[Event "Amateur-Open 2023"] [Site "Vienna"] [Date "25.07.2023"] [Round "4"] [White "Frühauf, Norbert"] [Black "Kern, Julian"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1885"] [BlackElo "1767"] [TimeControl "90+30"] [Termination "Resignation"] [Board "7"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B20"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Staunton-Cochrane Variation"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/jk_182"] [StudyName "Amateur Open 2023"] [ChapterName "Frühauf-Kern, 2023"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/CvoTmVJe/rs4K9NkV"] [Orientation "black"] 1. e4 c5 2. c4 { I am not too comfortable playing against the Botvinnik English so I wasn't happy when my opponent played this } 2... Nc6 3. Ne2 Nf6 4. Nbc3 e5 (4... e6 { I thought somehow that I had to play e5 but e6 is the most common move and scores very well for black } 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bb4) 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 g6 7. d3 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. a3 { Around this point I started to struggle during the game: I thought for a couple of minutes on every move, but didn't have a longer think about the position in general. This lead to me playing a lot of moves I was a bit unhappy with. } 9... a5 { My idea was to prevent b4 but I didn't think too much about anything else in the position. } (9... Ne8 10. Nd5 Nc7 (10... f5?! { This was an idea during my analysis in order to play actively as black, but weakening the kingside like that is a bit dubious. } 11. exf5 (11. Nec3 f4) 11... Bxf5 12. b4 $14) 11. Nec3 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 h5) 10. Rb1 Be6 { I played this move, expecting white to answer it with 11.Nd5 but I didn't have a clear solution on how to deal with that move. I should have figured this out before playing my 10th move. } (10... Ne8!? 11. Nd5 Nc7 12. Nb6 Rb8 13. Nc3 Be6 14. Be3 Ne8 15. Nbd5 Nc7 16. Qd2 Bxd5 17. exd5 { Taking on d5 with the e-pawn opens up the e4-square for the white knight } 17... Nd4 $14 { White should have a slight advantage but black managed to improve his pieces and isn't as cramped as in the game. }) 11. Nd5 Bxd5 { I am unsure about this but I didn't want white to play Nec3 and take control of d5 with a knight. During the game, I also felt that both recaptures are a bit inconvenient for white. } (11... Nd7 12. Bd2 Kh8 13. Nec3 Nd4 14. h4 f5 $14 { White should still be slightly better but the position isn't as one sided as it was in the game. }) 12. cxd5 Nb8? { This is too passive, during the game I wanted to reroute my knight, but again, I had no clear plan in mind and simply got into a clearly worse position. } (12... Nd4 13. Nxd4 exd4 { This looked strange to me during the analysis, but it's better than taking with the c-pawn. } (13... cxd4?! 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bd2 Qd7 16. f4 { This is much more effective if the black pawn is on e5 instead of d4 }) 14. Qc2 Qc7!? { Prophylaxis against e4-e5, which would undermine the c5-pawn } 15. Bf4 b5 $14 { Black uses his majority on the queenside to get some counterplay. The position is slightly better for white due to the bishop pair and since white attacks blacks structures but it should still be fine for black }) 13. Nc3 Qe8 { Preventing Nb5 and keeping d7 available for the knight } (13... Qd7 14. a4 Na6 15. Nb5 Nc7 16. Na3! { This was pointed out by the engine. The idea is that if black plays b5-b4, the knight has the c4-square available. } 16... b5 17. b3 $16 { White is better since black has no counterplay on the queenside and white can start to play on the kingside which black cannot prevent. }) 14. a4 Na6 15. Nb5 Qd7 { During the game it seemed like I had things under control but black is too passive and has no real counterplay } 16. b3 Ne8 (16... Nc7 { TODO } 17. Nxc7 Qxc7 18. f4 exf4 19. gxf4 Rab8) 17. h4 { I saw this but didn't prepare a clear answer } 17... h5 (17... f5 18. h5 { This bothered me during the game } 18... f4 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Kh2 Bh6 21. Bh3 Qe7 22. Rg1) 18. Kh2 Nb4 19. Bh3 { Now white's bishops start to enter and black is clearly worse } 19... Qd8 (19... f5 { I rejected this right away since the structure on the kingside felt too weak. The engine says it's black's best chance. } 20. Na3 Nf6 21. Nc4 Rae8 22. Bg5 $16) 20. Be3 Nc7 21. Bg5 f6 22. Nxc7 Qxc7 23. Be6+ { This was a blind spot for me. I hadn't seen this move and even thought about playing 23.Be3 Qf7?? } 23... Kh7 (23... Rf7 { Since I decided to give up the exchange anyway, I could have done it like this but it doesn't change the fact that white is much better. }) 24. Be3 Rae8 { Planning to sac the exchange on e6. During the game I didn't realise how strong white's attack was. } (24... Bh6 25. Bxh6 Kxh6 26. f4 $16 { Black managed to exchange the bishops but white is still clearly better due to the lasting initiative. }) 25. g4 Rxe6 26. dxe6 hxg4 27. Qxg4 Nxd3 (27... f5 28. exf5 Rxf5) 28. Rg1 { Another move I missed } (28. Rbd1 Nf4 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Qxf4 f5 { All I thought about during the game was this line }) 28... g5 29. Qh5+ Kg8 30. hxg5 fxg5 31. Rxg5 Nf4 32. Bxf4 Rxf4 33. Rbg1 Rxf2+ 34. Kh1 1-0