Bulla
I really like the middle game pawn structure that you achieved. You got some guts to castle on opposite sides and throw pawns at each other. I'm not sure if my dream of White pawns on c4 and d4 are possible in the Center Counter. It's difficult to defend that d-pawn without the e-pawn, and with Black having indirect and firm control of d5.
I think a Master will have to scan for tactical opportunities. Nice job of not blundering, and nice draw.
Bulla, both sides played a pretty solid game, and as Brandon has said, you did a good job of not slipping up in quite a volatile position. I'm no master, but I do have a silicon GM to help me, so I checked through the game, and found 2 tactical shots that might have swung the game your way. Firstly, I wondered about the vulnerable looking queen on a5, and there appear to be three options for putting pressure on, on move 14. I thought 14. b4 was worth a try, with the queen running with Qh5. Then you can follow up with 15. c5 Be7 (where the bishop should have retreated to originally) 16. b5 Nb8 17. c6, which looks good, and the PC is showing +1.3. However, the silicon also came up with g4, preparing for b4, cutting off some of the queens escape squares. And better than that, playing 14. c4 immediately, shutting in the queen. Now the computer comes up with the following line:
And when the dust settles, the evaluation is + 1.7
After the queens are exchanged, things quieten down, and there are not too many opportunities that I can see. But right at the end, there is a chance for an advantage. On move 38, why not go after the g pawn? 38 Kg4 allows you to either capture the pawn, or force your way into blacks position - note that the d pawn is vulnerable, since you rook is controlling the c file. You could also have played the same move on turn 40.
An interesting, well played game - thanks for sharing it.
The reason why I didn't want to play 38. Kg4 is because I wanted to prevent black from bringing his rook behind my pieces by playing 39. Rf1. For some reason I just felt that I wouldn't be able to protect my pawns.
The reason why I didn't want to play 38. Kg4 is because I wanted to prevent black from bringing his rook behind my pieces by playing 39. Rf1. For some reason I just felt that I wouldn't be able to protect my pawns.
Rf1 is exactly what the computer wants to play after Kg4, so you were quite right about this. The e pawn and a pawn do look vulnerable, but black will have to allow you to get the d pawn to capture one of them. There are some interesting lines to look at - it is worth spending a bit of time on them, as this is where good technique can win you games for even positions.
I liked the idea of playing for c4 and d4. So far i haven't worked out a win yet but I'm getting close. Here's the most recent game I played against the computer. Nothing spectacular in this game but I'm just curious if anyone sees anything that I missed in the opening. I couldn't figure out how to play the endgame so I just took the draw.