This next game isn't a special game by any means. Over the course of this game's 25 moves, I don't think I did anything particularly noteworthy. I do kind of like the simplicity of it though, and how an attack sort of appeared from a relatively sterile position. It's also one of the few games from the last couple of years that I'm pretty happy with.
Before we start, I'm going to provide a few of everyone's favourite thing: test positions. Yay. I mean, you're not obligated to look at them, but I think it would be fun. They're not White to play and win or anything, but more sort of "X to play and make a decision". Some relevant comments can be found below.
White to move. Play something sensible.
Black to move. There isn't really one correct answer, but there are a couple of wrong answers.
White to move. I don't think there's a right answer, but I'm curious. Tell me what you would play here.
Black to move. There are two good moves, everything else loses immediately.
mn-J.U.
Ottawa 2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6
Well, last time I said that people below GM level don't tend to play the Petroff. I lied, but only partially, because this was in the first time in many years that someone had gone 2...Nf6 against me.
3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6
This is the variation of the Petroff that Caruana has championed in recent years.
7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3
Okay, since I don't tend to meet the Petroff in practice, I wasn't terribly well prepared. I knew what was going on in the sense that I was vaguely aware that 9.Nc3, 9.cxd5 and 9.Qc2 are all popular moves, with the latter being met by 9...Na6, when play is very tricky. By the way, I think next time I might play 9.Re1 here. But shhhh, don't tell anyone.
9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Bf5
11...Bg4 is a more popular alternative, but the text is pretty solid.
12.Bg5
How wrong can developing with tempo be? Well, it turns out not very wrong, because 44 people have played this move, including Giri, who used it to beat none other than Caruana. The difference is that Anish followed it up much better, starting on the very next move.
12...Qa5 13.Bd2?!
Well this is a little gross. This part of the game involves me making a bunch of totally unambitious decisions in a row, at the end of which I was surprised to find I wasn't better. Go figure. Giri went 13.Nh4 against Caruana, which is a better move. I was also strongly considering 13.Qb3?!. Weird complications can stem from this move. I eventually concluded I was worried about 13...Be4?!, threatening to take on f3 and take on g5, and even if there doesn't happen to be a Bishop on g5, having to play gxf3 isn't fun. It turns out that 14.Qxb7 Bxf3 15.Bh4 is better for White. I was right to reject 13.Qb3 though, because 13...b5! is good for Black.
13...Qc7?!
This is actually what I was expecting - Black dodges c3-c4 being with tempo, and creates a battery along b8-h2. It's now as though White played 12 Bd2 and Black responded with 12...Qc7. I can't imagine why I was happy with this outcome, although I guess I thought 12.Bg5 was inaccurate and I had to stick my tail between my legs and go back. The thing is, Black is fine after the text move, but it's also really not necessary; there's nothing wrong with 13...Nd7!. There's also 13...c5, which we discussed at length in the post mortem.Black is aiming to either isolate White's d4 pawn, or get comfortable Benoni-type play after d4-d5. White has a nice resource here: 14.Nh4!, with the idea 14...Bd7 15.Qh5!, with an annoying pin.
14.Re1
14.Nh4! is still good. I kind of mentally checked out on Nh4 until after I had played h2-h3, but 14...Bxh2+? is bad because after 15.Kh1, White threatens both the Bishop on f5, and to trap the Bishop on h2 with g2-g3.
14...Nd7 15.h3?!
There's absolutely no reason to play this move. Just 15.Nh4 straight away will do nicely.
15...Nb6
Objectively this move is fine, but I was pretty happy to see it, because it takes a defensive piece away from the Kingside. I think 15...Nf6 16.Ne5 is better for White, but I was expecting 15...Rfe8?, to cover the e5 square and then go ...Nf6 next. The computer, however, throws up the trick 16.Bxf7+! Kxf7 17.Qb3, which wins. Instead, it says that if Black is going to put a Rook on e8, it should be the one from f8. Bizarrely, in this case taking the Rook off of f8 actually lessens the impact of tactics on f7. Go figure. 15...Rfe8 16.Bxf7+!? is still possible, but after 16...Kxf7, you can't go 17.Qb3+, because now 17...Kf8 is available to Black, and there's no follow-up for White. Instead, 17.Ng5+ Kf8 18.Qf3! is the way to go, and then 18...Qa5 19.g4 wins the piece back. Don't ask me what's happening there though.
16.Bb3
I have a feeling that someone smarter than me would play 16.Bf1 here.
16...Rae8 17.Nh4
Finally. I mean, this should've been played about three times over by now, but better late than never I guess.
17...Rxe1+
I think I'd have been pretty happy to see 17...Bd7, when White can go 18.Qf3 directly without inconvenience.
18.Qxe1
My opponent said that he was expecting 18.Bxe1, leaving the Queen able to go to f3, for example, directly. I kind of wanted to leave my Bishop on its diagonal, and I had an alternative path for the Queen in mind.
18...Bd7 19.Qe4
It kind of felt like my position was starting to make sense around this point, in spite of my kind of obscenely cautious play earlier on. Queen goes to f3, Knight goes to f5, and suddenly the Black King doesn't feel so safe. Of course, this is probably all nothing objectively, but sometimes making threats leads to good things.
19...Re8 20.Qf3 Be6
Long-term, Black is doing extremely well if he can swap off Light Squared Bishops and stick a Knight on c4. The c3/d4 tandem is pretty nice in a middlegame, providing a space advantage and so forth, but they don't enjoy themselves quite as much in an endgame.
21.Nf5 Nc4
21...Bd5 and 21...Bf8, among others, are also viable choices. There's nothing wrong with the text, in fact, it may well be Black's best move. It did get me excited, though.
22.Bh6!? Bf8
22...Bxf5 is possible, but then I at least get an unopposed Bishop after 23.Qxf5. Notice that the Knight on c4 is hit, so I do manage to avoid losing a piece. 22...Bd5 should be fine as well, but doesn't 23.Qg4 g6 24.Qg5 look scary? I think it does. It's a bit less scary when you look at the engine evaluation, but still.
23.Re1
23.Nxg7?? Bxg7 doesn't work because there's no square for the Queen on the g-file. 23.Bxc4?! Bxc4 first doesn't work because after 24.Nxg7?? Bxg7 25.Qg4, Black can defend with either 25...f6 or 25...f5. Therefore, I decided to intensify the pressure a little bit, threaten to take on c4, and ask Black to make a decision. Also, I find activating your last piece by playing a Rook to a centre file is a really pleasing sort of move to make.
23...Qd7?
I figured I'd at least be a little better after 23...b5 24.Bxc4 bxc4, but I guess it's just equal. Also, the move that nobody really picked up on, 23...Qb8, is pretty solid. It's not exactly the first move that comes to mind, but it covers the Rook on e8 (unpinning the Bishop on e6) while keeping an eye on the g3 square. Sacrificing on g7 is still possible, but it only leads to a draw. Therefore, maybe just 24.Bf4, when the game goes on after 24...Bxf5! 25.Bxb8 (25.Rxe8 Qxe8 26.Bxc4 seems equal) 25...Rxe1+ 26.Kh2 with a not very clear position.
24.Nxg7!
I seem to recall the idea I had seen from a distance involved Bxc4, Bxg7 and Qg4. That doesn't make any sense because after Black recaptures on c4, the Rooks are in contact along the e-file.
24...Nd2
24...Bxg7 25.Qg3 f6 and now many moves win, including 26.Bxc4 (26...Bxc4? 27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.Qxg7#) and 26.Rxe6 (26...Rxe6 27.Bxc4, and the Rook is pinned and the Queen is overloaded).
25.Qg3
1-0
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