| Mar-12-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: [Site "queenalice.com"]
[White "EmperorAtahualpa"]
[WhiteELO "-"]
[Black "Atahualpa's honorable opponent"]
[BlackELO "1996"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
<1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.Bxc6+ bxc6 5.O-O Nf6?!> normal is 5...e5 <6.e5 Nd5 7.Nc3 Bb7 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.e6! fxe6?!> better was 9...f6  <10.Ng5 Qd7 11.Qf3 O-O-O? 12.Nf7>  <12...Rg8 13.Nxd8 Qxd8 14.d3 g5?> Black tries to pressure White's kingside but forgets about the weakness on e6. Better was 14...Qd7, 14...Qe8 or 14...Rh8. <15.Qf7 Bg7 16.Qxe6+ Kb8 17.Rb1!?> Interesting position. Here I was hesitant to move 17.Bxg5 because I was worried about 17...Bxb2 followed with Rxg5 after which more pressure on White's kingside followed. However, computer analyses reveal little problems after 17.Bxg5. <17...g4?> More constructive was 17...Be5. Black now needs to worry about the rook on b1 pointing at the king! <18.b4! h5?> Black underestimates the threats <19.bxc5 dxc5??> Black completely overlooked Bf4+. The only right move here was 19...Ka8. <20.Bf4+! Ka8 21.Rxb7!> A sound "sacrifice". Now mate or loss of the queen is inevitable. <21...Kxb7 22.Rb1+ Ka8 23.Qc6#> 1-0 |
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Mar-12-06
 | | tpstar: <EmperorAtahualpa> Beautiful game! 9. e6! was a great sacrifice exploiting the weak point on f7, then you won the exchange. It's good to run your game through a computer afterward, as they see things more objectively than us, but often there are several ways to win a won game. A safe and sound move like 17. Rb1 is a very practical approach over opening lines toward your King with 17. Bxg5. Sweet finish. =) |
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| Mar-12-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: <tpstar> I think this was one of my finest correspondence games played so far. I'm going to follow your approach on chessgames.com and going to archive my correspondence game here too. :) Thanks for your compliments! |
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| Mar-12-06 | | Averageguy: <EmperorAtahualpa> Great game! I enjoyed playing over it. I think that 9...f6 would still have allowed white to give black problems with 10.Nh4 threatening 11.Qh5+ etc. Did you look at the sacrifice 14.d4 ? After 14...cxd4 the a8-h1 diagonal has been blocked and additional lines have been opened against the black king. White could even regain the pawn immediately with 15.Qd3. 17.Bxg5 looks good, as after 17...Bxb2 white has 18.Bxe7 winning the d6 pawn with check. Even without this move, white still looks to have the upper hand after 17.Bxg5 Bxb2 18.Rb1 Rxg5 19.Rxb2 as white can double rooks on the b-file against the bishop, while trying to unpin it with 19...Ka8 20.Rfb1 Bc6 loses to 21.Qxe7, as the queen can't be taken due to the mate threat on b8. 17.Rb1 still seemed sufficient though. The rest of the game seemed very well played, and you finished with a nice combination. Well done! |
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| Mar-12-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: Thanks, <Averageguy>. :) Nice analysis too! Indeed, my engine also prefers 14.d4 over 14.d3, it's a hard move to spot though, kind of counterintuitive. Basically I was thinking "ok, Black's pawn structure is bad, let's keep it exactly as it is now". |
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