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Annotated Games

mrbishop v. ormong
FICS rated standard game, 2001.05.11
C23: Bishop's Opening

Annotated by David Surratt

[Click here to view the "Annotated_Games" PGN file in Chess Tutor, an interactive chess board.]

[Or download the PGN file to use in your own chess program.]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4

The Bishop's Opening. White eyes Black's weakest square - f7, and prepares rapid castling, while reserving the possibility of f4.

2... c6 3. Nf3 d6

Now it looks more like a Philidor Defense, by transposition.

4. d4 exd4 ?!

Now it doesn't look like anything. Black abandons his strong point in the center (the pawn at e5).  I don't like the looks of ...exd4. Black voluntarily removes his center pawn, and his lack of development (see how quickly Black can get behind?) means he shouldn't open the center, since his king could get stuck there long after White's has castled. Generally speaking, don't open the center (or surrender it to your opponent) if your king hasn't castled yet. My old (1974) copy of ECO gives 4... d5.

5. Qxd4








See how many pieces White has developed? Now count the Black ones. Black's already in trouble.

5... Qf6 ?!

This can't be good, can it? Looks like this allows White to finish the job Black started: opening the center.

6. e5 dxe5  7. Nxe5

Not 7. Qxe5+ which allows Black to solve his most immediate problems by exchanging queens, reducing much of the hidden tension in the position.  7... Qxe5+ 8. Nxe5 Be6  although after  9. Bxe6 fxe6  Black will have that isolated pawn in the center, which looks like a long term weakness.

7... Be6 8. Bxe6 Qxe6 9. O-O Nf6









It almost looks like Black has solved most of his problems, doesn't it? The difference is that he's still at least two moves away from castling, while White is ready to start offensive operations, since his king is safely tucked away.

10. Bg5 Be7 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Rad1

I prefer 12. Rfe1 which threatens the discovered attack on the queen, and the skewer-type pressure against the bishop on e7.  Just keep making threats, that's called the initiative. You force your opponent to play your game, and respond to your moves. It's like the old expression: the best defense is a good offense! Keep Black so busy defending, he doesn't have time to attack you.

12... h6

12... Nbd7 ?? This natural looking move is a huge mistake: 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. Bxe7 +- (14. Rfe1 also works).

13. Bh4 Rd8

Black is still playing without his q-rook & q-knight.

14. Qe3 Nd5

The biggest problem with this move is that it does nothing to further Black's development. If he's going to have any hope in this game, he has to get the rest of his pieces into the fight.









White now 'blunders'. At least, he thought so at the time, since he had overlooked the fact that his queen was en prise. What he has to say is instructive:
"This is definitely my favorite game, but not because of the apparent Queen sac, but because after I thought I had thrown the game away, I kept a cool head and realized that because of my superior development I still had some chances. And was able to capitalize on them."

15. Bxe7!

The psychological value of this move should not be underestimated: Players often seem to become disoriented on the board when faced with a sacrificial continuation, and in direct proportion to the value of the piece sac'd.
[15. Nxd5 Rxd5 Fritz sees both 16.Rxd5 and 16.Bxe7 as almost a full pawn in White's favor.]

15... Nxe3 16. Rxd8+ Kh7 17. fxe3 Qxe7

17... Qxe5 18. Bd6 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Qb6 20. Rxb8 Rxb8 21. Bxb8 Qxb2 22. Nd1 Qxa2 Now Black has a queen & 3 pawns for a rook, bishop & knight. Interesting position, one I'm not familiar with.   Observations on this position & plans for either side? White has to eliminate the back-rank mate threat right away, so as to free up the rook. It looks like Black will wind up with a pair of connected passed q-side pawns, but can they be advanced?

18. Nxf7 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1









19... Qb6

An abysmal move, removing the queen from the scene of the action.  19... b5! 20. Rh8+ (20. h4 Threatening h5, removing Black's escape square, but the pawn dies after either 20... Qg3 or 20... Qe7) 20... Kg6 21. Nd6 And White will soon bring the c3-knight into the game with Nc3-e4.

20. Rh8+ Kg6 21. Ne5+ Kh5 22. Rf5+ Kh4 23. g3+ Kh3 24. Rh5#

1-0

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