[Event "Guernsey International Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.10.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Theo Slade"] [Black "Rudiger Von Saldern"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E14"] [Annotator "Theo Slade"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] {This was a very tough tournament for me as I was the lowest rated player in the section, but I was doing enough to keep my head above water. In this game, however, that changed and I played one of my best ever games to reach 50% at the eleventh hour, which was a fantastic result. During the game I played very quickly, which may sound odd but when playing well you do not need too much time to think.} 1. d4 {Back in 2012 I was predominantly a 1.d4 player.} d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 {This got a big boo from the crowd at the Gala Dinner, but back then I was in love with the Colle-Zukertort System, so I did not see the problem.} e6 4. Bd3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 b6 7. Bb2 Nbd7 8. c4 {This has been called a, "mature decision," but to be honest I think it is very natural. If black dispenses with ...c5 then it makes sense to gain space in the centre.} Bb7 9. Nc3 Rc8 10. Qe2 c5 11. cxd5 {This was not a very difficult decision as if black recaptures with a piece then I may get a pawn roller in the centre but if he plays} exd5 {then he will eventually end up with either hanging pawns or an IQP, neither of which are particularly favourable.} 12. Rfd1 cxd4 13. Nxd4 g6 {This does not seem to be a very good move and indeed it seems to be the cause of black's future downfall...} 14. Rac1 Ne4 15. Ncb5 {I really want to annotate this move as a, "!!," but it is probably best to remain humble for the time being...!} ({Nick Pert recommended} 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bc4 { , when black is in serious trouble. It may not look like it at first sight, but this is already very good for white- maybe even winning. White is threatening Ne6, he has pressure on the c and d files, all of his pieces are working together in unison and the a1-h8 diagonal is very weak. I missed this sequence of moves, but if I had have played it then this game would not have been a brilliancy!}) 15... a6 16. Na7 {This is the plan, taking advantage of the c6 hole, when there are some mating motifs on the long diagonal. I can imagine some players thinking that I'm just a misguided youth relying too much on calculation, but as the old Russian proverb goes, "chess is a concrete game!" Take that, Gostelow!} Rxc1 17. Rxc1 Bc5 18. Ndc6 {It looks ridiculous to leave the knight stranded on a7, but nevertheless let's see what happens...} Qa8 (18... Qe8 {was the only move to stay in the game, but after} 19. b4 Bd6 20. Bxa6 {white will find himself a clear pawn up with a winning position.}) 19. Rxc5 {The adrenaline coursing through my veins almost caused me to drop the rook on the wrong square, but that would not have been fair- I deserved to win this game!} Re8 ({Of course the rook is immune:} 19... bxc5 20. Ne7#) 20. Rc1 Ndc5 21. b4 {White will emerge a piece up once the dust has settled and even I could win that one. :)} 1-0