Woo-Hoo! For the first time, my online rating is up over 2100...
... temporarily. Ratings tend to go up and down, so I'll likely drop back below the 2100 level in the near future. Still, having broken the 2100 barrier once, it should be easier to do it again.
Here's the game (against a 2023-rated player) that did it:
Blue Emu vs Octenanda
Athens Confederation Intramural Tournament 2012-2013
Caro-Kann Defense, Irregular
1. e4 c6
2. d3 ...
I'm playing a slightly irregular system against my opponent's Caro-Kann Defense. The usual line would be 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4. Instead, I'm playing for a King's Indian Attack position... if my opponent just develops normally, I will follow up with moves like Nd2, g3, Bg2, Ngf3, and O-O; reaching a colors-reversed King's Indian position.
2. ... d5
3. Nd2 ...
Blocking the d-file, and thereby avoiding any exchange of Queens if Black should trade off the center Pawns with dxe4. I like to keep most of the pieces on the board until one side or the other has gained the advantage... otherwise, there is too much risk of the game petering out into a dull lifeless draw. Now Black decides to cut across my KIA (King's Indian Attack) plans, by opening the center. This is quite double-edged, however, since he loses time in the process.
3. ... dxe4
4. dxe4 e5
5. Ngf3 Bg4
6. Bc4 ...
With the center open, the previously-intended KIA development plan would not work very well... it's better suited to semi-closed positions. So I am more-or-less forced to switch plans and play an open game instead. My last move threatens 7. Bxf7+ exploiting Black's unguarded Bishop on g4 (7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Nxe5+ and Black's Bishop on g4 is loose). Note that Black's counter-plan of opening the center (to prevent my KIA development) has left him somewhat behind in time... I have three pieces developed to his one, and I'm ready to castle and centralize my Rook.
6. ... Qc7
7. h3 ...
I might as well challenge his Bishop at this point, so that Black must choose which diagonal he wants to operate on... the c8-h3 diagonal or the h5-d1 diagonal.
7. ... Bh5
8. O-O Nf6
9. Re1 ...
Other possibilities were 9. Qe2 or 9. c3. By clearing the f1-square and guarding my e-Pawn a second time, I free up the Knight on d2 to manoever, allowing my Queen's side pieces to enter the game.
9. ... Bc5
10. Qe2 ...
Just a little consolidating move before I continue developing... from e2, the White Queen can keep an eye on the f2-Pawn, the e4-Pawn, the c4-Bishop... and eventually (after c3) on the b2-Pawn as well.
10. ... O-O
Now I am free to continue my plan of re-deploying the d2-Knight, which will simultaneously release my Queen's side pieces and also challenge Black's active Bishop on h5.
11. Nf1 Nbd7
12. Ng3 Bxf3
A rather drastic solution, but the Bishop would have only limited prospects after a retreat to g6 anyway.
13. Qxf3 Rad8
So Black has caught up in development, but at the cost of exchanging off his light-squared Bishop.
My most obvious idea at this point would be to bring my c1-Bishop and a1-Rook into the game... but I dislike playing aimless developing moves. Instead, I decided to invade Black's light squares, which were weakened by the exchange of his Bishop.
14. Nf5 ...
Now I might be threatening 15. Bg5 followed by 16. Nh6+ (forking the King and the f7-Pawn), and Black cannot capture the annoying Knight by 16. ... gxh6 without losing his own Knight by Bxf6+. Black sees this possibility coming, of course, and side-steps.
14. ... Kh8
15. Bg5 a5
Naturally not 15. ... h6 16. Nxh6 overloading the g7-Pawn. Black now undertakes a demonstration on the Queen's side in order to slow down my King's side initiative. Rather than just ignore it, I decide to first counter his Queen's side play before pressing forward on the King's side... on the theory that if I can stay equal on the Queen's side and also gain an advantage on the opposite wing, then I will be the only one with any realistic winning chances.
16. a4 Qb6
17. b3 Rc8
18. Rad1 Bb4
19. Re2 Qc7
Black's Queen's side manoevers have brought him no advantage, aside from somewhat incommoding my Rooks.
Now I start pressing forward on the King's side again.
20. Nh6 ...
Doubly-attacking the f7-Pawn and overloading his g7-Pawn. It's not a check, thanks to Black's precautionary 14th move (... Kh8), but still very awkward to meet. Black decides to sacrifice a Pawn in order to side-track my c4-Bishop, but he gets inadequate compensation for the lost Pawn. Still, it's hard to see what else he might have tried. Moving his d7-Knight to b6 (in order to guard the f7-Pawn with his Queen) would be best if it weren't for the reply 21. Bxf6.
20. ... b5
21. axb5 cxb5
22. Bxb5 Qb7
Now the obvious-looking 23. Bc4 allows 23. ... a4, overloading my b3-Pawn and generating some serious counter-play. So I'm more-or-less forced to abandon the idea of a double-attack on f7, and instead I can operate with threats of exchanging off either (or both) of his Knights at some favorable moment.
23. c4 Qc7
24. Ng4 Rcd8
25. Re3 ...
Intending to double Rooks on the open d-file, and meanwhile his d7-Knight is still tied down guarding his other Knight on f6.
Black's position is under tremendous pressure, and if he just defends passively and allows me to play Red3 doubling Rooks, that pressure will only increase further. He decides to cut the Gordian Knot, despite the fact that in doing so he loses further material.
25. ... Nxg4
26. Bxd8 Rxd8
27. hxg4 ...
A difficult choice. The other option was to take with the Queen... but in this case I felt that the doubled Pawns were more of an advantage than a handicap.
27. ... Nf8
28. Red3 Rxd3
29. Qxd3 ...
Preparing to invade. With a material advantage of a Rook and a Pawn vs a Knight, I expected the endgame to be an easy win... but the opposite-colored Bishops make it more difficult than you might expect.
29. ... Be7
Defending the entry-points as best he can.
30. Qd5 ...
Threatening the f7-Pawn.
30. ... Kg8
31. Qc6 ...
Pretty well forcing the Queens off the board, since 31. ... Qa7 32. Qe8 leaves him helpless to meet the threat of 33. Rd7 (his Knight is pinned against his King, and his Bishop will be pinned against the f7-Pawn). Black decides to exchange Queens on e8 instead of on c6, so that his King can gain a tempo by attacking the e8-Bishop.
31. ... Qb8
32. Qe8 Qxe8
Now forced, since there is no other way to stop 33. Rd7.
33. Bxe8 Ne6
34. Rd5 Nc5
35. Rxe5 Kf8
36. Ba4 h6
A curious position.
White is far ahead in material... a Rook and two Pawns (7 points) against a Knight (3 points)... but the win is not at all obvious, since Black has a strangle-hold on the dark squares. Simply advancing White's King to d4 gains nothing, since Black can always just kick it back again with Ne6+.
After studying the position for a while, I found the winning plan. First I play f3 to securely guard my e4-Pawn, so that my Rook can return to d5 to cut the board in half. Then I advance my King to e3, to take over the guard of the e4-Pawn. Then I advance the now-mobile f-Pawn up through f4 to f5, where it controls the e6 square and prevents the Black Knight from making use of that square. Then finally, I advance my King to d4, breaking the dark-square blockade... and at that point, Black can safely resign.
37. f3 g6
38. Kf1 ...
Obviously not 38. Kf2 Nd3+ forking King and Rook.
38. ... f6
39. Rd5 Kf7
40. Ke2 Ke6
41. Ke3 Kf7
42. f4 Kf8
43. f5 Kf7
44. Kd4 ...
... and now Black is hopelessly lost. He can no longer maintain the dark-squared blockade, and the advance of my c-Pawn will cost him a piece (assuming that he can stop it at all). That will leave me a full Rook up, in an endgame. He could resign at this point.
44. ... Nxa4
45. bxa4 gxf5
46. gxf5 Bb4
47. c5 Ke7
Hoping to reply to 48. c6 with 48. ... Bd6 (although that line also loses). White has a more convincing win, though... I simply create a second passed Pawn, and then Black cannot stop them both.
48. e5 fxe5+
49. Rxe5+ Kf7
... and now every line wins. For example, I could play 50. c6 Bd6 51. Rd5 Bg3 52. c7 Bxc7 53 Rd7+ winning a piece; or 50. c6 Bd6 51. Rd5 Ke7 52. f6+ Ke6 53. Rxd6+ Kxd6 54. f7 and Black's King cannot stop both the f-Pawn and the c-Pawn simultaneously. I choose a third line, which wins a piece instantly.
50. Kd5
Black Resigns
His Bishop can no longer fall back to the d6 square, so he has no way to prevent the c-Pawn from queening except to take it right now, losing his Bishop.