It’s been a while since I annotated one of my games. Part of that is IRL stuff that’s been getting in the way and part of it is that I haven’t played any games that intrigued me enough recently to annotate. This game is a little bit of an exception. Let’s go…
[pgn]
[Event “Let’s Play!”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2021.10.05”]
[Round “-“]
[White “CMDRExorcist”]
[Black “Internet Opponent”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B23”]
[WhiteElo “1091”]
[BlackElo “1099”]
[TimeControl “1/86400”]
[CurrentPosition “8/p4k1p/2p1p1p1/2Q5/8/5P2/5KPP/1r6 b – – 0 37”]
[Timezone “UTC”]
[ECOUrl “https://www.chess.com/openings/Sicilian-Defense-Closed-Traditional-Line-3.Nf3”]
[UTCDate “2021.10.05”]
[UTCTime “14:17:56”]
[Termination “CMDRExorcist won by resignation”]
[StartTime “14:17:56”]
[EndDate “2021.10.08”]
[EndTime “16:38:11”]
[Link “https://www.chess.com/game/daily/360542321”]
{It’s been a while since I annotated one of my games. Part of that is IRL stuff
that’s been getting in the way and part of it is that I haven’t played any games
that intrigued me enough recently to annotate. This game is a little bit of an
exception. Let’s go…} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 {A fairly
standard Sicilian Defense configuration I’ve seen in a few games recently. White
has a slight edge here, but at this rating level its too insignificant to make a
real difference.} 5. O-O e6 $6 ({The engine calls 5…e6 an inaccuracy and it
does seem like 6.d6 would have been a better choice that leaves Black with a
much more solid development after} 5… d6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Re1) 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
e5 {Cutting off Black’s Bishop and preparing to bring the f1 Rook into play.}
7… Ne7 8. d3 ({Good also is} 8. Ne4 O-O 9. Re1) 8… O-O 9. Re1 Nf5 {My first
real mistake of the game. Instead of capitalizing on the weaknesses on the King
side, I played a developing move that did very little to strengthen the
position.} 10. b3 $2 (10. Bg5 f6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. exf6 Qxf6 {and White has a good
position here.}) 10… Nd4 11. Na4 b6 {The pawn structure grows a little weak
here, but the Knight moves away and frees up more room for me to work.} 12. c3
Nf5 13. c4 $6 {Once again, the engine prefers that I engage with the Bishop on
g5.} (13. Bg5 Qd7 14. Qe2 Qc7 {and there’s a lot of pressure building up on the
e5 pawn $1}) 13… Bb7 {Black misses a chance to engage on the f-file.} 14. Bb2
(14. Bg5 f6 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6) 14… Qe7 15. d4 $2 {I thought about this
one for a long time, which is probably why it turned out so poorly at the time.
I needed to find a way to break through on the d-file and this was one way to do
it, although arguably not the best way.} 15… Rad8 $6 16. Ba3 Nxd4 17. Nxd4
Rxd4 $4 {Not the breakthrough I was expecting. Now Black has placed his Rook into
dangerous territory.} 18. Qc2 {Missing a win with Qxd4 18…cxd4.} 18… Bxe5 $4
{Black’s position completely falls apart.} 19. Rxe5 Qf6 $6 {Black tries to put
pressure on the Rook, but his pieces are so disorganized that there’s no real
counterplay. An easy Rook move counters the attack.} 20. Rae1 Rfd8 21. f3 Rd2
22. Qc1 Rxa2 $6 {I had expected a Rook trade, but this move attempts to attack
both the Bishop and Knight, but there’s still no significant threat to the
position.} 23. Bb2 {and the Rook is trapped.} 23… Rd3 $2 24. Rxe6 {This was very
difficult for me to find. Ultimately, the Rook sacrifice wins the Queen and the
game is lost for Black.} 24… Qxe6 25. Rxe6 fxe6 26. Qh6 $2 {A sloppy move, but
considering how the position was crumbling, I was trying to see if I could win a
quick mate with 27.Qg7#.} 26… Rxb2 27. Nxb2 Rxb3 28. Qd2 Ba6 29. Qd8+ {Trying
to force Black’s King into the center of the board.} 29… Kg7 30. Qd7+ $6 (30.
Na4 Bxc4 31. h4) 30… Kf6 31. Qd2 b5 32. cxb5 Bxb5 33. Qf4+ Kg7 34. Nc4 $6 {One
last mistake. The intention was to play 35.Be5 but Black isn’t going to allow
it.} 34… Rb1+ 35. Kf2 Bxc4 36. Qxc4 Kf7 37. Qxc5 {This was a fun game to play.
It started out tough and there were moments where I had to dig deeper into my
shallow mind to find the win. Ultimately, Black’s position came apart at the
seams and I was able to pull off a nice little victory.} 1-0
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