1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5

My opponent had games in the database in both this line and the King's Gambit. I knew if I prepared thoroughly I could get an advantage in either line, so it was a busy morning.

4. Qa4 f6 5. Bb5 Ne7 6. d3

I was not familiar with this plan. I recalled from my preparation that if white wants to meet the d5 f6 plan with d3 to hold the centre in Philidor style, then they should leave the light squared bishop on e2. White has played c3 and weakened the light squares, yet this setup forces them to part with the light squared bishop in due course.

6... Be6 7. O-O a6 8. Bxc6+ Nxc6 9. Be3 Qd7

Of course here I knew I should be clearly better. Black has to watch out for d4 but the opening has been a big success.

10. Rd1 Rd8

Long castles was a big option here for me, but I didn't feel it was necessary. I liked Rd8 just to discourage any d4 plans further.

11. Nbd2 d4

White seems to be angling to control the c5 square at some point with a well timed exd5 and Ne4. This is why I felt it was the right time to take direct action in the centre and change the structure.

12. cxd4 exd4 13. Bf4 g5 14. Bg3 h5 15. h4 g4 16. Ne1 Ne5

This was what I had in mind when I went d4. I perhaps overestimated how useful my knight would be on e5. It seemed like a good square but it leaves white with some f4 options and white was never really going to go e5 anyway. It also gives white the option to take on e5, which becomes a very serious option in some lines.

17. Qxd7+ Rxd7 18. b3

My opponent offered a draw here. The draw offer would be maybe a good idea vs a lower rated opponent but it only served to annoy me really, of course black should play for a win here.

18... Kf7

Maybe the draw offer destabilised me, because I couldn't quite figure out a plan to proceed. I was slow to realise that my Ne5 move had been counter-productive and that I should go Nc6 back. Kf7 gives me the option to swing my other rook at some point but it is a bit slow. I didn't know how to proceed so it just acted as a semi-useful passing move, to allow him to think and then react.

19. Rac1 Bh6

I wasn't convinced that this diagonal was the best home for my dark squared bishop. I thought I could annoy him with this move and buy some time to get in some ideas of my own.

20. Rc2 Nc6

Now that I've forced his rook to c2 I can hint at targeting it with this Nc6 move. At this point I'm starting to find my feet again and put him on the back foot.

21. Nc4 f5

This is the move that I was the most proud of. White cannot allow f4 so has to make some compromise. I realised that instead of blockading the e5 square I should just give it up and open some lines for my bishop pair and rooks. Once the position opens up more white is very badly co-ordinated, and weaknesses appear. When it was more closed with my knight on e5, white was able to hold things together.

22. Ne5+ Nxe5 23. Bxe5 Rc8 24. f4 Bf8

I played this move quite quickly. The f4 move has closed the diagonal and fixed the white bishop to a pretty useless square on e5. Now I can transfer my bishop to the weakened queenside dark squares, squares that the white bishop cannot contest from e5.

25. Rdc1 c6

c6 is a bit slow but at this point I knew I didn't need to rush, I just needed to keep the pressure and keep white passive, white doesn't have many ideas other than to wait and then react.

26. Kf2 Ra8

This is a good move practically because it hints at a5 a4 without committing to anything or weakening my position. I just give my opponent a problem to solve and allow him the chance to hurt his own position.

27. Rb1 Be7 28. g3 c5

The engine likes Bb4 first instead of c5 locking my bishop out. This is understandable, but I was happy enough with this more straightforward plan.

29. Rd2

This move is a sign that my opponent is just hanging on for dear life. At this point I just need to turn the dial up until his position melts without allowing any cheap tricks.

29... a5 30. a4 b5

This move is the key move to break through. White will have critically vulnerable targets and my c4 and a4 breaks will be constantly irritating.

31. Nc2 Rb7 32. exf5 Bxf5 33. axb5 Rxb5 34. Na3 Rb4 35. Nc2 Rb7 36. Ke2

After a natural sequence it's time for me to break through.

36... a4 37. Na1 c4

I knew after this move with my opponent's knight dead on a1, it would be very difficult to mess this up.

38. Bxd4 axb3 39. Bc3 Rd7 40. Rbd1 Rxd3 41. Rxd3 Bxd3+ 42. Rxd3 cxd3+ 43. Kxd3 Rb8

0-1

Annotator(s): Jacob Flynn.

Source(s): Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose.

Event information: Tournament report.