One round a week, and not only that: the one of national holidays fell on Wednesday, so we had an extra evening off.
III round
Schraets, Mark vs I
1. Nf3 g6
Zukertort opening
Habit and taste drew me toward 3. ...c5. I was pretty sure he wasn't going to play 4. d5 which would've led to Ben Oni with few tempi less for white. But it is a committal choice. I wanted something more open, livelier.
4. ...c5 again was tempting, and after 5. dxc5 I would've played 5. ...Qa5+. But again, white could enter Ben Oni.
Here I pondered over 5. ...Bf5 and after 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 I reckoned white would miss white bishop more than me. 7. ...O-O 8. e4 e5!
But I spent more time on this crazy line:
5. ...c5 6. dxc5 (like in one game from Spassky–Fischer 1972 in which Fischer used Pirc Defense) 6. ...Qa5?! 7. cxd6 Ne4 8. Bd2 and I tried and tried im my wooly brain to calculate if I am good here after 8. ...Nxc3. I didn't see 9. Qb3!, but white is better even after ordinary 9. bxc3...
5. ...Nbd7 6. Bd3 O-O
7. Qc2
Here it became clear to me, that white has no big plan in the game. I was expecting 7. e4 after which I would have to choose between 7. ...e5 and 7. ...c5.
7. ...c6 8. Bd2?!
Well, this is only seemingly „development“, but it shows that white doesn't know what to do. Or that he has huge respect for me. Fear? I was expecting 8. b4, which would force me to play exclusively on King flank. I imagined 8. ...e5 and later Ne8 and ...f5 etc. In fact, the best would've been 8. ...d5! which gives black some edge because of weaknesses on white Queen flank. I considered ...d5 even earlier in the game, but I didn't want to decide character of the game so soon.
At the same time, I was afraid – again, as Polugaevsky said: „My most difficult opponent is myself. When I am playing I often involuntarily make a world champion out of a candidate master!“ – well, I was afraid that white could castle queenside, and then all of his pieces will be pointing to my king, and after h4 I saw myself under the fire. So I played my next move instantly, in order to discourage my oponent from idea of long castling.
8. ...a6 9. h3 b5
At the time I loathed 9. h3 as one more waiting move, fit for pensionists' game on a park bench. Publice engine for Third World says, however, that it was a good move. 9. a4 would also have been good. I played 9. ...b5 because I thought I am getting a lively, half-open game now, I already thought of ...c5 later and saw my knight on that field. 10. e4 now was sharp continuation, and after principal 10. ...e5 we would've had typical King' Indian game like from the fifties, in Bronstein's style from his book who was early and secretly translated by Larry Evans and which enabled young Bobby Fischer to become only Western player at the time who could play Indian strucuters as Boleslavsky and Bronstein.
10. cxb5?! axb5 11. Ne4?!
Better was 11. O-O or 11. b4, since white should try to stop my ...c5. But it seems he was tempted by short-lasting threat to capture pawn on c6.
Also 12. ...Nxe4 (!) 13. Bxe4 Bb7 gives black advantage.
13. a3 Bb7 14. Rfe1?
As I said, white at some point had to play 14. b4, and it was his last chance to prevent my atack on queen flank. Rfe1 was another waiting or better say half-hearted move. My answer wasn't the bravest one, neither. 14. ...c5! would've given me advantage. I was afraid of Nc3 and after Nxc3, I thought I would "help white improve his pawn structure". But after 14. ...c5! 15. Nc3 Nxc3 16. Bxc3 Bxf3 19. gxf3 cxd4! I am much better. I reached only that feeble estimation that I now have 1 pawn island and white all 2 of them. Really lame thinking from my side.
14. ...b4?! 15. axb4 Nxb4 16. Bxb4 Qxb4 17. Qc3 Qb6
And again::: white had a new chance to put his pawn on b4. He played 18. Nfd2?:
I calculated that I am winning a pawn and was very happy. At the same time, I couldn't evaluate position correctly in respect of it is better to keep all rooks on the table.
20. exd4 Rac8?
I thought in a chablon, that white will have a-file if I chanegd a pair of rooks, but 20. ...Rxa1 21. Rxa1 Rc8 22. Qd2 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 gives me solid pawn up. (And I avoid oposit colored bishops.)
21. Qa5 Bxd4 22. Nxd4 Qxd4 23. Red1? Ra8?
I have a pawn extra, and I am keeping it like Daffy Duck a diamond in episode „Aqua Duck“. I was again afraid of h4, h5 etc. Now the best was 29. ...e6! in order to keep my pawns firm, and after h4, I have ...h6, and later ...g5. I put the win in jeopardy.
Now I started panicking. I didn't really calculate anything, just wanted to exchange queens as soon as possible, and at the same time, I was trying to avoid that exchange happens on f4, so that I get doubled pawns. In an impressionistic way, I reckoned that Rc8-Rc3 will help me to win quickly.
However, 32. ...g5! was good, and then forwarding my central pawns should win comfortably.
32. ...Rc8?? 33. hxg6
fxg6 34. Bh5 Qd3
And now I saw 35. Qh4 (!!, my undeserved exclamation marks) and was terrified. White has perpetual check, I thought. I saw only 35. ...Rc7 and then I saw a mirage in form of 36. Qd8+, although my king was on g7, so no check would be possible. After 36. Qd8 Rf7 white would've had good chances for a draw with 37. Bg4! and threat is Be6! Would I find 37. ...Qc7! - ? I doubt it. Instead of 35. Qg4?, white had 35. Bf3! and then I don't know what I would play.
35. Qg4? Qf5 36. Qxf5 gxf5 37. Rb1 Rc2 38. Kf1 Nd3 39. Rb7+ Kf6 40. Rf7+ Kg5 41. Be2 Rc1+ 42. Bd1 Nb2 43. Rg7+ Kf6 44. Rb7 Nxd1 45. Ke2 Nc3+ 46. Kd2 Rb1 47. Rd7 Ne4+ 48. Ke3 Re1+ 49. Kf3 Ke6 50. Rh7 Ng5+
White resigned.
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