This week, we take a look at a short and sweet game from the Alberta Closed this past spring. A tactical flourish in a confusing opening leads to an early mistake by Canada's youngest IM which results in White obtaining a very strong initiative which he eventually converts to the full point.
[Event "Alberta Closed"]
[Site "Calgary CAN"]
[Date "2013.03.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Yam, Alex"]
[Black "Wang, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2275"]
[BlackElo "2376"]
[Annotator "MacKinnon,Keith"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2013.03.29"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 {What White gains by delaying c3 as opposed to
playing it on the second move is more knowledge as to Black's setup} d5 (3...
Bg7 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 6. e5 Bg4 {looks like a better version of the French
for Black}) 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Bg7 6. dxc5 (6. Na3 cxd4 7. Bc4 (7. Nb5 Na6 8.
Nbxd4)) (6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nf6 8. Nc3 Qd8 {and we reach a pretty typical
isolated queen pawn position where White is ahead in development at the cost
of a potential pawn weakness in the endgame}) 6... Qxc5 7. Na3 $5 (7. Be3 Qc7 {
is how play frequently proceeds}) 7... Bxc3+ {Black goes for it! This was the
provocation behind White's last move.} 8. bxc3 Qxc3+ 9. Qd2 Qxa1 10. Bc4 $146 (
{The only previous game from this position finished quickly in White's favour.
} 10. Nb5 Na6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Ne5 O-O-O 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. O-O Nf6 15. Qc2 Bf5
16. Ne4+ Kb8 17. Nc6+ Ka8 18. Nxd8 {1-0 Cuartas,J (2504)-Perez Campos,A (2232)/
Barcelona 2007/CBM 120 ext}) 10... Qg7 $2 {It's understandable that Richard
wanted to get his Queen out of that precarious position behind enemy lines,
yet this move is a serious mistake.} (10... Bd7 11. O-O Qg7) 11. Ng5 {This
move leads to an advantage, but Alex had a chance to nearly put the game away}
(11. Nb5 $1 Na6 12. Bb2 f6 (12... Nf6 13. Nd6+ $1 exd6 14. Qxd6 Qf8 15. Qxf6
Qe7+ 16. Qxe7+ Kxe7 17. Bxh8 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxh8 19. Bb3 $18) 13. O-O $18) 11...
Nf6 (11... Nc6 12. Nxf7 a6 $16 {and Houdini says Black might hold on, but I
don't believe it}) 12. Bxf7+ Qxf7 {otherwise, mate in two} 13. Nxf7 Kxf7 14.
Nc4 (14. O-O) 14... Nc6 15. f4 Bf5 16. Ne5+ Kg7 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. O-O Rhd8 19.
Qc3 Rac8 20. Re1 Rc7 21. Ba3 {This is no fun to play for Black, but so far
he's doing a good job of keeping it together} Kf7 22. Qe5 Rdd7 23. h3 h5 $8 24.
Kh2 Rb7 25. Qc5 Rbc7 26. Qe5 Rb7 27. Qc5 Rbc7 28. Re5 {Typical in these
situations: White repeats moves twice to get closer to the time control (and
to play mind games with Black) then makes a different third move} Nd5 29. Kg3 {
White embarks on an interesting plan to actively use his King} Nf6 {Black's
first threat in many moves - ...Ne4+. Unfortunately for him, White's King can
go to h4 where it is very safe} 30. Kh4 Kg7 31. Bb4 (31. Bb2 {possibly a
little better. Why not take advantage of that long diagonal (especially since
that's where Black's king resides)}) 31... Kf7 32. Ba5 Rc8 33. Bb4 Rcc7 34.
Qc4+ Kg7 35. Bc3 {Now he gets the right idea} Bd3 36. Qc5 Kf7 37. Ba5 Rc8 38.
Bb4 Nd5 $4 {Black finally cracks. It is extremely tough to put up good defense
for an entire game.} (38... Rcc7 39. g4 $5 hxg4 40. hxg4 Nd5 41. Ba3 {and it's
just a matter of time until White wins}) 39. Rxd5 (39. Rxd5 Rxd5 40. Qxe7+ Kg8
41. Qe6+ {picks up the c8 rook}) 1-0
