[Event "KiNG - HMC Den Bosch"]
[Site "Ziekenhuis In de Boomtak"]
[Date "2024.12.06"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Derk-Jan Morelis"]
[Black "Janko Huic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B32"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[ChapterName "cup r2"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation"]
[UTCDate "2024.12.06"]
[UTCTime "23:08:36"]
[Variant "Standard"]
1.e4 {[%eval 0.18]} 1...c5 {[%eval 0.25]} 2.Nf3 {[%eval 0.2]} 2...Nc6 {[%eval 0.25]} 3.d4 {[%eval 0.27]} 3...cxd4 {[%eval 0.35]} 4.Nxd4 {[%eval 0.21]} 4...e5 {[%eval 0.42]} 5.Nb5 {[%eval 0.35]} 5...d6 {[%eval 0.4]} 6.N1c3 {[%eval 0.28]} 6...a6 {[%eval 0.29]} 7.Na3 {[%eval 0.3] The starting position of the Kalashnikov Sicilian. The main line is b5, but it is well known theory. Instead, Be7 is less known and most people at the club level are not familiar with the ensuing positions (as corroborated by my opponent after the game). If you are looking for openings to avoid white's preparation, I have found the Be7 Kalashnikov to work quite well.} 7...Be7 {[%eval 0.26]} 8.Nd5 {[%eval 0.16]} 8...Nf6 {[%eval 0.25]} 9.f3 {[%eval -0.2] Already, the engine prefers black. White optically looks good with a lot of space and good control of the d5 square, but he is neglecting his development.} 9...O-O {[%eval -0.18]} 10.c4 {[%eval -0.72] Another move not developing white's kingside. The d5 square looks like a great asset, but two points stand out. Firstly, white's light squared bishop is not a good piece behind the pawns. Secondly, black is promised great counterplay on the dark squares. As we go through the game, the weaknesses left by white's last few moves will become more apparent.} 10...Be6 $6 {[%eval 0.15] Inaccuracy. Nxd5 was best. An inaccuracy. Already, black could have opened the position to his advantage by playing Nxd5 and planting the knight on d4, followed by f5 on the next move. The lines get messy, pawns don't matter, and the advantage is not concrete; however, Nxd5 was the only move which the engines think gives black an advantage.} ( 10...Nxd5 11.cxd5 Nd4 12.Be3 f5 13.Bd3 ) 11.Be3 {[%eval 0.13]} 11...Nd7 {[%eval 0.09]} 12.Bd3 {[%eval -0.16]} 12...Bg5 {[%eval -0.01] After a few moves of shuffling and development, this very natural manoeuvre presents itself. The bishop, once blocked by its own pawns, looks to exchange itself for the far more active bishop on e3. Without his dark squared bishop, white's control of the critical dark squares in the position weakens.} 13.Qd2 {[%eval -0.05]} 13...Bxe3 {[%eval -0.02]} 14.Qxe3 {[%eval -0.44] White has missed his last chance to avoid strategic disaster. By recapturing with a knight on e3, he could have kept both knights on the board, and the engine gives an evaluation of 0.0. Leaving the knight on d5 allows us to execute our strategic plan.} 14...Bxd5 {[%eval -0.45]} 15.exd5 {[%eval -0.69]} 15...Nd4 {[%eval -0.73] The knight reaches its promised land. If white wants to exchange this piece, a second one will remain to exploit the dark square weaknesses, and the light squared bishop will be powerless to oppose it.} 16.Nc2 $2 {[%eval -2.25] Mistake. O-O was best. Although eventual exchange of this knight is a natural idea, the immediate Nc2 is a mistake. By neglecting kingside development, white has allowed a tactic with his most recent move. Castling was instead his best option, which would have preserved a much more even game, despite the strategic imbalances.} 16...Nxc2+ {[%eval -2.22]} 17.Bxc2 {[%eval -2.18]} 17...Qh4+ {[%eval -2.23]} 18.g3 {[%eval -2.23]} 18...Qxc4 {[%eval -2.34] A quick tactical combination allows us to pick up the c-pawn. With white's king uncastled and his bishop restricted by the structure, the engine is already giving a decisive advantage to black.} 19.Bb3 {[%eval -2.61]} 19...Qb5 {[%eval -2.35]} 20.Rc1 {[%eval -2.92]} 20...Rac8 {[%eval -2.95]} 21.Kf2 {[%eval -3.02]} 21...Nc5 {[%eval -2.87] Finally, the remaining knight reaches a protected dark square. Although not a pure outpost, it is practically impossible for white to orchestrate the b4 pawn push which would evict it from c5. This is the kind of position which we were aiming for when we made the piece exchanges between the moves 13 and 16, and the kind of position which every Kalashnikov player strives for. Having exchanged all three of white's minor pieces which are able to contest the dark squares, we find ourselves with an incontestable knight on c5.} 22.Rc3 $6 {[%eval -3.76] Inaccuracy. Kg2 was best. In this position, the engine quite likes Nxb3 followed by Qxd5, securing another pawn. My teammates too, after the game, asked my why I did not grab this pawn. I asked "What pawn?". The supremacy of the knight on c5 and the strategic machismo of achieving this invincible piece on c5 made me blind to any tactics resulting from trading it off for the passive bishop on b3.} 22...a5 $6 {[%eval -2.45] Inaccuracy. Nxb3 was best.} ( 22...Nxb3 23.axb3 Rxc3 24.Qxc3 Qxd5 ) 23.Qe2 {[%eval -2.45] Would you rather trade the queens and enter a pawn up middle-game with a good knight vs bad bishop scenario, or would you keep the queen and play against white's weak king? Comparing relative king safety, classical chess principles would advise keeping the queens on the board. The engine likes both options; perhaps it is a question of style. Personally, my instinct told me to trade and enter a riskless pawn up endgame which I can slowly but surely grind out to a win. However, I kept looking at white's king and I thought what a shame it would be to forego a kinghunt.} 23...Qb6 {[%eval -2.27]} 24.Kg2 {[%eval -2.15]} 24...f5 {[%eval -1.82] The beginning of the attack on black's king. The queenside is secure, we gain space with f5, threatening to push further, and then start to migrate the heavy pieces towards the kingside.} 25.Rhc1 {[%eval -1.83]} 25...Kh8 {[%eval -1.6] A move made out of an abundance of caution. I wanted to start moving heavy pieces towards the kingside, but doing so straight away allowed white to sacrifice on c5 and push d6 with a discovered check. Although it is not a concrete threat yet, it seemed like the only option which would allow white to create chaos and produce winning chances. Therefore, I wanted to eliminate this option.} 26.Bc4 {[%eval -1.76]} 26...Rce8 {[%eval -1.5]} 27.Bb5 {[%eval -1.44]} 27...Re7 {[%eval -1.56]} 28.a4 {[%eval -2.1]} 28...f4 {[%eval -1.67] With the rooks finally both lined up to support the pawns pushing on the e-file and f-file, f4 felt like the most natural continuation, trying to rip apart the pawn cover in front of white's king. Although, the rooks are not as coordinated as we would like them to be, and we will have to exercise caution not to hang them to any incoming tactics.} 29.Rc4 {[%eval -2.27]} 29...e4 {[%eval -1.93] When in doubt, push the pawns. We create further tension between the pawns with many different captures now possible. There are many continuations, and they are difficult to calculate; however, one thing is certain: white's king is not enjoying recent developments.} 30.R1c3 $2 {[%eval -4.11] Mistake. gxf4 was best. A mistake; gxf4 was a better defense, but securing the 3rd rank with one of the rooks is certainly a natural option.} 30...fxg3 {[%eval -3.97]} 31.Kxg3 {[%eval -4.53] Compared to how the position looked before we pushed f4 on move 28, it is clear we have achieved the goal of uncovering white's king. The engine here finds a lovely sequence of moves starting with Nd3. I tried to calculate this move during the game, with a simple idea in mind. I just wanted the knight out of the way, in order to deliver a check on g1 with the queen, and d3 is just the most natural square for the knight. However, with the rook on e7 being unprotected - d3 is not actually a safe square, and the lines after Rxd3 are not easy to calculate with a clock quickly ticking down, so I decided against playing this move.} 31...Ref7 {[%eval -4.4]} ( 31...Nd3 32.Rxd3 Qg1+ 33.Kh3 exd3 34.Qxe7 Rxf3+ 35.Kh4 g5+ 36.Kh5 Rh3+ ) 32.fxe4 $6 {[%eval -5.74] Inaccuracy. Rxc5 was best. Again, the engine wants Nd3. Capturing the knight allows the fatal Qg1+, but it is white's best option nevertheless. Conversely, after white's second best response to this tempting knight jump, the engine already announces mate in 13 moves!} 32...Qd8 $2 {[%eval -3.33] Mistake. Nd3 was best. Here was white's last chance to pose serious questions. The move e5 makes the road to victory more narrow than any other move. After e5, only the not-so-obvious Rf2 retains the evaluation. Several alternatives retain a decisive advantage, but those already result in a more complicated conversion.} 33.Kg2 $4 {[%eval -7.1] Blunder. e5 was best.} ( 33.e5 Rf2 ( 33...Qg5+ ) ) 33...Qh4 {[%eval -7.02]} 34.Rg3 {[%eval -7.21]} 34...Nd3 {[%eval -7.27] The finishing touch. After several moves of Stockfish screaming out for this knight jump, the human player finally finds it! Unlike the previous two instances, here it is far easier to calculate that the knight is immune from capture, and that it is only time separating the white king from his demise.} 35.Rc8 $2 {[%eval #-10] Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kg1 was best. White attempts a last ditch effort, hoping to sacrifice an exchange to save his king, but the following knight jump decides the game.} 35...Nf4+ {[%eval #-9]} *