B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.O-O-O Bd6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4)

Chess960 may have been the dominating feature of these posts of mine lately, but now the center stage belongs to chess at least for today. The rest of the week and early next week these posts will contain more starting positions from chess960. The game you can view below was played in a team match called Match Name: TMCL 2016 R1 Sub-Div. A2. It is played between Chess Unlimited and LATINO on 136 boards. I played on board 21 for Chess Unlimited and in addition to this win, I lost my other game against mchang1229. The current score in the match is 106.5 - 151.5 in favor of LATINO, so even if I had also won my other game, it would not have made much of a difference to the score and the winner of the match would still be LATINO. However, it all adds up to the grim score from our point of view.

The game below featured its first mistake when my opponent played 20...gxf6. Taking with the pawn is the incorrect capture because now I can play my rook to g4 and get the g-file under my control and even in some case threaten to play Rg7 after I have kicked the knight from d5 with c4, for instance, and I would be close to winning the game. Mchang1229 blunders a second time in a row with 21...Rdf8 and after 22.Rg6 I should have the winning advantage and even during the game I was feeling confident of my chances to win after I saw that the pawn on h6 will fall. The position goes further down the drain for my opponent with his next move, but I did not play the best reply 23.Bxh6, but I instead took with my rook. My move should be good enough too, but taking with the bishop would have been better. The remainder of the game went firmly in my control and the only real possibility for me losing the game would have been on move 40, had I foolishly played my king to b5 and allowed a mate in one.

My statistics in this line are: 2 games while controlling the white pieces, 1 win (50%), 1 loss (50%).

[Event "Match Name: TMCL 2016 R1 Sub-Div. A2 -"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "mchang1229"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1853"] [BlackElo "1815"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Bd6 {Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Seirawan Variation} (12... Be7 {Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Lobron System}) 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 {B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} Nf6 15. Qh4 (15. Qe2 Bc7 16. Kb1 (16. c4 Qe7 17. Kb1 O-O-O 18. Bc3 Kb8 19. Ne5 Nd7 20. Nd3 Rhe8 21. f4 Bb6 22. g4 f6 23. Rde1 Qf7 24. b3 c5 25. dxc5 Nxc5 26. Nxc5 Bxc5 27. Rd1 Qc7 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rd1 Rd6 30. Rxd6 Qxd6 {Miyasaka,J (1512)-Cai,B (1594) Porto Carras 2015 1/2-1/2 (46)}) 16... Qd5 17. c4 Qe4+ 18. Qxe4 Nxe4 19. Be3 f5 20. d5 cxd5 21. cxd5 e5 22. Rhe1 O-O 23. Nh4 Bd6 24. Ng6 Rfe8 25. f4 exf4 26. Bxf4 Rad8 27. Bxd6 Rxd6 28. Nh4 Rf6 29. Rc1 Rd8 {Andreikin,D (2720)-Riazantsev,A (2646) Moscow 2015 1-0 (34)}) 15... Qe7 {N} (15... Qc7 16. Kb1 (16. c4 O-O-O 17. Rhe1 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qa5 20. Kb1 Bb4 21. Rh1 Qa4 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bd4 Qf5+ 25. Kb2 Qd3 26. Rc1 Ne4 27. Bxg7 Qe2+ 28. Ka1 Ba3 29. Rb1 Rd1 30. Qxe4 Qxe4 { Caravaca Aguirre, A-Rodriguez Gonzalez,I Oropesa del Mar 2000 0-1 (31)}) 16... O-O-O 17. Bc1 Rd7 18. Rhe1 Qd8 19. c3 Qa5 20. g4 Bc7 21. Nd2 Qd5 22. Nb3 Qf3 23. Rg1 Rhd8 24. Rde1 Nd5 25. Nc5 Re7 26. c4 Qf6 27. g5 hxg5 28. Bxg5 Qf5+ 29. Ka1 Nb4 30. Qe4 {Luc,V-Le,N (1883) Ho Chi Minh City 2012 1/2-1/2 (62)}) (15... Qb6 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Kb1 O-O-O 18. g4 Qb5 19. Rd3 Nd5 20. Rhd1 a5 21. Rc1 Nb4 22. c4 Qa6 23. Rdc3 Qa8 24. a3 Na6 25. c5 Bc7 26. g5 Rd5 27. Rg1 Bd8 28. Ne5 hxg5 29. Bxg5 f6 30. Bxf6 {Alavanja,D-Dujic,M Sv Filip i Jakov 2008 1-0 (67)}) 16. Ne5 Bxe5 (16... c5 17. Rhe1 {+/=}) 17. dxe5 {+/=} Nd5 18. Qg3 {White threatens to win material: Qg3xg7} O-O-O 19. Rh4 (19. Qxg7 $4 {it may look tempting but White must resist capturing the pawn} Rdg8 20. Qxg8+ Rxg8 21. Bxh6 Qc5 {-+}) 19... f5 20. exf6 gxf6 (20... Nxf6 21. Re1 Rhe8 22. Bc3 {+/=}) 21. Rg4 {+/-} Rdf8 (21... e5 $5 22. Rg6 Qf7 {+/-}) 22. Rg6 {+-} f5 $2 (22... Rd8 23. Qf3 {+-}) 23. Rxh6 (23. Bxh6 {makes it even easier for White} Re8 24. Bg5 Qf7 {+-}) 23... Rxh6 (23... f4 24. Qg6 Rxh6 25. Qxh6 e5 {+-}) 24. Bxh6 Rh8 25. Bg5 (25. Qg6 {keeps an even firmer grip} Qh7 26. Qxe6+ Qd7 27. Qxd7+ Kxd7 {+-}) 25... Qf7 (25... Qg7 26. Qh4 b5 27. h6 {+-}) 26. h6 (26. Qd6 {and White can already relax} Qxh5 27. Qxe6+ Kb8 28. Qxf5 Qh7 29. Qe5+ Ka8 {+-}) 26... f4 ( 26... Qg6 27. Qh4 b5 28. f4 {+-}) 27. Qh4 (27. Qh3 {might be the shorter path} Qg8 28. Qh4 Qh7 {+-}) 27... e5 (27... Qf5 28. a3 b5 29. Re1 {+-}) 28. a3 b5 29. g3 (29. Qh3+ {seems even better} Kc7 30. Re1 {+-}) 29... b4 $4 {but even a better move would not have saved the game} (29... Qf5 {+-}) 30. axb4 Nxb4 ( 30... Qf5 {is no salvation} 31. b5 $1 {Deflection: d5} Nb4 32. Rd2 fxg3 33. Qxg3 (33. Qxb4 $2 {looks tantalising, but} g2 34. Be3 g1=Q+ 35. Rd1 Qgg6 {-+}) 33... cxb5 34. Qg2 {+-}) 31. b3 (31. Qh3+ {seems even better} Kb8 32. gxf4 exf4 {+-}) 31... a5 (31... Qf5 32. Rd2 fxg3 33. Qxg3 {+-} (33. Qxb4 $6 {is much worse} g2 34. Qc5 g1=Q+ 35. Kb2 Qgxg5 36. Qxc6+ Kb8 37. Qb5+ Kc7 38. Qc4+ Kb7 39. Qb5+ Kc8 40. Qc4+ Kb7 41. Qb5+ Kc8 42. Qc4+ Kb7 {=})) 32. Kb2 (32. Qg4+ $5 {makes it even easier for White} Kc7 33. gxf4 Nd5 {+-}) 32... a4 (32... Kb7 { cannot change what is in store for White} 33. Rd2 Nd5 34. c4 {+-}) 33. gxf4 ( 33. Qh3+ {might be the shorter path} Kc7 34. gxf4 a3+ 35. Kxa3 Nxc2+ 36. Kb2 { +-}) 33... Kb7 (33... Qf5 {otherwise it's curtains at once} 34. Rd2 exf4 35. Qxf4 Qxf4 36. Bxf4 Nd5 {+-}) 34. fxe5 Nxc2 (34... Nd5 {there is nothing else anyway} 35. bxa4 Ka8 {+-}) 35. Qc4 Qxc4 36. bxc4 Nb4 37. Ka3 c5 38. Kxa4 (38. Rd8 Nc2+ 39. Kxa4 Rxh6 40. Bxh6 Kc7 41. Bg5 Nd4 42. Rxd4 cxd4 43. e6 d3 44. c5 d2 45. Bxd2 Kd8 46. Bg5+ Ke8 47. f4 Kf8 48. Bf6 Kg8 49. f5 Kf8 50. c6 Kg8 51. c7 Kh7 52. c8=Q Kh6 53. Qh8#) 38... Nc6 {+-} 39. f4 (39. Rd7+ Kc8 40. e6 Nd4 41. Rd8+ Rxd8 42. Bxd8 Kxd8 43. h7 Ke7 44. h8=Q Kxe6 45. f4 Kf5 46. Qe5+ Kg4 47. Qg5+ Kf3 48. f5 Ne2 49. f6 Nc3+ 50. Ka3 Nb1+ 51. Kb2 Ke2 52. Kxb1 Kd3 53. Qxc5 Ke4 54. f7 Kd3 55. f8=Q Kd2 56. Qd4+ Ke2 57. Qff2#) 39... Ra8+ (39... Nd4 {does not win a prize} 40. Ka3 Kc6 41. Kb2 {+-}) 40. Kb3 Nd4+ 41. Kb2 Kc6 ( 41... Rh8 {+- a last effort to resist the inevitable}) 42. h7 Rb8+ 43. Kc1 Nb3+ 44. Kc2 Nd4+ 45. Kd2 (45. Kd3 {it becomes clear that White will call all the shots} Rb3+ 46. Ke4 {+-}) 45... Rb2+ 46. Kd3 Rh2 47. Ra1 Kb6 (47... Rxh7 { there is nothing better in the position} 48. Ke4 Rh2 49. Ra6+ Kb7 {+-}) 48. Ke4 Rxh7 49. Bf6 (49. f5 Rh5 50. Bd8+ Kb7 51. f6 {+-}) 49... Rd7 (49... Rh2 { desperation} 50. Bd8+ Kb7 {+-}) 50. Rd1 (50. f5 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} Rf7 51. Rh1 Nc6 52. Rb1+ Ka7 {+-}) 50... Kc6 (50... Kc7 {hardly improves anything} 51. f5 Rf7 52. Ra1 {+-}) 51. f5 Rh7 52. e6 Ne2 (52... Kd6 {is not much help} 53. Be5+ Kc6 54. Bxd4 cxd4 55. f6 Rh4+ 56. Ke5 Rh5+ 57. Kxd4 Rh8 58. e7 Kd7 59. Ke5+ Kc6 60. Rd8 Rh5+ 61. Ke6 Ra5 62. e8=Q+ Kc5 63. Qh5+ Kb4 64. Rb8+ Kxc4 65. Qxa5 Kd3 66. Qa3+ Kc2 67. Rb2+ Kd1 68. Qa1#) 53. Rd8 Ng3+ 54. Ke5 Rh1 55. e7 (55. e7 Re1+ 56. Kf4 Nh5+ 57. Kg5 Ng3 58. e8=Q+ Rxe8 59. Rxe8 Nh1 60. Bc3 Kd7 61. Re1 Nf2 62. f6 Nd3 63. Rd1 Kd6 64. Rxd3+ Ke6 65. Re3+ Kf7 66. Re1 Kg8 67. Kg6 Kf8 68. Re7 Kg8 69. Re8#) 1-0 [Event "Open Challenge Kartik City - Board 10"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.06.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "einsTeIN72"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1832"] [BlackElo "1832"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Bd6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 { B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} Nf6 15. Qh4 (15. Qe2 Bc7 16. Rde1 b5 17. Kb1 Qd5 18. g4 Nxg4 19. Rhg1 Nf6 20. Rxg7 Nxh5 21. Rxf7 Kxf7 22. Ne5+ Bxe5 23. Qxh5+ Ke7 24. Rxe5 Qd6 25. a3 a5 26. f4 Kd7 27. f5 Kc7 28. Bf4 Kc8 29. fxe6 Ra7 {Aryan,C (2483)-Lokander,M (2359) Warsaw 2016 1-0 (33)}) 15... Qc7 ( 15... Nd5 16. c4 Qxh4 17. Rxh4 Nf6 18. Bc3 O-O-O 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Rxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Nd7 22. Rg4 Rg8 23. g3 Kd8 24. Ke2 Ke7 25. Ke3 c5 26. b3 b6 {1/2-1/2 (26) Unterkofler,A (1770)-Moser,G (1744) Caldaro 2016}) 16. g4 $146 (16. c4 O-O-O 17. Rhe1 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qa5 20. Kb1 Bb4 21. Rh1 Qa4 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bd4 Qf5+ 25. Kb2 Qd3 26. Rc1 Ne4 27. Bxg7 Qe2+ 28. Ka1 Ba3 29. Rb1 Rd1 30. Qxe4 Qxe4 {Caravaca Aguirre,A-Rodriguez Gonzalez,I Oropesa del Mar 2000 0-1 (31)}) (16. Kb1 O-O-O 17. Bc1 Rd7 18. Rhe1 Qd8 19. c3 Qa5 20. g4 Bc7 21. Nd2 Qd5 22. Nb3 Qf3 23. Rg1 Rhd8 24. Rde1 Nd5 25. Nc5 Re7 26. c4 Qf6 27. g5 hxg5 28. Bxg5 Qf5+ 29. Ka1 Nb4 30. Qe4 Qxe4 {Luc,V-Le,N (1883) Ho Chi Minh City 2012 1/2-1/2 (62)}) 16... Bf4 17. g5 (17. Ne5 $142 {and White has air to breath} Bxe5 18. dxe5 Qxe5 19. g5 hxg5 20. Bxg5 $11) 17... hxg5 $17 18. Nxg5 $2 (18. Bxf4 $142 Qxf4+ 19. Qxf4 gxf4 20. Rh4 $17) 18... Bxd2+ $19 19. Rxd2 (19. Kxd2 {doesn't improve anything} Rd8 20. Qg3 Rxd4+ 21. Ke3 Qxg3+ 22. fxg3 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rxh5 $19) 19... Rxh5 (19... Rxh5 20. Qxh5 Nxh5 21. Rxh5 O-O-O $19) 0-1