After a long gap over Xmas thanks to work timetables and family commitments and the Xmas break in the league, I came back in on Round 8 against Portmarnock chess club in a home match against a young opponent. To be honest, while I won the game, I didn’t really get much enjoyment out of it – there weren’t many puzzling moments, I made one major blunder, but got back on top far too easily and the endgame just felt like bullying as the analysis graph shows:
Here’s the game with annotations:
[pgn eo=t autoplayMode=none pieceFont=alpha ss=64 ps=64 h=800 commentsDisplay=newline][Event “Bodley 2014”]
[Site “St.Benildus”]
[Date “2014.02.26”]
[Round “8”]
[White “Mark Dennehy”]
[Black “Gabor Major”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “700”]
[EventDate “2014.02.26”]
[Annotator “Stockfish 210214 64”]
1.d4
{+0.23
Going with John’s d4 opening here.}
1…d5
{-0.23}
2.Nf3
{+0.23}
2…Nf6
{+0.32}
3.g3
{-0.20}
3…Nc6
{-0.07}
4.Bg2
{-0.19}
4…Bf5
{+0.38}
5.O-O
{+0.23
Well, that’s the inital tabia without any major issue, though
stockfish thinks I’m a bit on the back foot.}
5…e6
{-0.08}
6.c3
{-0.13}
6…Bxb1
{+0.66}
7.Rxb1
{+0.61
And now I have the bishop pair and am arguably ahead on development.}
7…g6
{+1.23}
8.Qb3
{+1.32}
8…b6
{+1.67
And now his pawn structures are a bit broken up.}
9.Ng5 D
{+0.94}
9…Bh6? +/-
{+2.88 / +0.94}
9…Be7 10.Qa4 Qd7 11.e4 O-O 12.Bf4 h6 13.exd5 Nxd5 +=
10.e4
{+2.64}
10…O-O
{+2.53}
11.Nxe6
{+2.80}
11…fxe6
{+2.58}
12.Bxh6
{+2.62
Bishops versus knights in what’s shaping up to be a reasonably open
game…}
12…Na5
{+3.10}
13.Qb5
{+2.72
Hm. Qb4 might have been smarter, attacking his rook a bit more
strongly.}
13…c6
{+2.87}
14.Qe2
{+3.31
Well, by this point the pawns are screaming kingside attack anyway…}
14…Rf7
{+3.40}
15.exd5 D
{+2.87
Probably not the best move, but I’m thinking Qe6 here after the
obvious exd, just to poke about a bit and see what happens. }
15…cxd5? +-
{+4.86 / +2.87
Oh. Okay, didn’t think he’d take that one, it’s an obvious blunder.}
15…exd5 16.Bh3 Kh8 17.Rbe1 Nc4 18.Qe6 Qe8 19.b3 Qxe6 20.Bxe6 +/-
16.Qxe6 D
{+4.19}
16…Nc4?! +-
{+5.20 / +4.19
Er, what now? I mean, you don’t even have the fork on d2 here, why
would you do this?}
16…Qd7 17.Qxd7 Rxd7 18.Rfe1 Rad8 19.Bg5 Kg7 20.Re6 Rf7 21.Rbe1 +-
17.Rfe1
{+4.65
Bxd was probably nastier here in hindsight.}
17…Qd7
{+5.00}
18.b3
{+4.30}
18…Qxe6
{+5.11}
19.Rxe6
{+5.41}
19…Na3
{+5.57}
20.Rxf6
{+6.27}
20…Rxf6
{+7.37}
21.Bxd5+
{+7.37}
21…Kh8 D
{+7.31}
22.Bxa8?? +/-
{+2.46 / +7.31
Ah feck, what was I thinking? }
22.Re1 g5 23.Bxg5 Raf8 24.Bxf6+ Rxf6 25.c4 Nc2 26.Re8+ Kg7 27.Re7+
Kf8 28.Rxh7 a5 29.Kg2 Nxd4 30.f4 Ne2 31.Kf3 Nc3 +-
22…Nxb1 D
{+2.49}
23.d5? +=
{+0.93 / +2.49
And that’s the advantage all thrown away now. Poop. }
23.c4 Nc3 24.Kg2 Nxa2 25.Bf4 Kg7 26.Be5 Nc1 27.f4 Nxb3 28.Bd5 Nd2 29.
Bxf6+ Kxf6 30.c5 bxc5 31.dxc5 +/-
23…Nxc3
{+0.32}
24.a3 D
{-0.67}
24…Ne4? +=
{+0.84 / -0.67}
24…Rd6 25.Bf4 Ne2+ 26.Kg2 Nxf4+ 27.gxf4 Kg8 28.Kg3 Rd8 29.Bc6 Kf7
25.Bc1 D
{+0.30
Looking at pinning the rook to let that pawn past.}
25…Nxf2? +/-
{+2.54 / +0.30}
25…Kg8 26.Be3 Kf7 27.Bc6 Ke7 28.Kg2 Rf5 29.f3 Nd6 =
26.Bb2 D
{+2.80}
26…Nh3+?? +-
{+6.39 / +2.80
Well that seems weak…}
26…Ne4 27.d6 Kg8 28.Bxe4 Rxd6 29.Bc3 Kf7 30.Kf2 Ke6 31.Ke3 Rd1 32.
h3 Rg1 33.Kf4 Rf1+ 34.Ke3 Rg1 +/-
27.Kg2
{+7.54}
27…Kg7 D
{+7.81}
28.Bxf6+ +-
{+6.35 / +7.81
Stockfish says this is a blunder, but I’m thinking this way I get both
rook and knight. Not sure why stockfish thinks this approach is so
wrong.}
28.Kxh3 Kf7 29.Bxf6 Kxf6 30.Kg4 Ke7 31.Kg5 a5 32.h4 b5 33.Kh6 Kf7 34.
d6 Ke6 35.Kxh7 +-
28…Kxf6
{+7.14}
29.Kxh3
{+7.59
Yup, this is where stockfish said I’d be anway. Maybe it’s that his
king is more central but in a Bodley game I think this is splitting
hairs too much…}
29…Ke5
{+7.66}
30.Kg4
{+7.85}
30…h6 D
{+8.02}
31.h4 +-
{+6.96 / +8.02
Well, Bc6 would cause his a and b pawns more hassle I suppose, but
still…}
31.Bc6 Kd6 32.Kf4 a6 33.h3 b5 34.b4 g5+ 35.Kg4 Ke5 36.Kh5 Ke4 37.Kxh6
+-
31…h5+
{+9.46
Well that’s both his g and h pawns lost there.}
32.Kg5
{+12.34}
32…Kd6
{+13.24}
33.Kxg6
{+13.72}
33…Kc7
{+14.16}
34.Kxh5
{+20.64}
34…Kb8
{+22.18
I know he’s after the bishop, but this is just timewasting while I eat
his g and h pawns becuase he can’t stop Bc6 and after that point he
can’t touch either the bishop or the d pawn or stop me from queening
both g and h pawns. And Bc6 gives his a and b pawns hassle as well.}
35.Bc6
{+27.79}
35…Kc7 D
{+33.75}
36.Be8 +-
{+12.50 / +33.75
No, I have no idea why I did that. Seriously, makes no sense now and
didn’t make much to me ten seconds after I made it then either.}
36.Kg6 Kd6 37.h5 Ke5 38.h6 Kd4 39.h7 Kc3 40.d6 Kxb3 41.d7 Kxa3 42.
d8=Q Ka2 43.h8=Q Kb3 44.Qd3+ Ka2 45.Qdd4 +-
36…Kd6 D
{+16.34}
37.Bf7 +-
{+13.60 / +16.34}
37.Kg6 b5 38.h5 Kc5 39.Bc6 b4 40.axb4+ Kxb4 41.h6 Kxb3 42.h7 a6 43.
h8=Q +-
37…Ke7
{+20.89}
38.Kg6
{+22.97}
38…a5
{+32.48
Finally getting the endgame back in motion. Only now I’m weaker than
Bc6 would have left me. Feck it, there’s enough margin for now.}
39.h5
{+20.67}
39…b5
{+97.32}
40.h6
{+108.68
Yeah, he can see it at this point. I don’t know why he doesn’t resign
here, I think it’s just that Bodley players are generally coached not
to because Bodley opponents often blunder endgames.}
40…a4
{+108.75}
41.b4
{+97.22
And that’s a and b locked up.}
41…Kd6
{+139.76}
42.h7
{+327.39
Even stockfish is saying it’s a St.Jude affair now.}
42…Ke5
{+327.42}
43.h8=Q+
{+327.44
Oh, come on, you know you’re toast, do we have to do all the steps?
(Seriously, I feel like a bully now)}
43…Ke4
{+327.44}
44.d6
{+327.45
Erm, okay, maybe if I just make it really obvious?}
44…Kf3
{+327.45}
45.d7
{+327.46}
45…Kxg3
{+327.46}
46.d8=Q
{+327.47}
46…Kf3
{+327.47
Apparently not. Well, it’s an overkill mate, but, okay.}
47.Qd5+
{+327.47}
47…Ke3
{+327.47}
48.Qhe5+
{+327.48}
48…Kf2
{+327.48}
49.Qd2+
{+327.49}
49…Kf3
{+327.49}
50.Qee3+
{+327.49}
50…Kg4
{+327.49}
51.Qdd4# 1-0
[/pgn]
It was the first time I used John’s d4 opening in an over-the-board game (I’d been using it a lot on chess.com and in friendly club games beforehand), and it just seemed to confuse my opponent because it was a bit outside the norm, but it’s not like it was some wild variation nobody’s ever seen before, and my opponent was too capture-happy too early on, leaving me with the bishop pair and him with a broken pawn structure. I did manage to throw away a rook with 22.Bxa8 which was stupid and threw away a two-piece lead in material in one or two moves, but the endgame was so awful that the blunder didn’t save him. Score one for Silman’s Complete Endgame Course I suppose. Honestly, I felt awful in the last few moves, it was almost bullying chess. Less games like that would be nice.
The team report on the match is here on the Benildus website.
Tags: bodley