B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 Nf6)

The game below was the 40th consecutive rapid game for me with a rating of 1700 or above at FIDE Online Arena and I needed to play 10 more games to receive my second official FIDE title. This was my second consecutive game against Costache Florin Remus and my sixth rapid game on December 8th. As far as I can remember, all of these games were played rather quickly. This certainly was a good thing as long as my results were good enough so that my rating did not drop alarmingly close to 1700 or below it which would have been a disaster as it would have reset the game counter again.

The first mistake of the game might have been when my opponent played 5...a6, it was better to play Be7 and get the development going. Costache is clearly behind in development after this, but because I did not play efficiently enough, my opponent was not punished so severely on his misplay. Then on move 8, I played Bh4 which gave the advantage I had to Costache. He does give that small advantage back immediately, so I survived my mistake without any punishment from my opponent. The next inaccuracy saw the light of day when I played 15.Ne5, which brings the game back to a balanced state. Costache replies with Rc8, which is a rather passive square for the rook, it was better to play c5 in order to open the long diagonal for the bishop. I foolishy replied with Ng4 because I wanted to trade the knights and perhaps get my queen to the kingside in order to get something going there.

Both players kept making bad moves, but when I played 21.c4, I suffered quite a long time until my opponent blundered the game away with the move 37...Re1. Between those two moves, I was at times completely lost. After the move of 37...Re1, I was not about to give my opponent any more chances and won the game with reasonable ease. I would like to mention one thing though, on move 49 Costache plays hxg3 and while that is the final mistake in my opinion, it might have been his best chance to get some counterplay. I did see though that I can force the trade of queens and then my b-pawn becomes unstoppable. Had I not traded queens at this point, I might have had some technical problems.

[Event "Challenge 35776694"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.12.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "florin remus, costache"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1768"] [BlackElo "1748"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 {Caro-Kann Defense} e6 (3... b5 {Caro-Kann Defense: Gurgenidze Counterattack}) (3... dxe4 4. Bc4 {Caro-Kann Defense: von Hennig Gambit} (4. f3 {Caro-Kann Defense: Rasa-Studier Gambit})) 4. Nf3 Nf6 {B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6} 5. Bd3 a6 { Black is behind in developement} (5... Bb4 6. e5 Nfd7 7. O-O c5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Bg5 Qc7 10. Nb5 Qb6 11. b4 Bf8 12. a4 a5 13. bxa5 Qxa5 14. Qd2 Bb4 15. c3 Bc5 16. Nfd4 Nxe5 17. Nb3 Qb6 18. a5 Qc6 19. N5d4 Bxd4 20. cxd4 {Vaishali,R (2314) -Athul,K (2158) Bengaluru 2015 1-0 (52)}) 6. Bg5 {N} (6. O-O Qb6 7. exd5 cxd5 8. Re1 Bd6 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Ne5 Qxb2 12. Rab1 Qa3 13. Rb3 Qa5 14. Nxd7 Nxd7 15. Qe2 Re8 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Bf8 18. Qh4 Bg7 19. Re3 e5 20. dxe5 Rxe5 {Capote Robayna,J (1705)-Monte Soto,J Gran Canaria 2009 0-1 (38)}) (6. O-O Be7 {+/-}) 6... Be7 7. O-O {Black has a cramped position} h6 {Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 8. Bh4 (8. Be3 b5 {+/=}) 8... dxe4 (8... Nxe4 $5 { and Black is still in the game} 9. Bxe7 Nxc3 10. Bxd8 Nxd1 {=/+}) 9. Nxe4 {+/=} Nxe4 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 {Black is behind in development.} 11. Bxe4 Nd7 12. Bd3 (12. Qe2 O-O {+/=}) 12... Nf6 13. Re1 b5 14. c3 Bb7 15. Ne5 (15. b4 {+/=}) 15... Rc8 $2 (15... c5 16. a4 O-O 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. h3 {=}) 16. Ng4 (16. b4 Rd8 {+/-}) 16... Nxg4 (16... c5 $5 {= looks like a viable alternative}) 17. Qxg4 {+/-} O-O 18. Qe4 (18. b4 Ra8 {+/-}) 18... g6 {+/=} 19. h4 (19. Qe3 $5 {should be examined more closely} c5 20. dxc5 Rxc5 21. Qxh6 {+/=}) 19... c5 {=} 20. d5 { White threatens to win material: d5xe6} (20. Qf4 cxd4 21. cxd4 Kg7 {=}) 20... Qf6 (20... Rfd8 21. Qf4 Rxd5 22. Be4 {+/-}) 21. c4 (21. Qe3 c4 22. Bf1 exd5 23. Qxh6 d4 24. cxd4 Rcd8 {=}) 21... Rfe8 (21... exd5 22. Qe7 Qxe7 23. Rxe7 {+/-}) 22. Qg4 (22. cxb5 Bxd5 23. Qe5 Qxe5 24. Rxe5 c4 {+/-}) 22... h5 (22... exd5 23. cxb5 c4 24. bxa6 Bxa6 25. Bf1 {+/-}) 23. Qg3 (23. Qg5 $5 Qxg5 24. hxg5 bxc4 25. d6 {+/-}) 23... exd5 24. cxb5 c4 25. bxa6 Bxa6 26. Bf1 d4 27. Qa3 (27. Qg5 Qxg5 28. hxg5 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 {-+}) 27... d3 28. Red1 (28. Rec1 Re4 29. Qc3 Qc6 30. Bxd3 cxd3 31. Qxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxc6 d2 {-+}) 28... Rcd8 (28... Re4 {seems even better} 29. Qc3 Qc6 {-+}) 29. g3 $4 {the final mistake, not that it matters anymore} (29. Qc3 Rd4 30. b3 {-+}) 29... Bb7 30. Bg2 Bxg2 31. Kxg2 Re2 32. Rf1 Qc6+ (32... Rxb2 {makes it even easier for Black} 33. Rad1 Qd4 {-+}) 33. Kg1 ( 33. Kh2 {does not win a prize} Qb6 34. Kg1 Rxb2 {-+}) 33... Rde8 (33... d2 { keeps an even firmer grip} 34. Qa5 Rd5 {-+}) 34. Qc3 (34. Qa7 {doesn't do any good} Rxb2 35. Qd4 Rbe2 {-+}) 34... Qd5 (34... R8e3 35. Qe5 Rxe5 36. a3 R5e3 37. Kh2 Qc7 38. Rad1 Qxg3+ 39. Kh1 Qxh4+ 40. Kg1 Qg4+ 41. Kh1 Rh3#) 35. b3 (35. Qc1 R8e4 36. Qg5 Re5 {-+}) 35... cxb3 (35... R8e3 $1 36. Kh2 Qd6 37. Kh1 Rxg3 38. Qe5 Qxe5 39. fxg3 Qd5+ 40. Rf3 Qxf3+ 41. Kg1 Qg2#) 36. axb3 {-+} d2 37. b4 Re1 (37... Kh7 {and Black has prevailed} 38. Rab1 R8e5 {-+}) 38. Rfxe1 {+/-} Rxe1+ $2 (38... dxe1=N $5 39. Rxe1 Rd8 {+/-}) 39. Rxe1 {+-} d1=Q $4 {Black crumbles in face of a dire situation.} (39... dxe1=Q+ 40. Qxe1 g5 41. hxg5 Qxg5 {+-}) 40. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 41. Kh2 Qf1 (41... g5 42. Qc8+ Kg7 43. hxg5 h4 44. Qc3+ Kg8 45. gxh4 Qd6+ 46. Kh3 Qd7+ 47. Kg3 Qd6+ 48. Kg2 Qf4 {+-}) 42. Qc5 Qa1 43. b5 Qa5 44. Qc6 Qa4 45. Qa6 (45. Qe8+ {and White takes home the point} Kg7 46. Qe5+ Kh7 {+-}) 45... Qd4 46. Qa8+ Kg7 47. Kg2 g5 48. hxg5 h4 49. Qc6 hxg3 50. Qf6+ $1 {a forceful and devastating end} Qxf6 51. gxf6+ Kxf6 52. b6 gxf2 (52... Kf5 {hardly improves anything} 53. b7 gxf2 54. Kxf2 Ke4 55. b8=Q Kf5 56. Qe8 Kf4 57. Qe3+ Kf5 58. Kf3 Kg6 59. Kf4 Kf6 60. Qe5+ Kg6 61. Qg5+ Kh7 62. Kf5 f6 63. Kxf6 Kh8 64. Qg7#) 53. b7 (53. b7 f1=Q+ 54. Kxf1 Ke5 55. b8=Q+ Kd4 56. Qa7+ Kd5 57. Qxf7+ Kd6 58. Kf2 Kc5 59. Qe6 Kb4 60. Ke2 Kc5 61. Kd3 Kb5 62. Kd4 Ka4 63. Qb6 Ka3 64. Kc3 Ka2 65. Qb2#) 1-0 [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.07.18"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Kojjootti"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1813"] [BlackElo "1709"] [Annotator "Stockfish 9 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 {B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3... dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6} 5. Bg5 Be7 6. exd5 (6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Qd2 Nd7 8. O-O-O Qa5 9. Kb1 b6 10. Qf4 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Qxa6 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Rhe1+ Kd8 15. Ne5 Rf8 16. Nc6+ Kc8 17. Qd6 Qb7 18. Rd3 Rd8 19. Rc3 Bxd4 20. Ne7# {1-0 (20) Muzychuk,A (2560)-Gunina,V (2508) Khanty Mansiysk 2014}) (6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. e5 Ng8 8. Be3 Bb4 9. O-O h6 10. Ne2 Ne7 11. a3 Ba5 12. b4 Bc7 13. Ng3 b6 14. Qd2 c5 15. bxc5 bxc5 16. c3 Bb6 17. Nh5 Rg8 18. Bh7 Rh8 19. Nxg7+ Kf8 20. Bxh6 Rxh7 {Gallob,J (1808)-Hipfl,W (1955) Feffernitz 2017 1-0}) 6... exd5 $146 (6... Nxd5 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O N7f6 10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Qg5 O-O 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. Bd3 b5 14. Rhe1 Ne4 15. Qh4 f6 16. Rxe4 dxe4 17. Qxe4 fxe5 18. Qxh7+ Kf7 19. Bg6+ Kf6 20. Rd3 Bb7 21. Rg3 {Shivam,V (1680)-Athul,K (2158) Bengaluru 2015 0-1}) 7. Be2 (7. Bd3 O-O $11) 7... O-O $11 {Black castles and improves king safety} 8. O-O Ne4 (8... Bf5 9. Re1 $11) 9. Bxe7 $11 {White forks: f8+d8} Qxe7 10. Nxe4 (10. Re1 Nd6 $11) 10... dxe4 11. Ne5 (11. Ne1 Bf5 $11) 11... f6 (11... Nd7 12. Nc4 Nf6 $11) 12. Bc4+ (12. Nc4 Be6 $11) 12... Kh8 (12... Be6 13. Bxe6+ Qxe6 $15) 13. Ng4 $11 f5 14. Ne5 Nd7 15. f4 $2 (15. Nxd7 $5 Bxd7 16. f3 $11) 15... Nxe5 $15 16. fxe5 Qb4 (16... f4 $5 17. Qe2 e3 $17) 17. Bb3 $11 Rd8 {Black threatens to win material: Rd8xd4} (17... a5 18. a3 Qe7 19. Qd2 $11) 18. c3 {White threatens to win material: c3xb4} Qe7 19. Rf4 (19. Qd2 a5 20. a4 Be6 21. Bxe6 Qxe6 $11) 19... g5 {Black threatens to win material: g5xf4} (19... c5 20. Rf2 $11) 20. Rf1 Be6 (20... c5 21. Qe1 $14) 21. Bxe6 (21. Qh5 Rg8 22. Rae1 Raf8 $11) 21... Qxe6 $11 22. Qh5 {White threatens to win material: Qh5xg5} Rg8 {Black intends g4} 23. Rf2 $4 {gives the opponent counterplay} (23. Rae1 Raf8 $11) 23... Raf8 {Black plans f4} (23... f4 24. Rff1 $17) 24. a3 $4 {there were better ways to keep up the pressure} (24. Qe2 $142 $11 {and White has air to breath}) 24... f4 $17 25. Qe2 e3 26. Rff1 g4 (26... c5 27. Rad1 $17) 27. Rae1 g3 28. h3 Rg5 (28... a5 29. Qf3 Rf7 30. Qe4 $19) 29. Rf3 Rh5 $4 {spoils everything} (29... a5 30. Qd3 Kg7 31. a4 $17) 30. Ref1 (30. Rxf4 $1 {makes it even easier for White} Rxf4 31. Qxh5 Re4 $18) 30... Qh6 $4 { stumbles just before the finish line} (30... Rhf5 31. b4 $17) 31. Qc4 (31. Qxe3 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} Rhf5 32. Qe4 $18) 31... Rxh3 $4 {gives away a clear win} (31... Rhf5 $142 $17) 32. gxh3 $18 Qxh3 33. Qe2 Rg8 (33... Qh6 { does not save the day} 34. Qg2 Rg8 35. Rxf4 $18) 34. Qg2 Qxg2+ (34... Qh6 { hoping against hope} 35. Rxf4 e2 36. Qxe2 g2 37. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Qh5 $18) 35. Kxg2 e2 36. Re1 Rg4 37. Rxe2 Rh4 (37... Kg8 {is not the saving move} 38. Re4 Kf8 39. Rfxf4+ Rxf4 40. Rxf4+ Ke7 41. Rh4 h5 42. Rxh5 b6 43. Rh6 b5 44. Rxc6 b4 45. axb4 a6 46. Rxa6 Kf8 47. Ra7 Kg8 48. e6 Kf8 49. d5 Ke8 50. d6 Kf8 51. Rf7+ Kg8 52. d7 Kh8 53. d8=Q#) 38. Kg1 (38. Re4 Rh2+ 39. Kg1 Rxb2 40. e6 Rb1+ 41. Rf1 Rxf1+ 42. Kxf1 Kg7 43. e7 f3 44. Re6 g2+ 45. Kg1 f2+ 46. Kxf2 c5 47. e8=Q g1=Q+ 48. Kxg1 c4 49. Qd7+ Kh8 50. Re8#) 38... Rg4 (38... Kg8 { does not win a prize} 39. Re4 Kf7 40. Rexf4+ Rxf4 41. Rxf4+ Ke6 42. Rf6+ Kd7 43. Rh6 a6 44. Rxh7+ Ke6 45. Rxb7 g2 46. Rb6 Kd7 47. d5 cxd5 48. Rxa6 d4 49. cxd4 Ke7 50. Rd6 Kf8 51. b4 Ke7 52. b5 Kf8 53. b6 Ke7 54. b7 Kf8 55. b8=Q+ Ke7 56. Qc7+ Kf8 57. Rd8#) 39. Re4 h5 40. Rexf4 (40. e6 Kh7 41. Rexf4 Rg6 42. Rf7+ Kg8 43. Rf8+ Kh7 44. R3f7+ Kh6 45. e7 Re6 46. Rf6+ Rxf6 47. Rxf6+ Kg5 48. Rf7 g2 49. e8=Q a5 50. Qg8+ Kh4 51. Qxg2 a4 52. Rf4#) 40... Rxf4 (40... Rg6 { a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 41. Kg2 h4 42. Rxh4+ Kg7 43. Rhf4 c5 44. Rxg3 c4 45. e6 a6 46. Rxg6+ Kxg6 47. e7 a5 48. e8=Q+ Kg5 49. Rf7 a4 50. Qg8+ Kh6 51. Rh7#) 41. Rxf4 Kg7 42. Kg2 (42. e6 h4 43. e7 h3 44. e8=Q h2+ 45. Kg2 h1=Q+ 46. Kxh1 g2+ 47. Kxg2 c5 48. Qe6 c4 49. Rf7+ Kh8 50. Qc8#) 42... Kg6 (42... Kh6 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 43. e6 Kg5 44. Rf8 h4 45. e7 h3+ 46. Kxg3 h2 47. Kxh2 c5 48. e8=Q c4 49. Qe6 a6 50. Rf5+ Kh4 51. Qe4# ) 43. Kxg3 (43. Kxg3 Kg5 44. Rf8 h4+ 45. Kh3 c5 46. e6 c4 47. e7 Kg6 48. e8=Q+ Kg7 49. Qe7+ Kh6 50. Qf6+ Kh7 51. Rh8#) 1-0 [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.07.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Kojjootti"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1817"] [BlackElo "1700"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 Nf6 {B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3... dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6} 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e5 Nfd7 $1 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Bd3 { The position is equal.} c5 {1.12/25} (8... O-O $11 {0.20/28}) (8... a6 9. O-O ( 9. Na4 Qb4+ 10. c3 Qa5 11. b4 Qc7 12. Ng5 b5 13. Nc5 Nxc5 14. bxc5 h6 15. Qh5 Rf8 16. Nf3 Qa5 17. Kd2 Qc7 18. Qg4 g6 19. Qf4 h5 20. Ng5 Qe7 21. h4 a5 22. a3 a4 23. Rh3 f5 {Sobek,M (1898)-Slaby,J (1788) Slovakia 2016 1/2-1/2 (44)}) 9... c5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. a3 Nxd3 12. cxd3 b5 13. Nd4 Bb7 14. Nce2 Nd7 15. f4 O-O 16. Qd2 Rac8 17. Qe3 Rfe8 18. Rae1 Nf8 19. Kh1 Rc7 20. Ng1 Ng6 21. Ngf3 Bc8 22. Rc1 Bb7 {1-0 (22) Colovic,A (2460)-Panoski,S Struga 2005}) 9. dxc5 $146 { 0.19/32} (9. Nb5 $16 {1.12/25 Nc7+ is the strong threat.} Kd8 (9... c4 10. Nd6+ Kd8 11. Be2 Nc6 12. Qd2 f6 13. Qc3 fxe5 14. Nxe5 Ncxe5 15. dxe5 Rf8 16. g3 g5 17. Rf1 Qg7 18. f4 Qh6 19. fxg5 Rxf1+ 20. Bxf1 Qg7 21. O-O-O Qxg5+ 22. Kb1 Qh5 23. Rd2 Kc7 24. Nb5+ {Manyoki,A (2079)-Miovecz,B (1931) Hungary 2009 1-0 (58)}) 10. c4) 9... Nxc5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Nb5 O-O 12. Re1 a6 13. Nbd4 Qc7 $2 {3.39/25 [#]} (13... Nxd3 $11 {0.18/28 and Black stays safe.} 14. Qxd3 Bd7) 14. c3 $2 { 0.20/29} ({White has to play} 14. Bxh7+ $1 $18 {3.39/25} Kh8 (14... Kxh7 15. Ng5+) 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Ng5) 14... Nxd3 $11 15. Qxd3 h6 16. Nxc6 (16. Rac1 { is interesting.} Ne7 17. g3 Bd7 18. Kg2 Rfc8 19. Qe3) 16... bxc6 17. Qd4 { -0.55/27} ({White should try} 17. c4 $11 {0.00/28}) 17... c5 $15 18. Qg4 Bb7 19. Rad1 Rad8 20. Nh4 Qc6 {0.00/32} (20... d4 $15 {-0.44/23 should be considered.}) 21. Re3 $11 Rd7 {0.42/26} (21... Kh8 $11 {0.00/32 is superior.}) 22. Rg3 $1 $14 g6 $2 {#10/26 [#]} (22... f5 $14 {0.33/28} 23. exf6 Rxf6) 23. Nxg6 $1 {White mates.} fxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Qxh6+ Rh7 26. Qxf8# {Precision: White = 54%, Black = 30%.} 1-0