One of My Best Games Ever
This was a battle for the ages
Sometimes a chess game can be so dull you won’t even enjoy playing. On the other hand, the battle can be so gruelling you can’t wait to play the next move.
That’s exactly how I felt during this game.
In this 3-minute game, I was up against a 2363 rated player, with the White pieces. I just knew that I would have to press accordingly in order to win.
Part 1: The Opening
The game started usually with the Sicilian Defense: 1.e4 c5.
Now, I continued with the usual 2.Nf3, controlling the vital d4 and e5 squares. He committed to 2.e6, wanting to seize the d5 square. I thought this would be a comfortable game for me.
Here, I use my favorite opening against the Sicilian: The Delayed Alapin and go 3.c3, with critical accent on the d4 square. Although it’s likely I’ll have an isolated pawn on d4, White’s game proves to be very comfortable.
As thought, Black follows with 3.d5, striking in the center and trying to improve their position.
Here, it’s a no-brainer for me. I just play 4.exd5 and release the tension in the center, as in this opening. White aims to restrict Black’s control.
But the response 4.Qxd5 seemed like a weird move to me. Although a theoretical choice, why leave the e6 pawn there and restrict the c8 Bishop?
As White’s plan suggests, I strike in the center with 5.d4, aiming to dominate the center.
Black decides to go with 5.Nf6. A calm, non-committal move, yet it could prove to be useful in the future. Once again, a theoretical choice.
Now, it’s important not to touch the c5 pawn yet, as White’s development is hindered so far and Black will surely gain advantage. It’s best to keep improving matters before decisive choices.
Hence, I played 6.Be3, improving the control on the d4 square and developing my minor piece.
Black doesn’t like this very much, so they just trade with 6.cxd4.
Now, it’s obvious that I should recapture, but with which piece?
As the opening suggested, it’s best to play 7.cxd4, with a strong central pawn and piece mobility retained.
Black develops another minor piece, playing 7.Bb4+.
There’s nothing to worry about. White simply covers with 8.Nc3, developing a piece and planning to castle very soon, finishing the development.
As previously mentioned, Black tries everything to challenge my center, so we see the move 8.Nc6. We still have an equal position on our hands.
But I want to castle soon, so I play 9.Be2, improving my last minor piece and now I am ready to castle during the next few moves (9.Bd3 was an alternative, but it’s up to preference).
Black sees the opportunity and castles, 9.O-O.
I waste no time and instantly castle, 10.O-O. Simultaneously, since my Knight is no longer pinned to the King, 11.Nxd5 is threatened, so Black must act!
Black does so and plays 10.Bxc3, exchanging their Bishop for my Knight.
I was quite happy with this trade, because it strengthens my d4-pawn and opens new lines for attack.
Now we’ve reached the Middlegame after move 10.
Part 2: The Middlegame
Now we have reached the Middlegame, so it’s time to figure out the best plan in order to win the game.
I am dependent on my opponent’s plans and piece placement, because I may need to alter my strategy.
I simply start by recapturing the opponent’s bishop, 11.bxc3. He surprised me with the move 11.b5. I saw the idea of 12.Bb7, but I thought that such expansion on the Queenside wasn’t very logical.
I saw the potential of seizing the h1-a8 diagonal with my Bishop before him, so I prepared it with the move 12.Nd2. The engine isn’t a big fan, but it’s a perfectly fine move.
He replies with 12.Bb7, which aims to counter my piece activity on the diagonal.
I followed up with 13.Bf3 and he strangely replied 13.Qf5.
It’s clear that he didn’t like my control on the e4 square, but Qf5 seemed out of place for this specific position.
As the b5 square is mildly weak, I proceed to attack it with 14.Rb1 and he defends with 14.a6.
Even though he’s defending quite well, I can now see that I hold the initiative.
I wasn’t willing to waste my advantage, so I pressed with 15.a4, the best move in this position.
He does the same with 15.Nd5, attacking the c3 pawn and trying to pose some problems.
Here, you’ll see the sequence that effectively won the game.
I played 16.axb5 to weaken Black’s Queenside structure, but he replied with 16.Nxc3?, which seemed like a good move, but ignoring so many possible threats just to win a pawn instead seemed wrong.
Here, I calculate that if I decide to give up my Queen and play the stunning 17.bxc6, I have a huge chance of winning the game with this beautiful move.
Why not?
After the following moves 17.bxc6 Nxd1, we have reached this position:
I agree, the position looks very messy, but White’s plan is very clear. As we have already committed to our plan, we have to get as much compensation for the Queen as possible.
Since the b7 Bishop is much more valuable than the d1 Knight, 18.cxb7 follows, which is again the best move in the position.
This move poses multiple problems to Black: The a8 Rook is attacked, the d1 Knight is attacked and there’s no good way of saving the game anymore.
18.Nxe3 was a good try of posing some problems to White, but I didn’t care about this move, as there’s no real danger.
I followed up with 19.bxa8=Queen, gaining complete control on the board.
Even though he captured my Queen, I took back with my Bishop. Now there’s a backrank checkmate threat on b8 and a threat on the e3 Knight.
Black must give up the Knight too and afterwards, I was left with 4 minor pieces+3 pawns against a lone Queen and 5 pawns.
I ended up checkmating in 40 moves.
What are your opinions on this game? Let me know in the comments below!
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