Before this game, I searched through Jesse's games, something like 84 of them in my database. But it was a Desert Knight pamphlet, that I can't find now, where Steve Sandager played this variation for Black and lost. I decided, after going through Kraai's games, that his weakness was the opening, and late middlegame mainline patterns. Sandager had played 6...Nf6 which is way inferior to the analysis of this line in Khalifman's book "Opening for White According to Kramnik". Khalifman and Kramnik are of the opinion that Black should eventually wrest the initiative from White after 6...f6. I saw that Kraai had played this line, so I played that.

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qd4 First played with recognition, by Alekhine. Khalifman's book gives 6. Nxd5 as better than the text. They give the continuation 6... Qxd5 7. e4 Qd8 8. d4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Be2 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Nd7 13. Rd1 Nb6 14. Qb3 , compared to the game after 14.a3. 6... f6 7. e4 e5 8. Nxe5 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Nf7+ Ke8 11. Nxh8 Nxe4 12. Bc4 Nd6 13. Bg8 Bg7 14. Bxh7 Bxh8 15. Bxg6+ Ke7 16. d4 Nd7 17. h4 Nf8 18. Bd3 Bf5 19. Ke2 Be6 20. h5 Bd5 21. Kf1 Ne6 22. Be3 f5 23. Re1 Bxa2 9... Qe7 10. Nf3 Qxe4+ 11. Be2 Nd7 12. O-O Bb4 13. Qe3 13. d3 Qe7 14. Qc2 O-O 15. Bd2 Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Nb6 17. Rfe1 Qd6 13... Nc5 I believe this is actually a good reply, although I did play it to set a trap after none other than Mr. Kraai's next. 14. a3 This move is not a mistake, as I in fact saw a little further I think than Mr. Kraai. It is because on move 17 that 17.Nd4 can be played, the best way to dominate Black's knight. My chess Idol has always been Lasker for his approach of studying the game from back to front; however, if ever situated across from me in a tournament you will discover that I always play for piece activity, and my favorite theme has always been piece domination, and trapping Queens, I think more in the spirit of Alekhine? I am trying to change my style, to more in the spirit of my own Chess Theory which I am currently writing about. 14... Qxe3 15. dxe3 Nb3 It is afte r this move that I became too focused on breaking my knight free with 17.Nd4 a5, a variation that doesn't even get played. 16. axb4 Nxa1 17. Bd2?? It was exactly this theme of always trying to capture the N that has taken a rook in the corner by clearing one's pieces and then taking with a rook that I was almost sure he would play, and that I knew had to be wrong, that I was counting on. The rush of adrenaline and overconfidence on my part came my way and instead of trying to think of a new way such as 17...Nb3 18.Bc3 Ke7!! which would have probably won me the game, I plodded on with ideas associated with 18...a5. 17. Nd4 17... Nb3 18. Bc3 a5 18... Ke7!! (with the idea of answering 19.Bc4 with ...Be6, as well as holding the f6 pawn. -Ed.) 19. Ng5 And here I saw this variation when Mr. Kraai arrived at my board but wasn't sure of anything else, had I just had 5 seconds more or would have thought to use a pass I would have surely played 19...Rf8 which is what I played immediately when I set the board up at home which probably would've won. However, I wanted to win straight up, with no passes, so I played the variation I was sure was still equality :( By the way, according to my new chess theory, the correct move in this position is actually 19... Bf5! because it is my view that after a combination, the results of which are still not over, that Black and White should now be trying to cover the light squares! 20. e4 Bd7 21. Bc4 fxg5 22. Bxb3 Rhd8 23. b5 Be6 24. Bxe6 19. Bc4 axb4 20. Bxf6 Rf8 It was here that I saw I could take White's light squared bishop on move 23 with ...Nxc4 and I had intended to whip these next moves off, which is never a good way to think; patience is always better. 21. Bg7 Rxf3 22. gxf3 Nd2 23. Rc1 It wasn't until Mr. Kraai had played this move that I saw that I could maybe win a pawn on f3! But I just didn't see that after ( 23. Rc1 ) 23... Nxf3+ 24. Kg2 that 24... Nh4+ came with check, and if 25. Kg3 , then 25... Nf5+ would have won me the game. I wasn't even looking at the h4 square; I don't know the reason. Sometimes you should just look at every square. I will say that he was coming around rather fast at this point. In a tournament, I would have without a doubt played ...Nxf3+. 23... Bh3 Here once again I should have taken the pawn on f3 or at least taken off the B on c4 giving me opposite colored bishops and rooks with the initiative on my side. 23... Nxf3+ 24. Kg2 Nh4+ 25. Kg1 Ke7 26. Bh6 Ra5 27. f4 Nf3+ 28. Kg2 Rh5 29. Kxf3 Rxh6 30. Kg2 Rh5 23... Nxc4 24. Rxc4 Bh3 25. Rc1 g5 24. Be2 Kf7 25. Be5 Ke6 26. f4 Who would've thought that my idea to keep the N in the middle of the 2nd controlling light squares could be all that bad? As it turns out, I believe that it was because of this faulty idea of mine that the initiative magically passed to the two Bishops. Here Black should play ...Rd8 followed byretreating the Black Monarch to e7 so he can retreat yet another piece with ... Be6 in order to play ...Nc4. 26... g5 it was here after the game that Kraai pointed out (rightfully so) that he should've played 27.f3 here followed by 28.Kf2. 26... Rd8 27. f3 Ke7 28. Kf2 Be6 29. e4 Nb3 30. Rd1 Rxd1 31. Bxd1 Nd2 32. Be2 Nc4 27. Rd1 gxf4 28. Bxf4 Rg8+ 29. Bg3 Rd8 30. f3 Rd7 31. Kf2 b5 32. Ra1 Nc4 33. Ra6 And here I thought that there should be a move instead of this light square sally. A move, however, which would enable a light square move. That move I thought might be 33.b3, simply because the Knight was still attacking it, and in the back of my mind was maybe a ...b3 which keeps the target for the black N. 33. b3 Ne5 34. e4 Rd2 35. Ke1 Rd8 36. Ra6 Nd3+ 37. Bxd3 Rxd3 38. Rxc6+ Kf7 33... Kd5 34. e4+ Kc5 35. Bf4 Nxb2 36. Be3+ Kd6 37. Kg3 Be6 38. Bxb5 Here I was, with maybe an equal position. The move before, I saw that I could check the King with ...Rg7; however, Kraai only had about 5 people left and seemed to be coming around about every 20 seconds. 38.Bxb5 surprised me and I forgot all about ...Rg7+, which would have enabled ...Bd7 defending the pawn and maybe(?) the game. Instead, I blundered like the 1814 player that I was with 38... Kc7?? 38... Rg7+ 39. Kh4 Bd7 40. Rb6 Rg2 41. Bf1 Rxh2+ 42. Kg3 Rh1 43. Bg2 Rh5 44. Rxb4 Rb5 45. Rd4+ Ke7 46. Bf1 Rb3 47. Bg5+ Ke8 48. Rd6 Na4 49. Bc4 Ra3 50. Bf7+ Kxf7 51. Rxd7+ Kg6 52. Kg4 h5+ 53. Kf4 Rc3 54. Rd6+ Kf7 55. Bf6 Rc5 56. e5 And White should win. The moral of the story is that the N+B where even the N is posted well is not as good as being up a pawn, even if temporarily having N+B versus the two Bishops, or even trading that N for B with the initiative in an opposite colored B vs. R endgame with opposing pawn majorities. 39. Rxc6+ Kd8 40. Rxe6 Rb7 41. Bc6 1-0 [Jeff Sundell/Fritz 8]