J Edwards vs M Boyd
Date Played: 2006-05-07Location: Glasgow University, Glasgow, Scotland
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4
The usual move being d4, I figured it would be a closed position and would make up my moves as I went along.
3... e6
With whites bishop on c4, it is on the long a2-g8 diagonal - so looks at the weak f7 square. By playing e6 it cuts off the bishops scope.
4. O-O a6
I still have my pawn on c5 giving me the queenside space so I want to play there. Playing a6 prepares b5 to give me more control on the queenside, and would let me develop my c8 bishop easily to b7.
5. a4
This move could have 3 purposes.
1) It stops me from playing b5 straight away.
2) It gives his bishop a square to run back to if needed (a2)
3) This move could let him delevop his rook to a3-b3, but I dont think he was going to do that. The rook would do better behind the pawns.
5... d6
Controlling e5
6. d4 cxd4
7. Nxd4 g6
8. Be3 Nf6
9. Nc3 Bg7
(diagram position 1, below)
At this point white is fully developed and can start his attack. He also has more central control. Black still has to castle, bring his c8 bishop out, and has a weak square on b6 that white soon makes use of.
10. f4
White, having fully developed, grabs the extra central space and has the chance of an attack on the black king. The game is looking quite good for white at this point.
10... Nh5
This is a strange move. I wasnt sure if it was good or bad but I thought the good parts would outweigh the bad parts. Nh5 allows the bishop to control a bit of the centre, and if the white knight moves the bishop aims at the queenside too.
11. Nxc6 bxc6
12. a5
Blacks move takes control of b6 straight away. He is ready to place a bishop there and takes up my space.
12... Bxc3?!
13. bxc3
(diagram 2 below)
I will try and evaluate the position because this is an important point in the game. Whats good about whites position?
Blocks off the bishop like said above.
14. e5 d5!
Black gets his counter play now!! White has weakened the a8-h1 diagonal and let black have the f5 square. Why play d5 cutting off the diagonal you might think? Black needs the queen if he wants to be able to fight back. If black can play Bb7, open the g-file, Rg8, and Qc6 behind the d5 pawn then white might not see whats coming (a sacrifice on d4).
15. Be2 Ng7!!
Black gives white the pawn on c5 for free! But I still think this was a very good move. I now can play Nf5, when if white takes the knight with his bishop then gxf5 opens up the g-file for blacks rook. Also the pawns on c3 and c2 can now be attacked.
16. Bxc5 Qc7
17. Qd4 Nf5
18. Qf2 h5
(diagram position 3, below)
The knight is now solidly on f5. By playing h5 it stops any chance of g4. As above, if white takes the knight with the bishop the g-file is opened for blacks rook.
19. Bd3 Bb7
20. Bxf5 gxf5
21. Rab1 d4
22. Qxd4
22. Bd6 would have been good for white. 22... Qd7 23. Qg3 and blacks plan would be dead in the water. (Yes - I am lucky!)
22... Rg8
23. Rf2 Qc6
(diagram 4)
Plan complete. The bishop, rook and queen are now all on the squares they were going to, the diagonal is opened, and g2 is under alot of pressure. The threat is Rxg2+ (if white takes back then its mate in one) Kf1 Rg1+!, with either white taking and getting checkmated by Qh1# or white moving his king and Rxb1.
So white has to protect the g2 pawn. He has to protect it by Qd2. (if white played g3 then Qh1#)
24. Qd2 Rd8
25. Qe2 h4
Black threatens to play h3 - bringing another attacker. If white plays h3 now, then Rg3 would be unclear.
26. Rb6
(diagram position 5, below)
26... Rd1+!!
White has two moves. Rf1 looses to Rxg2+ with mate following. If the mate square is g2 I need to get rid of the defenders. Also good for black is the following line (thanks to Rahim K for the analysis) 26... Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 (27. Rxg2 Rd1+ 28. Qxd1 (28. Kf2 Qxc5+ 29. Qe3 Rd2+ 30. Kf1 Bxg2+ 31. Kg1 Qxe3#) 28... Qxg2#) 27... Rg1+ 28. Kxg1 Qh1#
27. Qxd1 Rxg2+
28. Kf1 Rg1+!
If Kxg1 then Qh1#.
29. Ke2 Qe4+
30. Kd2 Rxd1+
31. Kxd1 Qh1+
So I have got back in the game. At the start of the game I was in trouble, but by playing on I have got to an unclear position. The next few moves were black going check crazy. I think he was trying to see if there was a mate or perpetual so he just checked me as much as possible. The next few moves dont need much explaining.
32. Kd2 Kd7
33. Rd6+ Kc8
34. Bb6 Bd5
35. Rd8+ Kb7
36. Rd7+ Kc6
37. Rc7+ Kb5
38. c4+ Bxc4
39. Rc5+ Kb4
40. c3+ Kb3
41. Rxc4 Kxc4
(diagram position, below)
42. Kc2 Qe4+
At this point Black needs somewhere to attack, or else it will be a draw. Where is there to attack though? The weak pawns are on h2, c3, a5, and maybe e5 after a push to f6.
43. Kb2 Qd3
44. Bd4
Well c3 is not going to fall if white can just defend it with his bishop. However his bishop cant defend c3, a5 and the rook all at the same time. The next few moves by black are trying to force white into giving up one of the pawns.
45... Qe4
45. Bb6 Qd5
46. Kc1 Qb5
47. Rb2
Whites pawns will just not fall. He can defend them to easily and black will never break through without beaking things up. That means getting the queen to f8 and pushing f6.
47... Qc6
48. Rf2 Qa4
49. Kb2 Qb3+
50. Ka1 Qa3+
51. Kb1 Qf8
(diagram below)
The queen is now back on f8 and ready to break the white center by f6.
52. Kc2 f6
53. Be3
Black could have put more pressure on white here by Kb5 or Qh6.
53... fxe5
54. fxe5 Qa3!?
Now its no longer a closed, slow game, but is now a race to queen the pawns.
55. Rf4+
White gets the h4 pawn, Black gets the a5 or e5 pawn.
55... Kd5
56. Rxh4 Qxa5
57. Kd3 Kxe5
(diagram below)
The game is interesting and fun to play again. White will try to queen to h-pawn, while black tries to queen the a-pawn. I dont think white would have been able to queen the h-pawn though. Blacks king is too close, while whites king is far away trying to hold his other pawns.
58. Bf4+ Kf6
59. Rh6+ Kg7
White cant play Rxe6 or Qd5+ picks up a free rook and the game.
60. h4 e5
Instead of trying to queen the a-pawn, why not the e and f pawns. they are connected so can protect each other while the queen does other stuff.
61. Bg5 e4+
62. Kd4 Qa4+
63. Ke3 Qc2
(diagram below)
Qc2 has a triple purpose. It threatens to capture the c-pawn, put it also lets the queen help promote the e-pawn. Thirdly it stops black from playing h5 or the bishop on g5 drops to Qc1+. He missed that though, and played h5.
64. h5 Qc1+
65. Kd4 Qxg5
66. Rg6+ Qxg6
67. hxg6
Black has a won game, but cant take the pawn on g6! The a and c pawns would queen at the same time - but the a pawn would queen with check, giving black a simple queen vs pawn on the 7th endgame.
67... a5
(diagram position, below)
68. c4 a4
69. c5 a3
70. Kc3 a2
71. Kb2 a1=Q+
72. Kxa1 e3
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2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4
The usual move being d4, I figured it would be a closed position and would make up my moves as I went along.
3... e6
With whites bishop on c4, it is on the long a2-g8 diagonal - so looks at the weak f7 square. By playing e6 it cuts off the bishops scope.
4. O-O a6
I still have my pawn on c5 giving me the queenside space so I want to play there. Playing a6 prepares b5 to give me more control on the queenside, and would let me develop my c8 bishop easily to b7.
5. a4
This move could have 3 purposes.
1) It stops me from playing b5 straight away.
2) It gives his bishop a square to run back to if needed (a2)
3) This move could let him delevop his rook to a3-b3, but I dont think he was going to do that. The rook would do better behind the pawns.
5... d6
Controlling e5
6. d4 cxd4
7. Nxd4 g6
8. Be3 Nf6
9. Nc3 Bg7
(diagram position 1, below)
At this point white is fully developed and can start his attack. He also has more central control. Black still has to castle, bring his c8 bishop out, and has a weak square on b6 that white soon makes use of.
10. f4
White, having fully developed, grabs the extra central space and has the chance of an attack on the black king. The game is looking quite good for white at this point.
10... Nh5
This is a strange move. I wasnt sure if it was good or bad but I thought the good parts would outweigh the bad parts. Nh5 allows the bishop to control a bit of the centre, and if the white knight moves the bishop aims at the queenside too.
11. Nxc6 bxc6
12. a5
Blacks move takes control of b6 straight away. He is ready to place a bishop there and takes up my space.
12... Bxc3?!
13. bxc3
(diagram 2 below)
I will try and evaluate the position because this is an important point in the game. Whats good about whites position?
- Whites bishop pair are pressuring both sides of the board.
- There is a great square on b6 for his bishop or rook.
- He has more central control and space.
- He still has a lead in development.
- The white rooks can control the b-file better than blacks due to black having to move his c8 bishop first.
- White can use the half open d-file to attack blacks weak pawn on d6.
- His doubled isolated pawns can actually be seen as an advantage due to the open files and more central control.
- His knight can go to a temprary outpost on f5 by Nh5-g7-f5, and then prevent g4 by h5.
- After c5 whites bishop cant get to b6. To get rid of the c5 pawn white needs to attack the pawn chain at the base - d6.
- If white plays e5 to attack d6 then black could get some counter play. White would weaken the h1-a8 allowing black to play Bb7, Rg8 and Qc6 with an attack on g2.
Blocks off the bishop like said above.
14. e5 d5!
Black gets his counter play now!! White has weakened the a8-h1 diagonal and let black have the f5 square. Why play d5 cutting off the diagonal you might think? Black needs the queen if he wants to be able to fight back. If black can play Bb7, open the g-file, Rg8, and Qc6 behind the d5 pawn then white might not see whats coming (a sacrifice on d4).
15. Be2 Ng7!!
Black gives white the pawn on c5 for free! But I still think this was a very good move. I now can play Nf5, when if white takes the knight with his bishop then gxf5 opens up the g-file for blacks rook. Also the pawns on c3 and c2 can now be attacked.
16. Bxc5 Qc7
17. Qd4 Nf5
18. Qf2 h5
(diagram position 3, below)
The knight is now solidly on f5. By playing h5 it stops any chance of g4. As above, if white takes the knight with the bishop the g-file is opened for blacks rook.
19. Bd3 Bb7
20. Bxf5 gxf5
21. Rab1 d4
22. Qxd4
22. Bd6 would have been good for white. 22... Qd7 23. Qg3 and blacks plan would be dead in the water. (Yes - I am lucky!)
22... Rg8
23. Rf2 Qc6
(diagram 4)
Plan complete. The bishop, rook and queen are now all on the squares they were going to, the diagonal is opened, and g2 is under alot of pressure. The threat is Rxg2+ (if white takes back then its mate in one) Kf1 Rg1+!, with either white taking and getting checkmated by Qh1# or white moving his king and Rxb1.
So white has to protect the g2 pawn. He has to protect it by Qd2. (if white played g3 then Qh1#)
24. Qd2 Rd8
25. Qe2 h4
Black threatens to play h3 - bringing another attacker. If white plays h3 now, then Rg3 would be unclear.
26. Rb6
(diagram position 5, below)
26... Rd1+!!
White has two moves. Rf1 looses to Rxg2+ with mate following. If the mate square is g2 I need to get rid of the defenders. Also good for black is the following line (thanks to Rahim K for the analysis) 26... Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 (27. Rxg2 Rd1+ 28. Qxd1 (28. Kf2 Qxc5+ 29. Qe3 Rd2+ 30. Kf1 Bxg2+ 31. Kg1 Qxe3#) 28... Qxg2#) 27... Rg1+ 28. Kxg1 Qh1#
27. Qxd1 Rxg2+
28. Kf1 Rg1+!
If Kxg1 then Qh1#.
29. Ke2 Qe4+
30. Kd2 Rxd1+
31. Kxd1 Qh1+
So I have got back in the game. At the start of the game I was in trouble, but by playing on I have got to an unclear position. The next few moves were black going check crazy. I think he was trying to see if there was a mate or perpetual so he just checked me as much as possible. The next few moves dont need much explaining.
32. Kd2 Kd7
33. Rd6+ Kc8
34. Bb6 Bd5
35. Rd8+ Kb7
36. Rd7+ Kc6
37. Rc7+ Kb5
38. c4+ Bxc4
39. Rc5+ Kb4
40. c3+ Kb3
41. Rxc4 Kxc4
(diagram position, below)
42. Kc2 Qe4+
At this point Black needs somewhere to attack, or else it will be a draw. Where is there to attack though? The weak pawns are on h2, c3, a5, and maybe e5 after a push to f6.
43. Kb2 Qd3
44. Bd4
Well c3 is not going to fall if white can just defend it with his bishop. However his bishop cant defend c3, a5 and the rook all at the same time. The next few moves by black are trying to force white into giving up one of the pawns.
45... Qe4
45. Bb6 Qd5
46. Kc1 Qb5
47. Rb2
Whites pawns will just not fall. He can defend them to easily and black will never break through without beaking things up. That means getting the queen to f8 and pushing f6.
47... Qc6
48. Rf2 Qa4
49. Kb2 Qb3+
50. Ka1 Qa3+
51. Kb1 Qf8
(diagram below)
The queen is now back on f8 and ready to break the white center by f6.
52. Kc2 f6
53. Be3
Black could have put more pressure on white here by Kb5 or Qh6.
53... fxe5
54. fxe5 Qa3!?
Now its no longer a closed, slow game, but is now a race to queen the pawns.
55. Rf4+
White gets the h4 pawn, Black gets the a5 or e5 pawn.
55... Kd5
56. Rxh4 Qxa5
57. Kd3 Kxe5
(diagram below)
The game is interesting and fun to play again. White will try to queen to h-pawn, while black tries to queen the a-pawn. I dont think white would have been able to queen the h-pawn though. Blacks king is too close, while whites king is far away trying to hold his other pawns.
58. Bf4+ Kf6
59. Rh6+ Kg7
White cant play Rxe6 or Qd5+ picks up a free rook and the game.
60. h4 e5
Instead of trying to queen the a-pawn, why not the e and f pawns. they are connected so can protect each other while the queen does other stuff.
61. Bg5 e4+
62. Kd4 Qa4+
63. Ke3 Qc2
(diagram below)
Qc2 has a triple purpose. It threatens to capture the c-pawn, put it also lets the queen help promote the e-pawn. Thirdly it stops black from playing h5 or the bishop on g5 drops to Qc1+. He missed that though, and played h5.
64. h5 Qc1+
65. Kd4 Qxg5
66. Rg6+ Qxg6
67. hxg6
Black has a won game, but cant take the pawn on g6! The a and c pawns would queen at the same time - but the a pawn would queen with check, giving black a simple queen vs pawn on the 7th endgame.
67... a5
(diagram position, below)
68. c4 a4
69. c5 a3
70. Kc3 a2
71. Kb2 a1=Q+
72. Kxa1 e3
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