[Event "torneo Alta Padovana"]
[Site "Cavino (Padova)"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "AlexAlex"]
[Black "Massimiliano Gardin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A18"]
[Annotator "AlexAlex, msh"]

{ A: I played this match in a open tournament (for player with Elo below 1850).
  I played with white and my Elo is about 1600, my opponent's Elo is about 1500.
  We had two hours for all move (quick play finish). I think this match is
  interesting because I kept the initiative for all the match, but I failed to
  win. After the match I analysed my game and I found some reasons but I am not
  so sure and I prefer to hear the opinion of an expert.

  MH: In the following commentary I use "!" and "?" in a slightly less intense
  way than you might see it in a book. I use "!" only to tell you I think the
  move is good and playable. I use "?" only to tell you a move is not good,
  though there may not be any immediate tactical consequence. }

1. c4

{ A: I play English Opening because it is not so common for the player of my
  category. So I hope to avoid strong opening preparations.
  MH: You really needn't worry. At your level of play the opening preparations
  of your opponents aren't likely to be dangerous. It's more important to play
  openings you know and like. }

1...Nf6 2. Nc3

{ MH: This "sneaky" move-order was often used by GM Korchnoi in order to get to
  a Classical King's Indian Defense (after 2...g6 3. e4 and 4. d4) while avoiding
  a Gruenfeld Defense. Later many other players also began to use it. }

2...e6

{ MH: This move might be considered suspicous or even dubious by those who know
  this opening well. More common are 2...g6 and 2...c5. }

3. e4 $1

{ A: In my opinion my opponent hoped I played 3.d4, but I wanted to try something
  different... }

3...d6 $2

{ A: I knew the best move is 3...d5 with sharp position. But a player did not
  play it without home preparation. After this move I could gain a strong centre
  of pawns without any strong pressure of black pieces. }

4. d4

{ MH: White has more space within which to maneuver and to fully develop.
  Black's bishops, in particular, are blocked. Though there are no immediate
  targets in Black's position I think it is safe to say White is clearly better.
  Black might try to fight in the center with ...c5 or ...e5, but with care
  White should maintain his current advantage. If Black struggles further then
  White might build up a huge advantage within the next 4-7 moves. }

4...Be7 5. Be3

{ MH: This is good. 5. f4 is also worth considering. }

5...b6 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. Nf3

{ A: I had some doubts: I had to play f2-f4, f2-f3 or not touching f-pawn?
  Now I think that f2-f4 was the better choice: the pawns centre became stronger
  and the black stroke e6-e5 was more difficult to play. During the match
  I played Nf3 because I wanted to play a combination (typical of French Defense):
  if black would play 0-0, I played e4-e5 (pushing away Nf6) then Bxh7+, Ng5+, Qh5+
  ...with very strong attack. }

( { MH: } 7. f4 { is very likely best because it provides you with more ways
  by which to open lines (through pawn advances and exchanges), so that your
  well-placed developed pieces can be used. Limiting yourself with Nf3 is to
  believe your pieces on the third rank can become terribly dangerous without
  a lot more work; it may be so in some cases, but not all. It (Nf3) also
  allows ...Ng4 which challenges Be3 just a bit. } )

7...O-O $6

{ MH: Black should probably not castle until he has fully challenged White's
  central pawns and can see how they will be placed for the long run. Then he
  would know better where to place his king. While the central files are closed
  Ke8 would be perfectly safe. }

8. h4 $6

{ A: I played this move with the same idea of 7. Nf3 }

( { MH: Another way to see the matter is that Nf6 is exposed to pawn advances and
  pawn h3 prevents ...Ng4 and that since you know where Black's king is you can go
  straight for it with h2-h3, g2-g4-g5, h3-h4-h5 and use Qd1-e2, O-O-O to bring Ra1
  to the king-side. }

8. h3

{ Of course, after 8. h3 you might see Black play toward the queen-side, so that
  you'd hesitate to O-O-O. In that case you're still well-placed to play anywhere
  on the board. } )

8...Ng4

( { MH: } 8...e5 { blocks pawn e4, keeps Kg8 safe and makes pawn h4 seem awfully
  over-extended } )

9. Bg5

{ A: I played this move without any doubt: Bxg5 would open the h-column, h6 would
  weaken the castle. }

9...e5 $1

{ A: My plan (Bh7, Ng5, Qh5...) is not possible now but I felt that white is fine.
  MH: Yes, White is fine, but I think you lost a bit of momentum by trying for a
  second-best plan (e4-e5, Bxh7, etc.). Now you have to re-think the position. }

10. Nd5

{ A: During the match I thought that this was a strong move: I centralized a knight
  and I threatened Be7 but I didn't see my opponent's simple move...
  MH: It still looks good to me. If you can arrange for Nf3 to move, in some
  constructive way, then you can regain control of the king-side and continue
  your offensive. }

10...Ngf6

{ A: Sure! Black put his knight in a better position and avoid my threaten.
  If I would have see this simple move, I didn't play Nc3-d5. }

( { MH: } 10...Ndf6 { might even be better as it clears the way for Bc8 to
  defend Ng4. It is, of course, riskier since Ng4 has no good retreat for
  the moment. But, ...Nf6xd5 and square f6 is again available. } )

11. Nc3

{ A: I could play Nxe7+ gaining the pair of bishops. But black controlled very
  few squares to put his pieces so I play this move for not changing pieces. }

( { MH: } 11. h5 $4 Nxd5 $19 )

( { MH: So, } 11. Qd2 { merely continuing to develop and trying to build pressure
  which Black can't quite neutralize. } )

( { MH: Or, } 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Qe2 exd4 13. Nxd4 Nc5 { and it appears Black
  would have diverted attention from h7 and onto pawn e4 } )

11...exd4 12. Nxd4 Nc5 13. f3

{ A: The pressure on e4 is strong so I play f2-f3. My idea is O-O-O and using
  g and h pawns to attack black castle. }

( { MH: } 13. Bc2 { The light square bishop is good because pawn e4 is still mobile.
  It's probably still better to not go along with simple threats to trade pieces
  because that makes Black's task easier. } )

13...Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3

{ A: I was happy of this change: black gained the pair of bishop but he changed
  strong Nc5 with my bad bishop Be3.
  MH: Bd3 wasn't so bad while pawn e4 can move! There is also the unknown future
  when having the two bishops could be of some major importance. }

14...Bd7 15. O-O-O h6 $6 16. Be3

{ A: For me 16. Bxf6 would have helped black very much. }

16...Re8 17. Kb1

{ A: My opponent was playing passive so I prepared my attack with no hurry... }

( { MH: I see no threats, even potential, from Black, so why not go ahead? } 17. g4 $1 )

17...Bf8 18. g4

{ A: I thought this position was very very good for me: I attack the castle and
  my opponent couldn't do the same!
  MH: Yes! }

18...g6 19. g5 $1

{ A: I play this move now because now I am sure to open some lines near black king. }

19...Nh5 20. gxh6 Kh7 21. Rdg1 $1

{ A: I could play Qd2 to keep the extra pawn. But I prefer not to keep my h6-pawn.
  If black will gain the pawn, I change bishops of dark squares gaining chances
  to attack the king. }

21...c5 22. Nc2

{ A: When I played this move I was not sure that I was the best. I am not happy
  that my king and my queen was in the same diagonal (b1-h7), in fact black can
  use this to play f7-f5 at the right time, so I play 22. Nc2. Maybe I would have
  played Ne2 (with the idea: Ne2/Ng3/Nxh5) or Nb5 (with pressure on d6-pawn).
  MH: Your concern over the choice on this move is justified. I think if you asked
  a group of masters you would hear various opinions. }

22...Bc6 23. Bg5 $1

{ A: I wanted to gain another diagonal. I thought that black could not play f7-f6
  because it would have weakened g6 and my Qd3 and Rg1 would have became very
  dangerous.
  MH: It also probably gives you a chance to play Nc2-e3 and on to d5 or g4 from there.
  If Black plays ...f6 you could always retreat the bishop to d2 and leave e3 vacant,
  while still having gained another weakness in Black's position (g6). }

23...Qc7 24. Ne2 $6

{ A: This was a critical point! I wanted to attack black king and I understood that
  Nh5 is a strong defender. So I wanted to change it with Nc3-d2-g3 then play h4-h5,
  then using rooks and queen to checkmate. This is a logical plan but now I think
  I would have not only attacked the king but also played in the centre using
  d5-outpost and d6-weak-pawn (by move like Nc2-Nd5...). }

( { MH: Now that Black has committed his light square bishop to c6 and can't support
  ...f7-f5, even if that were good, you can move more aggressively toward the king-side. }
  24. Ne3 f6 { not good, but for an example of how things might proceed } 25. Ned5 Qf7
  26. Bd2 { and then doubling rooks on the g-file combined with f3-f4-f5, Nd5-f4xh5 or
  some other similar offensive maneuvers should give White a good chance of winning. }
  ( { or, for the more adventurous... } 26. Nxf6+ Nxf6 27. Bxf6 Qxf6 28. h5 ) )

24...Bxh6 25. Bxh6 $6

( { MH: Instead of building up pressure and an advantage of having more pieces in the
  vicinity of Kh7 you're exchanging pieces and simplifying the position. You could've
  also tried } 25. Ne3 { when you'd have all your minor pieces on the king-side and
  Black's Bc6 is a bystander } )

25...Kxh6 26. Qd2+ Kg7 27. Nf4 $6

{ A: I continued in my plan but now there are no problems for black to avoid h4-h5! }

( { MH: } 27. Qg5 { adds pressure (Qxh5 is a threat) rather than simplifying } 27...Re5
  28. Qg4 Rh8 29. Ne3 { when White's pressure isn't clearly winning, but the only question
  is whether White can win. } )

27...Re5

{ A: Sure! }

( { MH: More amusing would be } 27...Rh8 $4 28. Rxg6+ fxg6 29. Ne6+ $18 )

28. Nxh5+ $2

{ MH: This might be the last moment at which you let the offense dissipate
  to the point where you couldn't hope to win by any simple attack. }

( { MH: Another way to organize your pieces is to eject Re5 } 28. Nd3 Ree8 29. Qg5 Rh8
  30. Ne3 )

( { MH: Or, } 28. Rg5 Nxf4
  ( 28...Rxg5 $4 29. hxg5 Nxf4 30. Qxf4 Qe7
    ( 30...Rh8 31. Qf6+ $18 )
    31. Qh4 $18 )
  29. Qxf4 Rh8 $16 )

28...Rxh5

{ A: During the match I felt something get wrong only now.
  MH: It's because at this point it's your one Nc2 versus Black's Bc6 and they're
  of approximately equal value. It's quite difficult to build up any significant
  pressure now. You could consider f3-f4-f5 to get at pawn g6, but that naturally
  creates a weakness at e4; that might allow enough counter-pressure from Black
  to stay equal. Pawn h4 is also weak. Actually, White might need more exchanges
  to avoid problems. The situation has changed rather quickly. }

29. Rg5 $1 Rah8 30. Qf4

{ A: I felt my attack was over! }

30...Qe7 31. Rxh5 Rxh5

{ A: Now I felt that black is better: my h4 pawn is weak and Bc6 is a good bishop
  stronger then my knight
  MH: I don't know if I agree about your assessment of Bc6 & Nc2, but overall
  things have changed and Black is much better than before. }

32. Ne3 Qf6

{ A: My opponent played this move and offered draw. Now I would accept surely! }

33. Qg4

{ A: But during the match I refused draw for two reason:
  1) I took the initiative for all match so I wanted to win
  2) my opponent's Elo is lower than mine.
  It was a pity I "forgot" to analize the position, I would have understood
  that black is better and I would have accepted draw!!

  MH: It's very difficult to accept a draw offer with someone whose rating
  is much lower than your own. It just doesn't seem right that the game should
  end that way. But, so long as you know the risks of the position you can
  rightfully continue playing. In this instance I think it's alright to play on.
  Keeping queens on the board to defend pawns f3 & h4 is much better than trading,
  so it was accepting the draw offer or avoiding a queen trade and playing on -
  your choice. }

33...Kh7 34. Qg3 Qe5 35. Qf2 $4

{ A: This move is an error but I and my opponent didn't see it! Unfortunately
  after this move I offer draw. So my opponent thought that I offered draw because
  35. Qf2 was an error. So he started to seek a combination and saw my error! I was
  very unlucky! }

( { MH: As an example of the dangers of trading queens... } 35. Qxe5 $4 dxe5 36. Ng4 Kg7
  37. Kc2 f6 { and ..g6-g5 should win pawn h4. The pin on the pawn is very strong for
  Black. } )

( { MH: More acceptable is } 35. Qg4 Qd4 36. Qf4 Kg8 37. b3 )

35...Bxe4+ $17 36. fxe4 $4

{ A: This move is horrible! I lost a rook! I was very tired and I didn't see it.
  Now we have about 10 minutes to end the game. }

36...Qxe4+ 37. Kc1 Qxh1+ $19

{ MH: Time for White to resign? Not quite. First, let's see if Black knows how to
  use his material advantage to win. }

38. Kd2 Qb7 $1 39. Nd5 Rxd5+ $1 40. cxd5 Qxd5+ 41. Kc1 Qxa2

{ MH: not terribly relevant }

( { MH: It's not always easy to play a queen & pawn ending, but in this case
  there are few open lines, so Black should feel pretty comfortable, aiming
  to advance some pawns and force a queen trade. } 41...Qc4+ 42. Kb1
  ( 42. Kd2 $4 Qd4+ $19 43. Qxd4 cxd4 44. Kd3 Kh6 45. Kxd4 Kh5 46. a4 Kxh4
    47. Kd5 g5 48. Kc6 g4 49. Kb7 g3 50. Kxa7 g2 51. Kxb6 g1=Q+ 52. Kb5 Qc5+
    53. Ka6 Qb4 )
  42...Qd3+ 43. Kc1 f5 { idea: ...d6-d5-d4, ...Qe3+ to force a winning pawn ending } )

42. h5

{ A: Desperation! }

42...Qc4+ 43. Kb1 Qe4+ 44. Ka2 Qb4 $4

{ A: A miracle! We have about five minutes }

( { MH: Apparently you were right to play on! Black didn't quite know how to win
  his 'won' position. } 44...Qe6+ 45. Kb1 g5 { keeps lines around Kh7 closed and
  will eventually result in victory. } )

45. Qxf7+ Kh8 46. hxg6

{ MH: giving Black even one move could be a mistake in many positions, but in this one
  it only gives White a chance to make a mistake (to lose) }

( { MH: One way of checking the black king is a slight mistake, though not losing }
  46. Qf6+ Kg8 47. Qxg6+ Kf8 48. Qf6+ Ke8 49. Qe6+ Kd8 50. Qxd6+ Kc8 51. Qc6+ Kb8
  52. h6 )

( { MH: Immediately drawing is to not let the Black king run away } 46. Qf8+ Kh7
  47. Qf7+ { as Black can't move to h6 for fear of Qxg6# } )

46...Qa5+ 47. Kb1 Qe1+ 48. Ka2

{ A: Draw by repetition. I played a better opening and I gained some initiative.
  My opponent played passive so I took the initiative for all match, but my attack
  was not so strong and it failed. We arrived in a equilibrated final in which
  black had a slightly advantage. In zeitnot the match ended draw. My question is:
  how could I win this match? Thank you!

  MH: A stronger player could have played the attack better. Whether it could have
  been won is unclear. I didn't see any decisive forcing variations.

  Your descriptions, in notes, of who had the advantage and why are quite good.
  Your ideas of how a position might be played out aren't varied enough.
  Your creativity may be lacking a bit.
  Certainly you need to be courageous and tackle the more complex task of
  building up pressure on an opponent and somehow breaking through to their king.

  To improve your skills you could work on complex attacking games and try to
  forsee how the attacker is going to carry out the offensive. There are quite
  a few books which might help, though I don't know your financial situation
  or their availability in your area. I'd suggest...

      Attacking with Tal, by Tal and Damsky
      The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, by Tal
      middle-game books by Dvoretsky
      tactics for advanced players - puzzle books by Lein, Nunn or others
      Sorcerer's Apprentice by Bronstein
      100 Open games by Bronstein
      Brilliancies (I've forgotten the author, but it's a new book on best Informant games)

  You might also consider playing weak opponents on the internet and just beat up
  on them with whatever creative imaginative things come to your mind.
  Having a lot of experience beating 'bunnies' will give you more confidence
  that your creative ideas can be correct and that you will be up to handling
  whatever complications are required. This can take time, so don't expect
  great changes overnight.

  Attack attack attack, in many varied, fun and interesting ways.
  Don't worry about the results of these practice games. It's the
  process and developing your attacking imagination which is needed. }

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