B28 Sicilian: 2.Nf3 a6 (O'Kelly Variation) (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6)

This was played on the third round of a rapid chess tournament at the FIDE Online Arena. After this game I had three wins, so things were looking great for me at this point. Also when I was looking for the opening used in this game, I thought briefly that I had once again discovered something that had not been covered here before, but then I started thinking that because this opening was found among the database of openings at Chess.com, there is a chance I had posted games in this same opening before but I had not labeled the post correctly. And again I found that I had been wrong originally when I made this post. I correct myself from time to time because nobody else will do it for me.

It would seem to me at this time that 5.c4 would be playable against 4...a6. Actually I do not see the purpose of 5.c3, except that if my opponent takes on d4, I can take back with the c-pawn. If taking back with the pawn was the only reason why I played 5.c3, then it was not good enough reason because the pawn on c3 makes my development a bit awkward. The only position of interest in my opinion is the position after 16...Rad8, which is shown below.

The best idea in this position was to move the knight from h2 to g4.

I have a small advantage in that position, but because I misjudged the position, I ended up on the worse side of the board with the move 17.Nd5. Raymondo found the best move in the position, 17...Nxd5 and I was clearly going towards a loss. I then continued with the only move 18.exd5 and at that moment raymondo had the chance to prove why my 17th move was so bad. My opponent unfortunately did not see the move 18...Nb4, but instead played the losing move 18...Na7?? The rest of the game was just a matter of technique.

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Sicilian Defense: Open (#3) a6 B28 Sicilian: 2.Nf3 a6 (O'Kelly Variation) 4...d5 Sicilian Defense: Nimzo-American Variation 4...e5 5.Nb5 d6 Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation 4...g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ng4 Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maroczy Bind, Breyer Variation 5.c3 5.Nb3 Nf6 6.Bd3 d5 7.exd5 Qxd5 8.0-0 Nb4 9.Nc3 Qd8 10.Be2 Qxd1 11.Bxd1 Bf5 12.Nd4 Bg6 13.a3 e5 14.axb4 exd4 15.Re1+ Kd7 16.Na4 Bxb4 17.c3 Rae8 18.Bd2 Rxe1+ 19.Bxe1 dxc3 Cioara,A (2345)-Mihalko,J (2305) Nyiregyhaza 1998 0-1 (34) 5...e5N 5...e6 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Qc2 7.Nd2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qc2 Ne5 10.N2f3 Ng6 11.h3 d5 12.e5 Ne8 13.Re1 Nc7 14.Be3 Bd7 15.Bd3 Be8 16.Nh2 f6 17.exf6 Bxf6 18.Ng4 Bf7 19.Qe2 Re8 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.Bh6 Kh8 Akopian,S (1910) -Rybakova,G Belorechensk 2013 1-0 (47) 7...Qc7 8.Be3 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nd2 d6 11.Rac1 Bd7 12.Bd3 Rac8 13.Qd1 e5 14.N4b3 Ng4 15.Qe1 f5 16.exf5 Bxf5 17.Bxf5 Rxf5 18.h3 Nxe3 19.fxe3 Rcf8 20.Rxf5 Akopian,S (1806)-Kidanov,V (1869) Armavir 2015 0-1 (75) 5...g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Qd2 d6 8.Na3 Nf6 9.f3 Qc7 10.Qf2 b5 11.Ndxb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Qb7 13.Bb6 0-0 14.a4 Nd7 15.Be3 Qb8 16.Bc4 Nde5 17.Be2 f5 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.0-0 Kh8 20.Rfd1 Crnic,I (1638) -Hribar,A (1717) Ljubljana 2010 0-1 (34) 6.Nf3 d6 6...Nf6 7.Bd3= 7.Be2 Nf6 Black threatens to win material: Nf6xe4 8.Nbd2 h6 Prevents intrusion on g5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Re1 0-0 11.Qc2 Qc7 12.Bd3 Bg4 13.h3 White threatens to win material: h3xg4 Bh5 14.Nh2 Bg6 15.Ndf1 Rfe8 16.Ne3 Rad8 16...d5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Nb4 19.cxb4 Qxc2 20.Bxc2 Bxc2 21.Rxe5 Bf6= 17.Nd5?? throwing away the advantage 17.Nhg4 Nxg4 18.hxg4 17...Nxd5 18.exd5 Na7?? an unfortunate move that relinquishes the win 18...Nb4! 19.cxb4 Qxc2 20.Bxc2 Bxc2 19.Bxg6+- fxg6 20.Qxg6 Bg5 20...h5 doesn't get the bull off the ice 21.Qxh5 Rf8 22.Re4+- 21.Bxg5 21.f4 makes it even easier for White Bxf4 22.Bxf4 Qf7 23.Qxf7+ Kxf7+- 21...hxg5 22.Qxg5 Qf7 22...Qe7 doesn't improve anything 23.Qg3+- 23.Rad1 23.Ng4 and White can already relax Qe7 24.Qg6 Rf8+- 23...Rf8 23...Nc8+- 24.Ng4 Kh7 24...Qf4 a last effort to resist the inevitable 25.Qh4 Qf5+- 25.Qh4+ 25.Rd3 and White has triumphed Qf4 26.Qh4+ Kg8+- 25...Kg8 26.Re3 Qg6 26...Nc8 the only chance to get some counterplay 27.Rg3 Qe7+- 27.Rg3 Rf4 28.Qxd8+ Kh7 29.Qh4+ Kg8 30.Nh6+ 30.Qe7 Kh7 31.Re1 Nc8 32.Qxb7 Rf8 33.Nxe5 Qxg3 34.fxg3 dxe5 35.Qc7 Na7 36.Qxa7 Rf6 37.Qe7 e4 38.Rxe4 Kg8 39.Rg4 Rf7 40.Qe6 a5 41.Rf4 Kh8 42.Rxf7 a4 43.Qg6 a3 44.Qxg7# 30...Qxh6 31.Qxh6 31.Qxh6 Rf7 32.Rdd3 e4 33.Rde3 Nc8 34.Rxe4 Ne7 35.Qxd6 a5 36.Rxe7 a4 37.Rxf7 a3 38.Rfxg7+ Kh8 39.Qf8# 1–0

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res

Vierjoki,T

1823

raymondo

1501

1–0

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B36 Sicilian: Maroczy Bind: Gurgenidze System (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.Nf3 O-O)

The game that will be seen today was previously located in the post B32 Sicilian Defense: Open #3. That post was renamed to B32 Sicilian: Löwenthal and Kalashnikov Variations (7...Nf6). This game was played in a team match called Open Challenge Magnus Carlsen Group. It is played between Magnus Carlsen Group and DORU-66 & HIS BEST FRIENDS. I will never understand the fixation of all caps in a team name but then again it does not bother me as much as it does some people. This match is played on 21 boards and I played board 4 for Magnus Carlsen Group. I won both my games in the match, this game on time and the other with my opponent's resignation. Even though there are still games left to play, DORU-66 & HIS BEST FRIENDS have already won the match as the score is at the moment I type this 12,5 - 24,5 in favor of our opponent.

Up to the move 5.c4 this game followed one of my previously shared games in this blog. In the other game my opponent played 5...e5 and in this game kroksis played 5...Nf6. The reason why this game ended in my victory was not due to the move 5...Nf6, the reason came later on in the game. The first time my advantage became a clear one was after the move 12...b6 and it was played in the position below.

12...Qc8 might have been a better alternative.

While the downhill might have started with the move 12...b6, the final mistake was seen after my 16th move Bg4. The position below has been taken after the move 16.Bg4.

16...Rf6 was a better try.

Kroksis played 16...e5 and the game was lost for my opponent. 16...Rf6 is probably a better move, but it is unlikely that kroksis would be able to hang on in the game for long regardless.

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Sicilian Defense: Open (#3) d6 4...e5 5.Nb5 d6 Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation 4...g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon. Maroczy Bind Gurgenidze Variation 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.Nf3 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4 Rb8 11.Kh1 Nd7 12.Qc2 Nc5 13.Be3 Qa5 14.a3 Rxb2 15.Qxb2 Bxc3 16.Qc2 Bxa1 17.Rxa1 Bd7 18.Bd2 Qa4 19.Qxa4 Nxa4 20.Rb1 Nc5 21.Be3 Ra8 22.Bxc5 dxc5 Vijayalakshmi,S (2329)-Gokhale,J (2369) India 1999 1/2-1/2 (57) 8...0-0 B36 Sicilian: Maroczy Bind: Gurgenidze System 9.0-0 Be6 White has an active position 9...a6 10.Qc2 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Rc8 13.Ne2 Ne5 14.Nf4 Rxc4 15.Qe2 Qc8 16.Bd2 Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Nxe4 18.Bc1 Qc6 19.Rd1 Nf6 20.Qe3 e5 21.Ne2 Rc8 22.Nc3 e4 23.g4 b5 24.g5 Galeano,O (1591) -Velez Alvarez,L (1871) Bogota 2016 0-1 (33) 10.Ng5N 10.Be3 Rc8 11.Qd2 Ng4 12.Bf4 f5 13.h3 Nge5 14.Bh6 Qd7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Qg5 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Ne5 18.Be2 Bxc4 19.Bxc4 Rxc4 20.Nd5 e6 21.Ne3 Rc5 22.Rad1 Qc7 23.Qg3 0-1 (23) Perez Velazco,D (1443)-Orbezo Rosales,X (1799) Cali 2011 10...Ne5 10...Bc8 11.Be3= 11.Nxe6 White forks: d8+f8 fxe6 White has the pair of bishops 12.Be3 b6 13.Rc1 Rc8 14.b3 Nfd7 14...Nc6 15.f4± 15.f4 Nc6 16.Bg4 e5 16...Rf6!?± 17.f5+- Nd4 17...Qe8+- 18.fxg6 Rxf1+ 18...Ra8 19.gxh7+ Kh8 20.Rxf8+ Nxf8 21.Nb5+- 19.Qxf1 hxg6 20.Nd5 Rb8 21.Qf2 21.Qf2 Nf6 22.Qh4 Nxd5 23.cxd5+- 23.exd5?! Bf6 24.Qh6 Qf8 25.Qxg6+ Qg7 26.Qxg7+ Bxg7+- 1–0

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res

Vierjoki,T

1918

kroksis

1718

1–0

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B07 Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.h3)

This game was previously located in my post B07 Pirc Defence: Kholmov System, but the way I am naming the variations these days, I had to move this game here and rename that post to B07 Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems (7...e5). The comments that were in the original post I did not alter for this new post, but I switched the old static positions into living diagrams. This game was played in a team match called Christmas Tortoise Challenge. The match is played between Tortoise Chess Club and La Belle France on 25 boards. I played on board 5 for La Belle France and lost both of my games against jimmyrbellew. I am glad that other members of our team have been better able to get points than me and actually we have secured the win in the match already. The current score in the match is 12 - 36 in favor of La Belle France. Only the two games on board 14 are still in progress.

I have also played 5.Qe2, but in this game I went for the move 5.h3. Both moves should lead to an even position. The first clear mistake of the game was played by my opponent on move 11. Jimmyrbellew played 11...Bh8 in the position below. The move 11...e5 seems to me like the most natural option.

It would have been a better idea to play 11...e5, 11...Bxh6 or 11...Qc7.

The move played in the game allowed me to play 12.e5, unfortunately I did not play it and chose to play 12.Ne2 instead. The position should be roughly even after my 12th move. The next big mistake was played by me in the position you can see below. I played 18.Bb3, which gives my opponent a clear advantage.

The only move that could have kept the game in balance was the move 18.N3e4.

A few moves later on move 24 I blundered and played Qg4 and ended up in a lost position. You can see the position before 24.Qg4 below.

The moves 24.Nf1 and 24.Nfe4 were better than the game continuation.

I was going downhill for awhile, but then after my 28th move Nh2 my opponent made a huge blunder by playing 28...e5 in the position below. This was one of my best chances to get a winning advantage, but I missed my chance and played 29.Ng4. In order to get the winning advantage, I should have played 29.dxe5.

Jimmyrbellew would have been better advised to play 28...Nb4, 28...h5 or 28...Bb5.

We should have been on equal footing after my 29th move. I got another chance to get a clear, maybe close to winning advantage after 31...Nf4 in the position below. I should have replied with 32.dxe5 or 32.Ne4, but I played the horrible 32.Red1 instead. Blunders kept coming, first 32...Be2, then one decent move in between 33.Rd2, but then another blunder 33...Bb5.

Better alternatives for jimmyrbellew would have been 31...exd4, 31...Qe7 or 31...Bd3.

At this moment the game seemed to go my way. Unfortunately I was not up to the task of converting my advantage into a win and when reaching the position below, I played 39.Rdd1, which threw all my advantage away.

I should have played 39.a4 instead, in order to maintain a clear advantage.

The final positional downhill started for me after the move 42...Be2. I played 43.Re1, which may seem like a decent move at first glance, but there was only one good move in that position and the move Re1 was not it.

The correct idea was to play 43.Nd4.

The problem with the move 43.Re1 is that my opponent can play 43...Bxf3 and my kingside pawn structure is ruined and my king ends up in huge trouble. Jimmyrbellew played well the rest of the game and did not give me any more chances to get back into the game.

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1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 Pirc Defense: Kholmov System 4.Be3 c6 5.Qd2 Bg4 Pirc Defense: 150 Attack, Inner Doll Defense 4.Bg5 Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation 4...Bg7 5.h3 B07 Pirc Defence: Miscellaneous Systems 5.f4 Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Ljubojevic Variation 5...a6 5...0-0 6.Be3 Na6 7.Qf3 c5 8.Bxa6 bxa6 9.e5 dxe5 10.dxe5 Nd7 11.Qxa8 Qb6 12.0-0-0 Bb7 13.Nd5 Bxa8 14.Nxb6 Nxb6 15.f4 Rc8 16.Ne2 Bxg2 17.Rh2 Nd5 18.Bd2 Bf3 19.Rf2 Bh5 20.Ba5 Sotolongo,N (2186)-Gonzalez Mesa,D (2090) Matanzas 1999 1-0 (36) 6.Nf3 6.f4 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 8.e5 dxe5 9.fxe5 Nd5 10.Qf3 e6 11.Nge2 0-0 12.Nf4 c6 13.Ne4 Nd7 14.Nd6 Rb8 15.0-0 Qb6 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Be3 f6 18.Qg4 f5 19.Qg5 1/2-1/2 (19) Balek,F-Arend,M (1850) Klatovy 2013 6...c6N Prevents intrusion on b5 6...b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.e5 Nd5 9.Nxd5 Bxd5 10.0-0 Nd7 11.Re1 0-0 12.Bf4 Nb6 13.b3 c5 14.c3 cxd4 15.cxd4 dxe5 16.dxe5 Bb7 17.Rc1 Rc8 18.Qe2 Nd5 19.Bd2 e6 20.Red1 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Mares,I (1897)-Kansky,J (1865) Nachod 2011 1-0 (58) 6...b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.e5= 7.0-0 0-0 7...b5 8.Bd3 8.Bg5 Black has a cramped position 8.Bb3!?± 8...b5= Black threatens to win material: b5xc4 9.Bd3 Nbd7 10.Qd2 10.e5 dxe5 11.dxe5 Ne8= 10...Re8 10...e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Rfd1= 11.Bh6 11.e5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 11...Bh8 11...e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 dxe5 14.Be3= 12.Ne2 Black has a cramped position 12.e5 Nd5 13.e6 fxe6± 12...Qc7 13.c4 13.a4!? should not be overlooked 13...bxc4 14.Bxc4 Nxe4 15.Qf4 Nef6 16.Ng5 e6 17.Ng3 Nb6 17...Qb8 18.Bb3 d5 19.Qxb8 Rxb8 20.Rfc1 18.Bb3? 18.N3e4 Nxe4 19.Nxe4 Qe7 19...Nxc4?? 3 leads to instant death in 20.Nf6+ Bxf6 21.Qxf6 a5 22.Qg7# 18...Nbd5 Black threatens to win material: Nd5xf4 18...Nfd5 19.Qd2 19.Qf3 19.Qh4 a5 20.N5e4 Bg7 19...a5 20.Rac1 Qd7 Black has a cramped position 20...a4 21.Bc4 21.Rfe1 21.Ba4 Bb7 22.Rfd1 21...Bg7 21...a4!? 22.Bc4 Bb7 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Bxd5? 23.N3e4 Rf8 23...Nxd5 23...cxd5 24.Qe3 24.Qg4? 24.N5e4!? 24...h6-+ 25.Nf3 Nf6 25...f5!? 26.Qh4 Rb8-+ 26.Qf4 Nd5 Black threatens to win material: Nd5xf4 27.Qd2 27.Qg4 f5 28.Qh4-+ 27...Ba6 28.Nh2 e5?? gives the opponent counterplay 28...Nb4!? 29.Rc3 f5 29...Nxa2?! 30.Ng4 Rh8 31.Rf3= 29.Ng4?? White threatens to win material: Ng4xh6. gives the opponent new chances 29.dxe5 White has a promising position h5 30.Nf3+- 29...h5= Black threatens to win material: h5xg4 30.Qh6+?? there were better ways to keep up the pressure 30.Nxh5+ gxh5 31.Qg5+ Kf8 32.dxe5 hxg4 33.Qh6+ Ke7 34.Qg5+ Ke6 35.Qh6+ Ke7 36.Qh4+ Kf8 37.Qh8+ Ke7 38.Qh4+ Kf8 39.Qh8+ Ke7 40.Qh4+= 30...Kg8 31.Nh2 Nf4?? allows the opponent back into the game 31...exd4 32.Nxh5 gxh5 33.Qg5+ Kh7 34.Qxh5+ Kg8 35.Qg5+ Kh7 36.Qh5+ Kg8 37.Qg5+ Kh7 38.Qh5+= 32.Red1?? throwing away the advantage 32.Ne4 Nd5 33.dxe5 dxe5+- 32...Be2?? releasing the pressure on the opponent 32...Ne2+ 33.Nxe2 Bxe2 33.Rd2± Bb5?? shortens the misery for Black 33...Bd3 34.Nf3 h4 35.dxe5 dxe5± 34.dxe5+- Nd5 35.exd6 35.Nf3 keeps an even firmer grip dxe5 36.Ne4+- 35...Re6?? terrible, but the game is lost in any case 35...h4 36.Qxh4 Qxd6+- 36.Nf3+- Nf6 37.Qf4 37.Ng5 secures the win Re5 38.f4 Rxg5 39.Qxg5+- 37...Nd5 38.Qd4 38.Rxd5!? cxd5 39.Rc7+- 38...Qxd6± 39.Rdd1 39.a4 Ba6 40.Ne4 Qe7± 39...Qe7 39...a4 40.Qd2= 40.a4 White threatens to win material: a4xb5 Ba6 41.Qd2 41.h4!? 41...h4= 42.Nf1 Be2 Black threatens to win material: Be2xd1 43.Re1 43.Nd4!? must definitely be considered Bxd1 44.Nxe6 Bxa4 45.Qd4 Qxe6 46.Qxa4= 43...Bxf3 44.gxf3?? strolling merrily down the path to disaster 44.Rxe6 Qxe6 45.gxf3 Qxh3 46.Rc4 44...Nf4‼-+ Deflection: e1 45.Kh2 45.Qxf4 Qb4 Decoy Double attack 45...Rxe1 Deflection 45...Qg5 46.Ne3 Rd8 47.Qc2 Nd3 48.Rg1 48.Rcd1 desperation Nxe1 49.Rxe1-+ 48...Qf4+ 49.Kg2 Rxe3 49...Rxe3 50.Kf1 Qxf3 51.Rg4 Rd4 52.Kg1 Rxg4+ 53.hxg4 Nxc1 54.fxe3 Ne2+ 55.Qxe2 Qxe2 56.b3 h3 57.b4 Qg2# 0–1

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res

Vierjoki,T

1823

jimmyrbellew

1667

0–1

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B01 Scandinavian Defence (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe5+)

This is one of the games that have been shared in this blog before, I have changed the name of the opening played in the game according to the way Deep Fritz 14 classifies them. I have added some commentary to the post that was not in the original post. Originally this was in my post B01 Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation. There is only one critical moment in this game and it can be viewed in the diagram below. My opponent was already way behind in development, but billy23xx still moved the bishop to g6 in order to keep the pawn structure intact. I answered to the move 11...Bg6 with 12.Nb5 and threatened a fork on c7. It would not have won material yet, had billy23xx played 12...Na6, but I should have the advantage on my side. Billy23xx played 12...Kd7 in the game and after I answered with 13.Nc7, it was quite clear that I was heading towards a relatively easy game.

It was a better idea to develop the knight to c6.

This game was played in the first round of a tournament called Smaller Tournament and it was played at Chess.com. I was 6th in the final standings. According to the Chess.com statistics, I played 12 games in the tournament, out of which I won 10 and drew 2 and did not lose a single game. That being said, when looking at other statistics from the tournament, they do not seem to be correct.

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1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation 3.Nc3 Qe5+ B01 Scandinavian Defence 3...Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Scandinavian Defense: Lasker Variation 3...Qd6 4.d4 c6 4...Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 Scandinavian Defense: Bronstein Variation 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Nge2 Bf5 7.Bf4 Qb4 Scandinavian Defense: Schiller-Pytel Variation. Modern Variation 4.Qe2 Qxe2+ 5.Bxe2 Nf6 6.Nf3 c6 7.0-0 7.d4 Bf5 8.Bd1 h6 9.h3 e6 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Bf4 Bb4 12.Ne2 g5 13.Bh2 0-0 14.c3 Be7 15.Rc1 Bd3 16.Re1 c5 17.Bc2 Ba6 18.Rcd1 Rac8 19.Ng3 Rfe8 20.Ne4 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 Nf6 Marcos Pinto,L (2015) -Cruz,C (2451) Aviles 2007 1-0 (52) 7...Bf5 8.d3 8.d4 e6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.cxd3 Bd6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Rfe1 0-0 13.Rad1 Nbd7 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nd5 16.Nxd5 cxd5 17.Bxe7 Rfe8 18.Bh4 Rac8 19.Rc1 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 h6 21.h3 b6 22.Rc7 a5 Senekal,F (779)-Malan,H (813) Bloemfontein 2016 1-0 8...e6 9.Bf4 Nd5N 9...Nbd7 10.Rfe1 Bb4 10...h6 11.Bg3 Be7 12.Ne5 Rd8 13.Bf3 0-0 14.Rad1 Nb6 15.Re2 Bc5 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rxe4 Nd5 19.c3 Nf6 20.Ree1 Be7 21.d4 Nh5 22.Rd3 Bd6 23.Kf1 Nxg3+ 24.Rxg3 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 Nemcova, K (1505) -Thierry,R (1766) Hradec Kralove 2013 1/2-1/2 11.a3 Ba5 12.b4 Bb6 13.Na4 Nd5 14.Nxb6 N7xb6 15.Bd2 0-0-0 16.Nd4 Bg6 17.Nb3 Rhe8 18.Bf3 e5 19.Nc5 Nd7 20.Ne4 f5 21.Nd6+ Kc7 22.Nxe8+ Rxe8 23.g3 N7b6 24.Bg2 Sarquis, M-Hegarty,S Oropesa del Mar 2001 1-0 (56) 9...Nbd7 10.Nh4= 10.Nxd5 cxd5 11.Nd4 Bg6 Black is behind in development. 11...Nc6 12.Nxf5 exf5 13.a3 12.Nb5± Kd7? 12...Na6!?± 13.Nc7+- 1–0

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res

Vierjoki,T

1839

billy23xx

1268

1–0

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B40 Sicilian: 2...e6, Unusual lines (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 c5)

I am back into posting after using my time to other things for awhile and this time the posts will be published more regularly than in a long time. The posts should be appearing five times a week again. I am still going through my previously posted games and changing the names of the openings played in the games according to how Deep Fritz 14 categorizes them. When I get far enough in the future with these improvements, I will also start adding new Chess960 games to look at. Also when I get things going properly again, I will start doing videos to YouTube again.

While Deep Fritz 14 classifies this opening to include the move 5...c5, it is not the best move. Moves like 5...Nf6 and 5...Be7 are better according to the engine Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT. My opponent should have been in some problems after the 5th move, but in the position below my opponent made a move that could have cost Marko Krale the game. My opponent played 8...Qc7 and with correct play I would have been on my way to victory. I played 9.Bd3 in the game, which was not the best decision. I should have played either 9.O-O-O or 9.Bf4. After my 9th move the position should be slightly better for me. In order to keep the situation in control, my opponent should have played 9...Nd7, but he played 9...Nc6 instead, which allowed me to increase my advantage again with the move 10.Nxc6.

Better moves for Marko Krale were 8...Bb4 and 8...Nd7.

The next turning point came when we reached the position that can be seen in the diagram below. I played 13.Bd3 in order to save my bishop pair, but it was more important to get a new piece into the game. In reply Marko Krale played 13...h6, which was a bad choice. Because my opponent was clearly behind in development, it was important to get pieces out as fast as possible. The move 13...h6 is just too slow. Therefore moves like 13...Bd6 and 13...Bd7 are better options than the move Marko Krale played.

The best option was to move the rook from a1 to d1.

The next position of interest was reached after my 18th move Qg3. It can be seen in the next diagram. My opponent decided to defend the pawn on g7 by moving the bishop to f8. It left the king in the center and development of the kingside became very difficult. It may look scary to place the king on the same file as my queen and go on the side of the board where also my bishops are aiming, but there is no real danger yet, because the kingside is sufficiently defended. The move Marko Krale played was horrible enough to result in a lost position. I took my chance to weaken the pawn structure on the kingside immediately and played 19.Bxf6, which is the strongest reply according to Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT. After the obvious 19...gxf6, I played 20.Re2, which is a step in the wrong direction. A more accurate move was 20.Bf5. That being said, I should be doing well also in the game continuation.

Castling seems to be the best idea in this position. It gets the king out of the center and defends the pawn on g7.

The next position that I am going to take out of the game was seen in the game after 20...Qb8. In the game I played 21.Qh4, in order to keep my opponent on the defensive. Had Marko Krale played 21...Be7, it would have been clearer that I made a mistake on my 21st move. Concentrating my efforts towards e6 was a better idea. After 21.Qh4, the position should be roughly even. It would have required an accurate play from my opponent and the only good move for my opponent would have been the aforementioned 21...Be7. In the game Marko Krale played 21...Bg7, which was another step towards a loss.

In order to keep my winning advantage, I should have played 21.Qg4.

My 22nd move, Ne4, was a bad idea from me, which would have let my opponent back in the game, had he played either 22...Qe5 or 22...Qd8 in reply. 22.Qb4 was my best choice. Neither 22...Qe5 nor 22...Qd8 was played, my opponent instead chose to play 22...Bxe4, which is one way of protecting the pawn on f6, but not a good one. The light-squared bishop could have offered my opponent some counterplay especially if combined with the rook on the half open g-file and perhaps with the queen. I then should have taken the bishop with my queen, in order to centralize it and prevent my opponent from castling. I instead played 23.Rxe4 and the game was quite evenly played for a little while. The next turning point came in the diagram position below.

Marko Krale had again the option to castle and he should have used it.

Marko Krale did not castle, but instead moved the queen to c7 on move 24. Maybe he thought that the king is more secure on e8 than on g8, which I can understand to some degree, but since there was a clear threat of Bxf5, I would have taken my chances and castled. I happily took the free pawn and probably was confident about my chances of winning the game at that point in the game. My opponent blundered with 25...Rd8 and at that point I had the chance to force a mate in four. This was definetely my best chance to win the game, but unfortunately I missed the mating sequence and made things unnecessarily difficult for me. The game continued favorably for me even after that with the moves 26.Rxd8+ Qxd8, but then I traded queens and the game seemed to go towards a draw from that point on. The next diagram shows the position after 32.Re3. It was in this position that my opponent started to give me play again and maybe with accurate play, I could have even won the game.

The best move seems to be 32...Bd4 and it would have kept the game reasonably even.

The game game continued with the moves 32...Bg7 33.Bd3 Ra1 34.a4 Rd1. With each of his three moves, Marko Krale made his position worse. I was not making the best moves either and instead of 34.a4, I should have played 34.Rf3. I played it a move later and it was still a good move, keeping me firmly in the driver's seat. After some mistakes from both sides, we reached the position seen in the diagram below, taken after 40...Be5. I played 41.Rd3+ and the game went on peacefully and draw was agreed upon on move 50.

The two options I should have thought about more were 41.Kf1 and 41.c3. Both were better than what I did in the game.

This paragraph was typed when I originally shared this game. This is from the 2014 August Grand Seven Fourteen III tournament that is still ongoing at Red Hot Pawn. I had my chances to win this game but I was not able to take advantage of them and the game ended in a draw. I may have a pawn more in the end position but I do not have any way to improve my position as my opponent's pieces are restricting my actions quite a lot. So he has enough compensation for the pawn to draw this game with ease.

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Move	N	Result	Elo

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1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 Scandinavian Defense: Mieses-Kotroc Variation 3.Nc3 Qd8 3...Qa5 4.d4 4.b4 Scandinavian Defense: Main Lines. Leonhardt Gambit 4...e5 4...Nf6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Ne5 c6 7.g4 Scandinavian Defense: Grünfeld Variation 5.Nf3 Bg4 Scandinavian Defense: Anderssen Counterattack. Collijn Variation 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 c5 B40 Sicilian: 2...e6, Unusual lines 5...c6 6.Be2 Nf6 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Ne4 Qe7 11.a4 a5 12.c3 Nd7 13.Qb3 0-0 14.Rfe1 Bc7 15.g3 b6 16.Bc4 Kh8 17.Rad1 Ba6 18.Bxa6 Rxa6 19.Qc4 Nb8 20.Re2 Roehlich,D (1982)-Burow,R (1476) Frankfurt 2013 1/2-1/2 (39) 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 7.Qxd4 Qxd4 8.Nxd4 a6 9.0-0-0 Nf6 10.Be2 Be7 11.g4 0-0 12.a3 Nbd7 13.Rhg1 Rd8 14.f4 Nf8 15.f5 Ne8 16.fxe6 Nxe6 17.Nf5 Bf8 18.Bf3 Nd6 19.Nd5 Nc4 20.Bf2 Ne5 21.Bh1 h6 Peptan,C (2434)-Smailovic,R (2209) Bar 2005 1-0 (31) 7...a6 8.Qf3N 8.Bd3 Nf6 9.h3 Bb4 10.Nde2 Nd5 11.Bd2 Nc6 12.0-0 Nxc3 13.Nxc3 Qh4 14.Re1 Bc5 15.Ne4 Be7 16.Bf1 g5 17.Bc3 Rg8 18.Bf6 Qf4 19.g3 Qc7 20.Qh5 Rg6 21.Bxe7 Nxe7 22.Qxh7 f5 Kornasiewicz,S (2350) -Marzec,J (2135) Slask 1996 1-0 (51) 8...Qc7 8...Bb4 9.0-0-0 Nd7± 9.Bd3 9.Bf4 Bd6 10.Bxd6 Qxd6+- 9...Nc6? 9...Nd7!? and Black can hope to live 10.Nxc6± Qxc6 11.Be4 Qc7 12.0-0 White has a king attack 12.0-0-0!? Nf6 13.Bf4+- 12...Nf6 12...f5 13.Bd3 Bd6 14.Qh5+ Kf8 15.Rfe1= 13.Bd3 Black has a cramped position 13.Rad1 Be7 14.Bf4 e5± 13...h6 White has a very active position 13...Bd6!? 14.g3 Bd7= 14.Rfe1 Be7 Black should quickly conclude development. 14...Bd7 15.Bf4 Qb6 16.Ne4 15.Rad1 15.Bf4 Qb6 15...Bd7 White has an active position 16.Bf4 White threatens to win material: Bf4xc7 Qc8 16...Qb6 17.Be4 Bc6 18.Bxc6+ Qxc6 19.Qxc6+ bxc6 20.Na4 17.Be5 Black has a cramped position Bc6 18.Qg3 Bf8?? 18...0-0 was possible 19.Bxf6+- gxf6 20.Re2 20.Bf5! and White has triumphed Be7 21.Qg7+- 20...Qb8 21.Qh4?? White threatens to win material: Qh4xf6. White loses the upper hand 21.Qg4 Qc8 22.Bf5+- 21...Bg7?? 21...Be7 22.Be4 f5 23.Bxc6+ bxc6 22.Ne4 22.Qb4 secures victory Qc7 23.Rxe6+ fxe6 24.Bg6+ Qf7 25.Qg4+- 25.Bxf7+?! Kxf7 26.Ne4 Bf8+- 22...Bxe4 22...Qe5 23.f4 Qxb2 24.Nd6+ Ke7 25.Bc4= 23.Rxe4 23.Qxe4!? Qc7 24.Qa4+ Kf8 25.Red2± 23...f5= Black threatens to win material: f5xe4 24.Re2 Qc7 24...0-0!?= is worthy of consideration 25.Bxf5± Rd8?? the position is going down the drain 25...Qe7 26.Qf4 0-0 27.Bd3± 26.Rxd8+ 26.Rxe6+ fxe6 27.Bg6+ Kf8 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 29.Qxd8# 26...Qxd8± 27.Qxd8+ 27.Qb4 Qd4 28.Qxd4 Bxd4± 27...Kxd8 28.Be4 Kc7 29.b3 Rd8 30.g3 Rd1+ 31.Kg2 Bc3 32.Re3 White threatens to win material: Re3xc3 Bg7 32...Bd4 33.Rd3 Rxd3 34.Bxd3 33.Bd3± Ra1 33...Bd4 34.Re4 Bc5 35.Rf4± 34.a4 34.Rf3 f6 35.Rf4 f5+- 34...Rd1 34...Kd7!?± 35.Rf3+- f5 36.Re3 36.g4!? Re1+- 36...Kd6 37.Kf3 37.Bc4 e5± 37...a5 37...Rd2 38.Bc4 Be5 39.Rd3+ Rxd3+ 40.Bxd3 38.Ke2 38.Bc4 e5± 38...Rh1 38...Rc1± 39.h4 39.Bc4 Be5+- 39...Rh2? 39...Bd4 and Black has air to breath 40.Rf3 Ke5= 40.Bc4± Be5 41.Rd3+ 41.Kf1!? f4 42.gxf4 Bxf4 43.Rxe6+ Kc7 44.Bd5+- 41...Ke7 42.Bb5 The white bishop is well posted. Bd6 43.c3 Covers b4 43.Rc3 Bb4 44.Rc8 Bd6 43...Bc5= Black threatens to win material: Bc5xf2 44.Rf3 b6 45.Kf1 Rh1+ 46.Kg2 White threatens to win material: Kg2xh1 Rb1 47.Bc4 Rb2 48.Rf4 Rc2 Black threatens to win material: Rc2xc3 49.Rf3 Kd6 50.Rd3+ ½–½

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res

Vierjoki,T

1895

Marko Krale

1719

½–½

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