February 11, 1999
Game One
White: David Hemstreet
Black: Ty Davison
Opening: B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Modern V with Bc4
E-mail, Game 1, 1998
Ty: Why the Sicilian defense? And why specifically the Accelerated Dragon variation? Well, three reasons: First, I've never played the Sicilian and I wanted to see what it was all about. Second, "the Dragon" is a really cool name for a variation. Third, what are the odds that Dave is well-versed in an obscure line like the Accelerated Dragon?
Dave: The secrets of my arsenal are well-protected.
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 g6
5. Bc4 Bg7
6. Be3 Nf6
Ty: With one transposition we complete the mainline of the Accelerated Dragon. I thought that the Dragon might cause problems for Dave since he'd not seen it before. At least in terms of the opening itself, it didn't appear to cause him any problems at all: he played this perfectly.
Dave: The Knights seemed to find pretty logical squares on their own, but it took some thought as to where to place the Bishops. I placed one on c4 to put pressure on the Black King, and the other on e3 to protect the Knight on d4.
7. Nc3 Qa5
Ty: According to MCO-13, 7. ... Qa5 forces White to castle kingside (because "(A) 8. Qd2? Nxe4! 9. Nxc6 Qxc3; (B) 8. Nb3? Qb4 9. Bd3 Nxe4!; (C) 8. f3?! Qb4 9. Bb3? (9. Nxc6 bxc6) 9. ... Nxe4 10. Nxc6 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxc3 12. Ke2 dxc6 13. Bd4 e5!"). This is important because White's best plan of attack against the Dragon is usually "the Yugoslav Attack," a queenside castle and a kingside pawn storm.
8. 0-0 0-0
Dave: Since the Knight protecting the pawn on e4 was pinned, I needed to either un-pin him or bring the Queen out to protect e4. I decided on un-pinning, because of the cardinal rules "don't bring your Queen out too early" and "castle early." Also, my Queen would not really do me much good all cramped up between all my other pieces.
Ty: It was here that I looked out on the board and became very unhappy with the Dragon as a defense. My central pawns are closed down, and despite the neat-o fianchettoed Bishop, I'd really rather have good pawn structure and mobility.
Be that as it may, where can Black start to attacking and what developmental tasks are left? First and most obviously, the pawns need to be advanced. Yes, carefully, I grant you. The Dragon screws up the central pawns to begin with (because advancement blocks the diagonals which the Bishops need). Best available moves are: 9. ... a6 which takes away the b5 square and levers the b-pawn for attack against the Bishop; 9. ... d6 which opens the diagonal for the Bishop and contests the e5 square.
9. Qf3?
Dave: A quick glance at the board told me that I should attack on the right. I have more space there, and Black's Queen sits on the left.
Ty: Not terrible, but White weakens his d4 Knight and allows a Bishop-Queen fork via 9. ... Ne5!
Dave: "Terrible" may not be too harsh a word. This was a very optimistic and premature attack on a still very well guarded king. My plan was to get my Queen on g3, and place my Knight on f5, hoping black would take it with his pawn, otherwise, I would take his Bishop with the Knight. If Black took with King, I would move Qh3, Bh6+, then I win the Rook.
Ty: True, though this line seems pretty optimistic to me.
Dave: If Black takes Knight with pawn, Qg3, pinning the Bishop, then Bh6, then Qxg6++.
Ty: It appears Black can play Ng4 as an adequate solution to this line.
Dave: Yes, I totally missed that. "Terrible" is not such an unfounded remark, and I dutifully accept it.
Ty: Okay, you've convinced me.
9. ... d6?!
Ty: Conveniently for White, I miss forking his Bishop and Queen with 9. ... Ne5!. Sure, White could've (should've, would've) responded with 10. Qe2, but taking out the Bishop bearing down on my King still would've been a good trade for me since moving a6 not only protects me from Knight problems but also becomes a lever for the b-pawn to attack the Queen and win a tempo. As is, 9. d6 isn't a blunder (as it opens the diagonal for the Bishop), just that it's not the best move available.
10. R(f)d1 Ne5
11. Qe2 Bg4?!
Ty: The merits of this attack are questionable. Obviously at the time I thought it was worth a tempo to break White's pawn wall in front of the King. In hindsight, I'm not so sure. Black was probably better off with 11. ... Nxc4 12. Qxc4 Bg4 13. f3 R(a)c8.
12. f3 R(a)c8
Dave: I totally screwed up by placing the Queen and Rook on the same diagonal. f3 was the only way I found to save the Rook, and it will cost me the structure of my King's protected nest. I see 12. ... Bxf3 13. gxf3 and my King is totally exposed.
Ty: As happy a thought as King exposure is, the problem with 12. ...Bxf3 is that Black has no means to exploit the opening.
13. Bb3 Bd7
14. Nd5 Nxd5
15. Bxd5 Bc6
16. c4 Bxd5
17. cxd5
Ty: This was an interesting trade. White gets a deep pawn in a protected position, but Black gains the now-open c-file. And heck, my central pawns are so messed up they can't go anywhere anyway.
Dave: Interesting, indeed. In hindsight, it seems like I put too much stock in having that advanced pawn. Opening up the c file gave black a lot of power.
17. ... a6
Ty: Crucial to locking White's Knight into place and ruining the b5-square for White's Queen. This frees my Queen for more active duty.
18. f4 Nc4
19. Bc1
Dave: I think a better move here would have been Bf2. I was trying to protect the b2 pawn, but now I see that my queen was already covering that square. This move also would have prevented the all too close combo that Ty thankfully did not exploit.
19. ...Rc7
20. b3 Qc3?
Ty: I blew a marvelous potentially-game-winning combination here. It should've gone 20. ... Bxd4+ 21. Rxd4 Qc3.
21. Nc2 Qa5
22. bxc4 Bxa1
23. Nxa1 R(f)c8
Ty: After missing that combo, this is the best of a bad situation. I'm not worried about the material points (which I can make up by eating a couple of pawns) and I've got my Rooks doubled on the c-file. Now if I can just stop thinking about what should've been.
24. f5 Rxc4
Dave: Trying to get Black to move the g6 pawn. If Black doesn't and takes c4 instead, I move Bh6. I can then try Qb2 for a win with Qg7, or attack the b7 pawn.
25. Bh6 Qa4
26. Nb3 Rc2
27. Qf3 Qxa2
28. fxg6 hxg6
29. Rf1!
Ty: A very nice attack; Black's left his King too isolated.
29. ... f6
30. Nd4 R2c4
31. Qg4 Kf7
32. Qe6+ Ke8
Dave: The attack was well defended and and if the game extends into an endgame, White is in danger of checkmate with Ty's Queen and Rook positioned so nicely. In this position, I can chase the King around a bit collecting pawns or Black will go for a draw by alternating checks between Ke8, Kd7, or Kd8, which at this point, I thought I would be happy to accept. In hindsight, look at what else could have happened: 33. Nc6 R4xc6 34. Qg8+! Kd7 35. dxc6+ ... 36. Qxa2!
Ty: This is a terrific find, and something I'm very glad we both missed during the game. I don't know if I would've fallen into this line to the point of losing my Queen, but I might have, and at minimum, Dave would be up a Bishop heading into the endgame.
33. Qg8+ Kd7
34. Qe6+ Draw offered and accepted.
1/2 - 1/2
Ty: Black need only play 34. ... Kd8 and White's attack loses a lot of its potency. There are still attacking chances for both sides (in fact, I think Black's a- and b-file pawns are probably the key to victory in a protracted endgame), but so far as I was concerned, this draw came just in time. External events (i.e. the dreadful end of a soccer season) had dealt me a terrible psychological blow, and as a competitor, my fighting spirit had been reduced to that of a jello mold. In summary, I think we both played the Accelerated Dragon opening superbly, then had a bit of a muddled middle game. After such very good set up work, it was unfortunate that neither Dave nor I could capitalize on our efforts, but this was a useful exploration of the Accelerated Dragon nonetheless.
Dave: Yes, quite muddled. This game was very exciting to me, nonetheless, because I was consistently only several moves away from victory (in my mind, at least!) and the adrenaline was flowing quite well.
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