C01 French: Exchange Variation (1.e4 d6 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 h6)

This is from a team match called Welcome Match and it is played between Lutheran Chess Players and Life Is Chess. The match is played on six boards and I am playing on board 4 for Life Is Chess. As the current score in the match is 9,5 - 1,5 in favor of Lutheran Chess Players, they have already secured the win and only one game remains in the match and it is my other game against VincentUSA. Six of our losses came from timeouts, so those were unfortunately the deciding factor in the outcome. No matter what happens in my last game, I have already gathered more points for our team than five other players on their boards which is quite sad.

The game below is my 600th analysed chess game that I have published in this blog!! It is nice to celebrate this milestone with a win but had it been one of the other two possible results, I would have still posted it now. I am happy of the fact that I saw that I can reroute my knight from the queenside to the kingside attack without allowing my opponent all that much counterplay and I had seen the knight sacrifice on h6 before I started maneuvering the knight. Well, it was not a real sacrifice I guess because the knight can't be taken without being mated. I have added one mate in one and four mate in twos today. Until next time, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

The name of the post was changed from C00 Rat Defense: Small Center Defense to C01 French Exchange Variation (1.e4 d6 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 h6) on September 4th, 2019, since that is how Fritz 16 classifies the opening played in the game. However, I think the name is now misleading, due to the fact that this really does not seem to be the exchange variation... I am not sure why Fritz 16 classifies it like this, maybe there has been a mistake when adding the name for the position after 3...h6.

[Event "Welcome Match - Board 4"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.10.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "VincentUSA"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1837"] [BlackElo "1684"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s)"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 (1. d4 e6 (1... d6 2. Nf3 h6 3. e4 {1/2-1/2 (15) Janssen,L (2118)-Van Houten,H (1768) Bad Sooden 2002}) 2. Nf3 d6 {1-0 (24) Zrilic,B (1949)-Bahtovic, D (2000) Rijeka 2014}) 1... d6 (1... e6 2. d4 {1/2-1/2 (32) Doric,N (2343) -Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014}) 2. d4 e6 {C00 Rat Defense: Small Center Defense} 3. Nf3 h6 {C01 French: Exchange Variation} 4. c4 Be7 ( 4... c5 5. dxc5 dxc5 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Bf4 f6 9. O-O-O e5 10. Be3 b6 11. Be2 g5 12. Rd2 Rh7 13. Rhd1 Ne7 14. Rd6 Ng8 15. R6d2 Ne7 16. Ne1 Nc6 17. Bg4 Nd4 18. Nd5 Be7 19. g3 {Doric,N (2343)-Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014 1/2-1/2 (32)}) (4... g5 5. Be3 Bg7 6. Nc3 c6 7. Be2 Nd7 8. Qc2 e5 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Bc5 Ne7 13. Bd6 Qb6 14. Qd3 Bf6 15. g3 O-O 16. f4 Rd8 17. f5 Qd4 18. Qf3 Qb6 19. Kb1 {Zrilic,B (1949)-Bahtovic, D (2000) Rijeka 2014 1-0}) 5. Nc3 c6 $146 {1.69/19} (5... Bf6 $16 {0.82/22}) ( 5... Nf6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O b6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Bb7 10. Rad1 c6 11. e5 Ne8 12. Bf4 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qc1 g5 15. Be3 f5 16. h4 f4 17. Bd2 Ng7 18. Qc2 Qe8 19. Bd3 Kh8 20. Bg6 {Srdanovic,J-Mindoljevic,T Omis 2003 1-0 (63)}) (5... a6 6. Be3 Bd7 7. Be2 c5 8. dxc5 dxc5 9. Qc2 Nf6 10. Ne5 O-O 11. Bf4 Nc6 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Rd1 Nd4 14. Qd3 Qc6 15. O-O {1/2-1/2 (15) Janssen,L (2118)-Van Houten,H (1768) Bad Sooden 2002}) 6. Be2 {1.15/21} (6. Bd3 $18 {1.69/19}) 6... Nd7 7. O-O {1.03/20} (7. Bf4 $142 {1.51/18}) 7... Ngf6 {1.63/19} (7... Qc7 $16 { 1.03/20 was called for.}) 8. h3 {1.00/21} ({White should try} 8. e5 $18 { 1.63/19}) 8... O-O {1.42/19} (8... Qc7 $142 {1.00/21}) 9. Bf4 {0.95/22} ({ Better is} 9. Qd3 {1.42/19}) 9... Nh7 {1.70/19} (9... e5 $16 {0.95/22}) 10. Qd2 {0.80/22} (10. e5 $18 {1.70/19}) 10... Ndf6 {2.18/20} (10... e5 $16 {0.80/22}) 11. Rad1 Kh8 {2.73/20} (11... Ne8 $16 {1.50/22} 12. Qe3 Bd7) 12. Qc2 Qc7 { 3.08/21} (12... Ne8 $142 {1.87/21} 13. Rfe1 Ng5) 13. e5 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Qb6 15. Bf3 Nd7 16. Ng4 {1.19/22} (16. a3 $18 {2.78/19 has better winning chances.}) 16... a5 $2 {2.87/20} (16... Ng5 $16 {1.19/22 was worth a try.}) 17. Rfe1 Qa7 { 3.34/19} (17... Ng5 $142 {2.21/23} 18. Be2 f5) 18. d5 $18 cxd5 19. cxd5 Nhf6 $2 {6.83/19} (19... e5 {3.66/24} 20. Nxe5 Bg5) 20. dxe6 fxe6 {[#]} 21. Bd6 $2 { 2.40/25} (21. Nxh6 $1 {7.31/20} e5 (21... gxh6 22. Qg6) 22. Qg6) 21... Bxd6 22. Rxd6 Nxg4 23. Bxg4 Nf6 $2 {3.41/21} (23... Qc5 {1.90/22} 24. Rdxe6 Nb6) 24. Bxe6 {1.44/22} (24. Nb5 $18 {3.41/21 is the precise move to win.} Qb8 25. Red1 (25. Bxe6 Ra6 $16)) 24... Bxe6 25. Rdxe6 {Hoping for Nb5.} b6 $2 {3.29/22} ( 25... Qd4 $16 {1.48/24 might work better.} 26. Nb5 Qf4) 26. Re7 Qa6 $2 {8.27/20 } (26... Qb8 {3.12/28} 27. Qg6 Rg8) 27. Qg6 Rg8 28. R1e6 {Rxf6 would kill now.} Raf8 29. Ne2 $2 {2.58/23} (29. Rxg7 $2 Rxg7 30. Qxh6+ Nh7 $19) (29. Rc7 { 7.48/21}) 29... Qb5 $2 {6.35/20} (29... Qc4 {2.58/23} 30. Rxb6 Re8) 30. b3 $2 { 2.00/25} (30. Rxg7 $2 Rxg7 31. Qxh6+ Nh7 $19) (30. Nf4 {6.35/20} Qg5 31. Qxg5 hxg5 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Nxf8+ Rxf8 34. Rb7) 30... a4 $2 {6.96/22} (30... Re8 { 2.00/25} 31. Nf4 Rxe7 32. Rxe7 Qc5) 31. Nd4 $2 $40 {2.58/26 White wants a kill. } (31. Nf4 {6.96/22} Qg5 32. Qxg5 hxg5 33. Ng6+ Kh7 34. Nxf8+ Rxf8 35. bxa4) 31... Qb4 {4.09/19} (31... Qh5 $142 {2.58/26} 32. Qxh5 Nxh5 33. Rxb6 (33. bxa4 Nf4 $18) 33... axb3 34. axb3 (34. Rxb3 Rd8 $18) 34... Rb8) 32. Nf5 axb3 $2 { #5/24} (32... Qd2 $18 {3.83/23} 33. g3 (33. Rxg7 Qc1+ 34. Kh2 Qf4+ 35. g3 Qxf2+ 36. Kh1 Qf1+ 37. Kh2 Qf2+ 38. Kh1 Qf1+ 39. Kh2 Qf2+ $11) (33. bxa4 Nd5 $16) 33... Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Qg5) 33. axb3 {4.22/24} (33. Rxg7 $142 {#5/24} Qf4 34. Rxg8+ Rxg8 35. Qxf6+ Kh7 36. Qxh6+ Qxh6 37. Rxh6#) 33... Qxb3 {9.51/24 [#]} (33... Qd2 $142 {4.22/24} 34. Nd6 (34. Rxg7 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Qf4+ 36. g3 Qxf2+ 37. Kh1 Qf1+ 38. Kh2 Qf2+ 39. Kh1 Qf1+ 40. Kh2 Qf2+ $11) 34... Qd1+ 35. Kh2 Qd4) 34. Nxh6 $1 Re8 (34... gxh6 35. Qxh6+) 35. Nf7# {Accuracy: White = 19%, Black = 15%.} 1-0 [Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?"] [Date "2014.09.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "kyngpympyn"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1692"] [BlackElo "1603"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. Nf3 (1. e4 d6 (1... e6 2. d4 {1/2-1/2 (32) Doric,N (2343)-Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014}) 2. d4 e6 {1-0 (63) Srdanovic,J-Mindoljevic,T Omis 2003}) (1. d4 e6 (1... d6 2. Nf3 h6 3. e4 {1/2-1/2 (15) Janssen,L (2118) -Van Houten,H (1768) Bad Sooden 2002}) 2. Nf3 d6 {1-0 (24) Zrilic,B (1949) -Bahtovic,D (2000) Rijeka 2014}) 1... d6 {A04 Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation} 2. e4 e6 3. d4 h6 {C01 French: Exchange Variation} 4. c4 Be7 (4... c5 5. dxc5 dxc5 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Bf4 f6 9. O-O-O e5 10. Be3 b6 11. Be2 g5 12. Rd2 Rh7 13. Rhd1 Ne7 14. Rd6 Ng8 15. R6d2 Ne7 16. Ne1 Nc6 17. Bg4 Nd4 18. Nd5 Be7 19. g3 {Doric,N (2343)-Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014 1/2-1/2 (32)}) (4... g5 5. Be3 Bg7 6. Nc3 c6 7. Be2 Nd7 8. Qc2 e5 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Bc5 Ne7 13. Bd6 Qb6 14. Qd3 Bf6 15. g3 O-O 16. f4 Rd8 17. f5 Qd4 18. Qf3 Qb6 19. Kb1 {Zrilic,B (1949)-Bahtovic, D (2000) Rijeka 2014 1-0}) 5. Nc3 Nd7 $146 {1.57/19} (5... c5 $142 {0.83/20}) ( 5... Nf6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O b6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Bb7 10. Rad1 c6 11. e5 Ne8 12. Bf4 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qc1 g5 15. Be3 f5 16. h4 f4 17. Bd2 Ng7 18. Qc2 Qe8 19. Bd3 Kh8 20. Bg6 {Srdanovic,J-Mindoljevic,T Omis 2003 1-0 (63)}) (5... a6 6. Be3 Bd7 7. Be2 c5 8. dxc5 dxc5 9. Qc2 Nf6 10. Ne5 O-O 11. Bf4 Nc6 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Rd1 Nd4 14. Qd3 Qc6 15. O-O {1/2-1/2 (15) Janssen,L (2118)-Van Houten,H (1768) Bad Sooden 2002}) 6. Bd3 {0.82/21} ({White should try} 6. Bf4 {1.57/19}) 6... Nf8 $2 {2.62/20} (6... Bf6 $16 {0.82/21 was necessary.}) 7. O-O {1.41/20} (7. Qe2 $18 {2.62/20}) 7... Nh7 {2.81/18} (7... Nd7 $16 {1.41/20} 8. e5 dxe5) 8. Be3 {White has a decisive advantage.} Bf8 {3.54/17} (8... Ng5 $142 {2.06/20} 9. Nxg5 hxg5) 9. e5 $18 f5 $2 {6.07/18} (9... Be7 {3.12/20} 10. Qc2 Nf8) 10. exf6 Qxf6 11. Qc2 Ng5 12. Nxg5 hxg5 13. Bg6+ {2.72/21} (13. f4 $142 {4.81/20} Qh6 14. g3) 13... Kd8 14. f4 {1.43/23} (14. Bd3 $18 {2.95/20}) 14... g4 $2 { 7.27/22} (14... Ne7 $16 {1.43/23}) 15. Bd3 $2 {1.46/24} (15. f5 $1 $18 { 7.27/22 and the rest is easy.}) 15... Bd7 $2 {3.61/19} (15... Qh6 $16 {1.46/24} ) 16. Qd2 $2 {0.93/22} (16. f5 $18 {3.61/19 has better winning chances.} e5 17. g3) 16... Ne7 17. g3 Bc6 $2 {4.54/20} (17... Qf7 $16 {1.01/22}) 18. Be2 $2 { 0.37/22} (18. f5 $1 $18 {4.54/20}) 18... Qg6 {1.32/22} (18... Nf5 $1 $14 { 0.37/22}) 19. Qd1 $2 {-1.36/21} (19. Rac1 $16 {1.32/22 keeps the pressure on.}) 19... Nf5 {-0.51/24} ({Better is} 19... Rxh2 $1 $17 {-1.36/21 ( -> ...Rg2+)} 20. d5 (20. Kxh2 Qh5+ 21. Kg1 Qh3 $17) 20... Qh7 21. Bxg4 (21. dxc6 Qh3 22. Qxd6+ cxd6 23. Bb6+ Ke8 24. Bf3 Qxg3+ 25. Bg2 Qxg2#) 21... exd5 22. cxd5 Bd7) 20. Bf2 $1 $15 Qh7 $4 {1.78/23} (20... Rxh2 $1 $17 {-1.03/24 and life is bright.} 21. d5 Rh6) 21. h4 $18 gxh3 $2 {2.03/19} (21... Be7 $1 $11 {0.18/21 and Black has nothing to worry.} 22. Bxg4 Rb8) 22. Kh2 {0.88/22} (22. d5 $18 { 2.03/19}) 22... Bg2 {1.54/20} ({Black should play} 22... d5 {0.88/22}) 23. Re1 {White has strong compensation.} Qg8 {2.11/20} (23... g5 $1 $16 {1.18/22 might work better.}) 24. Bg4 c6 $2 {5.36/18} (24... g5 {2.20/24 is more resistant.}) 25. Qe2 {[#] Bxf5 is the strong threat.} ({Less strong is} 25. Bxf5 exf5 26. d5 Qf7 $16) 25... Kd7 $2 {5.53/20} (25... g6 {3.32/21 keeps fighting.} 26. d5 (26. Qxe6 Qxe6 27. Rxe6 Nh6 $18) 26... Kc7 27. Qxe6 Qxe6 28. Rxe6 Nh6 29. Rxg6 Nxg4+ 30. Rxg4 Re8) 26. Rad1 g6 27. Ne4 $2 {1.60/21} (27. d5 $1 $18 {4.18/18}) 27... Be7 $2 {3.78/19} (27... Bxe4 $16 {1.60/21} 28. Qxe4 d5 29. cxd5 cxd5) 28. d5 $1 cxd5 $2 {6.72/18} (28... Kc7 {3.77/21} 29. dxc6 bxc6) 29. cxd5 a6 30. dxe6+ Ke8 31. Bxf5 gxf5 32. Nxd6+ Bxd6 33. Rxd6 Be4 34. Qc4 {[#] Qc7 would kill now.} Qg4 35. Qc3 {8.16/23} (35. Qc7 $142 {#6/19} Qh5 36. Red1 Bd3 37. R1xd3 Kf8 38. Rd8+ Rxd8 39. Rxd8+ Qe8 40. Qf7#) 35... Rh6 36. Qc7 {White mates.} Rf6 37. Qd7+ Kf8 38. e7+ Kg8 39. Rxf6 Qh5 40. Qe6+ Kg7 41. Bd4 Kh7 42. Rf7+ {Accuracy: White = 32%, Black = 8%.} 1-0 [Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?"] [Date "2014.12.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "enoiw"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1705"] [BlackElo "1336"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. Nf3 (1. e4 d6 (1... e6 2. d4 {1/2-1/2 (32) Doric,N (2343)-Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014}) 2. d4 e6 {1/2-1/2 (50) Makhtienko, A-Shevkoplias,S Odessa 2008}) 1... d6 {A04 Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation} 2. d4 e6 3. e4 h6 {C01 French: Exchange Variation} 4. c4 a6 (4... b6 5. Nc3 { 1/2-1/2 (50) Makhtienko,A-Shevkoplias,S Odessa 2008}) (4... c5 5. dxc5 dxc5 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Bf4 f6 9. O-O-O e5 10. Be3 b6 11. Be2 g5 12. Rd2 Rh7 13. Rhd1 Ne7 14. Rd6 Ng8 15. R6d2 Ne7 16. Ne1 Nc6 17. Bg4 Nd4 18. Nd5 Be7 19. g3 {Doric,N (2343)-Stanisavljevic,M (2195) Kassel Kambelovac 2014 1/2-1/2 (32)} ) 5. Nc3 b6 {1.64/17} (5... Nd7 $16 {0.82/21}) (5... Ne7 6. Be2 Nd7 7. O-O { 0-1 (44) Novak,J (1365)-Tyburec,Z (1638) Karvina 2015}) 6. Be2 $146 {1.11/21} ( 6. Bd3 $18 {1.64/17}) (6. b3 g6 7. Bd3 Bg7 8. Bb2 Ne7 9. O-O Bb7 10. Re1 O-O 11. d5 e5 12. h3 Bc8 13. Nh2 Kh7 14. Qd2 Ng8 15. Ne2 Qg5 16. Qxg5 hxg5 17. Bc1 f6 18. f3 Bh6 19. Rf1 Kg7 20. Be3 f5 {Makhtienko,A-Shevkoplias,S Odessa 2008 1/ 2-1/2 (50)}) 6... Nd7 {1.53/18} (6... Nf6 $142 {1.11/21}) 7. O-O {0.94/20} (7. Be3 $142 {1.53/18}) 7... Bb7 {1.61/19} (7... Ne7 $16 {0.94/20} 8. Bf4 g5 9. Bg3 Ng6 10. a4 h5 11. h3 Bb7 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. f4 g4 14. h4 Qd7 15. f5 exf5 16. Rxf5 Bg7 17. b4 Nxe4 18. Ndxe4 Qxf5 19. Qd3 O-O 20. Rf1 Qd7 21. Nf6+ Bxf6 22. Rxf6 Qe7 {Novak,J (1365)-Tyburec,Z (1638) Karvina 2015 0-1 (44)}) 8. Bf4 {0.64/22} ( 8. Qc2 $18 {1.61/19}) 8... Be7 {1.68/19} (8... g5 $14 {0.64/22} 9. Be3 Bg7) 9. Qd2 {0.76/21} (9. Qd3 $18 {1.68/19}) 9... g5 {1.46/20} (9... Ngf6 $142 {0.76/21 }) 10. Be3 $16 Ngf6 {1.87/16} (10... Bf6 $16 {1.29/21}) 11. e5 $2 {-0.94/20 [#] } (11. Qc2 $18 {1.87/16}) 11... Ng8 $2 {1.53/19} (11... dxe5 $17 {-0.94/20 stays on course.} 12. dxe5 (12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Qxd2 $15) 12... Ng4) 12. exd6 cxd6 {2.46/19} (12... Bxd6 $16 {1.41/17} 13. d5 Ngf6) 13. Qd3 {1.25/21} ( 13. d5 $18 {2.46/19}) 13... Ngf6 14. Nd2 {0.84/19} (14. d5 $18 {2.01/18}) 14... Rg8 {2.02/17} (14... d5 $16 {0.84/19 keeps fighting.}) 15. Bf3 {1.14/21} (15. Nde4 $18 {2.02/17}) 15... Qc8 {1.90/17} (15... Qc7 $16 {1.14/21}) 16. Bxb7 { 1.17/19} ({White should try} 16. Rac1 $18 {1.90/17}) 16... Qxb7 17. Rac1 { 0.75/19} (17. Qe2 $142 {1.58/19}) 17... Ng4 {2.04/19} (17... d5 $16 {0.75/19 was necessary.}) 18. Qh7 $4 {-3.04/21 [#]} (18. Qe2 $18 {2.04/19 and life is good for White.} Ngf6 19. d5) 18... Ndf6 $2 {1.25/18} (18... Rg6 $1 $19 { -3.04/21 aiming for ...Ndf6.} 19. Qh8+ Nf8) 19. Qd3 Nh5 {1.53/18} ({Better is} 19... h5 {0.93/20}) 20. d5 {0.74/18} (20. Ne2 $142 {1.53/18}) 20... e5 {1.93/20 } (20... Nf4 $16 {0.74/18} 21. Bxf4 gxf4) 21. Qe2 {0.43/19} (21. b3 $18 { 1.93/20}) 21... Qc8 $2 {2.66/19} (21... f5 $14 {0.43/19}) 22. Bxb6 Nf4 23. Qf3 h5 $2 {4.89/17} (23... Nf6 {2.19/21} 24. c5 g4) 24. b3 {2.39/20} (24. c5 $142 $1 {4.89/17}) 24... f5 {3.40/18} (24... Nf6 {2.39/20 might work better.} 25. Be3 Kf8) 25. g3 $2 {1.10/20} (25. c5 $18 {3.40/18 and White stays clearly on top.}) 25... Nh3+ $2 {3.56/18} (25... Rb8 $16 {1.10/20}) 26. Kg2 $18 Nf4+ $2 { 6.88/20} (26... Rb8 {3.52/21} 27. c5 (27. Kxh3 e4 $16) 27... dxc5) 27. gxf4 gxf4 28. Kh1 Rb8 29. Na4 Bg5 30. c5 dxc5 31. Rxc5 Qd7 32. Qc3 e4 33. Rc7 Qd6 { 8.29/21} (33... Qxd5 $142 {4.89/20} 34. Rc5 Qe6) 34. Qc6+ Qxc6 35. dxc6 e3 36. fxe3 Nxe3 37. Re1 Rd8 38. Nf3 h4 39. Rb7 Rc8 40. c7 Kd7 41. Ne5+ Ke6 42. Nc4 Kf6 43. Nd6 Ra8 44. Rc1 Nd5 45. c8=Q Raxc8 46. Rxc8 Rxc8 47. Nxc8 f3 48. Bd4+ Kg6 49. Kg1 Nf4 50. Kf2 Nh3+ 51. Kxf3 f4 52. Nc5 Ng1+ 53. Bxg1 {White mates.} Kf5 54. Nxa6 Bf6 55. Ne7+ Ke6 56. Nc5+ Kd6 57. Rd7+ Ke5 58. Rd5# {Accuracy: White = 23%, Black = 6%.} 1-0