I often talked about how difficult it can be, even for older and stronger players, to formulate a plan in a complicated position. It seems like it is common for most players to simply play the most logical moves one after the other, without really having a long-term plan. This game is a good example of that. White was up a pawn after the opening, but had a lot of trouble coordinating his pieces and was soon overwhelmed by Black's active pieces.
[Event "2015 Ottawa Winter Open"]
[Site "Aurora CAN"]
[Date "2015.01.17"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Doubleday, William G"]
[Black "Gelblum, Bob"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A31"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2014.10.04"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.19"]
{[Event "2015 Ottawa Winter Open"] [Site "Ottawa Canada CAN} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5
3. Nf3 {Avoiding the Benoni defense which arises after 3.d5} cxd4 4. Nxd4 {
Here Black has a lot of options : Nc6, e6, b6, g6 and e5 are the most popular.}
e5 5. Nb5 d5 {Pretty much forced, as the other moves, such as d6, would be way
too passive for Black.} 6. cxd5 Bc5 (6... Nxd5 $4 7. Qxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc7+) 7. e3
O-O {Black now threatens to take in d5} 8. N5c3 e4 $1 {A theorical move which
may seem somewhat odd for some people, but which is extremely important. Black
absolutely wants to prevent White from playing e4 and at the same time wants
to win some space, which could be useful in an attack.} 9. Be2 Qe7 10. O-O a6
$6 {The idea behind this move is reasonnable. In many lines, White could play
Nb5 of Bb5, creating different threats. However, Black should have probably
simply developped his pieces and continued putting pressure on White's center
and kingside.} 11. Qc2 {It is hard for White to find a plan here. It seems
like White decided to add pressure on e4, but Black is not going to let that
pawn go. Instead, perhaps White should have tried to consolidate its d5 pawn,
while developping its pieces :} (11. Qb3 Bf5 12. Na3 Nbd7 13. Rd1 Nb6 14. Nc2 {
With a pretty much equal position, even with White's extra pawn.}) 11... Bf5
12. Nd2 Nbd7 13. a3 {a3 is hard to understand. Black does not threathen to
play a piece in b4, and White probably does not want to play b4, as it may
weaken its position, especially with the open c-file.} Rac8 14. Rd1 b5 15. Nf1
$2 {The question mark is more for the plan than for the move. White is still
trying to win the e4 pawn, but bringing an extra knight in g3 is not going to
make that any more possible. Nb3 was much stronger, and White could play Nd4
very soon after that.} (15. Nb3 {And Black has no choice but to leave the
bishop in c5, as otherwise :} Bb6 16. Nd4 $16) 15... h5 $5 {Black definitely
seems to know where he is going. White doesn't have much space on the kingside
and will hardly be able to defend against an attack. Furthermore, if Black
plays h4, White can no longer bring its knight to g3 and is now stuck with a
knight in f1, instead of a knight in d4 in the previous variation.} 16. Qd2 Bd6
17. b4 Ne5 {White managed to play b4, but that doesn't help much. Black is now
dominating the board. Engines will say the position is nearly equal, but
that's only with a perfect play from White. There is no doubt that Black's
practical chances are much better.} 18. Bb2 h4 19. h3 Qd7 20. Na2 $4 {This
honestly deserves two question marks. Why would White ever play this move?
Even without the nice tactic found by Black, this move doesn't serve much
purpose.} Bxh3 $1 {Effectively punishing White for his last move.} 21. Bxe5
Bxe5 22. Rac1 Qf5 $2 {It seems like Black was still in "attack" mode. However,
when you win a pawn and have such a dominating position, there is no need to
continue the attack and take huge risks. Black simply needs to play logical
moves, and some other pawns will fall.} 23. gxh3 Qxh3 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Rc1 {
Black is now down a piece, and although its pieces are well coordinnated,
there is no clear win here.} Rd8 {The only move which leaves Black with some
winning chances.} 26. Nc3 Rd6 {The obvious move, trying to bring the rook on
the g-file. But Black had another interesting move, which he most likely
didn't even consider :} (26... Kh7 $1 27. Qc2 Bxc3 28. Qxc3 Rxd5 $19 {And now
White can no longer play Qc8+.}) (26... Bxc3 $2 27. Qxc3 Rxd5 28. Qc8+ {
Trading the queens}) 27. Qd1 Nh7 $2 {Missing a straight win} (27... Nxd5 $1 28.
Nxd5 Rg6+) 28. Nxe4 $2 {Ouch! This move is practically like giving up.} (28.
Bh5 $1 {And Black should probably bring back his knight in g6.}) 28... Rg6+ 29.
Neg3 hxg3 30. Bf3 g2 31. Ng3 Bxg3 32. fxg3 Rxg3 {The game should be over now...
But White can always hope for a mistake...} 33. Be4 Qh1+ (33... Nf6 $1 {The
more tactical players will love this move, which should quickly mate.}) 34. Kf2
g1=Q+ {And after all the exchanges, Black will be up a piece, which is more
than enough.} 35. Qxg1 Rxg1 36. Rc8+ Nf8 37. Bxh1 Rxh1 38. Ke2 {There's
nothing White can do at this point.} Rh6 39. e4 Rd6 40. Ke3 f5 41. Kd4 fxe4 42.
Kxe4 Kf7 43. Ke5 Ke7 44. Rxf8 Rxd5+ 45. Kxd5 Kxf8 46. Ke6 Ke8 47. Kf5 Kf7 48.
Kg5 g6 49. Kg4 Kf6 50. Kf4 g5+ 51. Kg4 Kg6 52. Kg3 Kf5 53. Kf3 g4+ 54. Kg3 Kg5
55. Kg2 Kf4 56. Kf2 g3+ 57. Kg2 Kg4 58. Kg1 Kf3 59. Kf1 g2+ 60. Kg1 Kg3 61. a4
bxa4 62. b5 a3 0-1
