Love the commentary, but wouldn't it have been easier to put the annotations in the game viewer? It was kind of tough following along.
OTB draw against 2255
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Nice game Simon! Congrats! 
Oct 18, 2009
0
#4
im not very good at stuff like this mate. I actually typed it all out yesterday (3 hrs) and then managed to delete it by accident before submitting it. Its took me 2 attempts to get this far LOL.
Oct 18, 2009
0
#5
Hello Si, my friend,
that's a nice piece of a game you played there. My congratulations, especially on such nice moves like 13...Qa5! and 18...g5!
So, overall I think you can be rather content with the way you played this exciting game. Of course cashing in a well deserved win would have been even better, but I think on our level of play we have to learn to live with our errors. At least here your mistake didn't make you lose the whole point, but you still secured a draw as Black against a strong opponent. You kept a clear head while under considerable pressure, so that's something to be proud of for sure!
if i were you i would feel happy that i managed to do so well against a stronger player. I would only feel sad if i missed the winning move and then later lost the game. Nice Game.
Great game. ...Qa5! and ...g5! took some balls to play (especially g5) but they must have been satisfying. I probably would have taken the draw - imagine how much more annoying it would have been to have lost on time knowing that you could just have accepted a draw.
Those moves remind me of that game we played on here, with your Rf6! that disintegrated my position.
18... g5 is the kind of hammer which will consume a lot of your opponent time. But I'm wondering, after the correct answer 20. Qd2 (don't understand why your opponent moves 20. Kd1, basically inviting you to occupy the g file and grab a pawn), what is your continuation? White seems to hold everything.
Oct 18, 2009
0
#10
g5! What a move mate! I would never have come to that ..Loved it..Well played and thanks for all the effort in allowing the rest of us to understand each of the moves....
Well done mate
Very well played, I don't play that opening so I have nothing to say except good job for avoiding white's subtle trap. Good job planning for f4 with Qa5! Stopped white from castling. I think white's biggest improvement is to have gotten castled earlier to avoid all the crazyness from happening. g5 really took my by surprise but that move was pure genious, opening the g-file for attacking white's king. Very well played by you and your opponent!
Oct 23, 2009
0
#12
Costelus im not sure what i would have played after 20.Qd2, does this mean g5 was not a good move mate??
Great game, great commentary. ...Qa5 is an excellent spot in a rapid game, and ...g5 was very ballsy.
18...g5 is a very good try, you must get your rooks into play. Also it ends once and for all tricks like Qh6 followed by hxg6.
In a good day I would have tried 19. Rg4 since h6 does not work because 20.Rxg5+ and then I have eternal with the queen on h6 and g5. So 19...f6 then 20 h6 and it seems to me that White manages to lock the position. I don't know how Black is going to bring his rooks into the game...
Hi all, id like to share this game with you that i played last weekend in an Open Tourny.
My opponent was D.Mason rated 203 ecf and 2255 Fide.
The Time Controls were 30 minutes each for all moves.
I was Black.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7
A standard Exchange Gruenfeld Defence.
Black gifts white a big pawn centre early on and hopes to attack / undermine it later with moves like c5. White has plenty of space in his favour, but on the downside his kingside pieces are undeveloped and he is still a long way from castling. Black hopes to castle soon and start to attack whites centre. White on the other hand hopes to bolster his pawn centre and hold a plus into the middlegame.
7.Nf3 c5
The first assault on whites pawn centre. The c5 cant be taken due to the hanging c3 pawn. Notice how in the Gruenfeld the Bg7 is very strong and is already causing white problems.
8.Rb1
The best and most popular move in this position. White puts his Rook on the open b-file, but also takes it off the a1-h8 diagonal dominated by blacks g7 Bishop.
8...Nc6?
a mistake from me. 8...Nc6 looks logical enough, it puts further pressure on whites d4 pawn, and develops a piece. The reason it is a mistake is because of White next move which had totally overlooked.
9.d5!
A great accurate move from my opponent.
Its easy to see why i overlooked this pawn advance, its looks at first sight like it just hangs the c3 pawn with check! but on further examination it becomes clear that taking it is a big mistake! after 9...Bxc3+ 10.Bd2! both blacks Bishop AND knight are hanging, so 10...Bxd2+ is forced, white replies 11.Qxd2 and now lets look at the position! Blacks knight is en-prise, and has no decent squares to move to, if Nb4 then a3 is terrible for black.
Even worse for black is the fact that he has given up his best piece , the g7 Bishop, and his Kingside is now full of holes. Having quickly weighed all these thoughts up in my mind i had to find something else.
So i played
9...Ne5
OK, so i avoided a minefield by ignoring the c3 pawn, and i was certainly suprised by Whites last move, but as i regained my composure, i actually thought that this position wasn't too bad for me. My opponent had a little think, then chopped off the knight.
10.Nxe5 Bxe5
11.Bb5+
White ignores the loose c3 pawn, and wisely develops his final Kingside piece with tempo.
11...Bd7
12.Qd2
White protects the c3 pawn with his Queen. The other thing that Qd2 does though, is it prepares the move f4 for white. Now, f4 does indeed look a scary strong move, it pushes my Bishop back probably to g7, and then e5 is coming next. Whites pawn centre is huge and things look bad for me? but it was here that i noticed something, a move that might throw a spanner in my opponents works if he does plan to play f4? So i castled and waited.
12...0-0
13.f4
So my opponent goes for it, f4 Bishop moves back , e5 and its looking great for him. I found out after the game that he hadnt seen my next move and it took him by suprise.
13...Qa5!
Qa5 actually leaves both my Bishops en-prise. The point is , that if 14.Bxd7 then 14...Bxc3 wins the Queen, and if 14.fxe5, then 14...Bxb5. Obviously he couldnt let the former happen, so he goes for the latter...
14.fxe5 Bxb5
The position has changed quite a lot compared to the position if i had played 13...Bg7 and allowed 14.e5.
My Bishop on b5 is now very strong. It prevents white from castling and its not easy to find a way for it to be moved. If 15.Qc2 here for example (trying to push c4) then simply 15...Qa6 holds everything.
With this in mind, my opponent now abandons any hopes of castling and instead goes straight for my King.
15.h4!
His plan is about as subtle as a flying mallett, but it does look strong. h5 is coming, as is Qh6 and he is just going to try and rip my head off! White does have a problem here though. His Queenside pawns are weak. a2 c3 and e4 all need protecting, and my Queen is perfectly placed to put on some pressure. He cant abandon these pawns or his position will collapse.
15...Qa4
hitting the e4 pawn. Whites light squares are now very weak, my opponent decides to go all out for a mating attack and sacs his Rook for the strong Bishop on b5.
16.Rxb5 Qxb5
We were both short of time by this point in the game, and i was a bit nervous about my position here with only a few minutes to go. In quick chess its much easier to find good moves quickly if you have a concrete plan. Until the last move i was OK, and sort of had a plan, but now this sacrifice had changed the whole angle of the position. White now has a clear cut plan, to attack my King with h5, Qh6 or Qg5, hxg6 and im in trouble. My best chance was those weak pawns of whites on a2 c3 and e4, so i decide to start harassing them .
17.h5 Qb1
I again attack thee4 pawn, threatening to take it with check. Also Qb1 pins the Bishop and keeps it from getting involved in any attack.
18.Rh4
A really nice move from my opponent. He defends the e4 pawn with his Rook , freeing up his Queen. I could feel my blood pressure rising as the clock ticked nearer and nearer to the time control, and i couldnt see a plan! If only i could free up my Rooks and get them into the game! Although White doesnt seem to have a concrete win here, he certainly has the initiative, and that counts for a lot in speedchess. Then, i spotted my next move. I couldnt beleive it at first, i had to check it over a few times, but then i played....
18...g5!
(wont let me insert any more diagrams
)
I wish you could all have seen the look on my opponents face when i played g5, lol. At first it looks like a ridiculous blunder, im putting a pawn where he can just take it with check! BUT, this move has some real substance!
My opponent chops off the pawn.
19.Qxg5+ Kh8
Now all of a sudden i have something. Rg8 is threatened! the g2 pawn is loose, also White cannot take the e7 pawn as Qxc1+ would follow
If 20.Rg4 here then i simply reply Rg8 and exchange on g4 winnng the c1 Bishop?
g5 really has turned the tables! note that 20.h6 Rg8 is no good for White either.
20.Kd1 Qd3+
I could have played Rg8 and Rxg2 straight away, but, there is a much better moment to take the g2 pawn. If i can force his King to e2, i can take on g2 with check.
21.Bd2 Qb1+
White now either allows perpetual check or goes to e2 and the time was all important now, we were both down to seconds.
22.Ke2 Rg8!
Now i can take the g2 pawn with check, and that should be decisive.
23.Qxe7 Rxg2+
24.Ke3
All i had to do here was find the right move! i knew there was something but 'tick tock tick tock'. It didnt help that i was seeing ghosts and was worried about moves like Qf6+ for white which actually lead to nothing. The winning move here is 24...c4!! and its curtains. Instead i played....
24...Qg1+
25.Kd3 Qb1+
26.Ke3 Qg1+ (again c4 won instantly)
27. Kd3
And here my opponent offered me a draw. Our flags were both hanging and i reluctantly accepted. Knowing in the back of my mind that i had missed a winning move. It just looks like a win, but under pressure i failed to find it!
As soon as i shook my Opponents and, he said ''if you would have played c4 i would have resigned''
I didnt know whether to laugh or cry! It was real mxed emotions for me. On the one hand i had just made a draw with a 2255 player (and he had offered it), but on the other i was one move off beating a 2255 and missed the win. I still cant decide whether i should be happy or sad about this game? what do you think?
Anyhow, hope you enjoy playing through it, and if you have any advice for me that would be great. I dont own a chess program any more, so none of this has been computer checked, so if ive missed something feel free to chime in
Here is the full game for you to go through, sorry the diagras ran out, it wouldnt let me post any more.
One last thing, if you want to see my other games from this Open tourny (including my game against an IM) you can find them on my blog post here....http://blog.chess.com/gumpty/birmingham-rapidplay-tourny
Bye!