[Event "2024 WA Senior Chess Championship"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2024.05.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Harwood"] [Black "Long, Phil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C25"] [WhiteElo "1873"] [BlackElo "1650"] [Annotator "Harwood,Paul"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2046468688626189"] [EventDate "2024.05.17"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.12.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,79,15,22,22,-2,-45,-27,-30,-18,-34,-67,-77,-88,-97,-96,-6,-3,-11,-68,-79,-73,-73,-91,-69,-69,-97,-85,-94,-93,-99,-160,-139,-154,-150,-146,-147,-159,-166,-163,-159,-144,-154,-154,-154,-154,-121,-170,-125,-163,-143,-142,-154,-157,-48,-46,-33,-37,42,51,46,57,46,49,109,92,88,24,24,17,15,-32,199,106,129,181,411,669,2143,2654,29991,29992] The chess board called to me once more as I prepared for my first tournament game in over a year. A full twelve months had elapsed since I last competed, at the 2023 WA Senior Open. On that occasion, my encounter with Phil ended in a resounding defeat, my King's Gambit unraveling in a tangled mess. This time, however, I approached the game with renewed determination, eager to redeem myself and let my tactics flow unencumbered.} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Nc3 ({Mainstream theory is} 4. h4 {and you can see why, the engine says White has an easier time with this approach versus Nc3.} g4 5. Ne5 Nf6 6. Nxg4 Nxe4 7. d3 Ng3 8. Bxf4 Qe7+ 9. Be2 Rg8 10. Bxg3 Rxg4 11. Bf2 Rxg2 12. Nc3 $11) 4... Nc6 5. g3 {This mirrors our game from a year ago.} ({Relevant:} 5. Bc4 g4 6. O-O gxf3 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qxf3 Qh4 9. d4 Nxd4 10. Qd3 Ne6 11. Bxf4 Nxf4 12. Nd5 Bd6 13. Nxf4 Bxf4 14. g3 Qg5 15. Rxf4+ Ke7 16. Qd4 Nf6 17. Rf5 Qxf5 18. exf5 d5 19. Qe5+ Kf7 20. Re1 Re8 21. Qxc7+ Bd7 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. Qxb7 Re2 24. Qxa7 Rxc2 25. Qd4 Bxf5 26. a4 Be4 27. h3 Nh5 28. Qe5 Rg2+ 29. Kf1 Nxg3+ 30. Ke1 Re2+ {0-1 Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-Nakamura,H (2736) Chess.com Speed Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (4.54)}) 5... g4 {Phil deviates from our first encounter which sends the game into unchartered waters.} 6. Nh4 d6 $6 {has lost popularity (6...f3).} (6... Nd4 {Stockfish suggests this move. I think the idea is setting up Be7-h4 and then Nf3.} 7. Nd5 Bd6 8. Qxg4 Be5 9. gxf4 d6 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 $11) 7. d4 Bg7 {[%csl Gd4][%CAl Gg7d4,Gc6d4] II spent considerable time weighing my next move. I analyzed the possibilities of Bf4, planning to follow up with Qd2 and O-O-O - a reasonable idea given Black's lack of development. However, the tempting d5 also caught my attention. As I calculated the variations, I weighed the merits of a more positional approach versus an aggressive central strike. The decision required care, as each path held its own opportunities and risks} 8. Bxf4 {It turns out, this is the correct move.d5 locks the center and limits my attacking chances.} Nxd4 $146 {The correct capture. I noted that Nf3 was a risk but that square was covered by the knight - or was it?} ({Predecessor:} 8... Bxd4 9. Bb5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qf6 11. Qd3 Bd7 12. O-O Nge7 13. Rab1 Qg7 14. Nf5 Nxf5 15. exf5 O-O 16. Qd2 Rfe8 17. Bh6 Qf6 18. Bd3 d5 19. Rxb7 Rab8 20. Rxb8 Rxb8 21. Be2 Ne5 22. Be3 Re8 23. Bxa7 Bxf5 24. Bd4 Qe6 25. Qg5+ Bg6 26. a4 f5 27. Qf4 c5 28. Bf2 c4 29. a5 Nf7 30. Re1 Qa6 31. Bb6 Qc8 32. Kf1 Qe6 33. Bf2 Qd6 34. Qxd6 Nxd6 35. a6 Ra8 36. Ra1 Nb5 37. a7 Nxc3 38. Bd4 {1-0 Nepustil,F (2320)-Leone,F (2347) WS MN/051 email ICCF email 2009}) {Continuing my plan with} 9. Qd2 $4 {[%csl Yd2,Gd4,Ye1][%CAl Gd4f3]} (9. Be3 {is the key move needed. The problem is that it goes against everything that an amateur is taught, specifically, don't move the same piece twice in the opening.} Nc6 10. Bb5 Nge7 $11) 9... Qxh4 $3 {A bolt from the blue. Phil finds a tremendous tactical move that reduces material and rips apart my pawn structure.} 10. gxh4 $6 ({I considered} 10. Qxd4 Bxd4 11. gxh4 Nf6 12. Nb5 Bb6 13. Bd3 $17) 10... Nf3+ 11. Ke2 Nxd2 12. Kxd2 {At first, I thought that this was just an even trade, but as I mentioned earlier, I already sacrificed a pawn and now I have to salvage a game with a mangled pawn structure and no clear targets in the Black camp.} Be6 13. h3 $6 {[%CAl Gg1g8] Liquidating pawns is proibably not the best approach but what else is there to do?} (13. Nb5 {was a consideration but I didn't see that it gave me anything.} O-O-O 14. Nxa7+ Kd7 15. Nb5 Bxb2 $19 {and my position has gone from bad to worse.}) (13. Bd3 h5 14. Rae1 O-O-O $17 {With natural moves, Black's position continue to improve.}) 13... Nf6 (13... h5) 14. hxg4 Nxg4 15. Nb5 $2 {I wasn't targeting Nc7. Instead, I wanted to play c3 and Nd4 to help stabilize my center.} Kd7 16. c3 a6 17. Nd4 Bxd4 18. cxd4 {Black is simply winning now. The only smidge of compensation I have is the bishop pair but that is not enough to overcome a pawn advantage.} Nf2 $1 {another accurate move and my deficit is about to go to being two pawns down.} 19. Rg1 Nxe4+ 20. Ke3 Nf6 {[%csl Gd5,Ye3,Yf4][%CAl Gf6d5] And now Nd5-f4 is coming. I was thinking about resigning here but wanted to see how Phil converted his advantage, which was arguably not as straightforward as our last meeting.} 21. Bd3 Ng4+ $2 {A strange move that doesn't make much sense. Nd5-f4 was winning. Now, I get to retain the bishop pair on an open board. Will it make the difference?} 22. Kd2 h5 {cementing the knight but this is not needed.} 23. b4 {After this move my opponent closed his eyes as if summoning some extra strength. I'm not sure why, he's still much better. This was my last attempt at drumming up some initiative. If it didn't work I would be resigning soon.} c6 (23... Nf2 $1 {a move I briefly analyzed but didn't see it as a threat. It's a strong move though as it begins to centralize the knight and prepares rook moves/trades on the g-file.} 24. Bc2 (24. Bf1 {this is the move I pondered.} Rag8 25. Rg2 Ne4+ 26. Kd3 Nf6 27. Bg5 Nd5 $19) 24... Nh3 $19) 24. a4 {The caveman attack continues.} Rhg8 25. b5 axb5 26. axb5 c5 $4 {And like that, with one move, the game is equal.} 27. dxc5 dxc5 28. Be4 {[%csl Yb8,Yc7][%CAl Ge4b7,Gf4b8] The bishops have new life and rake all sides of the board. the b7 pawn is doomed and the b5 pawn is a candidate for queening. The caveman attack managed to equalize, and a draw is a reasonable outcome now.} Nf6 29. Bxb7 Rxa1 30. Bc6+ Ke7 31. Rxa1 Rd8+ $2 {An innocuous check but this loses.} 32. Kc2 $2 (32. Kc1 Nd5 33. Ra7+ Kf8 34. Bxd5 Bxd5 35. b6 Kg7 36. b7 Bxb7 37. Rxb7 $18) 32... Bf5+ (32... Nd5 33. Ra7+ Kf8 34. Bxd5 Bxd5 35. b6 Be4+ 36. Kc3 Rd4 37. Be5 Rb4 38. Bd6+ Kg7 39. Bxc5 Rb1 $11) 33. Kc1 Rd4 34. Bg5 {After all the innaccuracies from both sides the game is again, equal.} Ke6 35. Ra6 Nh7 $4 {This looked strange at the time and it does lose on the spot. The knight is too far away from the action to be of use.} 36. Bd2 $2 {Not as accurate as the immediate (and complicated) b6, but the idea is to prevent Rb4,} (36. b6 Rc4+ 37. Kd2 Rc2+ 38. Kd1 Rb2 39. b7 Ke5 40. Bd8 $18) 36... Rc4+ 37. Kd1 Ke5 $2 38. b6 Kd6 39. b7 Kc7 $2 {The final mistake. Now, Black is simply getting mated.} 40. Ba5+ {#4. Black resigns. A crazy game which underscores the importance of keeping the pressure on your opponent, even where you have a worse position.} 1-0