Win vs Czommer (682)

Opening: Pirc Defense (B08)

Result: 0-1 (Resignation)

Time Control: 10 min Rapid

Rated

Game Overview

I really enjoyed this one. I hadn’t played rapid in quite a while, mostly focusing on my daily games, so it was good to get a win back in this format. It was a familiar Pirc line where the central pawns get traded and Black takes White’s queen early. From there I won a pawn, then won a piece when my opponent tried to counter-attack into a position where his own knight was hanging. After that it was about converting, and my opponent finished by walking his rook onto a square my bishop was guarding from the far corner.

A Familiar Pirc and the Early Queen Trade (Moves 1-7)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e5 dxe5 6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Nxd1

This is a line I know well. The central pawns get traded off and the queens come off the board straight away with 6…Qxd1+. The early queen trade suits me here because it strips out a lot of White’s natural attacking chances. There’s also a trap lurking: if White recaptures carelessly they can end up dropping a rook, but my opponent played the safe 7. Nxd1, taking with the knight, so I didn’t get that chance.

After 7. Nxd1: the queens are off early and White recaptured with the knight.

Winning a Pawn (Moves 7-9)

7…Ng4 8. Nc3 Nxe5 9. Nxe5 Bxe5

I brought the knight to g4 to go after the e5 pawn. After 8…Nxe5 and the trade of knights on e5, my bishop recaptured and sat right in the centre, and I was a clean pawn up.

After 9...Bxe5: my bishop recaptures in the centre, a pawn to the good.

Winning the Piece (Moves 10-13)

10. Nd5 Nc6 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Bc3

My opponent dropped the knight into d5 and then, with 12. Bc3, tried to counter-attack my bishop on e5.

After 12. Bc3: White's bishop attacks e5, but the knight on d5 is hanging.

The problem with that idea is that my bishop on e5 was defended by my knight on c6, while White’s knight on d5 was hanging. So I just played through the exchanges and came out a piece up.

12…Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Bxd5

After 13...Bxd5: a piece up, with White's c-pawns doubled.

Into the Endgame (Moves 14-18)

14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. c4 Be4 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8

We both castled long and the rooks met on the d-file, where the pair got traded off.

After 16...Rxd8: a pair of rooks traded, both kings on the queenside.

17. Be2 Nd4 18. Re1 Bxc2

From here it was about converting the extra piece. I traded down where I could and started picking off pawns, beginning with 18…Bxc2.

After 18...Bxc2: my pieces start collecting pawns.

Mopping Up (Moves 19-24)

19. Bg4+ f5 20. Be2 Nxe2+ 21. Rxe2 Be4 22. f3 Bd3 23. Rxe7 Bxc4 24. Rxh7 Bxa2

White grabbed a couple of pawns back with the rook, but I kept my piece and kept collecting on the queenside. The bishop ended up on a2, raking the long light diagonal.

After 24...Bxa2: my bishop sits in the corner, covering the a2-g8 diagonal.

The Finish (Moves 25-26)

25. Rg7 Rd6

Then came the classic backwards-bishop blind spot, the kind of thing we’ve all walked into because we’re not looking for it. White played 26. Rg8+, but g8 was guarded by my bishop all the way back on a2. I took the rook and White resigned.

26. Rg8+ Bxg8

After 26...Bxg8: the rook is gone. White resigned.

Engine Review

92% accuracy with a clear lead throughout. The only thing the engine wanted me to do differently was the move order of the exchange around move 12: it preferred taking the undefended knight first with 12…Bxd5 rather than starting with the bishop trade. I was happy with the move I played. 12…Bxc3+ forced White to recapture with the b-pawn, leaving him with doubled pawns and a weaker king.

Reflections

What went well:

Getting the early queen trade, which takes a lot of the sting out of White’s position in this line.
Spotting that White’s counter-attack with Bc3 didn’t work: my bishop was defended and his knight was hanging, so I could just take the piece.
Converting cleanly once I was up material, trading down and collecting pawns without giving anything back.

What to work on:

Nothing major this game. I played enough good moves that my opponent made the first mistake, then a second one that lost on the spot. It was a convincing win and I wouldn’t really change anything about it.
Mostly I just want to keep getting back into rapid after spending so long on daily games.

Full PGN:

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e5 dxe5 6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Nxd1 Ng4 8.
Nc3 Nxe5 9. Nxe5 Bxe5 10. Nd5 Nc6 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Bc3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Bxd5 14.
O-O-O O-O-O 15. c4 Be4 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Be2 Nd4 18. Re1 Bxc2 19. Bg4+ f5 20.
Be2 Nxe2+ 21. Rxe2 Be4 22. f3 Bd3 23. Rxe7 Bxc4 24. Rxh7 Bxa2 25. Rg7 Rd6 26.
Rg8+ Bxg8 0-1