Game - 8/12/09

Another uninspiring title but 'Amazing Game' is a bit of a stretch. My opponent as White lost the initiative early on. Afterward, he said he'd played 1.d4 as players at our level are less comfortable with it. This viewpoint is fine, but a plan after 1.d4 would have helped. I wasn't just going to resign. I don't think 2.f4 counts as a sound plan.

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[Event "Rugby C v Coventry F"]
[Site "Home"]
[Date "2009.12.8"]
[Round "?"]
[White "J. Mendes"]
[Black "C. Marstow"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
%Orient=B
1. d4 d5 2. f4?! {Dubious.} 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. e3 Qd6 {Ignoring the rule
about early Queen development, but White can't attack her there; I needed to
strengthen e5 for the eventual pawn push; and it enables castling long.} 5.
Nbd2 f6 {Temporarily hems in the Knight but again it's needed for e7-e5.} 6.
h3 Bd7 {6...Bf5 or Bh5 is met with 7.g4 losing tempo.} 7. c3 {This seems
aimless. 7.c4 is better. } 7... e5 {The point of all my moves so far.} 8.
Qe2 e4 {Chases the Knight to inactive squares, and closes the centre denying
White space.} 9. Nh4? {Hangs the Knight by allowing 9...g5. 9.Ng1 or Nh2 are
the only choices.} 9... O-O-O {Didn't want to play 9...g5 immediately, as
10.Qh5+ dislodges the King and prevents castling. 9...0-0-0 is a risk though,
as 10.g4 creates an escape square for the Knight. Considering White played
9.Nh4? in the first place, I guessed he wouldn't actually play 10.g4.} 10.
Nb3 {The gamble pays off, as White still fails to see the threat to his
Knight.} 10... g5 {And my King is tucked away.} 11. Nf5?! {11.Qf2, Qh5, or Nf3
at least allow White to recoup a pawn.} 11... Bxf5 12. g4 Be6 {Chose this over
12...Bd7 as I want the Bishop aimed at h5 for a potential pawn break there,
and Be8 clogs up the back rank as opposed to Bf7.} 13. f5 {Opens up the b8-h2
diagonal for my Queen, which now has a route to his King.} 13... Bf7 14. Nc5
{Too late for the sacrifice (14.Nc5 ... 15.Nxb7 Kxb7 16.Qb5+) because of...}
14... Qg3+ {Discovered attack with check.} 15. Kd2 Bxc5 16. dxc5 {Doubles the
pawns, and half opens the d-file containing my Rook and his King. Might cause
problems for White later...} 16... h5 17. Bg2 {Defends his Rook in case the
h-file opens.} 17... Nge7 {Wanting to align my Rooks on the h-file.} 18. b4
{The c5 pawn is not at risk yet.} 18... Qe5 {Not the best move against
accurate play, but the c3 pawn is pinned to the undefended Rook, leaving the
b4 pawn essentially undefended.} 19. Bb2 {Now the pawn is pinned to the
undefended Bishop.} 19... Nxb4 {Another speculative move (18...Qe5) pays
off.} 20. Rhc1 Nd3 {Triple fork.} 21. Rc2 Nxc5 {Not 21...Nxb2 22.Rxb2 as I
don't want White to start aligning pieces on the half open b-file.} 22. Kd1
{Who knows?} 22... Na4 {Threatens the Bishop, which doesn't really follow the
logic of not capturing it last move.} 23. Qb5 Be8 {X-ray defence.} 24. Qb4
hxg4 25. c4 {Discovered attack that only loses the pawn to...} 25... dxc4+
{Discovered check.} 26. Ke2 c3 {I want to start simplifying.} 27. Bxc3 Qb5+
{Forces Queen exchange. } 28. Kf2 Qxb4 29. Bxb4 Nxf5 30. Bxe4 g3+ 31. Kf3?
{Bad square for the King.} 31... Bh5+ 32. Kg2 {Only legal move yet the one
square White doesn't want his King.} 32... Nxe3+ {White's forked.} 33. Kxg3
Nxc2 {Maybe 33...Rd4 was better, but I wanted the Rook.} 34. Bxc2 Nb6 35. Rf1
Nd5 36. Be4?? Nxb4 37. Rxf6 Rhe8 38. Bf5+ Kb8 39. Rh6 Re3+ 40. Kf2 Re2+ {Just
hoping he'd retreat to the back rank allowing the coup de grace.} 41. Kg3
{Decides to make life difficult.} 41... Re3+ 42. Kf2 Rf3+ 43. Kg2 Rxf5
{43...Rd2+ doesn't lead to mate, so I decided to simplify again.} 44. Rxh5 c5
{Couldn't be bothered to mate with what I had, so decided to walk the pawn to
promotion.} 45. Kg3 c4 46. Kg4 Rf4+ {Decided to simplify again.} 47. Kxg5
Rd5+ 48. Kxf4 Rxh5 {White finally resigns.} 0-1