Didn't castle and got away with it!!! (barely)
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17. Qc6 wins a rook. You got a bargain with the queen trade.
After 17. Qc6+ Bd7 18. Qxd5 black is soon mated. As far as I can see, black can only play 18... Rf8, and after 19. Rxe7+ black can still resign. Both 19... Kxe7 20. Re1+ Be6 21. Qxe6# and 19... Qxe7 20. Qxa8+ Qd8 21. Re1+ are rather painful.
Darthstapler8 wrote: After 17. Qc6, couldn't black play Bd7? Then he only loses a knightBd7 lets white line his queen up with his bishop. It looks like a better move at first, but black is better off letting white gobble up the rook at that point.
This was a close game I just finished. My king was trapped in the middle for the entire game, but I somehow pulled off the win. I'm letting eli1983 know that I've posted the game, so please comment from both sides. For instance, I'm quite sure he could have taken advantage of the uncastled position, but I'm not sure when and how. Also, I'm sure there were gazillions of mistakes in the late middle and end games, so we would appreciate it if you would point out our missed obvious moves.
Thanks for the comments!