2017 Winter Sucks Round 4 CM Billy Woodward, 2015 - Anton Taylor, 1906 Dutch Rubinstein (A84)

2017 Winter Sucks Round 4
CM Billy Woodward, 2015 - Anton Taylor, 1906
Dutch Rubinstein (A84)

1. d4 f5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. h3 I have never seen this move before. As it turns out my response is the main response in the sideline. Always a good sign. 4. ... b6 5. Nf3 Bb4 6. Bd2 Bb7 7. e3 Nc6 8. Qc2 Qe7 9. O-O-O a5 10. d5? Up until this move the position is equal. I sensed this move was bad but failed to find a satisfactory refutation. 10. ... Bxc3 11. Bxc3 Nb4 

When I played a5 the idea was to gain space in an equal position and placing pawns on squares of the bishop I knew I'd be trading (always a good idea). It seems lucky that the move supports this strike. If I were Alekhine I envision saying something like "ah! The point all along!" but this was luck on principle, not analysis. 12. Qb1 exd5 13. a3 

This position is definitely worth a diagram. I played Na6, again working on principle instad of concrete analysis. The c5 square looks great for the knight. Komodo gives 13. ... dxc4! when there is no adequate defense to Be4 and axb4? opens the file for the rook and the white king gets hunted down. 13. ... Na6 14. Qxf5 O-O 15. Qc2 dxc4 16. Bxc4+ d5?? For the third time in this game I play on principle instead of analysis. I did not manage my time very efficiently in this game at all. I made this move almost immediately and it is a blunder. The simple Kh8 gives an equal position with chances. 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Rxd5 Kh8 19. Ng5 g6 20. Ne4 Qg7 21. Rd4 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Nc5 23. Qc2 Rad8 24. Rhd1 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 Qf6 26. Rd2 Kg7 27. e4 Qf4 28. Qc3+ Kh6 29. f3 Rd8 30. b3 b5?? With both players in time trouble I make a potentially decisive error. I am already completely lost but this is just sad to allow white even greater possibilities. 31. Bd5 Na6 and in a time scramble I manage to trade my knight for the bishop and extra pawn, trade the queens off, and simplify into a drawn rook endgame escaping disaster. 1/2-1/2