Written by Ryan Yao

Game Analysis

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Nxf6+ Bxf6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Nf3 O-O

The position here is very safe for both players. Black has already castled, but the queenside pieces are relatively inactive. One classical idea here for Black is to push b6 and then Bb7 in order to bring the light-square bishop to life. We will see that later in the game. White, on the other hand, has a great centre and fairly active pieces. The player can place its bishop on the d3 square to attack Black’s kingside.

9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Rd8 12. Nf3

Here, Black challenges White’s centre with the move c5, which is crucial to prevent White from consolidating its spatial advantages. Note that 11… Qxd4 is a blunder because Bxh7+!! simply wins a queen for White.

12… b6! 13. b3 Bb7

Black starts to execute the plan. The light-square bishop effectively controls the h1-a8 diagonal. 

4. Nd2 Na6 15. Qh5

Here, Black has two choices to defend the h7 pawn, namely h6 and g6, but one is better than the other.

15… g6!

This is a clever positional play. In most cases, it is not advisable to play g6 if Black does not have a bishop on g7. This is due to the fact that the h6 and f6 squares are left undefended, which may become potential outposts for White’s knights. Additionally, Qh6 or Qf6 would also be scary, especially when White has a dark-square bishop. However, things are different in this particular position. The dark-square bishops are traded, meaning that the queen can hardly pose any threat to Black’s king by herself. It is also nearly impossible for White to maneuver its knight back to kingside, as e4 and f3 squares are controlled by Black’s bishop. More importantly, the move g6 greatly restricts White’s light-square bishop, as it has nothing to attack.

16. Qe2 Nc5 17. Ne4 Qd4 18. Nxc5 Qxc5

Black has a very good position to play with very active pieces.

19. c4?

This is a positional mistake played by White. A much stronger move would be 19. Be4! to trade off Black’s active bishop, thereby creating a decent position for White. 

19… Rd4! 20. Rad1 Rad8

Black’s rook on d4 prevents White from trading bishops in the future. Black has a great initiative here: the doubled rooks control the d-file, and the bishop targets the vulnerable g2 pawn. White has to play very carefully to prevent losing the game immediately.

21. Bc2 Qg5 22. f4 Qc5 23. Qf2??

White makes a blunder under tremendous pressure. It is the moment when strategic play turns into a tactical one; Black can now use the accumulated positional advantages to attack.

23… Rd2!!

The queen on f2 is pinned, so White cannot capture the “free” rook on d2. If White captures the queen, the king’s castle will be destroyed by the rook and the bishop, as Rxg2+ would be decisive.

24. Qxc5 Rxg2+!! 25. Kh1 Rxc2+ 26. Kg1 Rg2+ 27. Kh1 Rg4+ 28. Qd5 exd5 0-1

Summary

A key takeaway from this game is restricting your opponents’ pieces and trading off their powerful pieces whenever possible. For example, the move g6 essentially “kills” White’s bishop in the middle game, and the knight trade prevents White from conquering the weaknesses in front of Black’s king. A major positional mistake made by White is not trying to trade Black’s aggressive bishop off the board, which eventually results in the loss.

Written by Ryan Yao

Game Analysis

1. d4 c6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 Bf5

This is a very common response from Black when facing the London System. The move Bf5 is very reasonable: it allows Black to develop the light-square bishop before playing e6, which liberates a usually inactive piece in such positions. In fact, Black will have a very successful opening if White plays 4. Bd3?! to trade off the bishop, as the position will be very symmetrical, and thereby equal, after Black playing e6 and Bd6.

4. c4!

This move is a very accurate response. White has to maintain an unbalanced position to keep the advantage, so continuing to build the conventional London structure will be unhelpful. Additionally, c4 allows White to develop an attack on Black’s queenside, particularly on the weak b7 pawn (which should be defended by the light-square bishop, which has moved to the f5 square). 

4… Qb6 5. Qb3 e6 6. c5! Qxb3 7. axb3 Nd7

White has a great initiative here. The move 6.c5! forces the queen trade, but more importantly, opens up the a-file for future attack. The b-file double pawns are also powerful: White can push them all across the board to destroy Black’s queenside defence. Moreover, the deadly f4 dark-square bishop tightly controls the b8-h2 diagonal, which further supports White’s action in the queenside.

8. b4 f6 9. Nf3 g5 10. Bg3 a6 11. b5!?

The move 11. b5!? follows the queenside-pawn-storm plan, but it may be a little bit premature. Black has a forced sequence of moves (11… cxb5 12.Bxb5 Bxb1 13. Bxd7+ Kxd7 14. Rxb1), which trades many pieces off the board and reduces White’s queenside pressure. A better move here would be 11. Nc3 to prepare for playing b5 next.

11… Bxb1? 12. bxc6! bxc6 13. Rxb1

11… Bxb1 is a significant positional mistake. It allows White to play bxc6 to create an isolated pawn in the a-file, as well as a vulnerable c6 pawn that is prone to White’s aggression.

13… h5 14. h3 h4 15. Bh2 Be7 16. Ra1 a5 17. b4

White is winning right now. The a5 pawn is under tremendous pressure, and the even more horrifying move b5 is on its way. Black’s pieces have little mobility, and White’s highly active pieces and the crushing pawn storm has almost manifested the victory.

17… Bd8 18. b5 Ne7

This is the moment when White can turn the positional advantage into a material advantage [it must be pointed out, however, that the positional move b6 will still be effective, but a tactic will end the game much sooner]. Can you find it? (Hint: the tactic is very “quiet”)

19. bxc6! Nxc6 20. Bb5! Rc8 21. Ba6! Rc7 22. Bxc7

White wins an exchange with this quiet, yet fabulous, tactic. Although the game is not finished, it is clear that White can easily take the victory from here.

Summary

For White, it is always important to maintain an unbalanced position, especially in the opening; if not, the game will soon become even, which is very undesirable for White. Additionally, White’s queenside action is exemplary. By opening the a-file, activating pieces and steadily pushing up pawns, White successfully compresses Black’s space.

Full Game PGN

1. d4 c6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 Bf5 4. c4 Qb6 5. Qb3 e6 6. c5 Qxb3 7. axb3 Nd7 8. b4 f6 9. Nf3 g5 10. Bg3 a6 11. b5 Bxb1 12. bxc6 bxc6 13. Rxb1 h5 14. h3 h4 15. Bh2 Be7 16. Ra1 a5 17. b4 Bd8 18. b5 Ne7 19. bxc6 Nxc6 20. Bb5 Rc8 21. Ba6 Rc7 22. Bxc7 Bxc7 23. O-O Ke7 24. Rfb1 Nb4 25. Bb5 Rb8 26. Bxd7 Kxd7 27. Ra4 Kc6 28. Nd2 Rg8 29. Nb3 Kb5 30. Ra3 g4 31. hxg4 Rxg4 32. c6 a4 33. Nc5 1-0