A84 Dutch Defence: 2.c4 Miscellaneous (1.c4 c6 2.d4 f5)

Because I want to, at some point in time, get as precise as possible of understanding of what openings I have played and what my results are in them, I will go through all my games, no matter what the time control is. Unfortunately I started the opening classification only about four years ago, which means that there are thousands of games to go through and it might be something I will never really finish, at least with this current pace. At the moment I am going through my blitz games that have been played at Chess.com and the game below was one of the hundred 5 minute games that I played in preparation for the Finnish Team Blitz Championships. The first really horrible decision was made by my opponent on move 12 when he played Nd7. It blocked the bishop's path, so that it no longer protected the squares e6 and f5. From f5 I could have received a free pawn, but the square e6 was much more inviting for my knight, so I jumped there with my knight and forked the queen and the rook.

Mistake of that magnitude should result in a loss and it did, in the end, but I did gave my opponent to win the exchange back when I played the silly move 20.Bf3. It blocked my f-pawn, so that I could not put it in the way when my opponent replied with the move 20...Bg5. After that the position was even again.

Some bad moves followed, but the next point of the game I want to take a closer look is after the move 24...fxe4. I played the move 25.Nxe4 and my position quickly fell apart as can be seen in the game continuation 25...d5 26.cxd5 Bxd5. One might think that it would be easy to win the game with the black pieces after 26...Bxd5 and I would be one of those people. However, because this was a 5 minute game and the players needed to move quite fast, mistakes were made that enabled me to get back into the game and eventually win it.

In order to try and hold on for the knight, I had to play 27.Re1, which should not have been enough to save the piece, but because Kojjootti then played 27...Qb4, I had the option to reply with 28.Qc3 and I would have been able to avoid a loss of the piece. I did not notice that and instead moved my threatened rook to e2, which would have allowed the following continuation 28...Bxe4 29.Rxe4 Qxe4! and due to the back rank weakness, I would not have been able to take the queen. Kojjootti played the much more subtle 28...Qa3 and I was able to make room for my king with 29.h3 and I was back in the game once again. The game deciding blunder was seen on move 32, when Kojjootti chose to play Qf1.

The queen landed on f1, which did attack the rook on e2, but more importantly enabled me to reply with 33.Ng3 with a game winning double threat. The rest of the game was quite easy to play, but I did miss the crushing move 39.Qc2, which would have ended all counterplay. However, even after my sloppy move 39.Qd7 the game ended to my victory.

[Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Kojjootti"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A84"] [WhiteElo "1816"] [BlackElo "1709"] [Annotator "Stockfish 9 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 c6 2. d4 f5 {A84 Dutch Defence: 2.c4 Miscellaneous} 3. d5 (3. Qc2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. h3 O-O 7. g4 d5 8. g5 Ne4 9. Bf4 Be6 10. e3 Nd7 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Bc7 Qc8 14. Rc1 Ndc5 15. Bf4 Ne6 16. Bd3 Nxf4 17. exf4 Qb8 {Kozul,Z (2585)-Dizdarevic,E (2540) Sarajevo 1998 1/2-1/2}) 3... d6 $146 ( 3... cxd5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 (5... d6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 Nb6 8. Bxf6 exf6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Qh5+ g6 11. Qe2 Bg7 12. Nf3 O-O 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. Nd4 Qe7 15. Ne6 Rfc8 16. O-O Nc5 17. Nxc5 Rxc5 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. Rd4 Bh6 20. g3 { Somacarana-Cochrane,J Kolkata 1855 1-0 (44)}) 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Nc5 10. d6 e6 11. Ne5 Nfe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qd4 Qa5 14. f4 Qc5 15. Rd1 Qxd4+ 16. Rxd4 Nf6 17. h3 Rb8 18. Rc4 {Hogg,D-Ziolkowski,M Dos Hermanas 2004 1-0 (38)}) (3... Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Nf3 Na6 8. O-O Nc5 9. Be3 Nce4 10. Nxe4 fxe4 11. Ng5 cxd5 12. cxd5 e6 13. dxe6 d5 14. Bc5 Re8 15. Qb3 b6 16. e7 Qd7 17. Nxe4 Bb7 18. Ba3 {Orel,O (2335)-Strachan,J Prague 1989 1-0 (37)}) (3... e5 4. dxe6 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Nxd2 dxe6 7. e4 $14) 4. Nc3 (4. g3 e5 $11) 4... Nf6 $11 5. Nf3 (5. Nh3 e5 $11) 5... e6 (5... e5 6. e4 fxe4 7. Ng5 $14) 6. Bg5 (6. g3 e5 $11) 6... Be7 $11 7. dxe6 Bxe6 (7... Ne4 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Qd4 Nxc3 10. Qxc3 $11 (10. bxc3 $143 c5 11. Qf4 Bxe6 $11 (11... Qxe6 $143 12. Rd1 $14))) 8. e3 (8. Qc2 Bxc4 9. Nd4 O-O $14) 8... O-O (8... Ne4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Qc2 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 $11) 9. Be2 (9. Qc2 Na6 $11) 9... h6 (9... Ne4 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Rc1 $11) 10. Bxf6 (10. Nd4 $5 {deserves consideration} Qd7 11. Bf4 $14 ) 10... Bxf6 $11 {Black has the pair of bishops} 11. Nd4 {White threatens to win material: Nd4xe6} Bc8 (11... Qe7 12. Qb3 $11) 12. O-O $11 Nd7 $4 {gives the opponent new chances} (12... Qe8 $142 $11 {and Black can hope to survive}) 13. Ne6 $16 Qe7 (13... Qb6 14. Nxf8 (14. Qxd6 {is much worse} Qxb2 15. Nxf8 Nxf8 $11) 14... Nxf8 15. Qc2 $18) 14. Nxf8 Nxf8 (14... Qxf8 15. Rc1 $18) 15. Qd2 $18 Be6 16. Rfd1 (16. Rad1 Rd8 $18) 16... Rd8 17. Rac1 Ng6 (17... Bf7 18. g3 $18) 18. b3 $18 Ne5 (18... Nf8 19. Qd3 $18) 19. e4 (19. f4 Ng6 $18) 19... Ng6 (19... f4 $142 20. c5 dxc5 21. Qxf4 Rf8 $18) 20. Bf3 $4 {with this move White loses his initiative} (20. exf5 $142 {White has a promising position} Bxf5 21. g3 $18) 20... Bg5 $11 21. Qd3 (21. Qc2 Nh4 22. exf5 Bxf5 $11) 21... Bxc1 (21... Ne5 22. Qe2 Bxc1 23. Rxc1 $17) 22. Rxc1 (22. Qb1 Nh4 23. Qxc1 Nxf3+ 24. gxf3 Rf8 $15) 22... Ne5 {Black threatens to win material: Ne5xd3} 23. Qe2 ( 23. Qd1 f4 $17) 23... Nxf3+ (23... Qg5 $142 $5 24. Rf1 f4 $17) 24. Qxf3 $11 fxe4 25. Nxe4 (25. Qxe4 $142 $5 {must be considered} Qf6 26. Rd1 $11) 25... d5 $17 26. cxd5 $4 {leads to further unpleasantness} (26. Nd2 $142 Qa3 27. Qc3 $17 ) 26... Bxd5 $19 27. Re1 Qb4 {Black has a mate threat} (27... Bxe4 $142 { seems even better} 28. Qe2 Qb4 $19) 28. Re2 $4 (28. Qc3 a5 29. Qxb4 axb4 $11) 28... Qa3 (28... Bxe4 29. Rxe4 Qxe4 30. h3 Qxf3 31. gxf3 Rd2 32. a4 Rb2 33. Kf1 a5 34. f4 Rxb3 35. f5 b5 36. axb5 Rxb5 37. h4 a4 38. f6 gxf6 39. Ke2 a3 40. Kf3 a2 41. Kf4 a1=Q 42. Kf3 Qd1+ 43. Kg3 Rb3+ 44. Kh2 Qg4 45. f3 Rxf3 46. h5 Rh3#) 29. h3 $11 Qc1+ 30. Kh2 Kh8 {Black king safety improved} (30... Rd6 31. Qg3 Re6 32. f3 $11) 31. Qg4 (31. Qg3 $142 $14) 31... Re8 (31... Qa3 32. f3 $11) 32. f3 (32. Nf6 Re6 33. Nh5 $16 (33. Rxe6 $6 Bxe6 34. Qxe6 Qf4+ 35. Kg1 Qc1+ 36. Kh2 Qf4+ 37. Kg1 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 $11)) 32... Qf1 $4 {a transit from better to worse} ( 32... Bxe4 $142 {had to be tried to avoid defeat} 33. Rxe4 Rxe4 34. Qxe4 Qd2 $11) 33. Ng3 $18 Rxe2 (33... Qxe2 34. Nxe2 Rxe2 $18) 34. Nxf1 Rxa2 (34... Re7 { does not help much} 35. Qb4 Rf7 36. Ne3 $18) 35. Qc8+ (35. Ng3 Bxf3 36. Qxf3 Kg8 37. Nf5 Kf7 38. Qe3 Rf2 39. Qe7+ Kg6 40. Qe6+ Kh7 41. Kg3 Rf1 42. Kh4 Rf2 43. g4 c5 44. Kh5 Rxf5+ 45. gxf5 c4 46. Qe7 c3 47. f6 c2 48. Qxg7#) 35... Kh7 36. Kg3 (36. Qd7 $142 {and White can already relax} Ra5 37. Ne3 $18) 36... Ra3 (36... Re2 $18 {there is nothing else anyway}) 37. Ne3 Rxb3 38. Nxd5 (38. Nf5 Kg6 39. Qf8 Rb4 40. Ne7+ Kh7 41. Qf5+ Kh8 42. Qg6 Rb2 43. Nf5 Rxg2+ 44. Kxg2 Bxf3+ 45. Kxf3 c5 46. Qxg7#) 38... cxd5 39. Qd7 (39. Qd7 Rb6 40. Qf5+ Kg8 41. Qxd5+ Kh7 42. Qa5 $18) (39. Qc2+ Kg8 40. Qxb3 b5 41. Qxd5+ Kf8 42. Kf4 b4 43. Kf5 Ke7 44. Ke5 b3 45. Qxb3 h5 46. Qe6+ Kf8 47. Kf5 h4 48. Kg6 a6 49. Qf7#) 1-0

I did not actually anticipate any games to be found where both players were rated over 2500 that reached the position after 2...f5, but these three did show up to my surprise. The move I chose on move three had been played 5 times before according to my database, the most played move was 3.Nc3, played in 103 games. The second most common move was 3.g3, played in 46 games and the third most common move 3.Nf3 had been played 39 times.

[Event "Reggio Emilia 9697 39th"] [Site "Reggio Emilia"] [Date "1996.12.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Krasenkow, Michal"] [Black "Efimov, Igor"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A85"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2510"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1996.12.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ITA"] [EventCategory "11"] [SourceTitle "CBM 057"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.04.01"] 1. d4 c6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. Nxe4 fxe4 6. f3 d5 7. fxe4 dxe4 8. Qd2 Bf5 9. e3 Nd7 10. Ne2 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bg7 13. h4 Nf6 14. hxg5 hxg5 15. Rxh8+ Bxh8 16. Be5 Qd7 17. Ng3 Bg6 18. Be2 O-O-O 19. Qa5 b6 20. Qa6+ Qb7 21. Qa3 Bg7 22. O-O-O Qd7 23. c5 b5 24. d5 cxd5 25. Qa5 a6 26. Bxb5 1-0 [Event "Sarajevo Bosnia 28th"] [Site "Sarajevo"] [Date "1998.06.04"] [Round "7"] [White "Kozul, Zdenko"] [Black "Dizdarevic, Emir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A84"] [WhiteElo "2585"] [BlackElo "2540"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "1998.05.29"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "BIH"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 066"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.09.30"] 1. d4 c6 2. c4 f5 3. Qc2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. h3 O-O 7. g4 d5 8. g5 Ne4 9. Bf4 Be6 10. e3 Nd7 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Bc7 Qc8 14. Rc1 Ndc5 15. Bf4 Ne6 16. Bd3 Nxf4 17. exf4 Qb8 18. Qc7 Qxc7 19. Rxc7 Rfc8 20. Rxc8+ Rxc8 21. Ke2 h6 22. h4 Rc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Zadar op-A 16th"] [Site "Zadar"] [Date "2009.12.18"] [Round "8"] [White "Saric, Ibro"] [Black "Drazic, Sinisa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A85"] [WhiteElo "2553"] [BlackElo "2519"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2009.12.13"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CRO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 133 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.01.05"] 1. d4 c6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 e6 5. Qc2 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. e3 d5 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. Bf4 Nd7 10. h3 Ndf6 11. O-O Bd7 12. Ne5 Be8 13. f3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Nd7 15. e4 g5 16. Bh2 dxe4 17. fxe4 f4 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. e5 Bd8 20. g3 c5 21. d5 exd5 22. gxf4 Qxh3 23. cxd5 c4 24. Be4 g4 25. Qg2 Qe3+ 26. Kh1 h5 27. f5 Qxc3 28. d6 Bc6 29. Bxc6 bxc6 30. e6 Bg5 31. e7 Rfb8 32. Rae1 g3 33. Bxg3 Kf7 34. Bf4 Rb2 35. Qxg5 1-0