The game itself deserved much better than the attention I gave it. There are a lot of thematic ideas for both White and Black in a Classical Caro-Kann, including: the sacrificial variation 17. Nxf7!? and what Black could have done to prevent it; the ...c5 break, which could have given Black some initiative even after queenside castling; the dynamic value of minor pieces and the advantage of the two bishops (which Black unusually acquires); and what not to do in a bishop vs. knight endgame.
This was also another game that illustrated the drawbacks of not having a systematic thinking process with an important but subtle example on move 25, where Black should have asked "what changed?" after White's move and then could have found a much stronger continuation.
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| Move | N | Result | Elo | Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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B18: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 sidelines B18: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5
sidelines 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Bc4 White is mixing and matching variations here. If Bc4 is intended,
normally it is played the move before and followed up with N1e2, in order to
target the f4 square. e6 8.h4 although this scores very well for White
(with a small database sample), most of the games appear to have a large
ratings gap in White's favor. Nh5 now out of the database. Black takes
advantage of his knight placement to stop the h5 pawn advance. A more standard
approach would be to play ...h6, as in the following example. 8...h6 9.Ne5 Bh7 10.Qe2 Nd5 11.c3 a6 12.Bd2 Nd7 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Nf6 16.Ne2 Qd5 17.Nf4 Qe4+ 18.Qxe4 Nxe4 19.Be3 Bd6 20.Nd3 0-0-0 21.0-0-0 Nf6 22.Bf4 Bxf4+ 23.Nxf4 Ng4 24.Nd3 c5 25.f3 Ne3 26.Rde1 cxd4 27.Ne5 Rhf8 28.cxd4 Nf5 29.Kb1 Nxd4 30.Rc1+ Kb8 31.Rhd1 f6 32.Nc4 e5 33.Rd2 Nf5 34.Rh1 b5 35.Rxd8+ Rxd8 36.Na5 Rd2 37.g4 Nd4 38.Rf1 Rd3 0-1 (38) Ehret,R (2105)
-Buhmann,R (2315) Schwaebisch Gmuend 1999 9.Ne2 avoiding the knight
exchange. Black by this point has equalized, as White does not have any active
threats and Black is free to continue developing. Nd7 10.Be3 this invites
Black to take advantage of the bishop development by checking on the a5-e1
diagonal, as occurs in other Caro-Kann variations. Black may get a "free"
developing move by making White move his bishop again, or create the
possibility of repeating the position. If White blocks with c3, this is a
small positional victory for Black, as that hems in White's dark-square bishop
and make castling queenside a less desirable option. Nb6 while not a bad
move in itself, it makes the position less flexible for Black and does not do
anything in particular for his development. 10...Qa5+ 11.c3 11.Bd2 Qc7 11...Bd6 11.Bb3 Nd5 12.Qd2 a clear sign that White is considering
castling queenside. Nhf6 Black decides to bring the knight on the rim back
into the game, eyeing the e4 square. 13.Bg5 the pin does nothing for White.
Black now forces the bishop for knight exchange. 13.Ne5!? 13...h6 13...Qc7 would be another way to play, developing the queen and moving out of the
pin. White cannot kick the Nd5 because of 14.c4 Bb4 15.Nc3 Ne4 14.Bxf6 Nxf6 Black now has the advantage of the bishop pair, which is rather unusual
in this variation. 15.Ne5 Bh7 16.g4 this thrust is premature and Black
should be able to handle it. However, it looks aggressive and dangerous and I
played a passive move in response. 16.0-0-0 Nd5= 16...Nd7 16...Bd6
is the primary antidote, using the tactical idea of removing the g4 pawn's
protector. It also defends against a possible Nxf7 sacrifice, as the f4 square
would be covered, allowing Black to exchange there after a Nf4 follow-up.
During the game however, I did not even consider it. Perhaps I was too wedded
to the idea of keeping the two bishops. 17.f4 Bxe5 18.fxe5 Nxg4 19.Qf4 h5 17.Nd3 17.Nxf7 is a typical sacrificial idea that can result in wild
complications. I recall looking at it and considering it to be White's best
option, being relieved when my opponent declined to pursue it (after taking a
significant amount of clock time). Kxf7 18.Nf4 this line was originally
evaluated by Fritz with a significant advantage to White, but Houdini shows
equality, for example Qf6 19.Nxe6 Nb6 20.Nc7+ Nd5 21.Nxd5 21.Nxa8? Qf3 21...cxd5 22.Bxd5+ Ke8 17...Qc7 17...Be7 is simpler and better,
developing the piece and targeting the h4 pawn. 18.0-0-0 0-0-0 Black's
king position is now as safe as White's and the two bishops should give him an
edge. 19.Qe3 Bd6 19...c5 Both Fritz and Houdini like the idea of playing
this pawn break. It appears to loosen Black's king position, but White
(especially with the lack of a dark-square bishop) cannot exploit this and the
move would help activate Black's pieces. 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Nxc5 Bxc5 20.Kb1 a typical "sidestep" that gets the king off the same file as the Qc7 and
gives White more flexibility. Kb8 21.f3 this continues to leave White
vulnerable to the ...c5 pawn break. 21.Nc3!? 21...Rhe8 Black however
continues to look to play solid moves rather than active ones. 22.Nc3 Nf6
around here I recall simply wanting the game to be over and end in a draw.
This kind of mentality means, among other things, that you are likely to
overlook good moves that might actually give you winning chances. 23.Qf2 Nd5 24.Bxd5?! 24.Ne4!?= 24...exd5 now Black's remaining minor
pieces are clearly superior to White's. 25.Qd2 25.f4 Bxd3 26.Rxd3 Bxf4 27.Rf3 g5 25...Bxd3 this is a little premature. 25...Qe7!? is found
by the engines. White's last move weakend the f-pawn and one threat is ...Qf6,
attacking d4, f3 and h4 all at the same time. Black can now exploit the e-file
as well, for example 26.Qg2 Bxd3 27.Rxd3 Bf4 28.a3 Rd6 29.Rdd1 Re6 26.Qxd3 Re7 26...Re6 would leave the Bd6 a retreat. 27.g5 Rde8 this
allows White to weaken Black's pawn structure and penetrate with the queen,
giving White the initiative, although Black still enjoys a small advantage. 27...hxg5 28.hxg5 g6 would be the simple way to deal with White's idea. 28.gxh6 28.Qh7 hxg5 29.Qxg7 gxh4 30.Rxh4 Bb4 28...gxh6 29.Qh7 Bf4 30.Rhg1 Be3 31.Rg8 31.Rg4!? 31...Qd8?! Black starts to revert to more
passive play again, becoming preoccupied with White's threats rather than
looking for objective (and active) best moves. 31...Qf4 is pointed out
by the engines, freeing c7 for the king and targeting the f3 pawn. 32.Rg7 Qd7 I was still thinking draw here. Houdini assesses the position as a
half-pawn in Black's favor. 33.a3 sensibly creating "luft" for the king. f5 Black looks to simplify down and get the draw he wants. 33...Qe6!? 34.Rg8 Qf6 has a similar ideas as in the above variation, as Black's queen helps
bottle up White's queen and targets the f-pawn. 34.Rxe7 Rxe7 35.Qg8+ Kc7?! this hands the initiative to White, who now also has some prospects for
usefully employing the Nc3, which has been on the sidelines all game. 35...Qc8 36.Qg6 Re6= 36.Qa8= Bf2 another dubious decision, the idea being
to trade the a-pawn for White's h-pawn. This gives White too much initiative
on the queenside, however. 36...a6 would be simpler: 37.Na4 Qc8 38.Qa7 Qb8 37.h5 37.Qxa7 Re1 38.Rxe1 Bxe1 39.Qc5 Bxh4 40.Nb5+ would make
Black's life difficult, although he should be able to hold with Kc8 37...Qe8 38.Qxa7 Re1 Less advisable is 38...Qxh5 39.Na4 Qe8 40.Nc5± comments
Fritz. 39.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 40.Ka2 Qd2= now this really should be a draw,
despite Black being a pawn down. 41.Qc5 Kb8 42.Qf8+ White forks: b8+f5 Ka7 43.Qxf5 Bxd4 43...Qxd4 would make Black's life easier, centralizing
the queen and making it much more active. 44.Qd3 Qxd3 45.cxd3 here
Black's task is difficult but he should have drawing chances due to his bishop
and White's weaker pawn structure (4 islands vs. 2 for Black). Kb6 46.Kb3 Kc5 47.Kc2 Be3?! 47...Bf2= 48.Ne2 ingenious use of White's knight to
dominate the bishop, which is now revealed to be awkwardly placed. Kd6 49.d4 Ke6 50.Kd3 Bf2 51.b4 Kf6 Black needs to think about activating the bishop
here, perhaps with ...Bh4. 52.a4 b6?? an elementary endgame blunder.
Black's pieces now cannot stop White's a-pawn after it advances. 52...Be1!? 53.a5+- bxa5 54.bxa5 Be1 55.Nc3 this wins, but simply pushing a6 does
as well. 1–0
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| White | EloW | Black | EloB | Res | ECO | Rnd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class B | - | ChessAdmin | - | 1–0 | B18 |
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Oops. I guess I posted my comment after a May entry. See below. J
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