[Event "BCCC 2017"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017-05-11"]
[White "Bas van Riel"]
[Black "Heath Gooch"]
[WhiteElo "1872"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[Result "0-1"]

{B18: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 sidelines} 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4 {Heath and myself played this opening (Caro-Kann) in the 1st round of the 2013 Country Victorian Championship in Swan Hill. Instead of 6.Bc4, I played Bd3, the classical line of the Caro-Kann After 22 moves, I offered a draw in a worse position for me/white. This time, I tried something different, to avoid a repeat. For the record, back in 2013,Heath had a rating of 1003 and mine was 1704 at the time. Therefore, a disappointing result for me, although I played a good tournament, further on, finishing equal 4-5th on 4/6 points. On the other hand, Heath, despite his deserved draw against me, only collected another 2 points thanks to a bye, and a win against the weakest player. See also http://www.ballaratchess.com/vrcl/vevents13.htm (BvR)} e6 7.N1e2 Nd7 8.O-O Bd6 9.Bf4 Nb6 10.Bb3 Nd5 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.Qd2 Ngf6 13.c4 Ne7 14.Rad1 Nf5 15.Nf4? {15.d5 would have been more forcefull, with some advantage for white (BvR)} Rd8 16.Nxf5 Bxf5 17.f3 O-O 18.Qe3 Rfe8 19.Rfe1 h6 20.g3 {The positions are still completely balanced, with black treading water, and white searching for an opening or tagret (BvR)} a6 21.Qe5 Qxe5 22.dxe5 Nd7 23.Rd6 {This move, at first glance, looks like a logical and good continuation, ie increasing pressure along the d-file. But, in fact, it reflects impatience, and it is the beginning of a poorly designed plan. (BvR)} Nc5 {Good move: suddenly white's pieces can't coordinate effectively and its bishop becomes crippled (BvR)} 24.Red1 Rxd6 25.Rxd6 Kf8 26.Bd1? {This move was to preserve my bishop and prepare b4 etc. I still assessed the position as postive for white, whereas the engine (Fritz) rates black as close to winning (!?) at -0.94! No less...} Ke7 {Black's threat is 27...Nd7 attacking the un-defencible pawn e5 (BvR)} 27.Nh5 Bg6! {Heath is making very sensible moves} 28.Nf4 {28. f4 would have been the better move, but black has the initiative (BvR)} Bb1 29.Nh5 Nd7? {Black allows white an escape, which unfortunately was not spotted (BvR)} 30.f4 Bxa2 31.Nxg7 Rd8 { Not 31...Rg8, because of 32.Rxd7 and 33.Nf6+ winning} 32.b3 {32.Be2 would have given a reasonable chance to hold the draw, but the text move tipped the balance too far in black's favour (BvR)} Nc5! 33.Rxd8 Kxd8 34.f5? {Desperation, as 34. b4, Nd3 would loose pawns (and the game) for white} Bxb3 35.Bxb3 Nxb3 36.fxe6 fxe6 37.Nxe6+ Ke7 38.Nf4 Nd2 39.Nd3 Nxc4 40.Kf2 a5 41.Kf3 a4 42.Ke4 a3 43.Nb4 c5 44.Na2 Ke6 {White resigns. Heath's revenge? See comments at move 6. There were no fireworks or anything special in this game. However, Heath confidently punished white's poor planning and decision-making. (BvR)} {#R}