First and foremost, the win is not the reason I love it. While I didn't play awfully (I don't think, we'll decide in a minute), I played the right way. I took my time on each move and considered threats carefully, and this was more important than any actual result. As the position wound down into a losing one, I began to look for drawing conditions and how to exchange material down to one.
(can't look this one up in the MCO, it is after bed time and the lights are out)
[Event "ICC"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2009.09.09"]
[White "KyleMayhugh"]
[Black "KCLyons"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1245"]
[BlackElo "1290"]
[ECO "D30"]
[Opening "Queen's gambit declined"]
[TimeControl "1800+10"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. cxd5 exd5
At least I remembered 3. cxd5 this time.
4. Nf3 Be6
An odd continuation for black, not sure what he's planning.
5. Nc3 Be7
6. Bf4 a6 7. g3 Nf6 8. Bg2 Nbd7 9. Ng5 Nh5
Here comes another one of those tough, multi-square exchanges that I need to work on. I correctly had myself winning a pawn on the d5 square, but I was watching the Nxf4 attack and now the g5 square where I lose a piece. Crafy tells me the exact same thing, that this move puts me down -2.07. Nxe6 maintains equality with maybe a minuscule white edge.
I'm now down a piece for a pawn after the following set of moves:
10. Nxd5 Bxd5
11. Bxd5 Bxg5 12. Bxg5 Qxg5
Not going to despair. This isn't about winning and losing, it's about developing my thought process. Forcing it, even.
13. Qb3 O-O
First thing to do when down material is create some complications. The combined dual attacks on both the f3 and b2 pawns do that.
14. Qxb7 Nb6
Now down a piece for two pawns, getting better. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of my castling. At this point, I'm figuring this game is lost. Down a point in material and the rook on H1 is going to be worthless until I can make several tricky king moves to extract it.
15. Bg2 Qa5+
16. Kf1 Qd2 17. Qxc7
Technically even on material now, but in a precarious position at best. Crafty hates this move and thinks it puts me down -4.88, and instead suggests a complex series of moves beginning with 17. Bf3. I'm not sure how I can implement that.
Rab8
He missed a chance to more or less end the game here, according to Crafty. Rc8 forces me to exchange my queen for his rook, or else get mated when the rook moves to c1 and is followed by the queen. I didn't notice this during the game, I'm disappointed I hadn't played as well as I thought.
18. Qc1 Qxd4 19. e3 Qb4
I really want to exchange queens here and come to a simpler position, where I can keep trading down and get to a strong multiple pawns vs. single piece endgame for myself.
20. Qc3 Qxc3
Finally get that exchange, though not as advantageous as I'd hoped early. Looking for a draw still.
21. bxc3 Rfc8
Thought about trying to save the pawn, but with both his rooks threatening, I just had to get mine into the game. Now down the full piece for pawn.
22. Ke2 Rxc3 23. Rac1 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rc8
I do have one advantage in this position: His back rank weakness. I need to make some threats based off that, maybe get the bishop to b7 to steal the a-pawn and give myself a passed pawn on the far edge of the board from most of the pieces.
25. Rb1 Nd7
26. Bb7 Rb8 27. Rc1 a5
A pretty ugly mistake on both of our parts on move 27. Nf8 saves the back rank mate and I get nothing in return for the bishop, but neither of us saw that. My face is quite red at this point in the annotation, I didn't even notice this during the game. Crafty of course noticed it too, but I noticed this one on my own.
28. Rc7 Ndf6 29. Bf3 g6
These are all threats he can parry, but they are nicely moving him into a more uncomfortable position.
30. Rc5 a4
Would really like that outside pawn, but he's not biting.
31. Bxh5 Rb2+
I really don't like my move here in retrospect. It was almost as if I knew it was bad to make that trade but didn't have any other, better ideas at the time.
32. Kf3 Nxh5 33. g4 Nf6 34. g5 Ne8 35. Rc8 Kf8
36. Ra8 Rxa2
Simulataneously holding both his pieces at bay with the rook, but it's only a matter of time before he breaks that hold. I really think the game is lost at this point, that passed pawn is decisive imo.
37. Kf4 a3 38. Kf3 Ra1 39. Kg2 a2 40. Kf3 Ke7
I wonder briefly if I can just hold the position for awhile and force black into some zugzwang.
41. h3 Nd6 42. Ke2 Ke6 43. Kd2 Kf5
It is at this point I have some vague notions of getting black's king into a bad spot down in the corner with all my pawns. 43. ... Kd5 made all the sense in the world, I'm not sure why he didn't play it. One little inaccuracy and ...
44. Ra5+ Ke4
Honestly, he's really played his king into a bind here and I don't think either of us noticed right away. I know I didn't. What an innocent little move, but it actually loses the game immediately in a stunning fashion.
I took quite awhile to play 44. ... Ke4. I just couldn't believe my luck. It didn't seem possible that I was threatening a one-move mate with absolulely no decent reply from black, after being in such an awful position.
This is a good reminder for me, because I can and have just as easily lost a good game due to walking my king right into a bad spot. When there are pieces on the board, choose your king moves *wisely*.
45. Ke2! Re1+
On my first anlaysis, it seemed as if Re1 is the only move that is not immediately followed by the stunning 45. ... f3#. That would have been quite the stunning mate.
Instead, we have a rook and four pawns against a knight and three pawns, which I will win most of the time and a good player will win every time.
However, Crafty jumps in after I've written my own annotation to find the game-saving Nb5!, which means when I take the knight, Re1 still loses the rook as well, but now the pawn promotes without my rook on the right file to recapture it!
46. Kxe1 a1=Q+ 47. Rxa1 Kf5 48. Ra5+ Ke6 49. Ke2 f6 50. gxf6 Kxf6
51. Ra6 Ke6 52. Kf3 h5 53. Kf4 Ke7 54. Rxd6 Kxd6
This is a move of confidence, which I have in my king and pawn endgames after a lot of study.
From here, the rook pawn inevitably promotes and it is just a matter of good technique. Before I began studying seriously, I must admit I didn't even know the basics of queen-king vs. king checkmates and stumbled blindly around the board until I found them. Here it is easy, and I enjoyed playing it out and am glad he didn't resign.
55. Kg5 Ke5
56. Kxg6 Ke4 57. Kxh5 Kf3 58. Kg5 Kxf2 59. h4 Kxe3 60. h5 Ke4
61. h6 Ke5 62. h7 Ke6 63. h8=Q Ke7 64. Qf6+ Kd7 65. Kf5 Kc7
66. Qe6 Kb7 67. Qd6 Ka7 68. Qb4 Ka6 69. Ke6 Ka7 70. Qb5 Ka8
71. Kd7 Ka7 72. Kc7 Ka8 73. Qb7#
1-0
Rating: 1245
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