D00 1.d4 d5: Unusual lines (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 e6 4.Bf4 Bd6)

This is one of the last remaining Open invite games that I have played at Red Hot Pawn. I think all the future games I will start there will be tournament games. It is much easier to get more games to play simultaneously when I go to a correspondence chess tournament. Admittedly it is sometimes a bad thing if you start too many and they become unmaintainable. Or the next round might start in a time that is bad for you. I would still rather play tournaments though, as there are more to fight for in those games. For the first 27 moves both players were able to make decent moves, but then on move 28 pizzano made a huge blunder by moving the queen to e3. It left the knight on d5 hanging, a fact of which I could have taken advantage of, had I played the obvious 28...Rxd5. I am a bit embarrassed to type that I traded queens instead. Maybe after sharing these kind of things in public will help me remember not to do this kind of mistakes again.

The game continued in a roughly equal manner for the duration of the continuation 29.Rxe3 g6 30.c4, but then I played 30...Nd6, a move so horrible that it cost me the game. Pizzano found the only way to punish me for my mistake and it was by playing 31.Red3.

There was no way for me to prevent a loss in material. If I move my knight to f5, then Nf6+ wins the exchange easily and later the game. On the other hand, had I moved my king to g7, then Nb6 wins either the knight on d6 or if it moves the rook on d8. I played 31...f5 in the game and while it prevents the possibility for a Nf6+, it does not save the game due to moves like Nb6 or Ne7+, latter of which was played in the game. I did my best to try and hold the game, I even managed to get a an ending where I was only a pawn down and where both players were able to queen one of their pawns, but due to the fact that my opponent both queened first and had an extra pawn, I really had no chance to get a draw. I finally decided that it was pointless to carry on after my opponent played 59.h4 and pizzano was on his or hers way to queen a second pawn while I could not queen my last pawn.

[Event "Open invite"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.06"] [Round "?"] [White "pizzano"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "1838"] [BlackElo "1832"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 {Queen Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation} 3. Nc3 (3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. Nc3 {London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation}) (3. Bg5 e6 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Qb6 {Queen Pawn Game: Torre Attack. Breyer Variation}) 3... e6 4. Bf4 Bd6 {D00 1 d4 d5: Unusual lines} 5. Bxd6 Qxd6 6. e3 c6 (6... O-O 7. Bd3 a6 8. a4 c5 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 Rd8 12. Qd2 e5 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Rxe4 Bf5 16. Rc4 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 Rxd2 18. Nxd2 Bxc2 19. Bb3 Rd8 20. Bxc2 Rxd2 21. Rc1 {Stanciu,A (1138)-Menlibai,D (1519) Calimanesti 2015 0-1}) 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. a4 $146 (9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bd3 c5 13. Re1 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Rd8 15. Nf3 b6 16. Bf1 Bb7 17. Qxd6 Rxd6 18. Be2 Rad8 19. Rad1 Nd5 20. Rd4 Kf8 21. Red1 Ke7 22. c4 Nf4 23. Kf1 Bxf3 {Nguyen,P-Nguyen,T Vung Tau 2000 0-1}) 9... e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. h3 {Controls g4} Bf5 13. Bxf5 Qxf5 14. a5 a6 {Prevents intrusion on b5} 15. Ne2 Ne4 16. f3 Nd6 17. e4 Qe5 18. exd5 cxd5 19. Nc3 {White threatens to win material: Nc3xd5} d4 { Black threatens to win material: d4xc3} 20. Re1 Qc5 21. Na4 Qb4 22. c3 dxc3 23. bxc3 Qf4 24. Nb6 Rad8 25. Nd5 {White threatens to win material: Nd5xf4} Qc4 26. Qd2 (26. Ra4 Qc5+ 27. Qd4 Qxd4+ 28. Rxd4 Nb5 $11) 26... Nb5 {Attacks the isolani on c3} (26... Qc5+ 27. Qd4 Qxd4+ 28. cxd4 $11) 27. Rad1 $11 Qc5+ 28. Qe3 $4 {hands over the advantage to the opponent} (28. Kh2 Kh8 $11) 28... Qxe3+ (28... Rxd5 $142 {and Black has it in the bag} 29. Qxc5 Rxc5 $19) 29. Rxe3 $11 ({Weaker is} 29. Nxe3 Nxc3 30. Rc1 Rc8 $17) 29... g6 (29... Rfe8 30. Re7 Kf8 31. Rxb7 $11) 30. c4 Nd6 $4 (30... Na7 $142 $14 {was necessary}) 31. Red3 $18 f5 32. Ne7+ (32. Nb6 $142 {nails it down} Nf7 33. Nd7 $18) 32... Kf7 33. Nxg6 ( 33. Rxd6 $6 {is clearly worse} Kxe7 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 $11) 33... hxg6 (33... Kxg6 34. Rxd6+ Rxd6 35. Rxd6+ Kg5 36. Rd7 $18) 34. Rxd6 Ke7 (34... Rxd6 35. Rxd6 Rc8 36. Rd7+ Ke8 37. Rxb7 Rc5 $18) 35. Rxd8 Rxd8 36. Rxd8 Kxd8 37. g4 fxg4 38. fxg4 g5 39. Kf2 (39. h4 Ke7 40. hxg5 Kf7 41. Kf2 Kg6 42. Kf3 Kxg5 43. c5 Kg6 44. Kf4 Kf6 45. g5+ Kg6 46. Kg4 Kf7 47. Kf5 Ke8 48. g6 Ke7 49. Kg5 Ke6 50. g7 Ke5 51. g8=Q Kd4 52. Kf4 Kxc5 53. Ke5 b6 54. axb6 a5 55. b7 Kb4 56. b8=Q+ Kc3 57. Qgb3+ Kd2 58. Qa2+ Kc1 59. Qbb1#) 39... Kd7 (39... b5 {does not solve anything} 40. axb6 a5 41. h4 a4 42. hxg5 a3 43. g6 a2 44. g7 a1=Q 45. g8=Q+ Ke7 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Qd8+ Kg7 48. Qe7+ Kg8 49. b7 Qd4+ 50. Kg3 Qg1+ 51. Kf4 Qf1+ 52. Ke5 Qe2+ 53. Kd6 Qd3+ 54. Kc6 Qxc4+ 55. Qc5 Qf4 56. Qd6 Qc4+ 57. Kd7 Qa4+ 58. Kc7 Qc4+ 59. Kd8 Kh7 60. b8=Q Qg8+ 61. Kd7 Qxg4+ 62. Qe6 Qg7+ 63. Qe7 Qxe7+ 64. Kxe7 Kg6 65. Qf4 Kh5 66. Qg3 Kh6 67. Kf6 Kh7 68. Qg7#) 40. Ke3 (40. h4 gxh4 41. Kg2 b6 42. axb6 a5 43. b7 Kc7 44. g5 Kxb7 45. g6 Kb6 46. g7 a4 47. g8=Q a3 48. Qf8 a2 49. Qf2+ Ka5 50. Qxa2+ Kb4 51. Kh3 Kc5 52. Qc2 Kb6 53. c5+ Kc6 54. Kxh4 Kb5 55. c6 Kb6 56. c7 Ka5 57. c8=Q Kb5 58. Qb1+ Ka4 59. Qa6#) 40... Ke7 (40... Kc6 { doesn't change anything anymore} 41. h4 $1 {the knockout punch} gxh4 42. g5 h3 43. Kf3 h2 44. Kg2 h1=R 45. Kxh1 Kd6 46. Kg2 Ke6 47. Kh3 Kd6 48. g6 Ke6 49. Kh4 Kf6 50. Kh5 Ke6 51. g7 Ke5 52. g8=Q Kd4 53. Qd5+ Kc3 54. Qxb7 Kd4 55. Qxa6 Kd3 56. Qd6+ Ke4 57. a6 Kf5 58. a7 Ke4 59. a8=Q+ Ke3 60. Qg3+ Kd2 61. Qa2+ Kc1 62. Qe1#) 41. Ke4 Ke6 (41... Kd6 {cannot undo what has already been done} 42. Kf5 b6 43. axb6 a5 44. c5+ Kc6 45. Ke4 a4 46. Kd4 a3 47. Kc3 a2 48. Kb2 a1=Q+ 49. Kxa1 Kb7 50. Ka2 Ka6 51. Kb2 Kb7 52. Kc3 Ka6 53. Kc4 Kb7 54. Kb5 Kc8 55. c6 Kd8 56. b7 Kc7 57. Kc5 Kd8 58. b8=Q+ Ke7 59. c7 Kf7 60. c8=Q Kg7 61. Qa7+ Kf6 62. Qf5#) 42. Kd4 (42. c5 Kf6 43. Kd5 Ke7 44. Ke5 Kd7 45. Kf5 Kc7 46. Kxg5 Kc6 47. Kf5 Kxc5 48. g5 Kd6 49. g6 Ke7 50. h4 b5 51. axb6 Kd6 52. g7 Kc6 53. g8=Q Kxb6 54. h5 a5 55. h6 a4 56. h7 a3 57. h8=Q a2 58. Qb3+ Kc5 59. Qc8+ Kd6 60. Qbe6#) 42... Kd6 43. c5+ Kc6 44. Kc4 Kc7 (44... Kd7 {cannot change what is in store for White} 45. Kd5 Kc7 46. Ke5 Kc6 47. Kf5 Kxc5 48. Kxg5 b6 49. axb6 Kxb6 50. h4 a5 51. h5 a4 52. h6 a3 53. h7 a2 54. h8=Q Ka5 55. Qa1 Ka4 56. Qxa2+ Kb5 57. Kf5 Kc6 58. Qa5 Kb7 59. Kf6 Kb8 60. Ke6 Kb7 61. Kd6 Kb8 62. Kc6 Kc8 63. Qc7#) 45. Kd5 Kd7 46. Ke5 Kc6 (46... Kc7 {hardly improves anything} 47. Kf5 Kc6 48. Kxg5 Kxc5 49. Kf5 b6 50. axb6 Kxb6 51. g5 a5 52. g6 a4 53. g7 Kc5 54. g8=Q Kb4 55. Ke5 Kc3 56. Qg3+ Kb2 57. Kd4 Kc2 58. Qf2+ Kb3 59. Kd3 a3 60. Qb6+ Ka2 61. Kc2 Ka1 62. Qb1#) 47. Kf5 Kxc5 (47... Kb5 {does not improve anything} 48. Kxg5 Kxa5 49. Kf4 Kb4 50. g5 a5 51. g6 a4 52. g7 a3 53. g8=Q a2 54. Qxa2 Kxc5 55. Ke5 Kb4 56. Kd4 Kb5 57. Qd5+ Kb6 58. Qc4 Ka7 59. Kc5 b6+ 60. Kc6 b5 61. Qxb5 Ka8 62. Qb7#) 48. Kxg5 b5 (48... Kb4 {does not win a prize} 49. h4 Kxa5 50. h5 b5 51. h6 b4 52. h7 b3 53. h8=Q Kb4 54. Kf5 a5 55. g5 a4 56. g6 a3 57. g7 b2 58. Qb8+ Kc5 59. g8=Q b1=Q+ 60. Qxb1 a2 61. Qc1+ Kb4 62. Qcc4+ Ka3 63. Qb3#) 49. Kf4 (49. axb6 Kxb6 50. h4 a5 51. h5 a4 52. h6 a3 53. h7 a2 54. h8=Q Ka5 55. Qa1 Ka4 56. Qxa2+ Kb5 57. Qc2 Kb6 58. Kf6 Ka5 59. Qb1 Ka4 60. Ke5 Ka3 61. Kd5 Ka4 62. Kc4 Ka3 63. Qa1#) 49... Kd4 50. g5 (50. h4 b4 51. h5 b3 52. h6 b2 53. h7 b1=Q 54. h8=Q+ Kc4 55. Qc8+ Kd4 56. Qd8+ Kc4 57. Qc7+ Kd5 58. Qd7+ Kc5 59. Qf5+ Qxf5+ 60. Kxf5 Kd5 61. g5 Kd6 62. g6 Ke7 63. Ke5 Ke8 64. Ke6 Kf8 65. Kf6 Ke8 66. g7 Kd7 67. Ke5 Kc6 68. g8=Q Kb5 69. Qd5+ Ka4 70. Kd4 Ka3 71. Kc3 Ka4 72. Qb3+ Kxa5 73. Qb4#) 50... b4 51. g6 b3 52. g7 b2 53. g8=Q b1=Q 54. Qd8+ Kc5 (54... Kc4 {does not solve anything} 55. Qc7+ Kd5 56. Qd7+ Kc5 57. Qf5+ Qxf5+ 58. Kxf5 Kd6 59. Kf6 Kd7 60. Kf7 Kc6 61. h4 Kb5 62. Ke6 Ka4 63. h5 Kxa5 64. h6 Kb4 65. Kd5 Kc3 66. h7 Kd3 67. h8=Q Ke3 68. Qh4 a5 69. Qg3+ Kd2 70. Kd4 Kc2 71. Qc3+ Kb1 72. Qb3+ Ka1 73. Kc3 a4 74. Qb2#) 55. Qc7+ (55. Qb6+ Qxb6 56. axb6 Kxb6 57. h4 Ka5 58. h5 Ka4 59. h6 Ka3 60. Ke3 Ka4 61. Kd4 Kb5 62. h7 a5 63. h8=Q Kc6 64. Qf6+ Kb5 65. Qd6 a4 66. Kd5 a3 67. Qb8+ Ka4 68. Kc5 a2 69. Qb4#) 55... Kd5 56. Qe5+ (56. Qd7+ Kc5 57. Qf5+ Qxf5+ 58. Kxf5 Kd6 59. Kf6 Kd7 60. Kf7 Kc6 61. h4 Kb5 62. Ke6 Ka4 63. h5 Kxa5 64. Kd5 Kb4 65. h6 Kc3 66. h7 Kd3 67. h8=Q Ke3 68. Qd4+ Kf3 69. Ke5 a5 70. Qc3+ Ke2 71. Kf4 a4 72. Qc2+ Kf1 73. Kf3 a3 74. Qb1#) 56... Kc6 57. Qe4+ Qxe4+ 58. Kxe4 Kb5 (58... Kd6 {cannot change what is in store for White} 59. Kd4 Kc6 60. h4 Kd6 61. h5 Ke7 62. Kc5 Kf8 63. Kb6 Ke7 64. Kxa6 Kf6 65. Kb6 Kg5 66. Kc5 Kxh5 67. a6 Kg4 68. a7 Kf3 69. a8=Q+ Ke3 70. Kd5 Kf4 71. Qa3 Kg5 72. Qf3 Kh6 73. Ke6 Kg5 74. Qg3+ Kh6 75. Kf6 Kh7 76. Qg7#) 59. h4 (59. h4 Ka4 60. h5 Kxa5 61. h6 Ka4 62. h7 Kb5 63. Kd4 a5 64. h8=Q Kc6 65. Qf6+ Kb5 66. Qd6 a4 67. Kd5 a3 68. Qb8+ Ka4 69. Kc5 a2 70. Qb4#) 1-0

This time only one game was found where both players had a rating over 2200 for the reference game.

[Event "Corsica Masters op 18th"] [Site "Bastia"] [Date "2014.10.18"] [Round "3"] [White "Brethes, Francois"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2276"] [BlackElo "2614"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2014.10.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "Mega2014 Update 43"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2014.10.24"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Ne5 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Nb5 Ba6 8. c4 Bxb5 9. cxb5 Bb4+ 10. Ke2 Nh5 11. Rc1 Nxf4+ 12. exf4 Bd6 13. f3 a6 14. Kf2 axb5 15. Bxb5 Rxa2 16. Qb3 Ra5 17. Ra1 Bxe5 18. dxe5 c6 19. Rxa5 bxa5 20. Ba4 c5 21. Qb5 c4 22. g3 Qc8 23. Rc1 Na6 24. Qxa5 Qb7 25. Qc3 Rb8 26. Rc2 Nb4 27. Rd2 Qa7+ 0-1