[Event "BCCC 2017"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017-06-15"]
[White "James Watson"]
[Black "Bas van Riel"]
[WhiteElo "1872"]
[BlackElo "1863"]
[Result "0-1"]

{500MB, Bas-PC} 1.d4 {An important game for both James and me, if only because we are the two top-rated players. Before the game James'  tournament standing was equal 1st with Heath Gooch, whereas I wanted to prove that I could do better after my poor start of the tournament (1/4). Before the game I spent an hour or so, selecting and preparing a suitable opening, and  briefly looking at some of James recent games.Just to get some extra 'fire in my belly' I decided to be patriotic, focussing on the Dutch opening. In my younger years, I was fond of, and often played the Dutch Stonewall variation with black.I stopped playing it along time ago. So, I needed to check up, and refresh my knowledge quite a bit. That sort of study is usually my warm-up method before any serious game. Luckily, a few minutes before I left my house and go to the club, I suddenly remembered the existance of the (tricky) Staunton Gambit variation of the Dutch Opening, I quickly looked it up to get a rough idea, just in case... And sure enough, that was what James had indeed in store for me! During the postmortem after the game, I realised that I had  picked up a few (usefull) hints beforehand, but that I probably would have executed them in the wrong move-order, if they had appeared in our game.(BvR)} f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nc6 {Up till now, James had flashed his moves out, indicated that he knew what he was doing. But after my Nc6, he began to think.Probably because I declined the gambit by playing 4...d5. My quick pre-game study and memory of the Staunton gambit extended only to 4...Nc6; 5.d5, Ne5 with a complicated situation to follow. So, when James continued with 5.Bxf6, a move I could not remember having seen in my book, I felt that I could get him 'on the ropes'. Perhaps a false sentiment, but it always helps to be positive...(BvR)} 5.Bxf6 exf6 6.Nxe4 f5 {After the game, James thought that this was not my best move, but I (incorrectly) told him that it was a book move. It was the correct idea, but only 2 moves later, and in another variation! That says something about the thoroughness of my prep work.} 7.Ng3 {I thought that c3 was a better spot for the knight, but James disagreed, because it could better support a possible, future attack on blacks king side.} g6 8.Nf3 Bg7 9.Bc4 {From here on, we both played a few 'clumsy' moves. I would have given Bc4 a question mark, as it gives black the opportunity to gain an extra tempo with 9..d5, and if 10.Qe2, Kf7! then the threat of 11..Re8 will be deadly. Of course wrong would have been 10.Qe2, Qe7?; 11.Bxd5 which we analysed after the game for some strange reason.For another (strange) reason, I failed to see the obvious merit of 9...d5, and instead played 9...Qe7? (BvR)} Qe7+ 10.Qe2? {This is the last and final 'silly' move of the series, although James in the aftermath claimed that the pawn loss was intended to be a pawn sacrifice!? I still believe that it, in fact, was the decisive mistake which cost white the game. He is lost here, barring any major mishaps by black. (BvR)} Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Bxd4 12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.c3 Bf6 14.O-O-O Re8 15.h4 d6 {15..c6; followed by 16..d5 would have prevented some headaches for black, solving some tricky hurdles (BvR).} 16.h5 Kf8 17.hxg6 hxg6 18.Rh7 Re7 19.Rdh1 Rxh7 20.Rxh7 Bg7! {I had worked out the sequence, crowned by Bg7 from move 16. Hence the exclamation mark. (BvR)} 21.Ne2 c6 22.Nf4 d5 {Just in time to stop the trouble on my king side, eg. Nxg6, and a weak e6 square (BvR)} 23.Bb3 Kg8 24.Rh1 Kf7 {Oef, that is nicely solved. Now my goal is to develop the bishop and the rook, and rest should be relatively easy in view of the extra pawn and the bishop pair. (BvR)} 25.c4! dxc4 26.Bxc4+ Kf6 27.Rh7? {Although the engines, don't condemn this move, I don't see the merit of it:allowing black to simply complete his development, swap the last rooks and have an easy and very favourable endgame.
Rather than playing 27.Rd1, making it harder for black to activate his bishop, 27.Re1, perhaps annoying black along the e-file and controlling the e6-square} Bd7 28.Nd3 Rh8 29.Rxh8 Bxh8 {Fritz (chess engine) gives black here a winning advantage of +1.72} 30.a4 Bg7 31.f4 Bf8 {The plan for black next is to optimally activate his bishops (BvR)} 32.a5 b5 33.axb6 axb6 34.Ne5? {White's knight was better placed on d3, controlling a number of crucial black squares (where white is weak because of his white controlling bishop). Moreover it is a waste of a tempo, as 35...Bd6 could chase the knight back to d3, followed by b5 and c5 etc. Or 35..g5, forcing  white to play g3, whereafter the g3-f4 pawn chain will be attacked by blacks black-squared bishop, sooner or later (BvR)} Be8 {Black's advantage now is +1.94 (Fritz) ((BvR)} 35.g4? fxg4 {White will loose a second pawn after 36.Nxg4, Kf5 and 37...Kxf4, and he resigns. (BvR)} {#R}