B73 Sicilian Dragon: Classical System without 9.Nb3 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Qd2 Nc6)

This was played on the first round of the 1800+ 7 Days tournament. I was on 6th place in the final standings of the group. My opponent, coronaguy, finished on 5th place, one point ahead of me. The tournament's third round is still going on, but to me it is not that interesting since I was already eliminated from the tournament on round one.

For the first 21 moves there were only some small mistakes from both sides and it was only my 22nd move that was a really horrible move. I played 22.Nb4 in the game, which attacked the pawn on a6, but had my opponent just replied with 22...a5, my knight would have needed to move again and maybe I would have traded knights at that point. If that would have indeed happened, my position would have been basically the same that it was after my 21st move, except my knight had disappeared from the board, but my opponent would have moved the pawn to a5 and the rook would have changed its location to c6 while the knight from c6 had also disappeared. Therefore my 22nd move seems to be just waste of time.

The game continued to be played in a clearly favorable way for my opponent with the moves 22...fxe4 23.Qxe4, but then coronaguy played 23...Nxb4, allowing me to get back into the game. The move 23...Ne7 seems to be the preferred choice of Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT at depth 37. The game deciding blunder was seen on the board when I played the incredibly silly move 28.Rfe1.

I obviously was not paying all that much attention to the board when I moved my rook from f1 to e1, because had I looked the whole board before making my move, I would have seen how awful idea moving the rook actually is. Or maybe I thought that the game continuation 28...Rfxf2 29.Qa7+ Bf7 30.Qxf2 Rxf2 31.Kxf2 would be good for me. I had two rooks and a knight against a queen, a bishop and a pawn. If you just count the points that the material should have, the material is actually even. That being said, I was completely lost because I was going to also lose my pawn on b4. I tried my best to blockade the central pawns, but my opponent was able to demonstrate the strength of the pawns and finally after the move 55...Ke3, I decided it was pointless to carry on playing the game, so I resigned.

Game number 2. This is from the fourth round game of a 15 minute tournament that was played at the FIDE Online Arena. From these four rounds I gathered three wins and one loss. There were five rounds in this tournament but for me the final round game was not played because my opponent forfeited the game on move one. I played 1.e4 in that game and my opponent lost his/her connection and did not come back. In these 15 minute games if the player has not come back within two minutes, they lose the game. I think in one of the tournaments that I played at the FIDE Online Arena, my opponent did not make a move even though she was online. Not sure what the reason for it was but it was also forfeited after two minutes. The game below is one of the very rare easy games that I have played in some months.

[Event "1800+ 7 Days - Round 1"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.05.19"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "coronaguy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B73"] [WhiteElo "1872"] [BlackElo "1865"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 {Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. Opocensky Variation} g6 (6... e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O Be6 { Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. Opocensky Variation Modern Line} (8... O-O {Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation. Opocensky Variation Traditional Line})) 7. O-O Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 Nc6 {B73 Sicilian Dragon: Classical System without 9.Nb3} 10. Nb3 (10. Rad1 Ng4 11. Bxg4 Bxg4 12. f3 Be6 13. Nd5 Rc8 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Nb6 Rc7 16. c4 Ne5 17. Qb4 Rc6 18. a4 Qc7 19. b3 Nd7 20. a5 Nxb6 21. Bxb6 Qc8 22. Qd2 Qe8 23. Qd3 Qf7 24. f4 Bb2 {Psakhis,L (2560)-Ubilava,E (2500) Belgrade 1988 1-0 (50)}) 10... b5 (10... Qc7 11. f3 e6 12. Rad1 Ne8 13. Na4 b5 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. c3 Ne5 17. Bf2 Nc4 18. Qc1 Nf6 19. Rd3 Nd7 20. f4 Nc5 21. Nxc5 dxc5 22. Rfd1 Nb6 23. Rd6 Rfe8 24. Bf3 Bf8 25. R6d3 { Mendes,R (1854)-Fantinati, N Sao Paulo 2014 1-0 (42)}) 11. a3 Ng4 $146 (11... Bd7 12. f4 Ne8 13. f5 Qc8 14. fxg6 fxg6 15. Rxf8+ Bxf8 16. Bh6 {1/2-1/2 (16) Van Gemen,F-Brouwer,L Arnhem 1996}) (11... Bb7 12. Bh6 Rc8 (12... Re8 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. f4 e5 15. Rad1 Qb6+ 16. Kh1 Rad8 17. f5 Rd7 18. fxg6 hxg6 19. Rxf6 Nd4 20. Rdf1 Nf5 21. Qg5 Ne3 22. R1f2 Nxc2 23. Bh5 Qe3 24. Qg4 Rde7 25. Bxg6 Qe1+ 26. Rf1 Qxf1+ 27. Rxf1 {Vu,K-Pham Le Phuong,T Dong Thap 2004 1-0 (35)}) 13. Rfd1 Qc7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Rac1 Ne5 16. f3 Rfd8 17. h3 e6 18. Qe3 Nc4 19. Bxc4 bxc4 20. Nd2 d5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. c3 Rb8 24. Rb1 Rb5 25. Nf1 Rdb8 26. Qf2 {Beltran Roman,A-Minana Menor,A Alzira 1995 0-1 (40)}) (11... Ne5 12. Rad1 $11) 12. Bf4 {White has a very active position} Nge5 13. Bh6 Nc4 14. Bxc4 bxc4 15. Nc1 (15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Nd4 Qb6 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 $11) 15... Rb8 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Black king safety dropped} 17. N1e2 (17. Rb1 Qa5 $11) 17... Rxb2 18. Nd5 (18. Rab1 Rxb1 19. Rxb1 Qa5 $11) 18... e5 {Black has a new backward pawn: d6} ( 18... Qa5 $5 19. Nec3 Rb7 $17) 19. Qc3 {White threatens to win material: Qc3xb2. White forks: b2+c4} Rb5 20. Qxc4 (20. Ne3 Rc5 $15) 20... Rc5 (20... Ne7 21. Qd3 $15) 21. Qd3 $15 f5 22. Nb4 $2 {Attacks the isolated pawn on a6} (22. exf5 $5 Bxf5 23. Qxa6 Bxc2 24. Ne3 $15) 22... fxe4 (22... Ne7 23. c4 $17) 23. Qxe4 Nxb4 (23... Na5 $142 $5 $17) 24. axb4 $11 Bf5 {Black threatens to win material: Bf5xe4} 25. Qb7+ {White forks: a6} Rf7 {Black threatens to win material: Rf7xb7} (25... Qc7 26. Qxc7+ Rxc7 27. c3 $11) 26. Qxa6 Rxc2 {White has a new passed pawn: b4. Black has a new passed pawn: d6} 27. Ng3 Be6 28. Rfe1 $4 {White lets it slip away} (28. Ne4 $142 {saving the game} Rd7 29. Rfd1 $11) 28... Rfxf2 (28... Bc4 {makes it even easier for Black} 29. b5 Rfxf2 30. Qa7+ Kg8 31. Qxf2 Rxf2 32. Kxf2 Qb6+ 33. Re3 $19) 29. Qa7+ (29. Re2 {does not save the day} Rfxe2 30. Nxe2 Qb8 $19) 29... Bf7 30. Qxf2 Rxf2 31. Kxf2 Qb6+ 32. Re3 Qxb4 33. Rd1 (33. Rae1 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} Qb6 $19) 33... d5 {Black prepares the advance e4} 34. Rde1 e4 35. R1e2 (35. Kg1 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Qc5 $19) 35... Be6 (35... Be8 {and Black can already relax} 36. Nxe4 dxe4 37. Rxe4 Qc5+ 38. R4e3 $19) 36. Re1 (36. Nxe4 { is not the saving move} dxe4 37. Rxe4 Qb6+ 38. R4e3 Qd4 $19) 36... h5 (36... Qc5 $142 {and Black can already relax} 37. Kg1 h5 $19) 37. Ne2 (37. Kg1 { does not help much} Qc5 $19) 37... Bf5 (37... Qd2 $142 {secures the point} 38. Ra1 Bg4 39. Ra7+ Kh6 $19) 38. Rd1 Qc5 39. Nd4 Kf6 40. Rd2 h4 41. h3 (41. Nb3 { does not win a prize} Qd6 42. Kg1 Bd7 $19) 41... Bd7 42. Rd1 (42. Nb3 {doesn't change anything anymore} Qd6 43. Kg1 Qb6 $19) 42... g5 (42... Ba4 {seems even better} 43. Rd2 g5 44. Re1 $19) 43. Rd2 (43. Nb3 {hardly improves anything} Qd6 44. Kg1 Qb6 $19) 43... g4 44. hxg4 Bxg4 45. Rb3 (45. Nb3 {praying for a miracle } Qc7 46. Kg1 $19) 45... Kg5 46. Re3 Kf4 (46... Qb4 47. Nb3 Qf8+ 48. Kg1 Qf4 49. Re1 e3 50. Ra2 Qg3 51. Rae2 Bxe2 52. Rxe2 Qf4 53. Nc5 Qe5 54. Nd3 Qe4 55. Nf2 Qb1+ 56. Kh2 d4 57. Nh3+ Kg4 58. Nf2+ exf2 59. Rxf2 Qe4 60. Rf7 Qe5+ 61. Kg1 h3 62. Rf3 Qe1+ 63. Kh2 hxg2 64. Rg3+ Qxg3+ 65. Kg1 Qe3+ 66. Kxg2 Qd2+ 67. Kf1 Kf3 68. Kg1 Qg2#) 47. Rb3 (47. Ne2+ Kf5 48. Nd4+ Ke5 49. Ne2 Qf8+ 50. Kg1 $19) 47... Qc1 48. Ne2+ (48. Re2 {does not solve anything} Qd1 49. Rb4 Qd3 50. Nf3 Bxf3 51. gxf3 Qxf3+ 52. Ke1 Qc3+ 53. Kd1 Qxb4 54. Kc1 e3 55. Ra2 Kf3 56. Kc2 e2 57. Ra1 Ke3 58. Rb1 e1=Q 59. Rxe1+ Qxe1 60. Kb3 Kd3 61. Ka3 Qb1 62. Ka4 Kc4 63. Ka3 Qa1#) 48... Bxe2 49. Rxe2 d4 50. Reb2 (50. g3+ {is no salvation} hxg3+ 51. Rxg3 d3 52. Rg4+ Kxg4 53. Rxe4+ Kg5 54. Kf3 d2 55. Rd4 d1=Q+ 56. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 57. Ke4 Kf6 58. Ke3 Ke5 59. Kf2 Kf4 60. Kg2 Qd2+ 61. Kf1 Kf3 62. Kg1 Qg2# ) 50... Qd1 {Black intends d3} (50... d3 51. g3+ hxg3+ 52. Kg2 d2 53. Rb8 d1=Q 54. Rf8+ Ke3 55. Rb3+ Qxb3 56. Rf1 Qa2+ 57. Kxg3 Qxf1 58. Kh4 Qf4+ 59. Kh5 Qaf7#) 51. g3+ hxg3+ 52. Rxg3 Qh1 53. Rgb3 (53. Rg8 {doesn't improve anything} Qh2+ 54. Rg2 e3+ 55. Kf1 Qh1+ 56. Rg1 Qf3+ 57. Ke1 Qc6 58. Rf1+ Ke4 59. Kd1 d3 60. Rb4+ Ke5 61. Rb5+ Qxb5 62. Kc1 d2+ 63. Kc2 Qxf1 64. Kc3 d1=Q 65. Kb2 Qb1+ 66. Kc3 Qfc1#) 53... d3 54. Rb4 (54. Rxd3 {is not much help} Qh2+ 55. Ke1 Qxb2 56. Rd2 Qb4 57. Ke2 e3 58. Rd8 Qb2+ 59. Kd1 Qb1+ 60. Ke2 Qc2+ 61. Ke1 Qf2+ 62. Kd1 e2+ 63. Kc2 e1=Q+ 64. Rd2 Qfxd2+ 65. Kb3 Qc3+ 66. Ka2 Qea1#) 54... Qf3+ 55. Ke1 Ke3 (55... Ke3 56. Rxe4+ Kxe4 57. Kd2 Qe3+ 58. Kd1 Qa7 59. Rb4+ Ke3 60. Re4+ Kxe4 61. Kd2 Qd4 62. Kc1 d2+ 63. Kb1 d1=Q+ 64. Ka2 Q4a1#) 0-1 [Event "Tournament 28102454"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.03.20"] [Round "4"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "bruno52"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B73"] [WhiteElo "1819"] [BlackElo "1448"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 (2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (5... Nc6 6. Be3 g6 7. Be2 {1/2-1/2 (44) Chrz,M (1652)-De Castro de Leon,J (1766) Tenerife 2015} ) 6. Be3 (6. Be2 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 {1-0 (50) Psakhis,L (2560) -Ubilava,E (2500) Belgrade 1988}) 6... Nc6 7. Be2 g6 8. O-O Bg7 9. Qd2 { 1-0 (44) Dang,T-Pham,H Vung Tau 2005}) 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 d6 8. O-O (8. Qd2 O-O {1/2-1/2 (44) Chrz,M (1652)-De Castro de Leon, J (1766) Tenerife 2015}) 8... O-O 9. Qd2 {B73 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation. Classical Variation Battery Variation} a6 {0.78/18 B73 Sicilian Dragon: Classical System without 9.Nb3} (9... d5 $11 {-0.09/24 keeps the balance.}) 10. Kh1 {-0.03/22} (10. f3 $16 {0.78/18}) (10. Rad1 Ng4 11. Bxg4 Bxg4 12. f3 Be6 13. Nd5 Rc8 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Nb6 Rc7 16. c4 Ne5 17. Qb4 Rc6 18. a4 Qc7 19. b3 Nd7 20. a5 Nxb6 21. Bxb6 Qc8 22. Qd2 Qe8 23. Qd3 Qf7 24. f4 Bb2 {Psakhis,L (2560)-Ubilava,E (2500) Belgrade 1988 1-0 (50)}) 10... Qb6 $2 { 2.79/22 [#]} (10... Nxd4 $11 {-0.03/22 and Black has nothing to worry.} 11. Bxd4 b5) (10... Qc7 11. a4 Rd8 12. f4 Na5 13. f5 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Qxc4 15. Rad1 Bd7 16. Rf3 b5 17. fxg6 hxg6 18. b3 Qc8 19. Bh6 Bg4 20. Bxg7 Bxf3 21. Qh6 Nh7 22. Nxf3 Qg4 23. Nd5 Ra7 24. Nf4 g5 25. h3 {Chrz,M (1652)-De Castro de Leon,J (1766) Tenerife 2015 1/2-1/2 (44)}) 11. Ne6 $1 Nxe4 $146 {4.77/21} (11... Qa5 { 2.14/23 is a better defense.}) (11... Bxe6 12. Bxb6) (11... Qxb2 12. Nxf8 Bxf8 13. Rab1 Qa3 14. f4 Bg7 15. Rb3 Qa5 16. Bb6 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Qxa2 18. Nc3 Bxc3 19. Qxc3 Bf5 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Qa4 22. f5 Ne5 23. Qh3 Qc4 24. Rc1 Rc8 25. fxg6 Nxg6 26. Bd4 {Dang,T-Pham,H Vung Tau 2005 1-0 (44)}) 12. Nxe4 $18 ({And not} 12. Bxb6 Nxd2 13. Nxf8 Nxf1 $17) 12... Qxb2 13. Rab1 Qe5 14. Nxf8 {1.83/21} ( 14. Nxg7 $142 {3.12/21 Strongly threatening Bf3.} Qxe4 15. Bh6) 14... Qxe4 15. Nxg6 fxg6 {2.70/19} (15... hxg6 $142 {1.67/21} 16. c4 Bf6) 16. Bf3 Qa4 17. Rfe1 Qxa2 $2 {10.52/20 [#]} (17... Qa5 {2.45/23} 18. Bxc6 Qxd2 19. Bxd2 bxc6 20. Rxe7 Bf5) 18. Bd5+ Kf8 19. Bxa2 1-0