[Event "Teignmouth A v Newton Abbot Bishops B3"] [Site ""] [Date "11 Dec 2018"] [Round ""] [White "Josh Blackmore"] [Black "Ian Henry"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo ""] [BlackElo ""] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 a6 { I do not understand this move, to me there is not much logic. Even if I do play the Bishop check c6 would still be good. (4... Nf6 5. Bb5+ c6 6. Be2 It would lose White a tempo to play the check. )} 5. c4 e6 {I find this an odd move to make having already developed the Bishop. (5... c6 is the move that would make a bit more sense before developing the Knights and trying to play e5 6. Nc3 Nf6)} 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Be2 { I have achieved a strong classical position in something that resembles a QGD. I would say that White is better due to the development lead and the fact that Black does not have the best pawn structure given his Light Squared Bishop. } 7... Nge7 { I was surprised to see this move. He took about 15 minutes to play this and I think that f6 would be the better square to occupy as he can potentially exchange for White's Dark Squared Bishop. } 8. Rc1 { I took about 5 minutes to play this move. The alternatives were taking on d5 or castling. I chose this move because it creates some pressure down the c-file which will become half-open with an exchange of pawns. I concluded that exchanging on d5 does not help that much as it would open up the centre slightly but more importantly allow the c8 Bishop to become more active. } 8... O-O 9. a3 { Again I took about 10 minutes on this move. I had seen this before the last move but I wanted more time to look at it. Castling is still an option here but I thought that this created more problems for the c6 Knight and helps if I try to attack on the Queenside. } 9... b6 { I was expecting this to be played as something needs to come of the Bishop. I can only castle short and so there may be some pressure against my King but I always have Ne1 and Bf3 if it becomes too much of a threat. (9... Na5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. b4 Nc6 Was a line I was looking at; the Queen comes into a central role but the minor pieces do not have much play. )} 10. O-O { I did not want to open the position up before castling. If my King gets kept in the centre then It can be more vulnerable to attack. } 10... Bb7 11. b4 { I have always been looking at the exchange on d5 but it never seemed that appealing and with this move I could create difficulties for both of Black's Bishops if I play c5. } 11... dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Be2 { This was another move that took time to come to. My other thought was playing to b3 but the bigger threat from Black is on the Kingside and even if the Queen gets to d5 the c7 pawn is weak. It also keeps an eye on b5 so a5 becomes more difficult to play. The computer recomends Bb3 (13. Bb3 Qd7 14. Ne4 Nxd4 15. Rxc7 Nxf3+ 16. Qxf3 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Qe8 is the computer line but it does not seem much better than what I played in the game. )} 13... Rc8 { Babysitting c7 but if lost White may crash though on the c-file. } 14. Qb3 { My thoughts with this was that I could bring my other Rook to the centre and place the Knight on e1 looking to go to c5. It also gave Black the option of offering the exchange of Queens. } 14... Nd5 15. Nxd5 Qxd5 16. Qxd5 exd5 17. Rc2 { Black has helped me by blocking in his own Bishop and clearing my Knight off of the c-file allowing me to double Rooks with the idea of taking on c6. } 17... Rfe8 18. Rfc1 Re6 19. Kf1 { This took some time to work out what to play. I liked the idea of Ng5 but it just left an unclear position and I was not happy that I would be better. Another concern was that sacrificing the Bishop on d4 may be problematic if I move the Knight away. This takes away most of Black's play. There is still the threat along the c-file, it is just a case of finding the best squares to increase to pressure and eventually break through. (19. Ng5 Rf6 20. Be5 Nxe5 21. dxe5 was the line I saw but even though the engine puts White as better the two Bishops are much more active and I do not have the same threat on c7. )} 19... h6 20. h4 { Again I was unsure as to playing Ne1 now as the sacrifice could still be played but It will probably not develop into much. I was also concerned that if this were to transpose into a complicated endgame I did not want to have too little time to use my advantage. (20. Ne1 Bxd4 21. exd4 Nxd4 22. Bg4 Nxc2 23. Bxe6 fxe6 24. Rxc2 g5 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Bxc7 On further analysis the sacrifice does not work but I came to this conclusion with the aid of a computer and outside the match environment. )} 20... f6 { Following this there was no threat to d4 and so I played } 21. Ne1 { Still with the idea of going to c5 where this time the Black position looks likely to collapse. } 21... g5 22. hxg5 { I took first and then played Bg4. The computer prefers Bg4 but I did not see a reason as to why I should not take. (22. Bg4 Rce8 23. Bxc7 Re4 24. Bd7 is the line given by the computer with White having a clear advantage. )} 22... hxg5 23. Bg4 { Black Resigns. I think that there is still the option to continue for Black as it is not fatal; however it is very difficult to play as there is not really any thing for either Bishop and everything will be tied to defending the c7 pawn. The other factor is that he only had 5.01 left on the clock so I do not think Ian was willing to struggle on with such little time. } 1-0