[Event "Import"] [Site "https://lichess.org/81baVOO5"] [Date "2020.05.04"] [Round "-"] [White "Jtrot79 (1508)"] [Black "BradleyPetersen (1554)"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "-"] [Termination "Unknown"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E93"] [Opening "King's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, Normal Defense"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Locke79"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/EV2DGseR/wB6pJtFi"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 { We have a mainline King's Indian Defense. This used to be an opening I hated playing against since Black comes with an aggressive attack early and I'm more comfortable with slow maneuvering games. After putting time into studying the opening I'm actually happy to see it played as I have a pretty good understanding of it. Generally my opponents have the idea to attack but when met with proper opposition they start to falter. Black's whole idea is aggression and they attack quickly but if you know how to defend against it the weakened Black King becomes an issue later on. If Black doesn't succeed in seizing control early it is easy for them to end up in a bad position on the board. } 5... O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 { The most common move played here is 0-0 but I like this line because it puts pressure on Black and cramps their position. They can have issues developing the bishop and knight because both need the d7 square since the d5 pawn is preventing Nc6. } (7. O-O exd4 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 { We get a line similar to this if 0-0 is played instead of d5. The light squared bishop feels misplaced to me, I would rather limit Blacks choices and space by having a pawn in d5. }) 7... Nbd7 (7... Bg4 8. Bg5 a5 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nbd7 { Because of d5 the knight only has a6 or d7 to develop to. } { [%cal Rb8d7,Rb8a6] } 11. Be3 { Prophylactically moving the bishop in the event of h6 and the possibility Black playing of Nb6 allowing pawns to be stacked. } 11... Nc5 12. Qc2 { We get a position such as this when Black tries to play Bg4. After h3 the bishop on g4 doesn't have many options, the only square is going back to d7 which still blocks the knight. After Bxd3 white has good attacking chances with g4 next and eventually f4 supported by the e3 bishop or White can castle short and have a strong king defense. } 12... c6 13. Bxc5 dxc5 14. Be2) 8. Be3 Ne8 { Ne8 is very telling, Black is going to play for f5. The most natural thing to do then would be to support the control of f5 with g4. } { [%cal Gf7f5,Gg2g4] } (8... Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 { White has created some weakness around Blacks king. White can castle long and throw the pawns down the board with the support of nearly every piece. } { [%csl Ge2,Gf3,Gh4,Gh1,Gd1][%cal Gf2f4,Gg2g4,Gh2h3] }) 9. g4 { This is very much against my style of play but when the positional ideas are as clear as they are here there is no reason not to launch an attack. Black's King and fianchetto structure are much easier to attack than my King. } 9... c5 { This seems strange to me, Blacks goal should be to attack on the Queen side but instead they are closing down the center and the wing, perhaps Rb1 and b5 are in the future..The two main options here are h4 and Nd2 preparing f4. } { [%cal Ga8b8,Gb7b5] } 10. Nd2 { I like this option. Black was going for the attack but instead White has initiated their own attack which is more advanced and supported. White also has the option to castle long and remove the King from the attack. } (10. h4 { The immediate h4 is better, it prevents Qh4. }) 10... f5? { Because Black played Ne8 it seems like a waste if you don't play f5 but it's a mistake. This is a moment when Black should have considered if changing plans was the correct move. Essentially Black is opening up the structure on his King instead of developing or solidifying his position. } (10... Qh4 11. h3 { The position is by no means bad but having g4 and h4 pawns is better for an attack than a g4 and a h3 pawn. }) 11. gxf5 gxf5 { If Black wants to recapture it has to be with the pawn which is in front of the King. Black has severely weakened their King. After Rg8 there will be a pin on the g7 bishop. } { [%cal Gh1g1,Gg1g8] } 12. exf5 Rxf5 { Black doesn't want to be down a pawn so they recapture. The issue is the rook is undefended so it allows for me to develop my Queen with tempo. } 13. Qc2 Rf7 14. Bd3 { Targeting the h pawn. } { [%cal Gd3h7] } (14. O-O-O) 14... Ndf6 (14... e4 15. Ncxe4 Ne5 16. Ng5 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 Rf5 18. Rg1 { A very nice attacking sequence, Black is under so much pressure and must play precisely due to the threats on h7 and the potential pin on g7. } { [%cal Gd3h7,Gg5h7,Gg1g8] }) 15. O-O-O Qa5?! { This seems like a knee jerk reaction to my King castling, try to get the Queen over and do something but Black only loses time with this and accomplishes nothing after Nb3 hitting the Queen. Play is fairly straightforward from here, I attack the King. } 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Rdg1 { I opt for the d rook because I want the h rook to support the h pawn when it gets pushed. } 17... Bg4 18. h3 (18. Bxh7+ Nxh7 (18... Kh8 19. Be4 { Trying to protect f3 from allowing Blacks bishop there. Bg6 would have been better here however. } (19. Bg6 Bf3 20. Qf5 Bxh1 21. Qh3+ Kg8 22. Rxh1 { The computer again says +6 rather than +3 which makes sens because of the threats with the Queen, rook and bishops. Giving up the rook is less important because it made Blacks King weaker. } { [%cal Ge3h6,Gg6h7,Gh3h8,Gh1g1] }) 19... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Bf3 { This was what I saw and it seemed better to play it safe. White has a +6 here instead of +3 but I valued my rook on h1 too much. } 21. Ng5 { I didn't see far enough to see that I would capture Blacks rook with check } 21... e4 22. Nxf3 exf3 23. Nd2) 19. Rxg4 { This line is much better than what I played but I was worried about the King moving to h8 and Black playing Bf3 instead which would hit the rook in the corner. }) 18... Bf3 { The bishop becomes a thorn in my side for a little while but I expected it. Eventually I wanted to swap bishops or a knight for it and have the ability to stack rooks on the g file. } 19. Rh2 a5 20. Nd2 Bh5 21. Nde4 b5 { Black has the right idea now, even sacing a pawn to open the Queen side would be worth it. } 22. Nxb5 Qb8 23. Nxf6+ (23. Rhg2 { The most optimal line. As time got shorter I was looking to simply and remove defenders from the Black King. } 23... Bf3 24. Ng5 e4 25. Nxf3 exf3 26. Rg3) 23... Rxf6?? { The knight needed to recapture to keep the defense up on h7. } (23... Nxf6) 24. Bxh7+ Kh8 25. Rhg2 Qb7 26. Rg5 Bf7 27. Bg6 { Offering a trade so the Queen can come in eventually after RxB RxR QxR. } 27... Bxg6 28. Rxg6 Rxg6 29. Qxg6 a4 30. a3 Ra5 31. Qxe8+ { 1-0 White wins. } { Black drops a knight and resigns here. Overall it was an interesting game since I played much more aggressively than I usually do. } 1-0