Last week’s game was a lot of fun. My opponent took a chance going into an unusual opening line. Unfortunately for him, the ploy backfired and he found himself down a pawn and with an exposed king coming out of the opening. With the queens off the board rather early, I opted for transitioning into an endgame where the extra pawn would become the decisive factor.
We ended up in a knight and pawn ending which illustrated the importance of having scope for your knights. Black found himself constantly retreating as white’s king and knight pushed deep into black’s side of the board. On move 40, Black is in zugzwang and resigns on his next move after realizing that what remains of his position is about to collapse.
Here are my notes on the game. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Good stuff! I liked this game and definitely agree with your opening assesment; feels French to me as well.
I'm curious though, did you consider for Black 37...Nc6+!? threatening Nxb4? White would need to be careful here, because if you don't play to defend your queen-side, Black can quickly gain a passed pawn. In any case Black's move gains him some play and a probability(if White does not play acurately) at gaining tempo towards a king-side attack via Ne5.
All else said; I think you played this game exremely well.
Posted by: Warner Smith | 01/26/2009 at 11:59 PM
Doh! I always forget about the blogspot!
The correct URL: www.smittyschesscorner.blogspot.com
Posted by: Warner Smith | 01/28/2009 at 11:12 AM
Hi, Warner! Yes, I did consider 37... Nc6+ over the board. However, this move does not help black out. White can simply play 38. Kd5 when 38... Nxb4 fails to 39. axb4 a3 40. Ne6+ Kd7 41. Nd4 and the black a pawn is going nowhere.
Posted by: James Todhunter | 02/02/2009 at 08:57 AM