Well, 39 was my “I have you now” moment, but I thought it was more likely to result in taking his queen en route to a victory later.
I’ll look closer when I get off of work, but right away, I see that there was some hope-chess going on. Players were playing as “slaves to their style”, as IM Sam Shankland would say. White leaps into a Kingside assault without the prerequisites and, surprise surprise, it fizzles out. Here are some move notes off hand:
…e5 and …c5, played together, create a big hole on d5, where the White knight ends up sitting for most of the game. That’s one fat knight, as it takes up a lot of space and makes its presence felt on both sides of the board.
12…Nxe4 is a mistake that loses a piece and surrenders some of the center to White. Perhaps it was a miscalculation, thinking that White would have to take back with the e pawn and thus leave the c4 bishop en prise. Discovered attacks against the g5 knight are good ideas, though, and with this in mind, 12…Nxd5! works to win a piece. If White saves the g5 knight from attack (by, say, Nf3), then it follows …Nxc4 14. dxc4 Nf6 with a double attack on the center pawns.
After the dust settles from the exchanges, White’s got two knights against two bishops. This means that White should try to get his knights to outpost squares while Black tries to march his pawns in a tight, space-sucking formation. I approve of f7-f5 because it takes some central space, but not f5-f4, as it lets the knight back into the game and closes a diagonal that 1)White couldn’t use but 2) Black’s dark bishop desperately needs. Now that bishop is imprisoned just as much as White’s. I would have gone with a6 and b5 earlier to undermind the center and try to dislodge the d5 knight.
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Qh5 isn’t the right plan. There are still two rooks and two bishops defending the king side, and you’ve only got two knights that can’t…quite…get…in. Better would be to attack those central pawns w/ Rooks to d1 and e1. White can even get his bishop back into the game by f2-f3, Kh1, and Bg1, where it hits the c pawn. Remember, when attacking backward pawns, it’s common to set up pins against the rooks behind the backward pawn. If you got that position, the c and e pawns would be tactically unprotected.
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h6 isn’t necessary. There’s no mate threat right away. Better is to win the c pawn w/ Bxd5 cxd5 Qxd5. Then the e4 knight has to retreat to c3, which blocks the c2 pawn from taking its deceased brother’s place on c4. Then your center can start to roll down the board, removing your weaknesses there (like the backward d pawn and choked-up e7 bishop).
30…h4 isn’t necessary. You’re already pinning/winning the bishop on g3, so better is Bxd5 cxd5 Qxd5, unless I’m missing something in my haste.
After 33. Qxd6, best is Qxh3! which threatens a simple mate after the pawns and rooks crash in on g3. Black is down a piece but catching up, and both kings are exposed. You guys both need to quit thinking about pawns and start thinking about mates.
- Kg1 makes things too easy on Black. You were probably worried about the fork at c3, but it’s not really a problem. Consider:
41. Ke1 Qc3+ 42. Kf2 Qxe5? 43. Nf6+!! Rh7 (only move) 44. Qxh7#
If instead of taking the R immediately, Black checks on the f file, Nf6+ blocks it and takes the initiative. I haven’t worked out all the variations, but it doesn’t look good for Black.
I’ll check this with some software when I get home. I probably made a mistake myself somewhere in my analysis, so take this with a grain of salt.
With all the focusing on mistakes, you sound like a dentist.
i don’t know about that. it felt, too me like i was just a move or so away from making your life uncomforatable. i just couldn’t find it.
but then it also felt like you were a move away from making my life uncomfortable. and you did. 
White played b3 before black fianchettoed his king’s bishop, so I’m not sure why that part is important. In any case b3 is called Snyder’s Variation, and I played it briefly in blitz games many years ago after reading an Andrew Martin article that no longer seems to be available.
Gary Lane also wrote about the opening; the article includes, in the notes, a game with pawns on b3 and d3. If I had chess software I suspect I could find more positions like that, but otherwise it seems like a lot of work. ANYway, it’s perfectly viable in Closed Sicilian positions, because that bishop doesn’t always have to start out by going to d3…
It’s not a function of attitude, it’s a function of time-per-post. I can’t just say “good”, “all right”, “meh”, “good” and so on. It’d be pages long and take forever.
so use your knights to attack the center early and then spread them out in a flanking maneuver?
in layperson’s terms, of course.
and i apologize if i am asking too many questions. it just seems like this game is like the goldern ring. come close but just can’t grab the sucker.
but if you want to know about poker…
well that’s a whole different kettle of fish.
don’t ask me on that, either.
I just wanted it generally known that I’ve made all of my moves tonight under he heavy influence f alcohol and when we review this game and I randomly start playing well r like crap there is an e fuse.
That’s a pretty vague description, but let me answer it the best I can (also under a heavy influence of alcohol…cheers!).
Knights have the tendency to worm their way into tight spaces. But they can project threats of capture or forks through pieces. Also, it takes a long time to position the knights because they move very slowly. So the best knight is one that gets deep into the enemy camp (6th or 7th rank) and can sit there for a long time without being scared away by a pawn.
I have no idea what you mean by “flanking maneuver”, though.
Your typing will serve as corroboration to your claim.
Oh well, **Curt **did PM me telling me that he is not having good internet access available for a while so he is reporting that he is forfeiting this match.
So with not much else to say:
Curt - GIGObuster
“0-1″
can i get curt next round? that way i have a chance unless i checkmate myself.
To be fair I am posting from my phone so that accounts for part of it but yes I was that drunk. I just finished my last rugby match of the tournament and am heading over to the beer garden. I expect that tonight will leave me in a similar state.
You guys didn’t finish your game, right? I don’t have it marked down.
We’re on move 20, so it’s humming right along.
Fubbs has got mate in 3 if he wants it. That stupid 10th move knocked the wind right out of my sails.
You thought 10. Qh3+ was mating, didn’t you? 