Viorel Bologan Annotates

The recently finished EICC in Plovdiv was a real feast for those of us who love the opened, aggressive chess. One of the usual suspects of such play was the Moldavian GM Viorel Bologan. He was kind enough to allow me to publish the following fabulous game with his notes:

Bologan Victor Viorel (MDA) - Mchedlishvili Micheil (GEO) [B10]
13th EICC round_8 Plovdiv BUL (8), 29.03.2012
[Bologan Victor Viorel (MDA)]

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 [Black is taking the chalenge and chooses a side line. I think the main idea of my opponent was to avoid my preparation - I must say he reached his goal!]

4.e5 Ne4 5.h3 [Prophilaxis which is mainly directed against the bishop on c8; the bad news about this move is that black can transpose into a comfortable french with a solved problem of the kingside knight. That, I understood only few days after the game.]

[5.Ne2 would be the most principled move which would pose a question on the knight status on e4: 5...Qb6 6.d4 c5 (6...e6 7.Nfg1 f6 8.f3 Ng5 9.Ng3 Nf7 10.exf6 gxf6 11.Nh5 Nd7 12.Ne2І) 7.dxc5 Qxc5 8.Ned4 Nc6 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.0–0 e6 11.Be3 Qb4 12.c4 Qxb2 13.cxd5 Nc3 14.dxe6 ! 14...Nxd1 (14...Bxe6 15.Bxc6+ bxc6 16.Qd3±) 15.exd7+ Kd8 16.Raxd1 Nxd4 17.Nxd4

despite the queen down White has a very serious atack which he later managed to convert into a full point, Svetushkin D 2554 - Landa K 2635 , 14.3.2010 11th EICC Men; 5.d4 it's another attempt which ignores the development of the bishop on g4 or f5: 5...Bf5

a) 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 (7...Bxf3 8.Qxf3 e6 9.Be2) 8.e6 fxe6 9.Rb1 Qc7 10.Be2 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nd7 12.0–0 with compensation;

b) 5...Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.e6 fxe6 8.Be2 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 Nd7 11.0–0 e5 12.Bg4 and White has compensation for the pawn; 6.Bd3 (6.Nxe4 Bxe4 7.Ng5 Bg6 8.h4 h6 9.Nh3 e6 10.Nf4 Bf5 11.c3 c5 = Shumyatsky V 2352 - El Debs F 2502 , 29.11.2010 77th ch-BRA) 6...e6 7.0–0 Be7 8.Qe1 Nxc3 9.Bxf5 Nxa2 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Rxa2 with slight advantage for White.]

5...e6 6.d4 [Here for some time I was considering]

[6.d3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 and only now 8.d4 Nc6 9.Bd3 c4 10.Be2 However, comparing with the game I am a clear tempo down.]

6...c5 [6...Bb4 was also good enough 7.Bd2 Nxd2 8.Qxd2 0–0 9.Be2 c5 10.a3 Qa5 11.0–0 Bxc3 12.bxc3 b6 After the exchanges Black is getting rid of his pieces thus minimizing the space advantage of White. In the meanwhile he can start exploiting the white weaknesses on the queeneside.]

7.Bd3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c4 [Now an interesting French with alive bishop on f8 arises, which is definitely in Black's favour.]

9.Be2 Be7 10.h4 Nc6 11.h5 h6 12.g3 [Here I felt unconfortable to find a good move and the main question was where to put the knight?]

[12.a4 Qa5 13.Bb2 Bd7 14.Nh4 0–0–0 15.f4 Rdg8 would be similar to the game]

12...Qa5 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Nh4 0–0–0 15.a4 [My point is at some stage to exchange the black coloured bishops but even after that the weaknesses on the queens side together with black counterplay on the kingside would give me a motive for a headake.]

15...Rdg8 16.Bg4 Bg5! [The idea is to weaken the pawn on g3.]

17.f4 Be7 18.Kf2?! g5! [A typical breakthrough for this type of pawn structures.]

19.hxg6 fxg6 20.Nf3 [My point now is at least to keep the g file closed after exchanging on g5.]

20...Qd8 [Black had a pleasant choice here either to go for immediate:]

[20...g5 21.fxg5 hxg5 22.Rxh8 Rxh8 23.Kg2 Qd8 24.Ba3 Bxa3 25.Rxa3 Qe7 26.Ra1 Qh7; Or to play even stronger: 20...Nd8! To be honest I missed this idea completely - with the help of the knight Black's attack becomes realy dangerous.]

21.Qe2 Qf8 22.Kg2 Nd8 [Already here I had to realize that I am in trouble, but I reacted with the fast:]

23.a5 [, instead of more solid]

[23.Be3 Nf7 24.Raf1 Qg7 25.a5 holding the position]

23...Nf7 24.Rf1!

A critical moment of the game finaly I understood that I am completely strategicaly outplayed by my opponent and I am in deep trouble. After long thought I saw that the only way to stop black' attack is the idea of f5. The other point in my plan it was to combine that with idea of the sacrifice on c4.]

24...Qg7 25.Nd2 h5 [25...g5 26.f5 exf5 27.e6+–]

26.Bf3 [Perhaps:]

[26.Bh3 was stronger, but I was already focused on the attack 26...g5 27.Bxe6 Bxe6 28.f5 h4 29.g4 Nd8 30.a6 b5 31.fxe6 Nxe6 32.Kh2 Nf4 33.Qf3 Rf8 with unclear play.]

26...g5

On:]

[26...h4 I would react with 27.g4 g5 (27...h3+ 28.Kh2) 28.f5 holding the files closed on the kingside.; But I was mostly afraid of: 26...Bb5 ! which I saw in my opponents face. After considerable thought Micheil declined it 27.a6 bxa6 28.Rh1 g5 29.f5 g4 30.Bxd5 exd5 31.f6 Bxf6 32.exf6 Qxf6 33.Rf1 Qg6 34.Qe7 Ng5 35.Rf6 Qg7 36.Qc5+ and the position is anything but clear.]

27.Nxc4?! [Objectively speaking:]

[27.f5 was a better move, but could not let the chance of sacrifice to run away from me- 27...g4 28.Bxd5 exd5 29.f6 Bxf6 30.a6 b6 31.Rxf6 h4 32.Nxc4 hxg3 33.Rxf7 Qxf7 34.Nd6+ Kc7 35.Nxf7 Rh2+ 36.Kf1 Rh1+ 37.Kg2 Rh2+=]

27...g4? [Allows a nice combination which was easy to avoid:]

[27...gxf4! The only real chance for Black to take the advantage and of course this corresponds with idea of opening the files: 28.Bxf4 Bg5 29.Kf2 h4 30.Ke1 hxg3 31.Bxg5 Qxg5 32.Bg2 dxc4 33.Rxf7 Rf8 34.Rf6 Rxf6 35.exf6 Qxf6µ; 27...h4 28.g4 gxf4 29.Bxf4І]

28.Bxd5! [One by one, White is destroying the strong pawn chain freeing the way for his pawns.]

28...exd5

29.Nb6+!! [A tempo! Black prepared very strong attack, so the only thing white has is time, time even on a price of two pieces!]

29...axb6 [29...Kd8 30.Nxd7 Kxd7 31.Qb5+ Kc7 32.a6 b6 33.Qxd5 Rb8 34.f5+–]

30.axb6 Kd8 [The other moves would not save neither:]

[30...Kb8 31.e6 Nd6 32.exd7 Qh7 33.Ba3 Qe4+ 34.Qxe4 dxe4 35.Ra2+–; 30...Bf5 31.Qb5 Kd8 32.Ra8++–; 30...Bd6 31.Ra8+ Bb8 32.f5+– followed by Bf4]

31.Ra8+ Bc8 32.Qb5! [This move escaped from the attention of my opponent as he confessed after the game.]

32...Nd6 33.Qxd5 Qf7 34.Qc5 Bf8 35.f5 Qd7 36.e6 Qc6+ 37.Qxc6 bxc6 38.f6

The triumph of the white pawns over the black pieces. Because of the pin on the eight rank Black can not do anything in order to stop the pawns being promoted.]

38...Rh7 39.f7 Rg6 40.Ba3 Rxe6 41.Bxd6

1–0