[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition, 23 boards, no time control"]
[Site "Columbia Chess Club, Maryland USA"]
[Date "2004.03.04"]
[Round "-"]
[White "GM Wojtkiewicz, Aleks"]
[WhiteElo "2675 USCF"]
[Black "mischa"]
[BlackElo "1636 USCF"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[Annotator "mischa, msh"]

{ m: This was an OTB simulatneous exhibition, with no clocks. Wojo went 21-1-1,
  losing to one of his students and drawing this game.  What I really want help
  with is whether I had realistic winning chances at the end, and what kind of
  continuation I should have tried to force the endgame.  There are other
  questions in my notes, as well. Thanks. }

1. c4

{ MH: He generally prefers a Catalan Opening with d2-d4, c2-c4, g2-g3, Bf1-g2.
  However, in a simul the exhibitor will usually play a wide variety of things. }

1...Nf6 2. Nc3 c5

{ MH: I don't generally recommend this as it can lead to a game where the
  open lines will favor White more than Black. It isn't played by top GMs
  as often as ...g6, ...e6, ...e5 or ...b6. However, I also advise a person
  to play the openings they know and know the openings they intend to play. }

3. Nf3 e6 4. g3 d5

{ MH: This should definately be avoided by all but the best tacticians.
  The Rubinstein Variation, which AW appears ready to play, is quite safe
  for White and not offering a lot of offense for Black. For examples see
  the 1984 wch match of Karpov-Kasparov. }

5. cxd5 exd5 6. d4 Be7 7. Bg2 Be6?!

{ m: I wanted to over-protect the d5-pawn, since I knew he was going to blockade
  it and then hammer it once it was isolated. However, I think this is probably
  premature at this point, as it eliminates the possibility of ...Bg4 (without
  the loss of a tempo, that is). The light squared Bishop is technically 'bad'
  on e6, inasmuch as it is blocked by its own central pawn on d5, and it is also
  passively developed; but it is performing a vital function in guarding d5-pawn.
  I would have been only too happy to have White trade a Knight for this Bishop,
  as I could recapture with the f-pawn, giving pawn support to the d-pawn, and
  opening the f-file for my Rook. Instead of 7...Be6, more standard is 7...Nc6.
  Knights before Bishops.

  MH: It's right to see pawn d5 as a potential problem, but there is also
  pawn d4 and squares d4 & e5 to control with ...Nc6. Your slight over-reaction
  already indicates your state of mind for the event...understandable. }

8. O-O O-O 9. b3!?

{ m: I am not familiar enough with the subtleties of the Tarrasch to say for
  sure, but this seems a bit unusual and somewhat slow. A more traditional
  handling of the position would be 9.dxc5, isolating the d-pawn, and then after
  9...Bxc5 possibly 10.Na4. Another typical idea people have played against me is
  9.Bg5 which all but forces 9...cxd4 10.Nxd4. Does Black's early 7...Be6 justify
  deviating from the bookish lines? Most of the theory I have seen has White's
  dark-square Bishop developing along the c1-h6 diagonal, usually to g5 or even
  e3.  Anyway, my feeling was that White has taken it a little easy on Black in
  the opening to this point and should have played more forcefully.

  MH: He likes to develop fully before committing to any tactical "solution".
  In this instance he sees Be6 defending pawn d5 and simply chooses not to
  trade Bc1-g5xf6 when it doesn't gain him much. So, instead, he's developing
  Bc1-b2 to prepare Ra1-c1 and dxc5, Nc3-b5-d4 or something similar. It's
  probably not in a book, but it does fit the position. }

9...Nc6 10. Bb2 Rc8 11. Rc1 b6

{ MH: Interesting position! White's Nc3 is in the way and it's not clear where
  Qd1 can be moved to prepare Rf1-d1. Black's position looks harmonious except
  for the slightly exposed Be6, though that's safe enough for the moment. Before
  Nf3 can move (perhaps Nf3-g5xe6) he needs to deal with the weak pawn d4 and
  that leads to moving Nc3. }

12. Na4 cxd4

{ 12...Nd7 would also be interesting. }

13. Nxd4 Qd7

{ MH: 13...Nxd4 14. Bxd4 ought to be safe enough, but might lead quickly to an
  ending where you'd be afraid of having the IQP pawn d5. Still, that might be
  o.k. and a good way to defuse the position before he can create anything more
  dangerous. }

14. Nc3 Bc5

{ m: Here I was attempting to fight for control of the important d4 square.  At
  some point, I was hoping to remove the blockading Knight, preferably without
  giving up my good Bishop on c5. If I can force White to recapture with his
  e-pawn, I should have a fairly equal game as both sides would have the same
  weakness, an isolated d-pawn. However, if I am forced to give up my good Bishop
  without compromising White's pawn structure or activating my other pieces, I
  will be in for a long and dreary endgame.

  MH: Good thinking. }

15. Ncb5 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Bh3!?

{ m: I was worried after I played this move.  My idea was to trade off my bad
  Bishop for White's good Bishop; trading a defender of my weak pawn for one
  of his attackers, and weakening the light squares around his king at the same
  time.  I suspect it may be a mistake, however, as if White simply captures it
  I will have to spend time recapturing with the queen and then possibly moving
  her back to the center where the action is.

  Maybe 16...Bg4 instead, to delay the advance of the e-pawn, or possibly 16...Ne4
  straightaway?

  MH: I think it's premature to make this kind of offensive move. The two bishops
  are both good, but trading off Bg2 to weaken Kg1 can only be useful if you have
  some other pieces which can move in to take advantage. Better is ...Bg4 and
  then further developments such as ...Rf8-e8 and ...Rc8-d8. Black can't always
  afford the same kind of piece trades as White since they would weaken pawn d5.
  So, Black must build threats with many pieces and play offensively with the
  extra open e-file as compensation for White's solid use of d4 and the slightly
  perpetually weak pawn d5. }

17. e3

{ MH: Dubious or outright bad; this should be replaced with more piece play:
  Qd1-d3, Rf1-d1 and attempts to generate play via f5, after Bh3 is traded and
  against pawn d5 by moving Nd4 and threatening Bxf6 to undermine the pawn. }

17...Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rfe8

{ m: Following the plan, and now eyeing e4 with the Knight.

  MH: Piece play will make up for a lot of pawn structure "sins". }

19. Qf3

{ m: This seemed odd to me, and in fact ended up causing White some difficulty
  as it blocked the f-pawn from challenging the e4 square, and enabled forking
  threats later on.

  MH: He might have been simply thinking about threats to Nf6 or the idea of
  Qf3-f5 to head for an endgame. But, it's too late because pawn d5 isn't so
  terribly weak and Nf6 can move (no more target). }

19...Ne4 20. Rcd1?

{ m: This is a mistake, as it relinquishes control of the c-file.  However,
  White is worried about the weakness on d2 and the possibilities of forking the
  Queen and Rook on f1, alluded to above.

  The sad truth is, I had not noticed the c-file invasion when I played 19...Ne4,
  but had been planning a Knight maneuver designed to challenge White's Knight on
  d4. My idea was to play Ne4-g5-d6, and exchange everything on d4.  I assume this
  was a bad idea?! Fortunately, I noticed the other idea in time.

  MH: It's just too passive to aim for those trades when you have a fine position
  without that. He should perhaps have found Rf1-d1, Nd2-e2-f4 to apply nice
  pressure to pawn d5 and make his pieces more of a threat to Kg8. Only the tight
  squeeze Qf3 is in is a big concern (for someone spending very little time on
  each position during a simul).

  Unforseen situations are normal. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, sees everything and
  all consequences. So, you play your plans, take advantage of mistakes and keep
  your eyes open for dangers to avoid. }

20. ...Bxd4!

{ MH: The things I like about this move is it does the unexpected, giving a B for
  a N, and opportunistically taking advantage of the open c-file. I can imagine
  AW being surprised and suddenly worried. }

21. Bxd4 Rc2

{ m: Black's pieces have become very active, and it is in fact White who is
  cramped and tied down to defending weak squares, not Black.  In fact, White
  is not even attacking the isolani.  Instead, White tries to move one of his
  potential weaknesses off of the second rank, but in doing so creates a weak
  pawn on b3.

  MH: Rf1 is going to be very tied down to defense now. Such are the consequences
  of Rc1-d1, rather than Rf1-d1. }

22. a4 Rec8

{ MH: Did you see 22...Nd2 and reject it for some reason? Of course, 23. Qe2 makes
  it bad, so you thought of ...Rec8 to add protection to Rc2. That way you really
  do threaten ...Nd2. But, that's not giving much credit to White. So, ...

  The queen-side pawns aren't terribly weak yet (though they would be if queens
  suddenly disappeared). More to the point is the kind of offense I mentioned
  above, where Black uses all his pieces offensively as compensation for the
  White use of d4 and the weakened pawn d5. In this position that offensive idea
  can be done better with Rc2, but not attacking pawn b3, so much as pawn f2
  and Qf3 & Kg2. So, to that end ...Re8-e6-h6 would be more to the point. }

23. Qf4

{ m: After the game, White mentioned that he missed a tactical opportunity with
  23.Bxg7, with the idea that if 23...Kxg7? then 24.Qxe4! dxe4 25.Rxd7 and White
  has won a pawn, destroyed Black's kingside and has a Rook on the seventh,
  comparable to Black's Rc2. However, it turns out that Black doesn't have to bite,
  as he can win the exchange instead:

  23.Bxg7 Nd2! 24.Rxd2 Rxd2 25.Bf6 Qe6 26.Rd1 Rxd1 27.Qxd1 Qe4+
  (not 27..Qxf6? Qg4+ followed by Qxc8) and Black is doing well.
  Additionally, simply 23...Qe6! followed by 24...Nd2 is also good.

  Of course, I had seen none of this, and was in fact a bit worried about
  White's Bishop and Queen on my seemingly undefended Kingside.

  MH: Scary, isn't it, what a GM can see, and yet overlook. Every chess
  position is an individual and has it's own hidden secrets. Even the quiet
  looking positions can be amazingly complex and tactical. He might not have
  overlooked it, so much as he was depressed that he hadn't won and felt maybe
  that it would've worked -- but during the game he probably didn't see it
  quick enough or considered it and wasn't certain he could safely do it.
  Oh, the pressures of only having seconds to find a move, much less a plan. }

23...Qe6?!

{ m: Here I was seeing shadows.  I probably should have played 23...Nd2
  immediately, but I wanted to be able to bring the Queen over to the Kingside
  in case White started trying mating threats with his Bishop and Queen.  I was
  afraid of 23...Nd2 24.Qg5 threatening mate on g7.  My reasoning was that if
  24...f6, White can simply take the pawn with 25.Bxf6 since the g-pawn is pinned,
  and if instead 24...g6 25.Qf6 was simply winning.

  However, it turns out that 24...f6 wins for Black since his Queen still guards
  the mating square g7 and he can win the Bishop: 24...f6 25.Bxf6 Nxf1 26.Rxf1
  (not 26.Rxd5? Nxe3+ forking the Rook) and now 26...h6! will win the Bishop since
  if 27.Qg6 R8c6! Incidentally, it also turns out that my evaluation of 24...g6 as
  being lost for Black is wrong too, as White can only force a draw by repetition:
  24...g6 25.Qf6 Kf8 26.Qh8+ Ke7 27.Qf6+ Kf8, etc.

  Lost in my fantasies,  I knew only that for now the Knight on e4 protected
  the key squares f6 and g5, and I wanted to maintain that for at least another
  move.

  MH: I like the looks of Qe6. One should maintain a safe king, as you were
  fearfully doing, and don't think you have to rush quite so much. Your decision
  was probably right, but you should feel more comfortable doing that, and not
  wondering if it's right. When the time for calculating complex tactics and
  variations come then you can apply more intense effort. Of course, the better
  players calculate humongous variations and ideas all the way through, but they
  also use common sense and general ideas about how a game is progressing. In your
  case it appears there's room for some work on generating variations under fire
  and having confidence that you're seeing enough of a position's potential. Not
  being able to see variations well will always lead to fear, as though walking
  through a dark forest and hearing awful animal growls and screeches. Seeing more
  clearly all the potentials of a position will automatically help you be more
  at ease and able to carry out normal plans and maneuvers. }

24. h4?!

{ m: Hmmm...I think with this White is trying to scare his vastly lower-rated
  opponent by lashing out at the King.  This move seems anti-positional as it
  only further weakens the light squares around the King.  Perhaps he was hoping
  that Black would allow him to play Rh1 followed by h4-h5-h6, really attacking
  the Black King.  But this is slow and Black is too strong in the center for a
  flank attack, especially against the weak f-pawn.

  MH: I think he was just preventing ...Ne4-g4 and thus keeping Kg2 safer from
  your pieces. That frees Qf4 to move to other squares. }

24. ... Nd2

{ MH: Again, I think you're rushing the offense just a tad too much. Instead
  there's time for 24...h6 to give Kg8 some air and then continue the offense
  with ...Re2, ...Rcc2. }

25. Rfe1 Ne4!?

{ m: And here I lost my backbone!  I decided that I would rather take the forced
  draw by repetition then try to grind out a win in a pawn-up Rook ending.  Since
  in general, Rook endings are drawish, and considering the significant difference
  in playing strength between White and Black (and commensurate theoretical
  endgame knowledge and experience), this seemed justified.  However, it seems
  that Black has decent winning chances in this position, yes?

  MH: Yes, definately, though with this material on the board it wouldn't be easy.

  m: After 25...Nxb3 26.Qe5 Nxd4 27.Qxd4 things are shaping up to be an endgame
  with all the heavy pieces still on (and thus plenty of chance for mishaps),
  so that's probably not what Black is looking for.  26...Qxe5 seems better but
  White still has plenty of force left to make trouble, and the Bishop may do
  better in the ending than Black's Knight.  And if Black trades minor pieces,
  it's down to a laborious double Rook endgame.

  For whatever it's worth, out of curiosity I set up the position after 24...Nd2
  and gave Crafty-18.15 the White pieces and GNU Chess 5.02 the Black pieces, and
  each 30 minutes; White won back his pawn and the game ended in a draw...

  MH: I'm not terribly surprised. The amount of heavy pieces on the board means
  the extra pawn isn't so significant. }

26. Rf1 Nd2 27. Rfe1 Ne4

{ m: Draw agreed.

  MH: Woohoo! Congratulations! You played a very nice game.

  My suggestions are:
  1) Learn to calculate forcing variations better. Focus on it.
  2) Don't rush an offense, let your material advantage and piece placement lead.
  3) Keep a well-rounded sense of the position -- keep your king safe too. }

1/2-1/2
