https://lichess.org/qr4dEy8b
I was the black pieces. Please note that these are all my thoughts sans engine and sans analysis board. So i'm evaluating on my own and with my own visualization. I go through the whole game like this and write down my thoughts and lines I see. Then I go back a second time with an engine on and with the ability to play out lines on the board and add notes in. So anytime you see "The engine/stockfish/SF says...." that's only my notes after I've seen the engine eval and lines.
(4) Evans Gambit. Pretty sure it's okay to take the pawn. If 4. ...Bb6, white can play for c3 and d4 and have a big center. If 4. ...Bb6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Qe2 maybe then d4 coming for white.
If 4. ...Bb6 5. b5 Na5 and white has to address the bishop attack and also the lonesome b-pawn. As an aside, just because I used to have problems with this line, if 4. d3 Nf6 5. Ng5 d5 6. exd5 Na5 is the move to play here!
(5) ...Ba5 is only move yeah? If 5. ...Bc5 then 6. d4 is strong, giving white a big center. I think black is okay so far.
(6) White is castled and black plays a slow ...d6. I was paranoid about the fried liver attack coming, and now that a5 was occupied by my bishop I didn't have that important Na5 move. I wanted my light-squared bishop handy and ...d5 just loses a pawn. But ...d6 must be bad too. I wanted my kingside knight out and to castle, but the line I was fearing was 6. ...Nf6 7. Ng5 d5 8. exd5 and here I don't have the Na5 move-ENGINE SAYS SIMPLY CASTLING. Hmm but after 8. exd5 I do have Nxd5 which blocks the bishop's action. Granted, that d5 knight is now pinned by the bishop to the weak f7 square but the important distinction is that 9. Nc3 is not possible. Therefore, 6. ...Nf6 is probably best move here to help me castle. I played ...d6 to hope for Be6 bailout if necessary to trade off white's light-squared bishop and I had time for it because Ng5 wasn't playable yet. I over-looked the d4 push, giving white a big center. 6. ...Nf6 7. Re1 0-0 8. d4 isn't as potent for white because the c-pawn is pinned to the rook. So 7. d3 is probably necessary. NO, ENGINE SAYS D6 IS GOOD!
(7) My failure to play ...Nf6 last move and castle my king lets white strikeout in the center, correctly opening lines while my king isn't safe. Shoulda been calculating this. I can't take on d4 and allow that pawn duo which will be annoying to develop around. White is threatening d5 and if I move my knight, Qa4+ will come. Unfortunately, I was still paranoid about the fried liver attack and so my reply is egregiously slow. Taking on d4 doesn't look good: 7. ...exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 hitting g7 and also threatening Qa4+. I think 7. ...exd4 8. Nxd4 Nge7 might hold for black, but if 7. ...exd4 8. cxd4 and then 9. d5 is coming. Perhaps the bailout move for black is 7. ...b6 to protect the bishop, then 8. d5 Nce7 and it's probably better for white but I'm not dropping a piece.
(8) the threat I didn't see. 8. ...Nce7 9. Qa4+ picking up the bishop. I save it the best way I can find by trying to get a good square for my bishop and now i'm considering castling long. ENGINE SAYS THIS IS NOT A THREAT, I KEP MISSING THAT PUSHING C6 WOULDA BLOCKED THE CHECK AND GUARDED A5
(10) White is up a piece, but because of the gambit line, he is down two pawns. He proceeds by trying to trade and threaten Qa4 (If I allow 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Qa4 I don't see how I save the a5 bishop and c6). I like my tenth move but I'm still not castled, sheesh. 10. ...Ne7 may have been better so I can castle next move hopefully, and if bishops are traded, Nxc6 guards a5. My game move preps castling long, guards f7 and if trading bishops, I'll take back with queen and hit c3 twice. There's also a Ba4 follow-up idea maybe. I considered 10. ...Bb5 as black here to hit the rook, but I see a line in which white gives the piece back but gains a pawn and makes black's king very exposed. 10. ...Bb5 11. c4 Ba6 (idea 12. ...c6 bishop trap) 12. c5 dxc5 13. Bxf7+ Kxf7 14. Nxe5+ and there are some trouble squares for black's king. I didn't see that in-game. Hard to see and not sure if that's best for black to go down that line because of king safety.
There's also this easier-to-see line: 10. ...Bb5 11. Bxb7 Bxf1 12. Bxa8 Qxa8 13. Qxf1 and black loses a pawn in that exchange because 13. ...Qxe4? 14. Qb5+ will lose the bishop.
(11) Ahh, missed this move from white. He's developing with tempo and I'm behind because my king in the middle. A principle violated! I now can't castle long
(12) ...0-0 praise the lord! I saw the queen and rook on the same diagonal immediately but c4 shuts that down. I tried calculating for tactics for a bit but decided to finally castle. ENGINE SAYS I MISSED A TACTIC HERE. QUEEN AND KNIGHT ARE FORK-ABLE BY THE PAWN SO IF BXD5 EXD5 E4 WINS A PIECE
(13) I go for some active play. I was actually close to resigning here, expecting c4 but maybe there's some complications with that after c6 from black to trap the bishop. There's also 13. ...Ng4 hitting the other bishop
(14) White pins the knight. I was expecting either c4 or Bc4.
(15) White takes some time here, I was deeply calculating a desperado 15. Bxf7+ Qxf7 16. Nxd6 Bxd3 17. Nxf7 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Rxf7. I saw that in-game, The trick is to continue on and take the rook at the end! I somehow forget or look past that while this combo plays out. White plays Nxe5, importantly leaving his bishop under attack. So white attacks my queen but willingly chooses to open up the attack on his queen and also leave his bishop hanging. So I'm on move and I should see we each take the other's queen, then we each take the other's rook but then once again I'm on move and there are two of white's pieces hanging. I can take the bishop and his knight is actually trapped. The line after white's in-game move is: 15. ...Bxd3 16. Nxd7 Bxf1 17. Nxf8 cxd5 and white can't save his knight.
(16) I don't play the rook capture for whatever reason. I think I see that I can take the knight and white will have two pieces hanging still but that's not the case.
(17) Ahh right, white finds the move. 17. ...Bxc3 18. Rc1 and I think white's losing one of the bishops and I'd actually be giving him a choice. So I'm now one pawn ahead when I shoulda been slightly more but okay. At least I turned it around but not as much as I could. I see 17. ...Be2 is interesting, if complicated. ENGINE SAYS 17. ...BE2 IS THE IMPORTANT MOVE TO SEE!
(20) I saw this whole line from move 18, getting the c-pawn all the way to f3 and I thought it was fine in my head, white is getting a rook on the 7th though, and I didn't see that it was hitting b7 until it was played in-game. I recall being low on time and this gave me some minutes back at least. I did know that white would have 4 pawn islands after it, whereas mine would be strong. I was worried it wasn't as good for me as I thought, see notes on move 21
(21) I was expecting 21. gxf3 Bxc3 22. Rc1 Rc8.
(22) After Kxg2, white indeed has 4 isolated pawns while black has 2 solid pawn groupings
(24) I was somewhat close to playing 24. ...Bd2 forcing a bishop trade but I'd cry with 25. Rd1. I think 24. ...Bb4 was played with Bc5 in mind
(25) Get king over to help with white's dangerous-ish pawns
(26) Strong move from white. If ...Bc5 27. Bxc5 bxc5 28. Rb5. Maybe I wasted my time on move 25 and I should have played ...Bc5 then. Instead my 26th move is a blunder because 27. Rd1 as mentioned before. Tears.
(28) Yay for mutual blunders. White misses it too.
(29) a5 comes from white, probaly not good to just give me a pawn, even though he gets a passed c-pawn.
(30) white gets behind his passer but my rook should shut his king off and my king will march over. I start to feel better at this point finally.
Conclusions
I'm happy I fought back after dropping a piece in yet another bad opening. I have to be WAY more vigilant in my openings. I'm not getting good positions.
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