1.d4
I was in combative mood and had spent the morning preparing the Modern. It was a bit of a surprise when he opened with the d-pawn but I decided to stick to my guns.
1...g6
2.e4
Back into it!
2...Bg7
3.Nc3
d6
4.Be3
a6
5.a4
This came as a surprise but he told me afterwards he'd prepared this for Mike Steadman the previous day.
5...Nc6!?
I was feeling creative and wanted to avoid simply transposing back into the Pirc with 5...Nf6.
6.h3
[6.d5
would try and refute my last move but now the a-pawns have moved Black can play 6...Nb4
As long as the knight doesn't get trapped Black is doing pretty well: 7.a5
(7.Nce2
a5
8.c3
Na6~~
) 7...e6=
]
6...e5
Diagram
7.d5
[7.Nf3
exd4
8.Nxd4
Nf6
would reach some sort of Philidor structure. The pawn moves on the a-file favour Black as it is now very dangerous for White to castle queenside. Black has a simple plan of putting pressure on the e4-pawn. Often White would defend with f2-f3 but that's not really compatible with h2-h3 as g3 would become very weak.; In the post-mortem Matthieu said he recalled the engine preferred 7.dxe5
but during the game he wasn't convinced. 7...Nxe5
(7...Bxe5
8.Nf3
Bxc3+
9.bxc3
looked interesting but rather double-edged.) 8.f4
Nc6~~
White is in danger of over-extending. Black's ...Nb8-c6xe5-c6 is one tempo slower than the normal ....e7-e5xd4 but White doesn't really want to have played either h2-h3 or a2-a4. (8...Qh4+
looks tempting but 9.Kd2
Nc6
(or 9...Ng4
10.hxg4!
Qxh1
11.Nd5
) 10.Nf3
both give White the initiative. Developing with tempo is probably more important than the misplaced king.) ]
7...Nce7
[7...Nd4
was the alternative but I felt the knight exchange favoured White. 8.Nge2
Nxe2
9.Bxe2
f5
10.exf5
gxf5
(10...Bxf5
My engine thinks recapturing with the bishop is close to equal but Black would really be suffering here with his lousy g7-bishop and White's wonderful outpost on e4.) 11.Bh5+
Kf8~~
with a very complicated position.]
8.g4?!
Diagram This isn't an aggressive move. Instead Matthieu wants to block up the kingside before attacking on the queenside. This is quite a usual plan in the King's Indian but doesn't quite work here as Black is very flexible. [8.Nf3
f5
9.Ng5
was what I was expecting. However after 9...Nf6
my engine prefers Black. Apparently White can't utilise the scary knight jump here. (9...fxe4
10.g4~~
(10.Ncxe4
Nf5
) ) ]
8...f5
9.f3
[9.gxf5
gxf5
10.Qh5+
Kf8
You can compare this position with the line after 7.Nf3 and 8...Qh4+. The check doesn't seem to achieve very much and now I would be able to gain time on the queen.]
9...c5!
I think this was a good move. I need to play this before he's ready to capture en-passant and put pressure on the d6-pawn. Now I have more control of the centre and can fight back on the queenside. [9...Bh6
10.f4!?
worried me.]
10.a5
The pawn now becomes a target but otherwise I don't know what plan he should adopt. White's main problem is that he has nowhere safe for his king. Black's king, on the other hand, is perfectly safe on the kingside. [Perhaps White should have changed the nature of the position with 10.dxc6
bxc6
Black's centre looks formidable but with 11.Bc4
Bb7
12.Qe2
d5
13.0-0-0
Black's position looks very impressive but at least White has some active piece play and a safer king.]
10...Nf6
Putting pressure on e4 and so preventing Na4-b6 ideas. [In these structures Black's g7-bishop is blocked in by its own pawns. Therefore I considered 10...Bh6
but after 11.g5
Bg7?!
feels very slow. It's not clear how I ever develop my g8-knight. This would actually be a dream scenario for White as he can successfully keep the kingside closed. (I wanted to get 11...f4!?
to work but here White can play 12.Bxc5
) ]
11.Qd2
Diagram Surprisingly after this logical developing move White's position feels almost strategically lost. [In the post-mortem we came to the conclusion that White has to try 11.Bc4
0-0
12.Qd3
Now White is threatening to play Na4 as the e4-pawn is defended. (12.Bxc5?
isn't as scary if he hasn't yet moved his queen as now it'll take him longer to castle. 12...dxc5
13.d6+
Kh8
14.dxe7
Qxe7
15.g5
Nh5
16.Qd2
Nf4-/+
) 12...Kh8
(12...Bd7
is also fine as 13.Bxc5?!
dxc5
14.d6+
Kh8
15.dxe7
Qxe7
still isn't very convincing. I can meet 16.0-0-0
with 16...Bb5!-/+
) 13.Na4?!
This was the tactic I was desperately trying to avoid, while Matthieu was frantically analysing at every opportunity. The idea is that after 13...Qxa5+
14.b4!
My queen will be trapped whichever way I take the pawn. However my engine pours cold water on the entire line as 14...Qd8
15.bxc5
dxc5
16.Nxc5
b6!
is very good for Black. White's pieces are actually really clumsy, in particular the c4-bisop is close to being trapped.]
11...0-0
12.Bc4
Kh8
Getting out of the way of Bxc5 ideas.
13.Nge2
Bd7
My plan is to put a piece on b5, either my bishop or f6-knight via ...Ne8-c7-b5.
14.g5?!
Taking pressure off the e4-pawn but the price is too high. [14.Bg5
was a better plan, although it's still not clear how White ever manages to get his knight into b6.; 14.0-0
h5
looks extremely scary for White. Black has a fantastic version of a normal King's Indian; his kingside play is in full swing while White hasn't really started his queenside counterplay.]
14...Nh5
Diagram Look at that fantastic outpost on f4.
15.Na4?
This was the point of the previous move but White had overlooked a tactic.
15...Nc8
Stopping the knight and threatening ...f5-f4 picking up the g5-pawn.
16.exf5
Rxf5
17.Rf1
So the g5-pawn is safe.
17...Bxa4!
My other threat.
18.Rxa4
Diagram
18...b5
19.axb6
Nxb6
White drops the exchange.
20.Bb3
Nxa4
21.Bxa4
Nf4
Disgusted White threw in the towel. He's the exchange down and Black also has the initiative. 0-1