[Event "Game study: NM Roger Poehlmann (2290) - Derek O'Connor (1850)"] [Date "2020.03.16"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A11"] [Opening "Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, with g3"] [StudyName "Game study"] [ChapterName "NM Roger Poehlmann (2290) - Derek O'Connor (1850)"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/D7jlPLBH/xVNxBW1b"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/joddle"] [UTCDate "2020.03.16"] [UTCTime "21:25:58"] [Orientation "white"] { This was all the way back in June 2016, I believe my 4th or 5th tournament after beginning to play chess seriously. And this was the first game where I ever faced a master of Roger's strength. Roger and I would go on to contest numerous games in the Berkeley Friday Night and Berkeley Weekenders until my retirement from competitive chess. } 1. g3 { As I would find out in future games, 1. g3 was Roger's pet opening, ensuring for the most part that he gets the English, Reti, or Catalan while side-stepping other lines that might arise if he started with 1. c4 or 1. d4. } 1... d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 { At this time I was still playing the Slav Defense, but never studied much theory. Here we have a Slav setup for black, but white employs a Reti. } 4. c4 dxc4 5. Qc2 g6 (5... b5 { is probably the only way for black to fight for equality or more, as any lines where white simply recaptures on c4 should give white a small edge by virtue of having an additional center pawn. } 6. b3!? cxb3 7. axb3 { is a well-known motif where white gambits the pawn for long-term pressure against black's queenside. }) 6. Na3 Bf5 (6... b5 { once again is the way to make white prove compensation for the pawn. }) 7. Qxc4 Be6 8. Qa4 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. d3 Qc8 { Going for ...Be6-h3. Primitive stuff! } 11. Re1 Na6 12. Be3 Rd8 13. Bd4 Bh3 14. Qb3 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Qd7 16. Nc4 c5 17. Bc3 Nc7 18. a4 { Obviously not } (18. Qxb7 Rdb8 { trapping the queen }) 18... Rab8 19. Be5 Nfd5 20. Rac1 b6 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. e4? { The lone mistake by white in this game. I found my chance and took it! } 22... Nf4+! { This involves an exchange sacrifice, but the compensation is overwhelming — and probably just winning. } 23. gxf4 Qg4+ 24. Kf1 Qxf3 25. Ne5 Qxf4 26. Nc6 Ne6 27. Rc4 (27. Nxd8 Rxd8 { and there are too many threats: ...Ne6-d4, ...Qxh2, ...Qf4-f3 combined with Ne6-f4 cannot all be defended against. }) 27... Qxh2 28. Qc3+ Nd4?! { This returns material to simplify the position, but with two healthy pawns for the exchange and white's open king, the attack would have been crushing: } (28... f6 29. Nxd8 Rxd8 30. e5 f5 31. Ke2 Nd4+) 29. Nxd4 cxd4 30. Rxd4 Rxd4 31. Qxd4+ e5 { Black should be winning, but there is still work to be done. } 32. Qd7 h5 33. Re3 Qh1+ 34. Ke2 Qc1 35. Rf3 Qxb2+ 36. Kf1 Qb3 37. Qxa7 Re8 38. Kg2 Qe6 39. a5 bxa5 40. Qxa5 h4 { The position has simplified, but black's extra pawn and white's open king should be enough to convert. } 41. Rh3 Qg4+ 42. Kh2 Re6 43. Qc5 Qf4+ 44. Kg2 Rf6 45. Qe3 Qg4+ 46. Kh2 g5 47. f3 Qf4+! 48. Qxf4 exf4 { At a glance, it might not be clear that trading queens helped me. However, with white's rook and king completely out of the game, white is forced to go d3-d4-d5 to not lose the pawn, and that allows ...f7-f5, trading down into a position where black has 3 connected passed pawns to white's 2 connected passed pawns. } 49. d4 Rd6 50. d5 f5 51. Kg1 Rb6 52. e5 Rb5 53. Rh2 Rxd5 54. Rg2 Rd1+ 55. Kh2 Kg6 56. Re2 Rd3 57. e6 Re3 58. Rg2 Rxe6 59. Kh3 Re3 60. Rf2 Rxf3+ { White resigned. 0-1 } *