LSG2 - Utrecht, 12/15/2007
Round 5 [Smerdon, David]
|
1.d4 Pf6 2.c4
g6 3.Pc3 d5 "I
didn't want another boring slav," was the explanation from The Man himself for his opening choice. 4.Lg5 Pe4 5.Lh4 | |
|
[Everybody loves a bit of 5.cxd5!? Pxg5 6.h4] | |
| 5...Pxc3 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Le6 8.Tb1 | |
|
[Anybody who's anybody is playing 8.Db1 these days (Schuurman-Smerdon, Cappelle la Grande 2007).] | |
8...Pd7 9.Txb7
Ld5!?
| |
|
[Nobody seems to have ever played a suggestion by the Grunfeld Godfather, Mister Sutovsky
himself: 9...Pb6!? 10.Lg3 c5 11.Tc7 cxd4 12.Dxd4 Dxd4 13.cxd4 Lg7 14.Pf3  with
the straightforward idea of marching our little c-man home.] | |
|
10.Tb2 Lg7
11.e4?! All-in bluff. 11...Le6?! Fold. Did you have it? What, suited connectors?! | |
|
[11...Lxe4 Flat call, biatch. 12.Te2? Continuation bid... 12...Pc5!! Rivered.] | |
| 12.Pe2 | |
|
[Not being a positional player, I probably shouldn't criticise white's strategy. But
I will anyway. Why not simply 12.Dc2 instead of blocking in my own priest?] | |
| 12...Pb6 13.Pf4 Ld7 | |
|
[Refraining from the totally ugly 13...c5! Doubled pawns rock my world. 14.Pxe6 fxe6 and black's ready to open up a can of whoopass on the white centre.] | |
|
14.Pd5!? Pxd5
15.exd5 c5! Now
things get interesting. 16.dxc6 Lxc6 17.Lxc4 Lxg2 18.Da4+ Kf8 19.Tg1 Ld5 20.Tg5 Lxc4 | |
| [20...Lh1!? is kinda cool - nice, safe square for the bish.] | |
|
21.Dxc4 Dd6
22.Tc5 Missing a tricky win. | |
|
[22.Td5! Dxh2
23.Lxe7+!! Get your freak on! 23...Kg8 24.Dc6 Dh1+ 25.Kd2 Lh6+ 26.Kc2 Dc1+ 27.Kb3 Tb8+ 28.Tb5 Txb5+ 29.Dxb5  ] | |
|
22...Lf6 23.Tc6 I
wanted to write '??', but my stupid computer found a win for white later in the game. Read on for the
silicon magic. 23...Df4! Booyah! Doesn't win, but it did... | |
[23...Dxh2 24.Lxf6
Dg1+ 25.Df1
Dxf1+ 26.Kxf1
exf6 27.Tb7
Kg7 28.Tcc7
Thf8 29.d5 ] | |
| 24.Lxf6 Dc1+ | |
|
[24...exf6! Hard to turn down a free rook,
but as far as I can gather while sitting here watching the snooker, it's a draw. 25.Tc7 Dc1+ 26.Ke2 Te8+ 27.Kf3 Kg7 28.Dxf7+ Kh6 29.Dg7+ Kh5 30.Tb5+ f5 31.Te5 Dd1+  ] | |
| 25.Ke2 Dxb2+? | |
|
[Last chance to transpose back to the draw here with 25...exf6 ,
but who can really say no to a free rook, with check? Certainly not me (I love free stuff).] | |
| 26.Kf3 exf6 27.Tc7 Kg7 28.Dxf7+! | |
|
[28.Txf7+ Kh6
29.d5! was spotted after the game, and
leads to a draw: 29...g5 30.Txf6+ Kg7 31.Dc7+ Kxf6 32.Dd6+ Kg7 33.De7+ Kg8 34.De6+ Kf8 35.Df6+ ] | |
| 28...Kh6 29.De6?? | |
|
[29.Dd7!! Hard to see. 29...f5 30.De7! Kh5 31.Kg3 f4+ 32.Kh3 Dxf2 33.Tc5+ Kh6 34.Dg5+ Kg7 35.Tc7+ Kg8 36.Dd5+ Kf8 37.Df7#] | |
|
29...Db5!!
0-1 | |
