[Event "4NCL Season 3 Round 1"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.01.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Baig, Huzaifa"] [Black "Doyle, Jamie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "1212"] [BlackElo "1602"] [Annotator "peter"] [PlyCount "156"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.03.01"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 {We have a Scotch Opening} Nge7 $6 { Very rare and a bit shakey. 4...Nf6 and 4...Bc5 are the main moves here} 5. Bb5 {An odd choice of square. The bishop normally goes to c4 in the Scotch.} a6 6. Bxc6 Nxc6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 {the exchanges on c6 have helped Black. Whilst his pawn structure is worse he has pawns towards the centre and the bishop pair.} 8. O-O Bc5 9. Nd2 O-O 10. Nb3 Bb6 11. Qd3 d5 (11... a5 $15) 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Be3 Bb7 {A positional mistake. Black needs his c-pawn to keep some control over d4.} (13... Bxe3 14. Qxe3 Qd6 {is a little better for White but Black should be OK} (14... Rb8)) (13... Rb8 14. Bxb6 Rxb6 {is very close to equality}) 14. Bxb6 cxb6 {Now White has full control over d4 and can choose to plant his knight (or even queen) on it any time. The bishop on b7 does a good job of defending d5 but can't do much else. This is a nice advantage for White to work with.} 15. Rad1 Qg5 16. f3 (16. Nd4 {seems natural. It blocks the diagonal a8-h1 and gets the knight active}) 16... h5 17. Qd2 Qf6 18. c3 Rad8 19. Qd4 Qg6 20. Rfe1 Rfe8 21. Re3 (21. Qh4 {intending Nd4 looks good - White can get both the Q and N active this way.}) 21... Re6 22. Rde1 Rde8 23. Qd2 {a tactical oversight} h4 {logical but Black could have and should have grabbed a pawn} (23... Rxe3 24. Rxe3 Rxe3 25. Qxe3 Qb1+ {Black wins a pawn} 26. Qc1 (26. Kf2 Qxb2+ 27. Kg3 Bc6 $15) 26... Qxa2 27. Nd4 $11 {even a pawn down White is fine here because the knight is so strong on d4 and the bishop lacks much to do.}) 24. Rxe6 Rxe6 25. Rxe6 Qxe6 26. Kf2 h3 {This a double edged move. It would make more sense if real pressure could be put on f3 but with Nd4 always on the cards that is not really an issue. The other possibility it gives is to get the queen to h1 or g2 and attack the h2 pawn; indeed that is what eventually happens in the game, but really White should not be allowing that. The downside of the move is that in the long run with accurate play White should be able to round the pawn up by, for instance, playing g4 and Kg3. } 27. g3 Qf5 28. Nd4 Qg6 {Too passive} (28... Qb1 {best to get active}) 29. Qc2 $16 {a big missed opportunity but White is still much better} (29. Qf4 $18 { threatening Qb1+ or Qc2 and suddenly the bishop on cannot be saved}) 29... Qg5 30. Qe2 Kf8 31. f4 Qg6 32. Ke3 {gives Black an opportunity} (32. Qe5 $18 { White has multiple threats and can force the win of material from here e.g.} Bc6 33. Nf5 f6 (33... a5 34. Qe7+ Kg8 35. Qd8+ Kh7 36. Qh4+ Kg8 37. Ne7+) 34. Qd6+ Kf7 35. Nd4 Be8 36. f5 (36. Qxd5+) 36... Qg5 37. Qxd5+) 32... a5 (32... Qe4+ {was much better} 33. Kd2 (33. Kf2 Qh1) 33... Qh1 $11 {and Black has made sense of the pawn on h3}) 33. Kd2 Qb1 34. Qe5 Qxb2+ 35. Kd1 $11 (35. Nc2 $18 { once again the bishop cannot be saved}) 35... Qb1+ 36. Kd2 Qxa2+ 37. Kd1 Qc4 38. Qb8+ Qc8 39. Qd6+ Kg8 40. Qxb6 a4 41. Qb4 Qa8 42. Qa3 Qa6 43. Ke1 (43. Kd2 $1 {leaves the position level}) 43... Bc8 (43... Qd3) (43... Qc4) 44. f5 $6 ( 44. Kd2 $1 {keeps White in the game e.g.} Qf1 45. Qe7 Qg2+ 46. Ne2 Qxh2 47. Qd8+ Kh7 48. Qh4+) 44... Bd7 $17 (44... Bxf5 {wins another pawn} 45. Nxf5 Qe6+ 46. Kd2 Qxf5 47. Qxa4 Qf2+) 45. Qe7 Qc8 46. Qa3 Qe8+ 47. Kd1 (47. Kd2 {keeping the queen out of e3 was much better though Black is still in the driving seat}) 47... Qe3 $19 {this queen infiltration is very strong} 48. Qb4 Qg1+ 49. Kd2 Qxh2+ 50. Ne2 Qf2 51. Qe7 {Black is now winning easily but makes a slip that should allow White to draw} Qxf5 $2 (51... Bxf5 52. Qd8+ Kh7 53. Qh4+ Kg6 { and with the knight pinned Black is fine and will push his pawns through}) 52. Qd8+ Be8 $1 {the only way to play for a win - a good recovery} (52... Kh7 53. Qh4+ Kg8 (53... Kg6 {walks into} 54. Nf4+) 54. Qd8+ {just repeats}) 53. Qxe8+ Kh7 54. Qxa4 Qg5+ 55. Kd3 $2 (55. Qf4 $1 {holds} Qxf4+ (55... Qh5 56. g4 $11) ( 55... Qh6 56. Ke1 h2 57. Qf5+ g6 58. Qxf7+ Kh8 59. Qe8+ Kg7 60. Qe7+ $11) 56. gxf4 h2 57. Ng3 Kg6 58. Ke3 Kf6 59. Kf3 g5 60. fxg5+ Kxg5 61. Kg2 Kf4 62. Kxh2 Ke3 $11) 55... h2 {and now it is all over.} 56. Qd1 Qf5+ 57. Ke3 Qe4+ 58. Kf2 h1=Q 59. Qxh1+ Qxh1 60. Ke3 Qe4+ 61. Kd2 Kg6 62. Nf4+ Kg5 63. Nh3+ Kf6 64. Nf4 Qf3 65. Ne2 g5 66. Ke1 Kg7 67. Kd2 f5 68. Ke1 f4 69. gxf4 gxf4 70. c4 dxc4 71. Kd2 Qd3+ 72. Ke1 f3 73. Nf4 Qe3+ 74. Kf1 Qxf4 75. Kf2 c3 76. Kf1 c2 77. Kf2 Qd2+ 78. Kxf3 c1=Q 0-1