One of the most important things in chess is pattern recognition: the ability to recognise typical themes and images on the board, characteristics of a position and their consequences.
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[Event "Cupertino, California"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.05.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steger, Eric"]
[Black "Stolin, Dan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Dan Stolin"]
[BlackElo "1100"]
[ECO "C08"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "2100"]
{ A 1000 rating point upset in Cupertino. } 1. e4 { C08: French Tarrasch: 3...c5
4 exd5 exd5 sidelines } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 { This was the first time I played
against 3. Nd2. I was expecting a repetition of the Exchange Variation, with
which he just crushed another strong player, a friend of mine named Sam Jew.
Here on 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 c5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. h3 Nc6
9. c3 h6 10. Re1 Re8 11. b4 Bb6 12. a4 Bc7 13. Na3 a6 14. Be3 Ne5 15. Nxe5
Bxe5 16. Qc2, I prepared to replace Sam Jew's 16... Ne4?! with 16...d4!?,
getting rid of the isolated pawn. } 3... c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. dxc5 { Lackluster. The
routine 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Qe2+ would certainly have given me a harder time: the
French Defense is not one of my usual choices against 1. e4. } 5... Bxc5 6. Ngf3 Be6 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 Nc6 10. c3 d4 { A serious error which should
have been answered by 11. c4, followed by 12. Nb3 and an eventual round-up of
the d4-pawn. } 11. b4 Bb6 { Now 11... dxc3! was screaming to be played. I
didn't hit on this idea until the next move, when 12. ... dxc3 was still
good, but under less favorable conditions. Facing an adversary I never
conquered before, I thought I'd be lucky to escape with a draw. } 12. b5 { I
was hoping for a draw until this point, when I forgot about my peaceful
intentions; now both players are out for each other's throats. } 12... dxc3 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. bxc6 Bxf2+ 15. Rxf2 Nxf2 16. Bxh7+ { This move simply fails. } 16... Kxh7 17. Qc2+ Kg8 18. cxb7 { Now we see why 12... dxc3 would have been better on
move 11. As played, both my Knight and my Rook are in jeopardy. } 18... Nxh3+ 19. gxh3 Rb8 20. Qxc3 Qb6+ 21. Be3 Qxb7 22. Ng5 Qc8 { Black can afford to simplify
at a pawn's expense. Eric Steger accepts the challenge, pinning his hopes on
the a-pawn. However, this puppy is easily restrained, after which White loses
eventually. } 23. Qxc8 Bxc8 { Maneuvering the Bishop to a more useful square.
This looks like the worst possible recapture, but, as the reader shall see in
the later course of the game, the Bishop is more usefully employed on c8,
eyeing b7 and a6. } 24. Bxa7 Rb5 25. h4 f6 26. Nf3 Rf5 27. Nh2 Rh5 28. Bf2 g5 { Opening up the game and sealing White's fate. } 29. hxg5 fxg5 30. a4 { At this
point, even my suggestion of 30. Bb6 is hopeless for white, but the text
allows a more efficient win. When ahead in the world, simplify life. The
rest, in my opinion, deserves no comment: it's mere routine. } 30... Rxh2 31. Kxh2 Rxf2+ 32. Kg3 Rf6 33. a5 Kg7 34. Rc1 Ba6 35. Kg4 Kg6 36. Rc5 Rf4+ 37. Kg3 Kh5 38. Rc6 Rf3+ 39. Kg2 Bb7 40. Rb6 Rb3+ 41. Kf2 Rxb6 42. axb6 Kh4 43. Kg1 g4 44. Kh2 g3+ 45. Kg1 Kh3 0-1