Game 5

C - K
D35 - Queen's Gambit Declined : Exchange
Match Owen Sound (5), 20.05.2008

1.c4 Nf6 This was surprising. I played 2.d4 because he mentioned he was thinking about playing the Queen's Indian 2...c6 I don't believe there's a way to punish this move order, can't stop him from playing ...d5. Anand has played it. Kirk may have just allowed me to start playing the Semi-Slav again (without allowing the Colle) :) 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 e6 5.cxd5!? [Not the best move but I didn't want to play v. the Cambridge Springs after 5.Bg5 ;
I didn't know the Shirov-Shabalov Gambit and I would feel funny playing the Meran for the first time in my life 5.e3. I had thought about this eventuality before the match started and decided to stick to my prep and play the exchange ] 5...exd5 [5...cxd5 is a bad Slav Exchange] 6.Bg5 Bf5? [6...Be7;
or 6...Nbd7 transpose to a normal QGD Exchange, but Kirk wanted to try and punish my move order, by getting the bishop out before his knight] 7.e3 [I knew that 7.Qb3 was probably stronger as moving the b-pawn was forced because he can't move his queen, but I wasn't interested in refuting. I wanted to try and push on the queenside] 7...Nbd7 [He could've tried 7...Qb6 here] 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 g6



I had a couple of ideas here. I could've played on the queenside, pushed the e-pawn and played with the IQP or pushed h4 and went for the kingside attack. I thought I'd castle and decide between b4 and e4 10.0-0 Bg7 11.b4 [Kirk seemed to think that 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 0-0 13.Rfe1 was something fabulous, but I saw nothing great about it and I gave myself an isolated pawn for him to beat up on after something like 13...Qb6 14.Nxf6+ Nxf6 15.-- Nd5] 11...0-0 12.b5 [I could've tried 12.Rab1 ] 12...Qc7 Getting out of the pin 13.bxc6?! [13.Rab1 -- 14.Rfc1 was better 14...--;
I could've also tempoed his queen to a worse square 13.Bf4 ] 13...bxc6 14.Rfc1 Leaving the option of Rab1 open. I intended to protect the Rb8 by Bf4 eventually 14...Qd6 15.Bf4 Qe6 16.Na4 Ne4 [Fritz preferred getting rid of my bishop with 16...Nh5 ] 17.Nd2? [17.Rab1 -- 18.Rb7] 17...f5 [17...g5 would have traded off the bishop in all likelihood;
17...c5 was good as well] 18.Nxe4 fxe4 I wasn't worried about the position here because of the pressure on the backward c-pawn and he can't easily attack down the f-file. The one tactic I have to look out for is Bxd4, exd4, Rxf4 19.Qc3 Rac8 20.Nc5 Nxc5 21.Qxc5 Rf7! An obvious move but now can use Alekhine's Gun up the f-file and he also protects the a-pawn. I lost the thread here somewhere. I was going to try and trade off one pair of rooks and win either the c- or a-pawn 22.Rab1 Bf8 23.Qa5 Bd6 [23...Bg7 Renewing the threat of Bxd4 was okay] 24.Bxd6 Qxd6 25.Qa6 Qf6?? Big blunder. Kirk played pretty good up to this point [25...Rcc7 was decent, but I am bringing up pressure and that c-pawn is going to be hard to hold] 26.Qxc8+ So I'm up 3½-1½. Kirk hasn't played that well but like he said he hasn't looked at much chess lately 1-0