4NCL Division 3 2013-14: e2e4.org.uk 2 – Celtic Tigers 2

   [Event "4NCL (Division 3)"]  [Site "Daventry"]  [Date "2013.11.16"]  [Round "1"]  [White "Goodacre, John"]  [Black "Mansson, James C"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B52"]  [WhiteElo "1922"]  [BlackElo "2110"]  [Annotator "Mansson,James"]  [PlyCount "94"]  [EventCountry "ENG"]  [WhiteTeam "Celtic Tigers 2"]  [BlackTeam "e2e4.org.uk 2"]   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {I presumed that my opponent, being nearly 200  points lower graded, wanted to frustrate me with this move, which has a  reputation for being drawish, at least in some lines. However, the reality is  that these "drawish" position still need White to come up with some accurate  moves, and also it can be pyschologically difficult to play for only two  results (draw or loss).} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Re1 (6. Qe2 {is  better, as White keeps e1 free for his knight on f3; that allows him to meet a  later ...Ne4 with Ne1 and f3, keeping an extra piece on the board.}) 6... Nc6  7. c3 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Be7 13. Rc1  O-O {This line looks safe enough for White, but the danger is that he lacks a  really active plan, so it is easy to drift and get into trouble.} 14. Re3 Bd8 {  I rather like this idea, which I came up with over the board. By putting  pressure on d4, Black ties White down and make it more difficult for him to  find constructive moves.} 15. Qe2 Bb6 16. Bc3 Qe7 {I felt this was a good  square for the queen, from where it covers both flanks.} 17. Qb5 {This struck  me as pointless; indeed, it allows Black to gain a tempo with ...a6 a few  moves later.} Rfc8 18. Rce1 Bd8 19. a3 a6 20. Qd3 h6 {I wasn't yet sure  whether I wanted to play ...b5, so I played this useful waiting move.} 21. Nd2  b5 {There seemed to be no point in waiting further, so I went ahead with my  main plan.} 22. Nb3 (22. b4 a5 $1 23. Qxb5 axb4 24. axb4 Rab8 25. Qa4 Nxb4 26.  Rb1 Nc6 27. Rxb8 Nxb8 {is still all right for White, but Black is still more  comfortable.}) 22... b4 23. axb4 Nxb4 24. Qd2 (24. Bxb4 $6 Qxb4 {would have  left the White position very loose.}) 24... Na2 25. Ba5 Bxa5 26. Qxa5 Nb4 {  Blacks postion feels more comfortable, but White is still doing OK. However,  he now starts to go wrong.} 27. Rc3 $6 {This leaves White with two problems: a  weak pawn on c3 and a passed Black a-pawn.} Rxc3 28. bxc3 Nc2 29. Rc1 Na3 (  29... Qa3 30. Rxc2 Qxb3 31. Qa2 Qxa2 32. Rxa2 {looks OK for White, so I think  it is better for Black to keep the queens on.}) 30. Nc5 $2 Nc4 31. Qb4 a5 32.  Qb5 Qc7 $6 {This seems natural, preparing ...Rb8 to take the b-file and  penetrate White's position. However, pushing the a-pawn may be stronger.} (  32... a4 $1 33. Ra1 a3 {and now the same basic idea (...Qd8, ...Rb8) is even  stronger with the pawn on a3.}) 33. Ra1 Rb8 34. Qa4 Qb6 35. h3 $2 {This is  natural, but the Black queen now penetrates.} (35. Qd1 {was necessary, to  allow White to cover c3. Black is better, but White is still in the game.  }) 35... Qb2 36. Na6 Rf8 37. Nc7 Qxc3 38. Nb5 Qd2 39. Rd1 Qg5 {This is strong,  but Black had perhaps an even better move.} (39... Qb4 $1 {was a move I  considered but rejected because of} 40. Qxb4 axb4 41. Rb1 Rb8 42. Rxb4 {but I  missed that Black was winning after} Na3) 40. Nd6 $2 {White blundered under  pressure, and the game was now an easy win. However, he was already in trouble.  } Nb2 {Here the players reached the first time control. White decided to press  on for a few moves, but accurate play from Black soon forced him to give up.}  41. Qc2 Nxd1 42. Qxd1 Rb8 43. Qf3 f5 44. exf6 Qxf6 45. Qd3 Qf4 46. Nb5 Qc1+ 47.  Kh2 Qc4 0-1