Welcome to my Sicilian Defense (ECO B40) game with BOD1969  page!

On this page I have posted one my chess games in which I played the Black side of the Sicilian Defense . The game includes analysis and diagrams. This game is an example of why I like playing the Four Knights variation of the Sicilian Defense. The ratings listed are those of each player at the end of the game.

Correspondence Game
Stan's Net Chess
19 June 2007 to 23 July 2007
White: BOD1969 (2174) Black: Mike Serovey (2148)

This move order is the Anderssen variation, but I am headed toward the Four Knights variation.

5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nb3 Bb4

White's last move is one that I don't normally see in this opening variation, but it didn't affect my plans any at all. Black is threatening to win the pawn on e4 because the White Knight at c3 is now pinned to the King. Playing the pawn to d5 on move 7 is critical in these kind of positions and is good here because it hits the pawn at e4 and threatens to go to d4 winning the Knight at c3.

7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 O-O

Black has the better pawn structure now. White has an isolated pawn at a2 and doubled pawns on the c file. Black has the kingside pawn majority, which could be an advantage if White's pawns remain doubled.

12. Qd2 b6 13. O-O-O Bb7

Both sides have completed development and White is doubled on the d file. To my amazement White castled to the Queenside where his pawns are weak. As it turns out, that didn't matter in this game. White's next move doesn't make much sense to me.

14. Qe2 Qf6 15. Nd4?!

White thinks that he is setting a cleaver trap here, but it is actually a blunder. At first I hesitated to capture the Knight on d4 because I didn't want to undouble White's pawns. The trap is 15... Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qxd4?? 17. Bxh7+ winning the Black Queen. What White missed is that I don't take the pawn at d4 but instead I take the one at g2!

Nxd4 16. cxd4 Bxg2!! 17. Rhg1 Bf3 18. Qe3 Bxd1

After White recaptures on d1 Black will be up the exchange and a pawn. White's pawn structure is a mess with isolated pawns at a2, f2 and h2. Black now played 19... g6 in order to prevent any Bishop sacrifices on h7 and to give his King an escape square if ever needed.

19. Rxd1 g6 20. Be4 Rad8 21. c3 Qe7 22. Kb2 Qc7

Black's last move hits White's isolated pawn at h2 and prepares to pile up on the c file. It was at this point that Black decided to set up a pawn chain running from h7 to e4 in order to cut off the White Bishop from Black's Queenside.

23. h4 e5 24. d5 f5 25. Bc2 e4 26. f4?

I consider 26. f4 to be a mistake because it gives Black a passed pawn whether Black now captures en passant or not. I captured en passant here because I wanted to reduce the number of pawns on the board and because I wanted to create a passed pawn on the f file with a Rook already behind it. Although White has a passed pawn on the d file it never got to advance.

exf3 27. Qxf3 Rd6 28. Rg1 Qc5

Black has two threats here, to capture the Rook at g1 and to capture the pawn at d5. White was so focused on attacking the Black King that he missed the threat to his Rook and just gave it to me for free! After I captured the White Rook my opponent resigned and made the comment, "Well that was just silly!". If White wanted to save both his Rook and d pawn he needed to play 29. Rd1 in which case I would have slid the King's Rook over to d8 in order to pile up on the d pawn.

29. h5?? Qxg1 0-1

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