[Event "BCCC2026"]
[Site "Ballarat Chess Club"]
[Date "2026-05-14"]
[White "Jamie Brotheridge"]
[Black "Scott Stewart"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nge2 O-O 6. Ng3 Nbd7 
{ The KID has been the main sparring ground between Jamie and I for a couple of years. He has had some good results with this Ng3 line. }

7. Be2 e5 8. d5 a5 
{ a5 prevents b4 and allows the knight to enjoy the c5 square. Jamie has been trading his dark-squared bishop for the knight on c5, and allowing Black to have the dark-squared bishop unchallenged is not a good idea. If he does not chop the knight, I am quite happy to have a knight on c5. }

9. O-O Nc5 10. Be3 Kh8 11. Rc1 $10 
{ I think the rook on c1 is a little passive. Better to develop the queen or play f3. }

(11. Qd2)
(11. f3)

11... Ng8 
{ The idea behind the Kh8 move after Be3 is to prevent White from infiltrating with Bh6, keeping the dark-squared bishop alive. If Black achieves the f5 pawn break and dislodges the pawn from e4, Black can move the e-pawn and improve the scope of the fianchetto bishop. }

12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. Bd3 
{ Passive move number two. Better to develop the queen and unite the rooks. }

13... Qh4 
{ I signalled with this move my aggressive intentions on the kingside. It was a bit too adventurous; Jamie could have landed a knight on b5 and forced the queen to return to e7. }

14. Qe1 

(14. Nb5 Qe7 $15)

14... f5 
{ Black achieves the desirable f5 pawn break, launching a kingside pawn storm. I was getting excited by the position, already visualising how wonderful a Ra6-h6 rook lift would be if Jamie cooperates and trades on f5. }

15. exf5 gxf5 
{ I think the pawn trade on f5 was a mistake. You can see the 6th rank is completely cleared, paving the way for the a8 rook to be brought across to the kingside with Ra6-h6. }

16. Qe2? 
{ Jamie tries to trade queens with Qh5. }

(16. f3 
{ I may be being too generous with the mistake tag on Qe2. Better was f3 to prevent me from playing e4 and improving the scope of my dark-squared bishop, who has a starring role to play in the remainder of the game. })

16... e4 17. Bb1 Be5 
{ Be5 prevents White from trying to trade queens with Qh5, and Bxg3 removes the defender while protecting my queen in the process. }

18. f3 

(18. Qh5?? Bxg3 19. Qxh4 Bxh4)

18... Bd4+ 
{ f3 was the right idea a move ago. Now Black can start to dream big. Driving the king to the h-file, I started to see mating nets, including after Ra6 the cute Qxg3 winning the knight, as capturing the queen would lead to mate. }

19. Kh1 Ra6 20. Nxf5 

(20. fxe4?? Qxg3 21. hxg3 Rh6+)

20... Rxf5 21. fxe4? 
{ It would have been better to bring a piece over to the kingside to aid in the defence. }

(21. Nxe4 Rh6 22. g4 Rf8 $19 
{ Black is still winning, but this is an improvement if White wanted any chance to try and save the position. })

21... Qxh2+ 
{ Oh no! My queen. I spent a bit of time trying to make the queen sac work, but the rooks could only manage a draw. I surveyed other candidate moves and failed to find a quick finish. I returned to the queen sac and found the lovely bishop check, drawing the king out to g4 for a beautiful finish to this lovely miniature. Black has to give back too much material to save the king from mate. }

22. Kxh2 Rh6+ 23. Kg3 Be5+ *