ICC Monthly Tournament (Feb 2010 ) Round 2

An enjoyable win.

I was ahead a pawn by move 9 after a slip by White...

[ White plays 9.Be2 ]

...following which I generated what I thought was a good attack.

However, with 12...Ng3, I mis-calculated the various options and although I went up another pawn soon after with a mistake by White, I allowed a nasty Bh6 which cramped me.

Yet again, I spent far too much time thinking, and by this time ( move 18 ) only had about 10 minutes left.

Mistakes on both sides follow, but despite what seems like a dangerous king-side attack from White (with a Bishop on h6, and a Queen not far behind ), I found the correct moves and never really felt threatened by the attack, much more by my own time-trouble.

33.Re7 seemed good, but was a blunder, and even though I lost the exchange there, White's bishop prevented his Queen from making any check threats.

[White has played 33.Re7 ]

After 33...Rxe7 34.Bxe7, the natural check 34...Qc6 was wrong, and better was 34...Re8 35.Re1 d2 which would have finished it. If I had more time, I think White would have resigned.

I managed to get away with 35...Qc2+, which should have been answered with Rd2.

Finally, I missed an obvious mate at move 38, but won it in the end, mainly because, even though White had a huge amount of time compared to me, he played too quickly.

Interestingly, this was the first "1.d4" game I have played on ICC at standard, and despite my attempts to force it into e4 territory, it turned out into an unfamiliar, and thought-provoking, King's Indian

I am looking forward to next week, when I should have White ( & probably a higher-rated opponent ).