It was not my intention to use two of Olivier's games for the GOTW, but this one could not be overlooked. It's not every day a strong national master loses in 18 moves!
Part of it was clearly thanks to Olivier's preparation, but the result could have been quite different if Black had been just a little bit more careful.
[Event "Varennes op"]
[Site "Varennes CAN"]
[Date "2015.11.08"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta"]
[Black "Zhu, Hong Rui"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2386"]
[BlackElo "2286"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2015.11.07"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 $5 {Both players have played each other
countless times, so there is little doubt Olivier Kenta wanted to surprise his
opponent.} (4. Nf3 Nf6 {Would lead to a semi-slav defense, a much more common
opening}) 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 {Did White just lose a central
pawn? Yes, but White hopes to have some serious counterplay in exchange. White
is clearly prepared for this line, but the question is whether Black also is.}
7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 (8. Ne2 $5 {Avoid White from losing a pawn, but at the
cost of less coordinated pieces. Still, the position can still be surprisingly
dangerous for both players!} Na6 9. Bf8 $1 Ne7 (9... Kxf8 10. Qd8#) 10. Bxg7
Rg8 {With an unclear position.}) 8... Na6 9. Bd6 {A somewhat odd looking move.
Yet, it makes a lot of sense as by protecting the h2 pawn, White threathens to
trap Black's queen if she captures the h1 rook.} ({Another option was :} 9. Ba5
b6 10. Qd6 Bd7 11. Bc3 f6 12. Nf3) 9... Qxg2 10. Qd2 Nf6 (10... Qxh1 $4 11.
O-O-O Nf6 (11... Qe4 12. Bg3) 12. Bf3 $18) 11. Bf3 Qg6 12. O-O-O {The position
is now very hard to evaluate. Black is up two pawns, but has a king in the
center and poorly coordinated pieces.} e5 $1 13. Bxe5 O-O $2 {A seemingly
innocent move. While it now seems Black is out of his theory, White probably
had anticipated this move.} (13... Be6 $1 14. Ne2 Qf5 {And it would be fair to
say that both players have equal chances in this position, although anything
can happen.}) 14. Ne2 Re8 (14... Qf5 $1 {And we now get into an extremely
complicated line :} 15. Qe3 Nb4 16. Nd4 {(forced)} Nxa2+ 17. Kd2 Rd8 18. Ke2
Qg6 19. Rhg1 Bg4 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Rxg4 {And it's really hard to tell where
the game is going, although White's extra piece may be decisive.}) 15. Rhg1 $1
{And the game is arguably already over!} Qf5 (15... Rxe5 16. Rxg6 hxg6 {Is
Black's best chance, but holding this would not be easy.}) 16. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7
17. Rg1+ Kh8 18. Qh6 1-0
