[Event "The Craft Maker's Gambit Blitz Exhibitio"] [Site "Portland, Maine"] [Date "2021.12.03"] [Round "?"] [White "WGM Sabina Foisor"] [Black "Michael Dudley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D78"] [Annotator "Michael Dudley"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "blitz"] [TimeControl "1140"] {[%evp 0,85,19,31,14,-14,43,40,39,23,6,-8,27,17,25,9,-3,0,0,-3,-4,-9,-28,-9,14, 4,8,4,40,28,27,-9,-7,-15,-34,5,-24,-60,-58,-60,-1,-18,32,-69,-29,-7,2,-217, -206,-278,-262,-276,-282,-255,-264,-260,-244,-226,-181,-176,-173,-249,-263, -262,-154,-233,-231,-413,-203,-345,-191,-380,-397,-397,-468,-512,-595,-611, -232,-249,-260,-255,-257,-272,-222,-236,-236,-235]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c6 {I see this variation from time to time in correspondence when playing the Grunfeld, and it's remarkably solid. White's plan involves making for kingside play while avoiding the sharpness of an Exchange Variation Grunfeld. Black plays c6 to deal with the g2-bishop and stabilize the center, eventually looking to play b6, Nbd7, and Bb7, and eventually connect the rooks to attack the center. For all its possibility in correspondence I had never really tested it in blitz.} 7. c5 $2 {It's nothing catastrophic, but c5 isn't quite the plan white is looking for. cxd5 undermines Black's ability to put a bishop on b7 as fast as is called for, and so is the best move here. This move, however, allows Black to execute the plan at the cost of the open a-file, which isn't a cost at all. The plan is to attack the center.} Nbd7 8. Nc3 b6 9. cxb6 axb6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. a3 Nh5 {Stockfish calls this move even, with a slight preference for c5. I was playing it cool and cautious, but in so doing my advantage after 7.c5 evaporated. In Grunfeld games do not hesitate to act on the center; the bishop is just a decoy!} 13. Be3 f5 $6 {This tees up a juicy e6 square for the f3-knight to jump into. I knew it was a mistake the instant it left my hand. Some sharp play was required to get this back to where I needed to be. Better is Nhf6, keeping equality and putting the knight back on its natural square, since the bishop is retreated and no longer as much a problem.} 14. Ng5 Rf6 15. h4 {Just the tempo I needed to kick that knight out. Go away! Get outta here!} h6 16. Nh3 e5 $5 {This move begs the philosophical question: is it wrong if it's G/3? Stockfish really likes Rf7, and calls this even, but I don't have that kind of time. Grunfeld players have to fight for the center or they're toast, and Rf7 just feels too passive. Breaking open the center is key to my survival, but that doesn't mean that I didn't sweat this a little bit.} 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Bd4 {Missed an opportunity for an attack on the b6 pawn with Na4. We're both fighting for the center here instead.} Re6 $6 {I was going for a pileup on the knight, but this is a mistake. Better is Rd6, where after Re1, Black can support a c5 push to loosen up the d-pawn for improving the stake in the center.} 19. e3 c5 {Again, is it a mistake if it's G/3? Yeah, I missed the obvious Ba6, attacking the rook and forcing it off the f-file, but I also do not like this dark squared bishop. This forces the trade and simplifies the position. And while it would not be entirely unfair to say that I was playing for a draw here, I felt like I was winning for even having gotten this far.} 20. Bxe5 Bxe5 21. Nf4 Nxf4 22. exf4 Bg7 23. Nxd5 $4 {Admit it: you too hope your opponent would take pieces like this. In this case, this is a huge mistake, allowing the pin of the knight to the queen and essentially costing Sabina a piece.} Rd6 24. Rc2 Bd4 {Keeping up the pressure and preparing Bxf2 if the knight moves away. I knew I had the game now, but I didn't have the clock. One minute is not a long time for anyone, but it's even harder when you have to preserve a win against a lightning-fast master player who had not lost a game all night. The hardest thing to do in chess is win a won game, in my humble opinion.} 25. h5 Bxd5 26. Bxd5+ Rxd5 27. Qf3 Rc7 28. hxg6 Rcd7 29. Re2 Qf6 {At this point, my healthy advantage is slipping away, and my time with it. My only hope here is to charge the kingside, force a trade of queens, try to nab the queenside pawns and push my majority. Time is critical, and I don't have it in either sense. Too much to do, and not really enough time to do it. The trick is this: can I do it in the right order?} 30. b4 Qxg6 31. Rfe1 Kf7 32. b5 c4 33. Re8 c3 34. Rc8 Rc5 35. Rc6 Qg4 $1 {In retrospect, I wasted too much time trying to fight for the majority on the queenside. This move, Qg4, is easily the best move of the game, and should have been made four moves ago. It puts the question to the White queen in a tough way. Move it toward the queenside and the dark-square bishop will nab it via Bxe3 or Bxf2. Move it closer to the king and white can press the promotion: c2 is unstoppable, as the queen can work with the rooks to promote. Move the queen to e2 and d1, and Qxg3 is lethal. A queen trade is the only option, and with both of us having twenty seconds left, it was a sprint to the finish.} 36. Qxg4 fxg4 37. Kg2 c2 38. Rc1 Rxc6 39. bxc6 Rc7 40. Rxc2 Bc5 41. f3 gxf3+ 42. Kxf3 Rxc6 43. a4 { A few more moves after this in a blur and my flag fell. What a finish. This game is a lesson in opening preparation being critical for success in blitz, coupled with focusing on the major themes of the opening. While some of these moves are mistakes, are they really? To quote Wyatt Hendrix, commentating at the end of this game, "everything's fair in 3/0."} 1-0
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