4th PAL-CSS Freestyle Final (playchess.com #078734), 10/21/2006
Round 4 [Dagh Nielsen] [B90]
 My
opponent was an engine on auto, operated by Joseph Soney from the US. We also played in the preliminary,
and besides, we have battled it out in several blitz games in the engine room. In my impression, Joseph
is very adept at finding just the right balance for his book. That is, he does not book too deep based
on dubious engine blitz games, but applys a good feel for just where exactly deep booking is necessary.
Coupled with strong hardware, this makes for an obviously tough opponent.1.e4 [%emt 0:00:08] 1...c5 [%emt 0:00:00] 2.Nf3 [%emt 0:00:03] 2...d6 [%emt 0:00:00] 3.d4 [%emt 0:00:02] 3...cxd4 [%emt 0:00:00] 4.Nxd4 [%emt 0:00:02] 4...Nf6 [%emt 0:00:00] 5.Nc3 [%emt 0:00:02] 5...a6 [%emt 0:00:00] 6.Be3 [%emt 0:00:02] 6...e5 [%emt 0:00:00] 7.Nb3 [%emt 0:00:02] 7...Be7! Exclamation mark for cunning strategy! Standard move order is 7...Be6, and what he had played against me in the preliminary, and also in the second round against Ibermax. Here I had continued with the "engine room system" with h3+Qf3, as did Ibermax. However, this plan is no good after 7...Be7. I had also prepared 8.f3 for this final, but as it turns out, not in enough detail. [%emt 0:00:00] 8.f3 [%emt 0:04:04] 8...Be6 [%emt 0:00:00] 9.Qd2 [%emt 0:00:07] 9...h5 A soft spot in my preparation. The danger when playing against pure engines on strong hardware is that if you do not achieve an edge or a rather straight forward equality out of the opening, you can hardly afford to be significantly down on time. In this regard, I probably have something of a boxer's glass jaw from earlier encounters vs. pure engines, and I probably didn't spend the rational amount of time (=enough) to find a good way to proceed here. [%emt 0: 00:00] 10. 10...Nbd7 [%emt 0:00:00] 11.Nd5 [%emt 0:06:14] 11...Bxd5 [%emt 0:00:00] 12.exd5 [%emt 0:00:13] 12...Qc7 [%emt 0:00:00] 13.Qa5 [%emt 0:04:19] 13...b6 [%emt 0:00:00] 14.Qb4 [%emt 0:06:54] 14... 15.Kb1 [%emt 0:00:17] 15...Rfc8 [%emt 0:01:51] 16.c3 [%emt 0:00:16] 16...b5 [%emt 0:01:09] 17.Na5 [%emt 0:00:15] 17...Nxd5 [%emt 0:01:41] 18.Rxd5 [%emt 0:00:15] 18...Nf6 [%emt 0:01:15] 19.Rd1 [%emt 0:00:31] 19...d5 [%emt 0:00:00] 20.Bb6 [%emt 0:00:09] 20...Qxb6 [%emt 0:00:17] 21.Qxe7 [%emt 0:00:09] 21...Qxa5 [%emt 0:00:19] 22.Qxe5 [%emt 0:00:03] 22...b4 [%emt 0:01:28] 23.cxb4 [%emt 0:00:05] 23...Qxb4 [%emt 0:01:14] 24.Qd4 [%emt 0:00:04] 24...Qd6 This was th e position I had been aiming for, but I had obviously not assessed it correctly. I though white was safe, with prospects of a long term structural advantage. [%emt 0:02:31] 25.Bd3 [%emt 0:14:20] 25...Rab8 [%emt 0:00:00] 26.Rd2 [%emt 0:00:39] 26...Rb4 A move I had not paid enough attention to when pondering the opening stage. While white may not be that much worse, black has a comfortable edge. [%emt 0:05:15] 27.Qf2 [%emt 0:01:17] 27...Rcb8 [%emt 0:03:40] 28.Rc1 This exchange of pawns seemed better to me than allowing black to stabilize his position and gradually build up pressure through a6-a5-a4 etc. [%emt 0:05:26] 28...Qxh2 [%emt 0:01:00] 29.Bxa6 Over the next 20 moves or so, white is trying hard to stay alive through precise, but passive moves. [%emt 0:00:14] 29...Qf4 [%emt 0:00:50] 30.Rdc2 [%emt 0:01:01] 30...g6 [%emt 0:00:10] 31.b3 [%emt 0:00:11] 31...Kg7 [%emt 0:01:00] 32.Qd2 [%emt 0:00:13] 32...Qe5 [%emt 0:00:54] | |
| [32...Rxb3+ 33.axb3 Rxb3+ 34.Ka1 Ra3+ 35.Kb1 Qa4 36.Ra2 Qxa6 37.Rxa3 Qxa3 I was not too concerned about this.] | |
|
33.Re1 [%emt 0:00:32] 33...Qd6 [%emt 0:01:25] 34.Bd3 [%emt 0:01:38] 34...h4 [%emt 0:01:09] 35.Qc3 [%emt 0:00:12] 35...R8b7 [%emt 0:00:58] 36.Kb2 [%emt 0:02:16] 36...Ra4 [%emt 0:01:47] 37.Kb1 [%emt 0:00:11] 37...Qb6 [%emt 0:01:40] 38.Re5 [%emt 0:00:42] 38...Ra5 [%emt 0:01:42] 39.Bf1 [%emt 0:00:40] 39...Rba7 [%emt 0:00:15] 40.Qd2 [%emt 0:00:24] 40...Ra4 [%emt 0:00:51] 41.Qf2 [%emt 0:00:51] 41...Qb4 [%emt 0:01:01] 42.Qd2 [%emt 0:00:19] 42...Qd6 [%emt 0:00:52] 43.Re1 [%emt 0:00:13] 43...Rb7 [%emt 0:00:42] 44.Qc3 [%emt 0:01:12] 44...Rf4 [%emt 0:01:44] 45.Qc5 [%emt 0:02:19] 45...Qb8 White has su cceeded in his initial defensive task. There was a price on the clock, though. [%emt 0:00:00] 46.Qc8 [%emt 0:00:07] 46...Qxc8 [%emt 0:00:51] 47.Rxc8 [%emt 0:00:05] 47...h3 [%emt 0:00:56] 48.gxh3 [%emt 0:00:07] 48...Rxf3 [%emt 0:00:22] 49.Bg2 [%emt 0:00:06] 49...Rg3 [%emt 0:01:00] 50.Rc2 [%emt 0:00:10] 50...Ne4 [%emt 0:00:35] 51.Bxe4 [%emt 0:00:15] 51...Re7 [%emt 0:01:45] 52.b4 A critical moment. Even though 52.b4 may be good enough for a draw, a much simpler alternative was 52.Rce2. When I had planned the sequence leading to here around move 45-46, I failed to spot 51...Re7, but only contemplated the immediate 51...dxe4. My assessment was that this was indeed a dead draw (two rooks on each side), but after 51...Re7 52.Rce2, one pair of rooks gets exchanged, and I began to see ghosts, fearing that my king was too passive etc. This is a clear incident where better chess knowledge might have led to improved performance. [%emt 0:00:20] | |
| [52.Rce2 dxe4 53.Rxe4 Rxe4 54.Rxe4 Rxh3 and white should draw.] | |
|
52...dxe4 [%emt 0:01:39] 53.b5 [%emt 0:00:07] 53...Rb7 [%emt 0:01:15] 54.a4 [%emt 0:00:15] 54...f5 [%emt 0:00:17] 55.h4 [%emt 0:00:08] 55...Ra3 [%emt 0:01:07] 56.Rc4 [%emt 0:02:02] | |
| [56.Ra2!?] | |
|
56...Ra7 [%emt 0:00:38] 57.Kc2 [%emt 0:01:40] | |
| [57.Kb2 R3xa4 58.b6 Ra2+ 59.Kb3 R7a3+ 60.Kb4 Ra6 61.Rc7+ Kf6 62.Rc6+ Ke5 63.Rb1 Ra1 64.Rb3 I had this variation worked out, but chose another way to draw.] | |
|
57...R7xa4 [%emt 0:00:48] 58.Rxa4 [%emt 0:00:00] 58...Rxa4 [%emt 0:00:10] 59.Kc3 [%emt 0:00:02] 59...Ra8 [%emt 0:00:57] 60.b6 [%emt 0:00:15] 60...Kh6 [%emt 0:03:05] 61.Kd4 Probably the decisive mistake, and a bad case of playing an "inspired move-order". [%emt 0:00:09] | |
|
[61.b7 Rb8
62.Rb1 Kh5
63.Kd4 Kxh4
64.Ke3 was the position I strove for,
and I still believe it's a draw, after having analysed it with TBs also. In critical lines, white's
rook gets to harass black's king, for example 64...Kg4 65.Rg1+ Kh3 66.Rh1+ Kg2 67.Rb1 g5 68.Rb5 g4 69.Kf4 g3 70.Rb6 Kh2 71.Rh6+ Kg1 72.Rb6 Kg2 73.Rb2+ with a draw.] | |
|
61...Rd8+ Ooops. White's king is forced
to go on a wrong path. [%emt 0:00:29] 62.Kc5 [%emt 0:01:08] | |
[62.Ke3 Rd3+
63.Kf4 Rf3+
64.Ke5 Rb3 ] | |
|
62...Kh5 [%emt 0:00:27] 63.b7 [%emt 0:00:58] 63...Kxh4 [%emt 0:02:19] 64.Kc6 [%emt 0:00:57] 64...Rb8 [%emt 0:00:25] 65.Kc7 [%emt 0:00:14] 65...Rxb7+ Flying Saucers resigns (Lag: Av=0.51s, max=2.5s) [%emt 0:00:21] 0-1 | |
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