january match (3)

C-K
January Match Internet Chess Club (3), 08.01.2006
B90 - Sicilian : Najdorf, Kasparov Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 [I tried to move order him here 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 and he either has to go into an unfamiliar (non-Najdorf) Sicilian with 3...Nf6 (or avoid a "normal" Sicilian altogether with 3...e5 ) ] 3.Nf3 [I didn't have the bollocks to try 3.f4 , but maybe next time] 3...Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 and so after a little to-ing and fro-ing we come to the tabiya of the Najdorf. Me and Kirk played some blitz the other day and he went for the mainline v. Bg5 so I decided to go for 6.Be3 again and, not surpisingly, he went for 6...Ng4 again 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7! [Last time he played 9...h5 and got a bad position. The text is theory] 10.Bc4 [Other moves are 10.Be2 ;
10.h3;
and 10.Qd2 . I figured that Bc4 put pressure on f7 and also would tempt him to play ...b5 and then both his kingside and queenside would be exposed] 10...0-0 [10...Qb6 looks interesting as well as Kirk's 10...h5;
or just develop 10...Nc6 ] 11.Ne6?! fxe6?! [11...Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Qa5 was better according to Fritz] 12.Qxg4 This worked out exactly the way I wanted. My queen is on the kingside, there's pins and once i castle queenside there will be another pin on his queen. 12...Qd7 13.0-0-0 [The immediate 13.h4! may be better] 13...b5! 14.Bb3 Bxc3 [A better plan may have been 14...a5 15.a3 a4 16.Ba2 with his own pawn storm] 15.bxc3 Nc6? [Maybe 15...Qe8 trying to get some other pieces on the kingside, but I understand Kirk's rationale. For the third game in a row (or maybe more even) he's severely underdeveloped.] 16.h4! Na5 King safety should be at a premium at this point but I wonder if there's anything he can do? [16...Rf6] 17.hxg5 Nxb3+ 18.cxb3 e5 19.Qh5 hxg5? Losing immediately, but even after[19...Qe6 20.g6 it's pretty tough.

Kirk got himself in trouble with too many pawn moves and not enough development. He said after the game that he needed to learn to defend v. kingside pawn pushes. Maybe in a line like this it would have been better not to castle at all, since pawn-wise, he was strongest in the center. It's hard to say.] 1-0