[Event "The 2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festi"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar"]
[Date "2015.01.27"]
[Round "1.38"]
[White "Varga, Klara"]
[Black "Hansen, Eric"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2145"]
[BlackElo "2574"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. b3 {Larsen's opening. It is not often seen at GM level, but it is by no
means refuted. Perhaps White had good results against players of his strength
or in blitz games, but it will be much harder against a grandmaster.} e5 2. Bb2
Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 {This is the most common line for Black, although there are
numerous possibilities involving an early d5 or d6.} 4. Bb5 {Threatening to
take in c6 and then in e5. For this reason, the most common reply is d6.} e4 $5
{Very few games in my database feature this move, and none by a grandmaster. 1.
b3 is not a common move in tournament play, but Eric Hansen, being a very
strong blitz player, might have prepared this line for online play.} 5. Ne2 (5.
d3 $6 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 {And Black is probably slightly better after only 6
moves.}) 5... a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 {This position is a very good example of when
engines have a lot of trouble finding a good plan for White. My engine
recommands 6.Bd4, which no human would ever play. It is important to remember
that White just gave Black the bishop pair, and while it may not seem like a
huge issue at this moment, it could really backfire later on in the game.} 7.
h3 {White probably thought they were both going to short castle and that he
could afford losing a tempo by playing h3, preventing Bg4... However, Bg4 is
not a real threat and h3 might even help Black attacking by playing g5-g4 at
some point. This should have been a good indicator for Eric that his opponent
will not see the attack coming.} Bd6 8. O-O Qe7 9. d3 Bf5 {Objectively, Black
is slightly better, but not by much. However, this position is much easier to
play for Black and the attacking plan is extremely simple. It's often much
better to be in such positions than being in a position with a bigger
advantage but no clear plan.} 10. Nd4 Bg6 ({It must have been very tempting to
play} 10... Qe5 11. f4 exf3 12. Qxf3 {But Black has no clear way to continue
the attack} (12. Nxf3 Qxb2)) 11. dxe4 Nxe4 12. Nc3 c5 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. Nf3
O-O-O {White has not made any major mistakes, yet his position seems to get
worse and worse. This is the issue with opposite side castling ; if you don't
have the time to launch an attack, your position will get very ugly very
quickly. We can also see how Black's bishop pair is now extremely strong. And
what did White get in exchange? It helped Black have a pawn in c5 and open the
d-file.} 15. Qe2 Rhg8 16. Rac1 g5 {It's not looking good for White. The h3
pawn will very soon become a huge weakness and White still has no attack.} 17.
Nd2 Bf5 ({Another interesting option was to play Bc6 instead, which allows to
keep the pressure on g2, but White can now try to exchange the queens} 17...
Bc6 $1 18. Qg4+ (18. Nc4 g4 $17) 18... Kb8 (18... Bd7 19. Qe4 $1) 19. Nc4) 18.
Qf3 Qe6 {White has actually very little move. There doesn't seem to be any way
to attack Black's king, as nearly all of White pieces are already busy
defending!} 19. e4 Bg6 20. Rce1 Bf4 21. Nc4 Rge8 22. e5 {Trying to get some
counter play, but giving the c2 pawn was not the way to do so.} ({White had
some extremely wild variations with Qg4, which would have probably been better,
but very hard to calculate :} 22. Qg4 Bxe4 23. g3 f5 24. Qh5 Bd6 25. Re2 (25.
f3 Bxg3) 25... Bf3 26. Rxe6 Bxh5 27. Nxd6+ cxd6 {With decent drawing chances
for White}) 22... Bxc2 {Black is threatening to win an exchange with Bd3, and
there is no clear way to avoid it.} 23. g3 Qxh3 24. Na5 {It was probably the
only way for White to look for counterplay, but it is not enough} c6 25. Nxc6
$2 {It unfortunately doesn't work, and White will quickly lose.} ({Better was}
25. Nc4 Rg8 26. Nd6+ Kb8 {But Black is still clearly better}) 25... Rd3 26. Re3
Bxe3 27. fxe3 Rd2 0-1
