Featured Game of the Week

Mauro Huber vs. Danen Downs

March 7, 2009 - Marshall Park at Scottsdale Civic Center Mall

Written by Danen “LeGrande” Downs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6

This was the first time I had ever seen this move, and I got very excited thinking it was a mistake. Previously, I had only encountered …Nc6, …d6, or …e6 for Black’s second move.

In actuality, 2…Nf6 is an offbeat line of the Sicilian pioneered by Nimzovich and Rubinstein, and also used rather successfully by Tartakower. My eagerness to exploit this phantom “mistake” now seems completely unwarranted, and it soon leads me into making the first real error in the game!

 

3.e5 Nd5 4.Bc4?

Whoops! 4.Nc3 is the correct move here, forcing Black to spend another tempo moving his Knight to b6 or exchanging on c3. In the case of an exchange, 5.dxc3 opens the d-file and White has the edge in development.

My move here is premature; the king’s bishop often is not developed in this variation until the ninth move, but then also it is usually to the c4-square. It is small consolation to know you had the right idea at the wrong time.

 

4…e6 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7

Here I expected 6…d5, with Black developing his king’s bishop to d6 if I captured the en passant pawn, or later to c5 after 7…c4!, if I retreated my bishop. However, according to my Sigma Chess engine, 6…Be7 is Black’s best move.

 

7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 b6 9.Be3?

A mistake that leaves my all-important e5 pawn weak. Better was 9.Bf4.

 

 

 

9…Nc6?

Luckily, my opponent missed 9…Bb7 which, followed by a kingside pawn storm, could have made my position very difficult: 10.Bf4 f6! 11.Bg3? f5! 12.Bf4 g5 13. Be3 f4.

 

10.Qd2

The right idea, but first I needed to put my dark-squared bishop on it’s correct square – f4! A better move order was 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Qd2 Na5 12.Be2 Qc7 13.Rad1.

 

10…Na5?

My opponent also misses the appropriate move order. He should have played ...Bb7 first.

 

11.Bd3? Bb7!

By moving my light-squared bishop to d3, I blocked my queen and eased the pressure I was exerting down the central files. Stronger would have been placing my bishop on e2. In the game, Mauro quickly finds the move that punishes me the most: 11…Bb7!

 

12.Bxh7+??

A terrible miscalculation caused by a gross overreaction to my deteriorating position. A position that would have been equal after …12.Ng5! At the time, however, I was finding it difficult to reconcile the fact that I had completely failed to exploit Black’s second move, which I still assumed to be some terrible mistake. Take it from me; you must resist thinking about past positions until after the game!

 

12…Kxh7 13.Ng5+?!

Already I realized that I had made a big mistake in offering the sacrifice. I thought about both 13.Qd3+ and 13.Ng5+ for a long time, but was unable to find a promising continuation.

It quickly dawned on me that I had offered a sacrifice without thinking it through at all.

 

13.Qd3+ was actually the best move available

 

13…Bxg5?

My opponent spent five minutes before making this move, which told me that he was unnecessarily concerned about my sacrifice and subsequent “attack.” 13…Kg8 and Black is safely up a piece!

 

14.Bxg5 f6??

I terrible move that dismantles Black’s kingside protection and lets me right back into the game. 14…Qc7 and Black would still hold a significant advantage.

 

15.exf6?

Completely failing to exploit Black’s error by 15.Qd3+! when White’s queen can easily hit g3 or h3 with gain of tempo after 16.exf6

 

15…gxf6 16.Qd3+ Kg7 17.Bh4 Rh8?

Already my position is looking difficult. Mauro could have made it worse by 17…Qe7, preparing …Rad8.

 

18.f4??

A move that eventually proves to be a fatal. I was hoping that my opponent would fall for the trap 18…Rxh4. But there are better moves that still preserve the trap: 18.Rad1 followed by Qh3-g4, and then b3-b4.

 

18…Rxh4?

The trap works! Unfortunately, my 18th move (and later the 21st) comes back to haunt me. 18…Kf7 was the correct move for Black.

 

19.Qg3+! Kf7 20.Qxh4 Qg8? 21.g4?!

The position was near equality after Black’s 20th move. My move essentially gives away a pawn, as I forgot that the one on c2 is completely undefended. A better alternative to the text was 21.Qh3, with the idea of centralizing her on d3.

 

21…Qg6!

Again Mauro finds the best move. According to Sigma, the position is still not bad for White, essentially down a pawn. But Black’s minor pieces will soon outmatch White’s rooks if I am not careful.

 

22.Rad1 Bc6 23.Kf2??

Forgetting to be careful. Blunders are the number one cause of lost games. Unbelievably on move twenty-three I was still kicking myself for making an unwarranted sacrifice on move twelve. To make it worse, instead of swallowing my pride and salvaging the position by looking for the best defense, I was still trying to justify the dubious sacrifice by pushing for an impossible mate! Blinded by pride I somehow succeeded in convincing myself that by activating my king I could march my f-, g-, and h-pawns to victory.

 

23…Qxc2!

The end. Black would have to go into seizures to lose this game. Still, it was disappointing that I couldn’t find a better defense than my next move.

 

24.Kg3? Qg2# 0-1