Game Analysis – The Sludge

I recently played an 86-move game that was simultaneously the longest and most frustrating game of my short chess career. In an effort to break out of my comfort zone and try something new, I decided to make this game the subject of my first-ever video analysis. Written analysis is provided below the YouTube video. I hope you enjoy it!

[pgn]
[Event “Let’s Play!”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2021.09.04”]
[Round “-“]
[White “CMDRExorcist”]
[Black “Internet Opponent”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C70”]
[WhiteElo “1066”]
[BlackElo “895”]
[TimeControl “1/86400”]
[CurrentPosition “1k6/1Q6/2K5/8/8/8/8/8 b – – 24 86”]
[Timezone “UTC”]
[ECOUrl “https://www.chess.com/openings/Ruy-Lopez-Opening-Morphy-Defense-Cozio-Defense”]
[UTCDate “2021.09.04”]
[UTCTime “01:39:33”]
[Termination “CMDRExorcist won by checkmate”]
[StartTime “01:39:33”]
[EndDate “2021.09.08”]
[EndTime “20:52:08”]
[Link “https://www.chess.com/game/daily/355022875”]

{Very few games have made me consider quitting chess completely, but this was
one of them. What follows is an incredible battle that I’ve nicknamed \”The
Sludge\”. You’ll see what I mean…} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nge7
5. O-O {At this rating range, five book moves into an opening is a decent
start.} 5… b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d4 {Pushing forward hard and fast; trying to break
open the center and assert control.} 7… exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Nc6 {Black
attacks the Queen but also blocks his dominant Bishop.} 10. Qd5 Qe7 11. Bg5 $6
{Certainly not the best move in this position. I was trying to dislodge the
Queen and/or force Black to weaken his pawn structure on the Kingside.} 11…
Qe6 12. Qd3 Qd6 {My opponent is determined to trade Queens.} 13. Qxd6 Bxd6 {I
can oblige in this position because I have a very nice Bishop pair dominating
the board at the moment.} 14. Nc3 f6 15. Be3 O-O-O 16. a4 {One of many times in
this game where the engine and I don’t agree. It marks this as a $6 but there
was a solid plan behind it. My intention was to break the Kingside defense
because almost all of my pieces were activated on that side. It wasn’t
productive to waste time in this position and allow my opponent to gain
counterplay.} 16… bxa4 17. Bxa4 Ne5 18. f4 Nc4 19. Bc1 $2 {A solid mistake,
but worse (IMHO) was Kf2 which puts my King right in harms way.} 19… Rhe8 20.
Re1 Bc5+ 21. Kf1 g6 22. b3 $4 {My only blunder of the game. Black has an
opportunity to skewer my Knight and Rook, but doesn’t take it.} 22… Nd6 23. e5
Nf5 24. Ne4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 Re6 26. Bb5 {Offering the Bishop in exchange for a
tactic.} 26… Nd6 27. Bxa6+ Kb8 28. Rea4 fxe5 29. Bc4 {Another sacrificial
offering.} 29… Nxc4 {Black takes the bait…} 30. Ra8+ Kb7 31. Rxd8 {And the
tactic is successful.} 31… Nb6 32. g3 Kc6 33. Bd2 exf4 34. b4 Be3 35. Bxe3
fxe3 36. Ke2 {A trad and move sequence that builds a barrier in the center of
the board for the next few moves. The King holds the pawn hostage to prevent a
new Queen from appearing on the board.} 36… Nc4 37. b5+ Kxb5 38. Rxd7 Nb6 39.
Rxc7 {Gobbling up free pawns.} 39… h5 40. h4 Nd5 41. Rb1+ {This is a critical
moment in the game. I missed the fork 41.c4 $1. Missing this move is most likely
what caused the game to carry on for so long.} 41… Nb4 42. c4+ Kb6 43. Rd7 Kc5
44. Rc7+ Nc6 45. Rcb7 {A move I made with little thought that cost me a pawn.}
45… Kxc4 46. Rd7 Kc5 47. Rc1+ Kb6 48. Rd3 {Trying to find any way possible to
force Black’s King to the a-file.} 48… Kc7 49. Re1 g5 50. hxg5 Re5 51. g6 Rg5
{Black gives up the e3 pawn to stop my newly passed pawn on g6.} 52. Rxe3 Rxg6
53. Rc1 Kd6 54. Rd1+ Kc5 55. Rc3+ Kb4 56. Rcc1 Na5 57. Rd4+ Kb5 58. Kf3 Nb3 {I
panicked for a moment here because of the fork, but a simple move to Rb1
prevents Black from taking either piece. And The Sludge continues…} 59. Rb1
Kc5 60. Rdd1 Na5 61. Rbc1+ Nc4 62. Rd3 Rg4 63. Rdc3 Kb4 {At this point, I was
frustrated with my own play and with how long the game had continued. I
calculated a few lines before deciding it was time to trade off all the minor
pieces and try to win a King-Pawn endgame.} 64. Rxc4+ Rxc4 65. Rxc4+ Kxc4 66.
Kf4 h4 $4 {Black gives away any chances he had of counter play and helps to put
my pawn on the h-file where it is much easier to guard against Black’s
approaching King.} 67. gxh4 Kd5 68. Kg5 Ke6 69. Kg6 Ke7 70. Kg7 Ke6 71. h5
{Black is not fast enough to stop the promotion.} 71… Ke5 72. h6 Kf5 73. h7
Kg5 74. h8=Q Kf5 75. Qh5+ Ke6 76. Kg6 Ke7 77. Qf5 Kd6 78. Kf6 Kc6 79. Qe5 Kd7
80. Qe6+ Kc7 81. Ke7 Kb7 82. Qd6 Kc8 83. Qd7+ Kb8 84. Kd6 {These last few moves
were critical to ensure that I didn’t end this 80-move game in a stalemate…}
84… Ka8 85. Kc6 Kb8 {Black’s only move.} 86. Qb7# {This was one of the longest
games I’ve ever played and it was also one of the most frustrating. Ultimately,
it ended in victory but this was the hardest 4 ELO points I think I’ve ever
earned.} 1-0
[/pgn]