Mike Serovey On Chess
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Mike Serovey On Chess

Welcome to my English Opening (ECO A20) game with HaraldP page!

On this page I have posted one my chess games in which I played the Black side of the English Opening . The game includes analysis and diagrams. This is a game in which I outplayed my opponent in the opening and still lost! I resigned in a position that I could have held a pawn up if I had looked at it a little longer. This is the second game that I resigned in recent months when I was not losing. The ratings listed below are for each player at the start of the game.

[Event "ICC 30 0"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.08.12"]
[Round "-"]
[White "OnGoldenPawn"]
[Black "HaraldP"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[WhiteElo "1536"]
[BlackElo "1431"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[ECO "A20"]
[NIC "EO.24"]
[Time "18:03:31"]
[TimeControl "1800+0"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Bc5 3. Bg2 h6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. a3
a6 9. b4 Ba7 10. d4 exd4 11. exd4 Nbd7 12. Bf4 Bb8 13. d5 c5 14. Na4 b5 15.
cxb5 axb5 16. Nac3 cxb4 17. axb4 Rxa1 18. Qxa1 Qb6 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Qa5 Bc7
21. Qxb5 Qxb5 22. Nxb5 Ba6 23. Nxc7 Bxe2 24. Rb1 Rb8 25. Rb2 Bc4 26. Bf4 Rb6
27. b5 Rb8 28. Bxd6 Rb7 29. b6 Nxb6 30. Bc5 Ra7 31. Bxb6 Ra1+ {White
resigns} 0-1

 



	
Online Chess Game


	ICC


	Game Played 12 August 2007


	White: Mike Serovey (1536) Black:  

    HaraldP (1431)


     


    
    










	
1. c4 e5 2. g3 Bc5 3. Bg2 h6 


	


    English opeing after 3... h6.


	
Black's last move weakens the Kingside needlessly. I 

    usually play the pawn to e3 whenever Black plays the Bishop to c5, so I 

    played it here.


	
4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O c6 


	


    English opeing after 7... c6.


	
Putting the Black pawn on c6 is often played to narrow the 

    range of the White Bishop on g2. Black's last move also keeps the White 

    Knight off d5, but I had not intention of putting it there anyway. The pawn 

    on c6 takes a way a square from Black's Queen Knight and only makes sense if 

    Black was planning to push his pawn to d5. Black starts to lag behind in 

    development here.


	
8. a3 a6 9. b4 Ba7 10. d4 exd4 11. exd4 Nbd7 12. Bf4 

    Bb8 


	


    English opeing after 12... Bb8.


	
White now has more space on the Queenside and in the 

    Center. Also, White has better placement of his pieces. Because both of 

    White's bishops are aimed at the Queenside, that is where White attacks.


	
13. d5 c5 14. Na4 b5 


	


    English opeing after 14... b5.


	
White wants to trade off some pieces and pawns here so he 

    is OK with Black's last move. White is also trying to keep pressure on the 

    Black pawn at d6.


	
15. cxb5 axb5 16. Nac3 cxb4 17. axb4 


	


    English opeing after 17. axb4.


	
Both sides now have isolated pawns on the b and d files. 

    White's pawns are better protected than Black's and the Black pawns 

    eventually fall. Black must trade rooks now and his only choices are to 

    capture on a1 or allow White to capture on a8. Capturing on a1 allows the 

    White Queen to go to the a file and then to attack Black's pawn on b5.


	
Rxa1 18. Qxa1 Qb6 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Qa5 Bc7 


	


    English opeing after 20... Bc7.


	
White's pieces are better 

    placed than Black's and the Black pawn at b5 now falls.


	
21. Qxb5 Qxb5 22. Nxb5 Ba6 


	


    English opeing after 22... Ba6.


	
If instead of playing 23. Nxc7 White had played 23. Nec3 

    then Black could play 23... Rb8 threatening to win the Knight on b5. White 

    could then play 24. Nxc7 Bxf1 25. Kxf1 Rxb4 and White has two bishops for a 

    Rook.


	
23. Nxc7 Bxe2 


	


    English opeing after 23... Bxe2.


	
White has to move his Rook now and the question is, to 

    what square does he move it? White is up a passed pawn so moving the Rook 

    behind it to guard it as it advances seems like a good idea. However, I now 

    consider Ra1 followed by Ra8 to force the exchange of rooks to be a better 

    idea. With the rooks off the board Black will have trouble defending his d 

    pawn and White will then have 2 passed pawns to advance.


	
24. Rb1 Rb8 25. Rb2 Bc4 26. Bf4 Rb6 


	


    English opeing after 26... Rb6.


	
White now has an awkward position. White's Knight is 

    easily attacked by Black's Rook and has no good squares to go to. Instead of 

    advancing the b pawn here I now think that 27. h4 was better because it 

    prevents g5 and gives the White King an escape square that he will later 

    need.


	
27. b5 Rb8 28. Bxd6 Rb7 


	


    English opeing after 28... Rb7.


	
Here is where White began to blunder. White is up two 

    passed pawns but cannot safely advance either one. I sacrificed my passed 

    pawn on the b file in order to get a simpler position. Instead of the 

    unsound pawn sacrifice playing 29. h4 was probably best here.


	
29. b6? Nxb6 30. Bc5 Ra7 


	


    English opeing after 30... Ra7.


	
Black's last move baffled me. I was expecting him to take the Knight on 

    c7. I went ahead and captured the Black Knight and protecting my own Knight. 

    I was surprised by 31... Ra1+ and resigned.


	
31. Bxb6 Ra1+ 0-1


	


    English opeing after 31... Ra1+ (Final position).


	
I didn't look at this position long enough before 

    resigning. I got distracted and missed that I had a way out of this. White 

    must play 32. Bf1 which loses the Bishop. However, what I missed was that 

    after Black captures on f1 I am still up a passed pawn and the King has a 

    way out of chackmate.


	
Back to the English 

    Openings page


	
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