(1) Jon Nelson (188) - Paul Bailey (113) [B22]
Jon Nelson c3 Sicilian Simul, 17.06.2009



1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.cxd4 e6
Up to here it's book of course and d6 immediately is more common.

7.Bd3
I'm more used to 7. Bd4 and didn't know what to reply so I pursued the same plan e6, e:d. N-b6-d7 rounding up the pawn. If this sounds slow and just lets Jon get a massive lead in development with a dangerous position that's exactly what happens.

7...Nb6
My TN :-) - diverging, for instance, from a rapid game between Adams and Anand http://www.365chess.com/view_game.php?g=1990209

8.Nc3 d6 9.0-0 dxe5 10.dxe5 Be7
This was a quite important move in a correspondence game I'm in the middle of. One of the consequences of not playing it was after capturing on e5 there was a pin with a rook on e1. Luckily in that game my opponent didn't find it and I've wriggled free.

11.Qe2 a6
Jon was still in book on most tables and getting back round quickly so I had to move before I was ready. I had vague non-specific idea that Nb5 and Bf4 might land something on d6. I wasn't worried about weakening b6 partly because I was going to play Nd7 next anyway.

12.Rd1 Qc7 13.Be3 Nd7 14.Rac1
Look at that development: rooks, bishops, knights, castling, everything!

14...Ndxe5 15.Nxe5
[15.Bf4 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Was worth a look. TBH I can't see me surviving that position.]

15...Qxe5 16.Bb1 0-0 17.f4 Qa5 18.f5 Bf6 19.Ne4 Qe5 20.Rxc6
I had seen this and was sort of looking forward to being spectacularly crushed in 25 moves.

20...bxc6 21.Bd4
Jon was slowing down by now and I had chance to check that I could simply capture on d4. This is *very* fortunate as everything else loses horribly.

21...Qxd4+
[21...Qf4 22.Nxf6+ gxf6 23.Bxf6 exf5 24.Rd3 Qc1+ 25.Kf2 Qf4+ 26.Rf3 And the rook comes to g3.]

22.Rxd4 Bxd4+ 23.Kh1
I was surprised as this gives a chance of back rank threats with tempo. Objectively after e:f Black has a very good position but I offered a draw, which I'd have taken at the start of the evening, and took the chance to watch the other games. 1/2-1/2