C01 French: Exchange Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 Be7 4.Nc3 d5 5.exd5 exd5)

The game below was played in a match that was played between Fighting Warriors and * The WOLF *. The match is called open Challenge # 122. This was played on 34 boards and I played on board 3 for * The WOLF *. The match ended with a score 23 - 45 in favor of * The WOLF *! There was quite a lot of timeouts in this match and we won on boards 1, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 23 and 30 both games on timeouts. And on five boards we won one of the games on timeouts, so we won 25 games on timeouts... In a match of this size, it is a huge amount of games basically forfeited only because players did not make their moves on time. We only lost one game due to a timeout, so we had more fighting spirit and wanted to win more than our opponent.

[Event "open Challenge # 122 - Board 3"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.10.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Retsam100"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1898"] [BlackElo "1915"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "158"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 Be7 4. Nc3 d5 5. exd5 exd5 {C01 French: Exchange Variation. LiveBook: 128 Games} 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nf3 {Black is slightly better.} (8. Nge2 h6 (8... Bg4 9. O-O Nbd7 10. f3 Bh5 11. Nf4 Bg6 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Qd2 Qb6 14. Ne2 Bd6 15. b3 Ne5 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. c4 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Qc7 19. f4 Rfe8 20. c5 Bf8 21. f5 g5 22. Ng3 Re7 23. Nh5 {Sciupokas,A (1937) -Mickus,B (1671) Kaunas 2016 1-0 (57)}) 9. Bh4 Re8 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Qd2 Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Bc4 Nb6 15. Bb3 a5 16. a4 Be6 17. Bxe6 Qxe6 18. b3 Nd5 19. Nf4 e3 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Qf2 Re4 22. Nxd5 Qxf2+ {Nguyen Huynh Minh,H (2482)-Bui,V (2448) Budapest 2008 0-1 (43)}) 8... Bg4 9. Qd2 $146 (9. h3 Bh5 10. O-O Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qb6 12. Rad1 Qxb2 13. Rb1 Qa3 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Rxb7 Qd6 16. Qe4 f5 17. Bxe7 fxe4 18. Bxd6 Rd8 19. Bxb8 exd3 20. Be5 dxc2 21. Rc1 Nf6 22. Rxc2 Rd7 23. Rxd7 Nxd7 {Liakos,C (1337)-Malataras,G (1585) Porto Rio 2015 1/2-1/2 (40)}) 9... Nbd7 10. O-O-O b5 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Rdg1 {-0.87/23} (13. Ne5 $11 {-0.06/27 remains equal.} Nxe5 14. dxe5) 13... Qa5 {-0.20/28} ( 13... b4 $17 {-0.87/23} 14. Nd1 a5) 14. Ne5 {-0.90/25} (14. Bxf6 $11 {-0.20/28 keeps the balance.} Bxf6 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Kb1) 14... Nxe5 $1 $17 15. dxe5 d4 16. Nb1 Qxd2+ {0.30/26} ({Better is} 16... Bb4 $17 {-0.73/27} 17. Qd1 Nd5) 17. Nxd2 $11 Nd5 $1 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. f4 Bxd3 20. cxd3 Nd5 $36 {Black is more active.} 21. f5 {-0.69/25} ({White should play} 21. Rf1 $1 $11 {0.00/29}) 21... Nb4 $1 $15 22. Nf3 Nxd3+ 23. Kc2 Nb4+ 24. Kb3 $1 c5 $1 25. Nxd4 $1 a6 {-0.14/26 } (25... Rfb8 $1 $17 {-0.72/25 Threatens to win with ... a5.} 26. a3 Nd3) 26. Nc2 $2 {-1.65/25} (26. e6 $1 $11 {-0.14/26}) 26... Nd3 $19 27. f6 {-2.31/22} ( 27. Ne1 $142 {-1.73/27} Nxe5 28. Kc2) 27... Nxe5 28. fxg7 Kxg7 {-0.97/28} ( 28... Rfd8 $19 {-1.68/24} 29. Rd1 Nd3) 29. Ne3 $17 Rfd8 {[#] White must now prevent ...Rd3+.} 30. Nf5+ Kf8 31. a3 {-1.82/25} (31. Rd1 $17 {-1.25/28 keeps fighting.}) 31... Rd3+ 32. Ka2 Rad8 33. Re1 Nc4 $1 34. Re7 Rd2 35. Rb1 R8d7 36. Re4 $2 {-4.02/26} (36. Rxd7 {-1.68/28 was the only defense.} Rxd7 37. Rc1) 36... Nd6 $2 {-1.06/30} (36... R7d3 $19 {-4.02/26 has better winning chances.} 37. Ka1 Nxa3 $1) 37. Re5 Nxf5 38. gxf5 {-1.99/28 Endgame KRR-KRR} (38. Rxf5 $17 {-1.05/29} c4 39. Rf3) 38... c4 39. f6 R7d6 {-1.10/29} (39... Rf2 $142 { -1.54/25} 40. Rh5 Rd6) 40. Rf5 {-1.62/23} (40. Rf1 $17 {-1.10/29}) 40... Rh2 { -1.15/27} (40... Ke8 $19 {-1.62/23} 41. a4 Kd7 42. axb5 axb5) 41. Rbf1 { -2.06/23} (41. a4 $17 {-1.15/27}) 41... Rxh3 {-0.89/31} (41... Ke8 $19 { -2.06/23 and Black stays clearly on top. aiming for ...Rdd2.} 42. R1f2 Rh1 43. Re5+ Kd8) 42. Rc5 {[#] Intending Rc8+ and mate.} Re3 43. Rc8+ {-1.51/33} ({ White should try} 43. a4 $1 {-0.92/29}) 43... Re8 44. Rc7 h6 45. Rc5 {-1.88/25} (45. Rf2 $17 {-1.36/30}) 45... Kg8 $1 $19 46. Rcf5 {-2.90/27} (46. a4 $142 { -1.71/26}) 46... Ree6 47. R5f3 {-3.53/25} (47. a4 {-2.50/27 was necessary.}) 47... Kh7 48. R1f2 Rd3 49. Rf4 Rg3 50. a4 Kg6 51. axb5 {-5.11/24} (51. Rd4 $142 {-3.27/26}) 51... axb5 52. Rh2 Rxf6 53. Rfh4 Kg7 54. Rh5 Rg5 55. R5h3 Rg1 56. Ka3 Rfg6 57. Kb4 R1g5 58. Rh4 f6 59. Rd4 h5 60. Rd7+ Kh6 61. Re2 $2 {-6.53/26} (61. Rdd2 {-3.40/32}) 61... h4 62. Rd8 {Now Rh8+ and White clings on.} Kh5 63. Rh8+ Rh6 64. Rf8 h3 65. Rh2 Kg4 66. Re8 Kg3 67. Ree2 Rd5 68. b3 cxb3 69. Kxb3 f5 {Black mates.} 70. Rh1 h2 71. Kc3 f4 72. Re8 Rg5 73. Ra8 f3 74. Kd3 Kh3 75. Ke3 Rg1 76. Ra1 Rxh1 77. Rxh1 Kg2 78. Rb1 h1=Q 79. Rb2+ Kg3 {Precision: White = 25%, Black = 65%.} 0-1

Below you can see all the reference games I was able to find in my database where both players were rated 2500+.

[Event "Moscow blitz"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Goldin, Alexander"] [Black "Dreev, Alexey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2555"] [BlackElo "2560"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "1993.??.??"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "17"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "EXT 1997"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1996.11.15"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. Nge2 c6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Ng3 Re8 10. Qf3 Nf8 11. h3 Ne6 12. Be3 c5 13. Nf5 Bf8 14. Bb5 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Nf5 Qc6 19. Rd3 Nc5 20. Bxc5 Bxc5 21. Rfd1 Re5 22. Nd4 Qe8 23. g3 Bb6 24. Kg2 h5 25. Nb3 Qe6 26. Nd4 Qe7 27. Na4 Bc7 28. Nc3 Bb6 29. Nce2 Re8 30. Nf4 Qc7 31. c3 Qc8 32. Nc2 Qc4 33. Nb4 d4 34. b3 Qb5 35. cxd4 Rf5 36. Nc2 g5 37. Ne3 gxf4 38. Nxf5 Qxf5 0-1 [Event "Tilburg"] [Site "Tilburg"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "2"] [White "Milos, Gilberto"] [Black "Andersson, Ulf"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2565"] [BlackElo "2625"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "1993.11.??"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 039"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1994.04.01"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. Nge2 Re8 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Ng3 Nf8 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. Bxf5 g6 12. Bh3 Nh5 13. Be3 Bg5 14. Qf3 c6 15. Na4 Bxe3 16. fxe3 Qe7 17. Rae1 Ng7 18. Nc5 Nfe6 19. Nxe6 Nxe6 20. Bxe6 Qxe6 21. Qf6 Qd7 22. Rf3 Re6 23. Qg5 Rae8 24. Ref1 R8e7 25. Rf6 Rxf6 26. Rxf6 Re4 27. Rf3 Qe8 28. h3 Re6 29. c3 Kg7 30. Kf2 b6 31. Qh4 a5 32. Qg5 Qd7 33. Kg1 h6 34. Qf4 Qe7 35. Kf2 c5 36. dxc5 bxc5 37. Kg1 h5 38. Qg3 h4 39. Qf2 f5 40. Qd2 Re5 41. c4 dxc4 42. a4 g5 43. Qxa5 Rxe3 44. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 45. Kh1 Qc1+ 46. Kh2 Qxb2 47. Qxc5 Qb8+ 48. Kg1 Qb1+ 49. Kf2 Qc2+ 50. Kf1 Qd3+ 51. Kf2 Qd2+ 52. Kf1 Qf4+ 53. Kg1 Qe4 54. a5 g4 55. hxg4 fxg4 56. Qg5+ Kf7 57. Qh5+ Ke7 58. Qxh4+ Kd7 59. Qf6 Qc6 60. Qg7+ Kd8 61. Qd4+ Kc7 62. Kf2 Kb7 63. Ke1 Ka6 64. Qxg4 c3 65. Qe2+ Kxa5 66. Kd1 Qa4+ 67. Qc2 Qd4+ 68. Kc1 Qe3+ 69. Kb1 Kb4 70. Ka2 Kc4 71. Kb1 Qb6+ 72. Kc1 Qg1+ 73. Qd1 Qe3+ 74. Kb1 Qe4+ 75. Kc1 Qf4+ 0-1 [Event "Sarajevo Bosnia 30th"] [Site "Sarajevo"] [Date "2000.05.20"] [Round "4"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2748"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2000.05.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "BIH"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 077"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.07.27"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nge2 Nb4 8. Ng3 Ne4 9. Bxe7 Nxc3 10. Bxd8 Nxd1 11. Rxd1 Kxd8 12. c3 Nxd3+ 13. Rxd3 a5 14. Re3 Ra6 15. Kd2 Rf6 16. f3 Rg6 17. Rg1 Rh6 18. h3 Re8 19. Rxe8+ Kxe8 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. Ne2 Rd6 22. h4 1/2-1/2 [Event "YUG-chT 52nd"] [Site "Novi Sad"] [Date "2000.08.26"] [Round "3"] [White "Markovic, Miroslav"] [Black "Zontakh, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2578"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2000.08.24"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "YUG"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2001"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.11.22"] [WhiteTeam "Cacak"] [BlackTeam "Barajevo"] [WhiteTeamCountry "YUG"] [BlackTeamCountry "YUG"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nge2 Nb4 8. Ng3 O-O 9. O-O Nxd3 10. Qxd3 h6 11. Bf4 c6 12. Rae1 Be6 13. h3 Qc8 14. Nd1 Re8 15. c3 Ne4 16. Qf3 Qd7 17. b3 Nxg3 18. Qxg3 Kh7 19. Re5 Bd6 20. Re2 Bf5 21. Be5 Bxe5 22. dxe5 c5 23. Rd2 Rad8 24. Ne3 d4 25. cxd4 cxd4 26. Rfd1 d3 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Rxd3 Rxd3 29. Qxd3 Qxd3 30. Rxd3 Rxe5 31. Rd7 Re1+ 32. Kh2 Re2 33. a4 Rxf2 34. Rxb7 a5 35. Ra7 Rf5 36. g4 Rf3 37. Rxa5 Rxb3 38. Rb5 Ra3 39. a5 g5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FRA-chT"] [Site "France"] [Date "2001.02.04"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Winants, Luc"] [Black "Gurevich, Mikhail"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2694"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2001.02.02"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 083"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.07.05"] [WhiteTeam "Cappelle la Grande"] [BlackTeam "Gonfreville"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nge2 Be6 8. Qd2 h6 9. Bf4 Qd7 10. f3 Nb4 11. Bb5 c6 12. Ba4 Qd8 13. a3 Na6 14. Nd1 Bf5 15. O-O Nc7 16. c3 Ne6 17. Bg3 Nh5 18. Bf2 Bh7 19. g4 Nf6 20. Bg3 Qa5 21. Bc2 Bxc2 22. Qxc2 h5 23. h3 hxg4 24. hxg4 Qd8 25. Nf2 Bd6 26. Nd3 Bxg3 27. Nxg3 Qc7 28. Kg2 O-O-O 29. Rh1 Nd7 30. Qd2 g6 31. Ne2 Qd6 32. Nef4 Ng5 33. Rae1 f5 34. gxf5 gxf5 35. Qe3 Rdg8 36. Rxh8 Rxh8 37. Rh1 Rxh1 38. Kxh1 Qf8 39. Kg2 Qg8 40. Kf2 Qh8 41. Kg2 Qg8 42. Kf2 Qh8 43. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Cappelle op 28th"] [Site "Cappelle la Grande"] [Date "2012.03.10"] [Round "9"] [White "Degraeve, Jean Marc"] [Black "Riff, Jean Noel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2569"] [BlackElo "2509"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "2012.03.03"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 147 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.04.24"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nge2 h6 8. Bh4 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. f3 Be6 11. Bf2 Nb4 12. a3 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 c6 14. Nf4 Bd7 15. Rfe1 Bd6 16. Bg3 Qc7 17. Nfe2 Bxg3 18. Nxg3 Rae8 19. Qd2 Qd8 20. Na4 Rxe1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sigeman & Co 21st"] [Site "Malmö"] [Date "2013.05.28"] [Round "7"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Tikkanen, Hans"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2537"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2013.05.22"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 155"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.07.16"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Qd2 a6 7. O-O-O Nc6 8. Nf3 b5 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Rhe1 b4 11. Na4 Bg4 12. Qf4 Qd6 13. Qg3 Qxg3 14. hxg3 Rfe8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Rxe8+ Rxe8 17. c3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Be7 19. Kd2 Rb8 20. Rb1 Rxb1 21. Bxb1 Na5 22. Bd3 Bd7 23. Nb2 Bc8 24. Nd1 c5 25. Ne3 cxd4 26. Nxd4 Bb7 27. Be2 Kf8 28. Ndf5 g6 29. Nxe7 Kxe7 30. g4 h6 31. Nc2 Kd6 32. Ke3 Nc6 33. Nd4 Ne5 34. Kf4 Bc8 35. g5 h5 36. g3 Nd7 37. Nb3 Ne5 38. Nc5 a5 39. Nb3 a4 40. Nd4 Nd7 41. a3 Nb6 42. Bd3 Bg4 43. Nc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Douglas PokerStars op"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2015.10.11"] [Round "9"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Harikrishna, Penteala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2015.10.03"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "IOM"] [SourceTitle "Mega2015 Update 48"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2015.10.22"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Qd2 O-O 7. O-O-O Nc6 8. h4 Bf5 9. Qf4 Bg6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nf3 Re8 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Rxd3 Nb4 14. Re3 Rxe3 15. fxe3 c6 16. g4 Qb8 17. Re1 Qxf4 18. exf4 Kf8 19. Kd2 Rd8 20. f5 Be7 21. Nd1 Bd6 22. c3 Bf4+ 23. Ne3 Na6 24. Kd3 f6 25. Ng2 Bg3 26. Re3 Re8 27. Ng1 Rxe3+ 28. Kxe3 Nc7 29. Kf3 Bd6 30. Ne2 Kf7 31. Ne3 b5 32. b3 Ke7 33. Nc1 c5 34. dxc5 Bxc5 35. Nc2 Kd6 36. Nd3 Bg1 37. Nd4 a5 38. Ne2 Bh2 39. Ne1 Be5 40. Nc2 Kc5 41. Ke3 Kd6 42. b4 axb4 43. cxb4 Bb2 44. Ned4 g6 45. fxg6 hxg6 46. Nf3 Ke7 47. Kd3 f5 48. gxf5 gxf5 49. Ne3 f4 50. Ng2 1/2-1/2 [Event "China Elite Mind rapid"] [Site "Huaian"] [Date "2016.02.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Harikrishna, Penteala"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2717"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2016.02.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "Mega2016 Update 22"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2016.03.03"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nge2 Nb4 8. Bb5+ c6 9. Ba4 O-O 10. O-O h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Ng3 a5 13. a3 Na6 14. Nce2 g6 15. c3 Qd6 16. Bc2 Re8 17. Qd2 Bg7 18. Nf4 Nc7 19. Nd3 b6 20. Rfe1 Ba6 21. Ne5 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxh6 Re8 25. h4 Ne6 26. Qe3 Qxe3 27. fxe3 Nc5 28. Kf2 Bd3 29. Bd1 a4 30. Be2 Bxe2 31. Kxe2 Nb7 32. Rf1 Nd6 33. Rf6 Re6 34. Rxe6 fxe6 35. e4 Nc4 36. Nf1 Nxb2 37. Ne3 dxe4 38. g4 Kf7 39. Kd2 Nd3 40. Nc4 b5 41. Nd6+ Ke7 42. Nxe4 Ne5 43. h5 Nxg4 44. hxg6 Ne5 45. g7 Kf7 46. Ng5+ Kxg7 47. Nxe6+ Kf6 48. Nd4 Ke7 49. Nc2 Nc4+ 50. Kd3 Kd6 51. Kd4 c5+ 52. Ke4 Ke6 53. Kf4 Kd5 54. Kf5 Nd6+ 55. Kf4 Kc4 56. Ke5 Kxc3 0-1