6+

34. Kf4 Kf7 // Really thought we were getting close to a drawn position here, but was happy to keep playing. Was looking for a way to swap my K & B so I could get my K up in the Q-side pawns and win the game.

35. h4 Ke6 // this probably was a blunder on my part, but Hank did not seem to capitalize on it. My dreams of getting my K to the other side of the board were quickly squashed.

36. Kg5 h5+ // Another non-stellar move on my part. But, again, Hank was kind.

37. Kf5 Kf7 // Have “Kg5” in my notation for Hank, but this is incorrect, guessing Kf5

38. Kf4 Bc6

    Draw offered. Agreed.

    ½ - ½