This game features a nice classical Sicilian between a young player from Montreal (Alan Luo) and a lecturer at McGill University (Daniel Pomerantz). White quickly got an interesting position, but made some bad decisions at critical moments of the game. As it is often the case with young players, White simply didn't know when to start and to stop attacking. Unfortunately, this is one of the most important concepts in an attack and Black quickly seized the opportunity.
[Event "CHAMPIONNAT OUVERT DE VARENNES 2014 SECT"]
[Site "Varennes"]
[Date "2014.11.09"]
[Round "4.11"]
[White "Luo, Alan"]
[Black "Pomerantz, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B57"]
[WhiteElo "1699"]
[BlackElo "1925"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2014.11.07"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {The
Classical Sicilian. This variation is rarely seen in Quebec, and many young
players such as Alan probably never played it.} 6. Bc4 Qb6 $5 {A relatively
new move that is gaining a lot in popularity. Black attacks the d4 knight, and
Be3 is not possible because of Qxb2.} 7. Nxc6 (7. Nb3 {Is the main variation.
It may seem odd, as the White bishop cannot retreat in b3 anymore, but since
Black lost a tempo by playing Qb6, this variation often transposes in other
well known variations.}) 7... bxc6 8. O-O g6 9. Bb3 Bg7 10. Be3 Qc7 {Black
should be happy of the opening at this point. He has a strong center and no
major weaknesses. However, White has strong attacking possibilities and Black
must still be careful.} 11. h3 O-O 12. Qd2 Bb7 13. Rfe1 Rfd8 14. Bh6 {As
predicted, White tries to launch an attack. Exchanging Black's powerful bishop
is a good first step, but White will have to act quickly if he wishes to
attack, as Black will seize the center in a few moves.} Bxh6 $5 {An
interesting move. It lures the queen away in order to push a central pawn.
Other continuations would be less promising. For instance :} (14... Rab8 15.
Rad1 {And Black cannot push e5 or d5}) 15. Qxh6 e5 ({Stronger was} 15... d5 {
As White can difficultly find an attacking plan anymore and Black has at least
equalized.} 16. e5 Nh5 17. Rad1 Ng7) 16. Rad1 {The downside of playing e5 is
that White now has some pressure on the d-file and prevents Black from playing
d5.} Qe7 17. Re3 (17. Qg5 {Is an interesting move, as it locks both the Black
knight and the queen.} Nd5 18. Qxe7 Nxe7 $14 {As White will be able to double
the rooks on the d-file.}) (17. f4 {Is risky, but a good way for a young
player to complicate the position.} Rd7 18. Re3 Nh5 19. fxe5 dxe5 20. Rxd7 Qxd7
21. Rd3 $14) 17... Rd7 18. Rf3 $6 {Simply a wrong plan. The rook has nothing
to do on this square. Instead, White should have played either f4.} Rad8 19. g4
$2 {This is overly optimistic. As it is often the case with younger players,
once they start attacking they can hardly stop. In this case, some patience
was required. The g4 pawn does not help much in the attack and even creates
weaknesses in White's position.} (19. Re1 $5 {Although it may seem
conter-intuitive to move the rook from the d-file, this move actually prevents
Black from playing d5, as e5 would then become a huge weakness.} d5 20. exd5
Nxd5 (20... cxd5 21. Qg5)) 19... d5 20. g5 $2 {Again, this only helps Black.}
Nh5 {A knight on the rim is not always dim!} 21. exd5 $2 {It now seems like
White is giving up the game. As pointed out earlier, it is crucial for any
chess player to know when to stop an attack and when to start consolidating
his or her position. White is still in "tactics mode" and tries to create
weaknesses in Black's position without even looking at his own position.} cxd5
{Now the game is over and Black just has to use its incredible center pawns.}
22. Ba4 $2 {Gives a piece, but it's not like if White really had any other
options at this point.} d4 23. Rf6 Nxf6 24. gxf6 Qxf6 25. Bxd7 Qf3 26. Kf1 dxc3
0-1
