It was the last round in the Mondays club and and I got the opponent that I didn’t expect as I got Black again. His King’s Gambit actually calmed me down instead of getting tense, as I played a lot of online games against it, though only two OTB. So after first three moves we got Nimzovich Variation. In this variation White tries to use its queenside pawn majority and Black the kingside one.
His 4. dxc6 was not a very good move, the best is 4. Nc3. After c4 I had a pre-move Bc7 if he would play c5, but when he did I saw Bxc5. It increased my advantage from ~-1.5 to ~-2. After 18. Nh5 I considered Qg4, but then decided that I have good chances with the queens on the board. Despite of that I played 20… Qd5, it was the best move. I have to say that he played very fast, almost only on 30 seconds increment. It didn’t give me any possibility to think on his time, so my time was going away quickly.
When he played 21. Qg3?, the crucial moment of the game came. Of course I saw Re5, but then I think I didn’t like 22. Bf4 probably because of 22… Rxh5 23. Bxd6 Bxd6 24. Rd1 not seeing that my bishop on d6 attacks his queen. This line is actually very bad and White is down two pieces. The better for White 22. Nf4 gives Black after 22… Rxg5 23. Nxd5 Rxg3 24. Nf6+ gxf6 25. hxg3 two pieces and pawn for the rook and a quick win according to shootouts.
I had to play 24… h6 instead of Qg4, but didn’t like my king’s position after 25. Bxh6 gxh6, though I would have two pieces for a rook. I forgot that I am already a pawn up. After his 26. Qxc6 I got tired of his 8th horizontal threats and played 26… Qc8 giving away all the advantage I would have after Bb6 which I missed.
After we exchanged queens I realized that the game is most probably drawn. He managed to win my “h” pawn, but all I needed was to move my king to the queenside which I did. The ensued rook endgame a- and b-pawns vs. a-pawn was theoretically drawn. After 65 moves my score missed some half-moves as I had less that 10 minutes and had to be quick. He had somewhat around 1 hour 15 minutes left.
I tried to be careful and hold the position. I had about 6 minutes left and played on increment. I told him at some point that I believe it is a draw. After 80 moves he came to the same conclusion. Funny that it reminded me a bit the last game before my one month break, when I let slip the advantage and ended up a pawn down in a drawn rook endgame.
Rolling Pawns 
October 8, 2022 at 1:41 pm
2…d5. I take the pawn, online at least, and it’s almost never a draw, or 99% of the time it’s not.
3…c6. Unusual. I don’t even know what the name of this gambit is. Looks quite solid for Black.
5…exf4. I wonder if …Bc5 is playable here, looks nice for Black.
19…Rd6 You’ve played really well up til now, went from down a pawn to up a pawn. This move is as if you are worse than you are, needing to protect a c6 pawn. I think you could play more as if Black is the one in control. Some moves that jump out are …f6, …Rd5, …Be7. …f6 looks weak to Qb3+, Qb7 and Qxc6, but you are definitely not worse on move 19. Actually, if White did that and took that pawn on c6, you’d probably be hunting down one of his pieces, or his king. The …Rd6 turned out strong because you used it to play …Re6 and cover the diagonal from his queen to your king.
22…Qe4 Actually, you are much better here than in the last note. 22…Qe5, 23.Qg4 Qxb2. White is winning.
23…Nh8. It took me a while to find 23…Be7, but I only found it because …Nh8 looked like a fate worse than death. I hope you didn’t play this move quickly.
26…Qc8. Well-calculated.
In the end, both sides were left playing for mistakes from positions that could be a GM hand-shake.
A draw is a good result for Black. I think you had a chance with 22…Qe5, but you had your one moment in this game to play for a win, and it was soon gone.
October 8, 2022 at 2:06 pm
Nimzovich Defense, right!
Looking at your chance given by the computer 21…Re5, I think it’s a computer move. I also wanted to fit …h6 in there somewhere too, but I only because I have stared at this position for so long. 24…Qg4 was the natural move to play, particularly against a fast-playing opponent. A lot of times, it seems like the wins you missed were “computer moves”.
I think you played the opening great, and then came the sequence starting with the funky 21…Qe4, ostensibly played to defend against 22.Qf3. 21…Qe5, 22.Qf3 Qc7 is a more natural continuation, and then you could play …h6 to kick that bishop out.
One of the biggest differences in our styles of play is that I get a lot more queen trades. Although a lot of times, the queen-trade doesn’t work (or is the wrong thing to do), it’s an easier way to play for a technical win, which is what it seems that your position was hoping to gain.
I don’t know if …Nh8 was forced, or you could have played …Be7, but sometimes it’s just one move like this that changes the trend of a game from a win to draw. All those complications you had to gain from were like “yeah, but I can’t because my knight is still on h8.” 😉
October 9, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Thank you for your comments!
5… Bc5 is a second choice and leads to an interesting play, I agree. I never tried it. 19… Rd6 was intended to defend f6 square, not c6 one and it is a first choice. The answer to 19… Rd5 is Bf6, exactly what I wanted to avoid.
I can’t say that I liked 23… Nh8, didn’t see any alternative and actually I still had advantage after it. It seems me that 23… Be7 puts the bishop into the same passive role as knight after 24. Qxa7. Even after 23… Nh8 I had 24… h6 getting two pieces for a rook.
I think you are too generous regarding 21… Re5, it is simply attacking two hanging pieces and not a big deal of calculation. I don’t already remember why I played 22… Qe4, but 22… Qe5 is actually answered with Qf3.
My problem is not a one not best move, it is simply my old bad habit of not finding the decisive move and then, yes, letting the advantage slip making not the best moves.
October 10, 2022 at 9:50 am
21…Re5 is obviously winning in hindsight. Just goes to show that it doesn’t jump out as a natural move there (if one even spots it), until one realizes how up in development that Black is compared to White.
October 10, 2022 at 9:51 am
I guess you just have to realize the value of your position more, when it comes. You slowly outworked White over many moves to get that position.
October 10, 2022 at 10:00 am
24…h6 winning is obvious in hindsight as well, although it’s easy to miss things OTB. 25.Bxh6? can be met by Rxh6. 25.Bc1 Qxh4+, 26.Qh3 looks more likely, with a winning endgame.
October 10, 2022 at 11:23 am
Yes, right, I need to feel when I have such a position that I should look for a decisive strike. When you solve puzzles it is essentially easier to find the solution than in a real game because you know it should be something.