1.d3 g5?!

The point of this unusual first move is that if 2. Bxg5? then 2...Bxb2 wins The Exchange of Rook for Bishop. If 1. d4 instead, then this ...g5 "trap" cannot be played.

2.g3 Nh6

Usually I play 2...h6 to support the over-extended g-pawn.

3.Nj3?! Nc6

S.M.I.R.F. had completed an 11-ply search and was starting on ply 12. I guess it did not like Nh3 with the idea that ...g4 could chase it.

4.c4 d6 5.Qa4

An interesting move choice by white, aimed at winning a pawn with Bxc6 bxc6 then Qxc6. I thought maybe S.M.I.R.F. is expecting ...Bd7 so I played something else to test this.

5...Bg7 6.Nc3

If 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. Qxc6 I had planned on 7...Bd7 8. Q(g2 or h1) Af6 then castling with some compensation for the pawn.

6...Af6 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.Ne4!

This is better than 8. Qxc6, and S.M.I.R.F. wins the weakened g-pawn now.

8...Ad4 9.Nxg5 O-O 10.h3 Bd7 11.Ni5

An interesting position. White has 2 Knights on the 5th rank (i5 and g5) and a Queen on a4, with nothing else in play. Black has all of the minors developed to good posts, and Archbishop that is a little "out there" but with excellent retreating destinations that only improve its location, and is castled. At this point I made a "strategic move" without thinking tactically at all. I played the pawn push to follow instantly, which revealed the Bishop to hit on White's Queen, and I carelessly thought "this was all that mattered." S.M.I.R.F. was able to prove me wrong.

11...c5? 12.Qd1!

What a difference seeing a move being made does for your positional clarity! The j7 pawn will now come into range of the Queen on d1. With the e-pawn push, my Archbishop must retreat, and White gains another "free move" to compound the attack against j7 by adding the White Archbishop to e2. Black needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat to get back into this game.

12...Cf6 13.e3 Ae5 14.Ae2 i6

Black's play was pretty much forced. The i-pawn push reduces the scope of the threat against j7, but it also weakens the kingside pawn structure tangibly.

15.f4

Such a move, which hits on the Archbishop, is an obvious first reaction. I did not think this was best here. I was worried about my kingside being destroyed with 15. Nxj7!? Nxj7 16. Nxi6!? hxi6 and Black would have to play very accurately to marshall the resources necessary for a satisfactory defense. I have the threat of ...Axg3+! going for me since the Chancellor in the f-file pins the pawn, but at fast time controls, I have no idea how such a line will play out.

15... Ac6

And now my Archbishop surveys the board from an excellent post.

16.g4 Nj5 17.Ag3

I remember my discussions with Reinhard about the value of his pieces. My thinking at this point: his 2 knights are strong, and the game is far from needing Rooks in open files to control the endgame. Would S.M.I.R.F. trade 2 Knights for a Rook + Pawn? I think it will, so I play...

17...Kj8 18.Nixh7+ Rxh7 19.Nxh7+Cxh7

...and I am correct. Black liquidated White's strong assets and gets an easier game. Now I can focus on setting traps.

20.Ai4 Bi5 21.Cc2

In the sum of all of my experience, I have never seen Cc2 for White or Cc7 for Black lead to "promising play". In the "old days" of the first Gothic Chess Live site, back in 2000, ChessCarpenter (Rob Colanzi) handed me my first defeat ever by forcing my Chancellor onto c2. Now, such a "general statement" as "Cc2 is bad" is of course, oversimplified, but in all of my games, I have noticed that when a Chancellor is able to be deployed to the Kingside FIRST, things always go much better for that player. By heading towards the Queenside first, the Chancellor tends to be under-utilized.

21...Ki8 22.Bd2 Nh4 23.Be1 Nxi2?! 24.Bxi5

The first part of the "trap". Black loses the Bishop for just a pawn.

24... Qh8! 25.Bj6 Cxh3!!

And now my Queen is hanging as well! Hopefully the plan is too deep for S.M.I.R.F. to see. The "patient" move 26. Qe2 is best so that if 26...Ng3+ the Bishop can still retreat and play 27. Bxg3.

26.Bxh8

S.M.I.R.F. grabs the Queen, which is hard to resist.

26...Ng3+!! 27.Axg3 Cxg3+ 28.Kf2 Ch3+ 29.Kf1 Af3!!

At one point S.M.I.R.F. ran through 18 plies of search and scored the position as a repetition draw, but the whole point of the attack was to get my Archbishop into play.

30.Bj6 Ah2+!!

The role of the Archbishop was not to just capture the Queen with ...Axd1, but worsen the position of the White King first.

31.Ke1 Bxg4!!

This functionally ends the game.

32.Rf1 Bxd1 33.Rxd1 Rg8 34.Cxh2Cxh2 35.Rd2 Cj3

And the rest is just technique.

36.Bf2 j5 37.Ke2 Rg2 38.a3 Cg3+ 39.Ke1 Cf3+ 40.Kd1
Rxj2 41.Rc2 i5 42.b4 cxb4 43.axb4 i4 44.Ra2 i3 45.Ke2
Rxf2+ 46.Rxf2 Cg1+ 47.Kd2 i2 48.Ra1 Cxa1 49.Rxi2+ Kj7 50.Re2 Cb1+ 51.Kc2 Cxb4+ 52.Kc3 Cb1+ 53.Kc2 Ca3+ 54.Kd2 j4 55.Rj2 Ca2+ 56.Ke1 Cxj2 0-1