D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 sidelines (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.Qa4+ Nd7)

The game you are about to see was played in a team match called "A Live Wire Static Thematic". This thematic match is played on 14 boards between LIVE WIRE and The Night's Watch at Castle Black. I am playing on board 4 for The Night's Watch at Castle Black. The current score in the match is 15.5 - 9.5 in favor of LIVE WIRE. We have lost four games on time, which is too much, especially in a small team match such as this. LIVE WIRE has lost two games on time and the difference of even those two timeout losses is the matter of winning or losing this match, which is quite disappointing. This game does not have the usual reference games because the game started from Black's second move.

If I were to play this game again, I would probably play 4.Nc3 instead of 4.Qa4+. It is actually not so bad of a move, but I do not really like the way that the game continued after that. There are also other moves later on that I would not play now. The next move I would like to change is my 7th move, instead of e4 I would prefer to play Bg5. After the bishop is out of the pawn chain, I would continue with the plan e3, followed by either Be2 or Bd3, depending on what my opponent does and then castle short. I think that way of playing would have saved me from some of the trouble I faced in this game. In the game, my dark-squared bishop was not an active piece. It would have been much better posted on g5 earlier in the game. Not only was my bishop badly placed on b2, but my queen did not find a good square either and I had to move it a lot of times during the first 15 moves. Playing my queen to g4 on move 15 was asking for trouble as the queen seems to be low on squares. I had a plan of taking on g6 with my bishop after I had played 17.e5, but for some reason I was a bit afraid to do that after 17...Bb7 because after 18.Bxg6 I thought that my opponent would play Bxf3 and after I take back with the pawn, Iacopo could play Rg8. I missed a very important in-between move that would have made the line work. After 18.Bxg6 Bxf3, I could play 19.Bxf7+ and it would be an easy win after that. I know that I should look these kind of moves, but I am maybe a bit too lazy to go deep enough in the different possibilities. I may rely too much on my intuition, even though I know it is more often than not wrong and I would find much better moves if I just spent more time thinking about the moves. I think that the continuation starting with Bxg6 was my best and only chance during this game to take the full point.

My idea of Ne4 to c5 was not as good as I had thought, after 19...Bxc5, I end up with a backward pawn on d4 because I did not want to play dxc5 in view of Ndf4. I did end playing the losing move soon after that on move 21. I was too protective of my bishop and did not consider that Ne2+ in reply to my move Bc2 would be so strong. I shoud have, of course, just defended the bishop with Rfd1 and I would have been in an okay position.

[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Iacopo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D21"] [WhiteElo "1857"] [BlackElo "1859"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 2... e6 3. Nf3 dxc4 {Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation} 4. Qa4+ { White forks: c4} (4. e3 Nf6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 {Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation}) (4. Nc3 Nf6 {Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation}) (4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ {Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Modern Sharp Variation}) 4... Nd7 {D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 sidelines} 5. Qxc4 (5. Nc3 a6 {=}) 5... Ngf6 6. Nc3 a6 { Prevents intrusion on b5} 7. e4 {Black has a cramped position. Black's piece can't move: c8} b5 {Black threatens to win material: b5xc4} 8. Qd3 h6 { Consolidates g5} (8... Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 Bxd5 11. Be2 {=/+}) 9. a3 { Black has a cramped position} (9. e5 Ng8 {+/=}) 9... Bb7 (9... c5 10. e5 c4 11. Qc2 {=}) 10. b4 {+/= White has a very active position} Be7 {White has an active position} 11. Bb2 (11. Qc2 O-O {=}) 11... Nb6 12. Qe3 Ng4 {Black threatens to win material: Ng4xe3} (12... O-O {=}) 13. Qf4 {+/= White prepares the advance e5. White threatens to win material: Qf4xg4} Nf6 14. Bd3 {White has an active position} Nh5 {Black threatens to win material: Nh5xf4} 15. Qg4 g6 16. O-O {White has an active position} (16. Rd1 {+/-}) 16... Bc8 $2 (16... Nd7 17. g3 {+/=}) 17. e5 {White has a new backward pawn: d4. Black has a cramped position} (17. Ne5 $5 Nf6 18. Qg3 Nh5 {+-}) 17... Bb7 (17... Ng7 18. Nd2 {+/=}) 18. Ne4 {White has an active position} (18. Bxg6 fxg6 19. Qxg6+ Kd7 20. Qxh5 Qe8 {+/-}) 18... Nd5 (18... Ng7 19. Rfd1 {=}) 19. Nc5 (19. Rfe1 $5 { +/-}) 19... Bxc5 {=} 20. bxc5 {White has the pair of bishops} Ndf4 {Black threatens to win material: Nf4xd3} 21. Bc2 $4 {allows the opponent back into the game} (21. Rfd1 {= would keep White in the game}) 21... Ne2+ {+/-} 22. Kh1 Nhf4 23. h4 h5 24. Qg5 Qxg5 25. hxg5 h4 26. Rfe1 (26. Kh2 O-O-O 27. Rfd1 {-+}) 26... h3 27. g3 (27. g4 {doesn't do any good} h2 28. c6 Bxc6 29. d5 Bxd5 30. Be4 Bxe4 31. a4 Bxf3#) 27... Bxf3+ (27... h2 28. c6 Bxc6 29. d5 Bxd5 30. Be4 Bxe4 31. a4 Bxf3#) 28. Kh2 {-+} Bd5 $4 {hands over the advantage to the opponent} (28... Ng2 {and Black has prevailed} 29. Red1 Nxg3 30. Kxg3 Bxd1 {-+} ) 29. gxf4 {+/-} Nxf4 30. Bc1 (30. Re3 Rh4 {+/-}) 30... Ng2 {-+} 31. Re2 (31. Rg1 Nh4 32. Bd1 Bf3 {-+}) 31... Bf3 (31... Nh4 $5 {and Black can already relax} 32. Be4 Bxe4 33. Rxe4 Nf3+ 34. Kh1 {-+}) 32. Rd2 Nh4 33. Rd3 $2 (33. Bb2 {-+}) 33... Be4 34. Rc3 Nf3+ 35. Kh1 Bc6 (35... Bxc2 $5 {makes it even easier for Black} 36. Rxc2 O-O-O 37. Rc3 Nxd4 38. Bf4 {-+}) 36. Be3 (36. Bd1 Nxd4+ 37. Kh2 {-+}) 36... h2 (36... h2 37. d5 Bxd5 {-+}) 0-1