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(3) Pruess,D (2371) - Evans,B (2262) [C12]
Pinto IM, 2004
[David Pruess]
Pruess at the Mark Pinto Invitational
This tournament, held at the Mechanics in late July/early August, was a 12 player round robin-- all play all. Three International Masters were invited (one, DeGuzman from the Bay Area) along with nine masters, most of them local players. I was happy to have a chance to play such a nice tournament in my own backyard. One game per day, and even a break day or two, gives you a lot of time to prepare yourself mentally for each encounter. You can spend every bit of energy you have on a game, and have time to recover all your strength and refocus for the next one. Since I like to play as hard as I can, this is an ideal situation for me. I started out rather shaky, but then in round 4, I was able to play the exact kind of game I had envisioned the day before. Spurred on by this pleasant experience, I played a good game the next day. 1.e4 I play some other moves too, but today I was thinking of getting into a complicated, full board French struggle. 1...e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 An interesting move. White seemed to be threatening e5, winning the black knight on f6, but it turns out that black can escape tactically. Therefore ...Bb4 is a reasonable move: it develops, takes the Nc3 out of the fight for e4 and d5 by pinning it, and could consider giving white doubled pawns at some point. 5.e5 h6 This is how black avoids losing the knight here, and in many similar situations. 6.Bc1 This is a fancy move. I am expecting that black is going to trade on c3 in order to move his knight to e4, and when he does, I dont want my bishop sitting on d2 so he can trade it off. [6.Bd2 and; 6.Be3 both make plenty of sense.; And White could also play 6.exf6 hxg5 7.fxg7 Rg8 8.h4; But 6.Bh4 g5 Blocking the hidden attack between the Black Queen and White Bishop, turns out badly for White after 7.Bg3 (7.exf6 gxh4 followed by ...Qxf6.) 7...Ne4] 6...Ne4 7.Qg4 g6 [Black can also play 7...Kf8 to guard the threat to g7, but he should not ignore that threat.; 7...Nxc3 would be bad after 8.Qxg7 Rf8 9.Bd2 when White recovers the piece and has a better position.] 8.Nge2
White defends the c3 square and prepares-- what move? Good for you if you see white's plan: he wants to play a3 to break the pin. If the Bishop trades White will take with the c-pawn, rather than the Knight, because the Black Knight on e4 becomes awkward: 11.f3 Ng5 12.h4 Nh7 13.Bh6 is threatened! And if 9...Ba5, White will be able to play 10.b4. knocking Black's Bishop to a bad square on b6.8...c5 So Black attacks White's central formation before White can do what he wants. 9.a3 Anyway! 9...Ba5 [9...Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 would strengthen White's center after all. Then some games have continued: 10...cxd4 11.cxd4 Qc7 12.f3 Nc3 13.Bd2 You see, Black made that trade and played ...Qc7 just so that the Knight would have somewhere to go. There's the value of seeing what your opponent plans to do!] 10.dxc5 [White can also sacrifice a pawn with 10.b4 try and keep a stronger center. 10...Nxc3 11.Nxc3 but I did not like the situation as much if Black plays 11...cxd4 (11...cxb4 12.Nb5) 12.Nb5 Bc7 and my center is not so strong. So instead, I give it up right away, but in return I will keep a strong pawn on c5, maybe even an extra pawn!] 10...Nc6 [The other choice for Black was to take on c3: 10...Nxc3 but then White would be able to hang onto the extra pawn after 11.Nxc3 and now if Black attacks the pawns with his Queen: 11...Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Qc7 13.Qd4 holds onto the extra pawn. Also, Black has really weak dark squares in all these lines. So I was expecting Black to go after the e5-pawn like he does in the game.] 11.b4 [White can't defend the e-pawn: 11.Qf4 g5 or; 11.Bf4 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Qa5 winning the c5-pawn and leaving the c3 and e5-pawns weak.] 11...Nxe5 12.Qh3 This is a nice square for the Queen because in a moment the third rank will be open, so she can slide back and forth quickly to reach much of the board. [White couldn't win a piece with 12.Qf4? leaving two Black pieces attacked, because just 12...Bc7 saves both of them, and threatens 13...Nd3+, so White will lose more time.] 12...Bc7 13.Nxe4 This opens the d-file which White's Rooks can get to first, and it also weakens Black's pawns a bit. To defend the e4-pawn, Black will be forced to play ...f5, and then the shelter for the King on the kingside is not looking so great. 13...dxe4 14.Nc3 f5 [14...Qd4 does not work in view of 15.Bb2 Nc4 16.Rd1 and black loses material] 15.Nb5 With the idea of having better control of the dark squares. Black's central pawns are all on light squares, and if you trade of the black bishop and imagine a White Bishop on b2, you can see that that Bishop is a very strong piece: there are no Black pieces contesting the squares it tries to control! 15...Bb8 16.Bb2 A great post, eyeing the Rook on h8, the Knight on e5, and clearing the way for White to put a Rook on d1. 16...Rh7 The Rook moves, to allow the Knight to move if necessary later. Black has to castle by hand anyway, because the h6-pawn would die if he just castled. 17.Rd1 Bd7 I thought Black might just move the Queen, for example to g5, but the text move gets the a8 Rook closer to coming into the game, so I don't think it's bad really.18.Be2 Does the bishop do much here? No. White's other pieces were well placed, right, so why not just come forward and attack something? Well, even though Black's development is also not complete, if you attack him, his reserves will be closer to the battle than yours. So it makes a lot of sense for White to get his other two pieces into the game. 18...Nf7 Black expects that White will want to play Nd6+ soon to eliminate the Black Bishop, and by attacking d6 with another piece intends to force White to recapture with the pawn, blocking the d-file. 19.0-0 a6 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 [Black might prefer to keep the Bishop, but can't because 20...Nxd6 21.cxd6 threatening c4, then c5, trapping the Bishop on b8. 21...b5 22.Qg3 Qg5 23.Qe5 leaves the White Queen on simply too strong a square, and it cannot even be challenged.] 21.cxd6 b5 It still makes sense for Black to try to stop White from pushing ahead freely to c5, increasing the queenside space advantage and strengthening the passed pawn on d6. 22.c4 This move allows White's d-pawn to be isolated, but with that black pawn on b5, the d6 pawn is already basically isolated, right? So what White envisions is Bc4 and Qb3 putting serious pressure on the Black King. 22...Rc8 23.Qb3 Continuing to discourage black from taking on c4. There would just be no way to defend e6 because ...Ng5 can always be chased away by h4. 23...Kf8 Black improves the position of his king, avoiding ideas like 24.cxb5 axb5 25.Bxb5 Bxb5 26.Qxe6+ which could be possible at some point otherwise. 24.Rfe1 This just improves the overall coordination of the White pieces some more. The Bishop could now go back to f1 if it needed a square to move to. The Rook restrains Black from looking for counterplay with ...f4, because it will can put pressure on e4. 24...h5 Black doesn't have anything very exciting to do. The White Bishop on b2 is powerful, the Black King is a bit unsafe, and the White pawn on d6 is quite strong. This move was aimed against Qg3 by White at some point, because Black would want to answer ...g5 without allowing Bh5 (with the further idea of Bg6 trapping the rook!). 25.a4 Now you see why White didn't just happily push c5 earlier to strenthen his passed pawn. In order to win, White will need to open some lines eventually, and keeping the pressure on b5 with his c-pawn allows him to force some more opening with 25.a4.25...bxa4 [25...bxc4 26.Bxc4 Bxa4 is a good tactical idea; unfortunately, Black's pieces are so ineffective that his position collapses right after winning the pawn: 27.Qxa4 Rxc4 28.Qb3 Rc8 (28...Qc8? 29.d7; 28...Nxd6? 29.Qxc4 wins instantly.) 29.Qxe6 and White is dominating.] 26.Qa2 Now White is one move from having everything he wants (despite losing the pawn) after c5, his Bishop on e2 that was doing nothing can come to c4 and simultaneously beat up on e6 and a6. What a glorious life he would have then! 26...Qb6 27.Ba3 [Black is willing to try desperate measures in a strategically losing position. He is ready to sacrifice an exchange to reduce the White pawn phalanx on the queenside, with 27.c5 Qxb4 28.Bxa6 Rxc5 29.Ba3 Qb6 I chose to avoid the small amount of mess associated with this continuation, and preserve all my strong pawns.] 27...Qb7 [Looking for counterplay only helps White because it is the White pieces that get new possibilities: 27...e3 28.c5 exf2+ 29.Kxf2 Qb7 30.Bf3 See, it's the White Be2 and Re1 that got new life, and White's advantage is even greater.; 27...Nxd6?? loses to 28.c5 (and 28.b5 both!) ] 28.c5 Nd8 The Knight heads to the queenside to help defend against the pawns. 29.Qa1 But now White threatens the other side of the board! Black can't let the Queen in to f6, or he won't be able to defend e6 and g6 and his King very long.29...Kf7 30.Qc3 If white could move again, what would white do? 30...Nc6 31.Bc4 Removing that e5 possibility. Black has to prepare a new way to keep the White Queen out of f6. [Now if you play 31.Bb2 , Black can block that diagonal with 31...e5 and if you win the a6-pawn with 32.Qc4+ Kf8 33.Qxa6 Black will take on b4: 33...Qxb4 so it won't be totally easy.] 31...Rf8 32.f3! Ke8 [After 32...exf3 instead of taking back, White could speed up the game with 33.Bb2! with the threat of 34.Bxe6+ Bxe6 35.Qf6+ Ke8 36.Qxe6+ Kd8 37.Bf6+ winning.] 33.fxe4 f4 [33...fxe4 34.Rxe4 wins the e-pawn in any case, because 34...Nxb4? loses after 35.Qxb4 Qxe4 36.Qb8+ Kf7 37.Rf1+] 34.Rb1 So White gets ready to open the b-file for his Rooks, to get after that Black King. 34...f3 Weakening the White King's position, at the cost of a pawn.
35.Rf1 Rhf7 [35...fxg2 36.Rxf8+ Kxf8 37.Qf6+ would win quickly: 37...Rf7? On any King move, 38. Bxe6 wins. 38.Qh8#] 36.Rxf3 Rxf3 37.gxf3 White has two very strong pawns on c5 and d6, and the black king is weak. Black has almost no moves, but my opponent found one. 37...Bc8 Now White could win simply by playing Kg2, then maybe rerouting the Bishop from a3 to g5 or something, but he can also finish things more directly and that's what I chose after doing some calculating.
38.b5 Na7 39.c6 [During the game I also saw that 39.Qe5 going straight for the Black King, would win too.] 39...Nxc6 40.Bd5 [It would also be good to play 40.bxc6 Qxb1+ 41.Kg2 when Black is out of checks and can't defend against 42.d7+.] 40...exd5 41.Qxc6+ Qd7 [41...Kf7 loses to 42.d7; 41...Kd8 loses to 42.Bc5] 42.exd5 Threatening 43.Re1+ Kf7 44.Re7+ or 43...Kd8 44.Qb6+. 42...Kf7 [42...Rxf3 would have lost to 43.Re1+ Kf8 44.Qxd7 Bxd7 45.bxa6 when the a-pawn queens.] 43.Qxd7+ Even here black can not handle the white a-pawn.
43...Bxd7 44.bxa6 Ra8 45.Rb7 Ke8 46.a7 There is no defense to Rb8.
After these two nice games, I began to play with greater confidence and enjoyment, and had several interesting games among my last six. [46.a7 Bc8 47.d7+! wins easily.] 1-0
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