French Defense Advance - Class C Player

Hey everyone. I just finished playing in them 2013 Kansas Open, and I played five really exciting games. With training, intense focus, and a lot of luck, I managed to get 4.5/5 and tie for first.

While I won all of my games except for the last one, I know that I didn't play perfectly, and I would really appreciate it if others at chess.com could give me feedback about what I did well and what I didn't.

This is a well played. I can't go through it right as I need to head out, but thank you for sharing this game. The ending sequence of moves was particulary impressive. Well done.

Great annotations. It's nice to see serious thinking going on.

Maybe 11...a6 to guard a move earlier. I'm not sure what would happen after 11...Bd7 12. Bb5 with the idea of trading off the bishop for knight, which reduces pressure on d4, slightly safeguards b3 (the biggest threat to b3 is a knight attacking it) and hopes to secure counterplay down the c-file while the position is closed with no benefit to the bishop pair. Speculation here.

13. Na4 eyeing b6 seems more active for white. On b6, the knight would control c8 (and the c-file) while cramping the queenside. A possible line is 13. Na4 b5!? 14. Nb6!? Ra7 (else a6 hangs, and b5 because of a pin) 15. Rfc1 with an interesting mess. White will almost certainly need to play Nxd7 at some point which helps black, but white seems to have the play against weakened queenside pawns instead!

I like your thought process at move 15. Wanting to find active play for a concrete advantage, considering typical weaknesses and plans; good thinking habits. 18...Bxc3 also showed clear thinking despite already having a time handicap.

The immediate 20...Rc2 is strong. If 21. fxe5 fxe5, your bishop is still stuck but f2 is dangerously weak. Better to keep your pawn chain solid, I think. As a random aside, 25. Bf3?! funnily looks like a (OTB!?) premove.

26...R2xc3!? is a pretty simplification, but it looks like a lot of work after 27. bxc3 Bxd5 28. c4 Be4 29. Rb2 followed by Rd2 and pushing forward. Letting him undouble b-pawns to gain a mobile central mass looks dangerous. I prefer 26...Bxd5 27. Nxd5 Rd8 28. Ne7+ Kg7 29. Nf5+ Kg6 when your king marches down the board, as white can't push so easily.

Overall, it's an excellent game, where you played well against your opponent's weaknesses while he self-destructed, especially near the end.