1436-1425, Loss to Queen's Gambit Declined (3...Nc6)

Yesterday's loss came on a Friday evening. Normally I wouldn't be playing rated chess games on a Friday, except this Friday was a day off. Moreover, I'd called in sick on Thursday owing to pain in my shoulder and neck like I was being stabbed with a fork. Two full days of rest should have meant I was ready to bring my A-game.

During those two days at home, I edited "Missed tactics, part 1," and the sense of accomplishment in completing it added to my feeling of readiness. After entering Focus Mode, the Chess.com system assigned me the white pieces and paired me with one "ramanac," rated 1457. I opened with 1.d4 and proceeded to get clinically dismantled.

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1. d4 d5
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Nc6
4. Nf3 Nf6
5. Bg5 dxc4
6. e4 h6

Ramanac surprised on move three when, after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3, he played 3...Nc6. As usual, when an opening doesn't go the way I expect, I momentarily freeze up. With no knight on f6 to pin, I thought for thirteen seconds before continuing 4.Nf3. Black replied 4...Nf6, and now I pinned with 5.Bg5.

In Queen's Gambit Accepted lines, there is a subtle difference between having the e-pawn on e3 and having it on e4. I used to favor e3 but gradually grew fonder of e4, and nowadays after ...dxc4 I almost always advance directly to e4. So it was that after 5...dxc4 I continued 6.e4 -- but the game review insists 6.e3 was best. Black replied 6...h6, and now I had an important decision to make.

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7. Bh4 g5
8. Bg3 Bg7
9. e5 Nh5

Recently, influenced by the YouTube videos of GM Benjamin Finegold and by GM John Shaw's Starting Out: The Queen's Gambit, I have been exchanging on f6 after Black's pawn attacks from h6 rather than retreating my bish to h4. For whatever reason, possibly because Black hadn't spent a tempo developing his bish to e7, I elected to continue 7.Bh4. Game review disapproves, and in hindsight so do I. The correct move was 7.Bxf6.

Black replied immediately with the best move: 7...g5. I was already starting to feel that my d-pawn was in trouble -- e.g. 8...g4 and my knight has to move -- and clearly having a pawn on e3 in this situation would have been helpful. I retreated my bish further with 8.Bg3, and Black fianchettoed with 8...Bg7, stealthily preparing his attack on d4. Anticipating that after Black's knight moved off of f6 my d5 pawn would have three attackers vs. two defenders, I continued 9.e5, blocking the fianchettoed bishop's diagonal. Game review says 9.h3 to give my bish an escape square and to guard my knight from the g-pawn's advance was more important -- and since I didn't play that, Black went ahead with 9...Nh5.

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10. Bxc4 Nxg3
11. hxg3 g4
12. Nd2 Qxd4
13. Nb5 Qxe5+
14. Kf1 0-0
15. Qxg4 Qxb2
16. Rd1 Ne5

There was no saving my dark-square bish, but I could have and should have defended against the g-pawn's advance into my territory with 10.h3. Instead I continued 10.Bxc4 and the eval bar dropped to -0.96. Black chopped my bish with 10...Nxg3, and I rechopped with 11.hxg3. Then came 11...g4 and the beginning of the end. My knight had to move, and I chose an awful square to move it to. Game review recommends 12.h2, counterattacking g4, and maybe if 12...h3 I could swing my other knight to e2 and redefend d4. But no, I played 12.Nd7, giving away d4 with no compensation. Black chopped with 12...Qxd4, and my center was crumbling like old cake.

There was no saving e5, which was now under attack from three directions, but with 13.Rh5 I could have at least avoided Black's queen capturing there with check. Instead I played 13.Nb5, which Black punished with 13...Qxe5+. The eval bar sunk to -3.08. I got my king off the e-file with 14.Kf1, and surprisingly Black castled kingside with 14...0-0, allowing 15.Qxg4 and a pin on Black's bish on g7. Undeterred by the threat of 16.Rxh6, Black captured with 15...Qxb2. If Black would just leave me alone for a turn, I might actually have some counterplay, thought I. How could I buy time? Black was attacking my rook on a1 and my knight on d2. If the queen captured with 16...Qxd2, she would be defending against my idea of 17.Rxh6. So I continued 16.Rd1, getting my rook out of danger, defending my knight on d2, and unless Black played 16...Qf6 I could execute my attack. But Black found an even better move: 16...Ne5, not only attacking my queen but forcing her off the g-file altogether. Evaluation: -4.30.

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17.Qe4 Bd7
18. Nxc7 Rac8
19. Nb5 Nxc4
20. Nxc4 Bxb5
21. Kg1 Rxc4

After close to forty seconds of horror-stricken disbelief, I continued 17.Qe4. Black replied 17...Bd7, adding a second attacker to my knight on b5 and connecting rooks. Game review says 18.Nd4 was best, but I played the suicidal 18.Nxc7. Black, recognizing my knight was doomed, attacked with 18...Rac8. I should have exchanged for a pawn with 19.Nxe6 but instead returned with 19.Nb5.

Black now had a choice of which of my pieces to capture and opted for 19...Nxc4. I recaptured with 20.Nxc4, and Black replied 20...Bxb5, pinning my knight on c4. I broke the pin with 21.Kg1, and Black chopped with 21...Rxc4. Left with a useless rook on h1, another rook that was not long for this world on d1, and a queen with few prospects in life on e4, my position was beyond resignable.

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The game continued 22.Qxb7 Rc2 and 23.Qf3 Be2, and I resigned.