4NCL - The Four Nations League

Jack Rudd annotates

Martin,Andrew (2433) - Rudd,Jack (2310) [D02]
4NCL Coventry (4.3), 12.11.2006
[Rudd, Jack]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.d4 Nf6 5.0–0

board

5...Bf5?! Maybe not the best way to meet white's reversed Gruenfeld setup; the bishop's position on f5 proves slightly awkward later. [5...Bg4? 6.Ne5±; 5...cxd4?! 6.Nxd4 e5 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.c4±; 5...e6 is probably best, after which the game will probably transpose into a Catalan or Tarrasch.] 6.c4 e6 [6...dxc4 7.Qa4 seemed uncomfortable; I'll probably have to move my bishop back to d7 sooner or later to deal with the threats.] 7.cxd5 exd5? [7...Nxd5 would, with hindsight, have been safer. I didn't appreciate just how weak the d-pawn would become.] 8.Nc3 Be7 [8...cxd4 9.Nxd4 gains white a tempo because of the attack on the bishop - it was becoming clear that it wasn't well-placed.; 8...c4 9.Ne5 also looked awkward.] 9.Bg5 [9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Bg5 is another possibility for white; 10...d4 may give me some play, though.] 9...c4 10.Ne5 0–0 11.e3 h6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 [I briefly considered 12...gxf6 , with the aim of gaining a tempo or bolstering my d-pawn, but it looks horribly artificial, and 13.Qh5 fxe5 14.Qxf5 exd4 15.Nxd5 vindicates my decision not to take it too seriously.] 13.Qf3 [13.f4 also puts me in an awkward position - the threat is Nxd5; how do I meet it? 13...Bxe5 seems to be the best way, but (13...Ne7 14.Qf3 Be6 15.g4; 13...Nb4 14.Qf3 with a3 to come.) 14.fxe5 Be6 15.Qf3 Ne7 16.e4 gives white a commanding centre.] 13...g6

board

14.Rad1? A careless move, squandering white's advantage. [14.Ng4! is right, because I can no longer save my pawn, nor can I win any of the white pawns in return.] 14...Nxe5 Taking the opportunity to exchange my doomed d5 pawn for white's solid d4 pawn. 15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Rxd5 Qf6 Having escaped, I suddenly realized that I actually had the better game here. My queenside majority is mobile and potentially lethal, and my pair of bishops work very nicely together. 17.Rc1 Rac8 18.Rb5 b6 19.Nd5 Qd6 With vague ideas of encircling the white rook on b5. However, my opponent was unsurprisingly alert to these dangers. 20.Rd1 Rfd8 [20...Bd7? 21.Nf6+ Qxf6 22.Qxf6 Bxf6 23.Rxd7 Rc5=] 21.Nc3 Qe6 22.Rbd5 Re8 23.R1d2

board

23...Bg7 [My original intention was 23...Bg4?? , but white has the rather good reply 24.Rxe5! (24.Qe4?? Bxc3–+) ] 24.h4 Bd3 25.Qd1 a6 Preparing to get that queenside majority rolling. 26.Ne2 Be5 27.Nc1 Bf5 28.e4 Bg4

board

29.Rxe5? An understandable mistake, but a fatal one: white had to carry on grovelling and hope for some counterplay later. The text decides the issue very quickly. 29...Bxd1! 30.Rxe6 fxe6! 31.Rxd1 Red8 The sting in the tail: my rook is coming in to d2, and the passed pawn will decide matters. 32.Re1 Rd2 33.Bh3 Kf7 34.Ne2 Rxb2 35.Nf4 [35.Nd4 Re8 36.Rc1 b5 may delay things, but black is still going to win.] 35...Rc6 36.a4 g5 [36...c3 37.Nd3 is a cute little fork of the rooks, although I can actually just reply 37...Kg7 and the b2 rook can't be taken.] 37.hxg5 hxg5 38.Ne2 c3 39.Nd4

board

39...c2! A cute little idea to finish, giving up the rook to force the pawn home. 40.Nxc6 Rb1 41.Ne5+ Kg7 0–1

Download this game in PGN format here.