Well, I've spent the past week with flu, not been to work, coughed constantly for three days and had a thumping headache most of today. What better way to relax and recuperate than a game of chess? Should be an interesting game - black on board 4 for the B team against an opponent who has the exact same grade as me.
1.d4
c6
2.c4
d5
3.Nf3
Bf5
4.Nc3
e6
5.cxd5
cxd5
6.e3
a6
7.Bd3
Bxd3
8.Qxd3
Nc6
9.0-0
Nf6
The dust has settled on the opening... White has castled king-side so that gives me a target. Unfortunately, White gets their attack in first.
10.Ne5
Rc8
Maybe I should have captured on e5 here... but I didn't think there was much I could do to exploit the doubled e-pawns, and I'd have to shift my knight on f6 as well - and at this point I was already eyeing e4 for that piece, particularly if I could get rid of the black-squared bishop.
11.Bd2
Bd6
This does induce f4 (at which point Ne4 becomes even more enticing) but maybe the bishop was better placed on b4.
12.f4
h5
At this point, Rf3-g3 looks like the plan - so thought I'd try and stop it and maybe take some space on the kingside as well.
13.Rf3
h4
14.Raf1
For me, there's a lot of potential energy here in White's position - and to some extent his pawn on f4 gets in the way. 13. ... h4 looks like a well-conceived move at the moment - holding up any g3-g4 pawn push as well.
14...Bb4
Thinking - exchange on c3, then plant my knight on e4 where it's virtually unshiftable.
15.f5
Bxc3
16.Bxc3
Qe7
From here until move 23, I'm pretty much on the defensive. I'm sure there's a way in for White somewhere... but I defended as strongly as I could!
17.fxe6
Qxe6
18.Rf5
Threatening Nxc6, Re5+
18...Ne7
19.Rg5
And now the conundrum. I need to protect g7. But I also need to maintain protection of f7. After I'd moved, I thought maybe Nh7 would be a way out but then again, my kingside is in ruins after Rxf7 and my king starts sweating!
19...0-0
0-0!! (that's not !! = brilliant move, but !! as in 'who castles into this sort of position?' Somehow, it just seemed to solve all my immediate problems, and makes Ne4
eminently playable now, where the White queen is totally cut off from the attack.
20.Nf3
Ng6
21.Bb4
Rfe8
And I have my first threat for a while.. winning a pawn with Qxe3 and getting those dangerous queens off the board.
22.Ne5
Nxe5
23.Rxe5
One more attacker off the board.
23...Qb6
Here I was thinking for a while - Qc6 or Qb6? Ultimately, I preferred Qb6 because it gained a tempo, during which I had every intention of playing Ne4. At last.
24.Bc5
This might be a '?'. It gives me a free pawn on b2, and the pawn on d4 is now overloaded so realistically White is going to have to instigate the exchange of rooks on e8 - and the attack really starts to peter out.
24...Qxb2
25.Rb1
Qxa2
And now I'm threatening Ne4 and something of an invasion on f2. In 3 moves, the position has gone from being very passive/defensive to very aggressive...
26.Be7
Definitely a '?'. This gains me a tempo, and at the very least would force the exchange of minor pieces. ( ... Ng4 and white's rook has nowhere to go other than to g5)
26...Rc2
Winning two pawns (either g2 and h2 or g2 and e3)
27.Qf1
Rxg2+
28.Kh1
Rxh2+
29.Kg1
Ng4
Ouch! After all that, the knight didn't come to e4. But this is totally crippling. Black's threat is 30. ...Rh1+ 31. Kxh1 Qh2# to which there is no defence. I'm quite proud of this game for a couple of reasons*: 1. I wasn't very well. 2. I had to play very defensively for probably 95% of the game (which is not my preference) and 3. That last move just looks great :-) 0-1
*three is not a couple