Vigus,J (2266) - Williams,S (2353) [A96]
Smith & Williamson Young Masters Witley (6), 19.07.2000
[Vigus,J]

1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 g3 Nf6 4 Bg2 Be7 5 Nf3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 Nc3 a5 More usual is 7...Qe8. 7...a5 is a Williams speciality, mainly designed to provide his queen's knight with a home on b4 - or, in this game, c5. 8 b3 Ne4 9 Bb2 Nxc3 [If 9 ..Qe8 10 Qc2 would force this capture anyway.] 10 Bxc3 Nd7 11 Qc2 Qe8 12 e4 Black hopes to play... e5, so White grabs the centre first. 12 ..f4! 13 e5 Hoping to stifle counterplay - but the Black pieces soon leap out. 13 ..dxe5 14 dxe5 Qh5 15 h3 Nc5 16 g4 Qh6 17 Kh2?! [After my first long think of the game. I had prepared using the game Parker-Williams, 4NCL 1999/2000, which continued 17 a3 Bd7 18 b4 Bc6 19 bxc5 , when Black captured on f3 and then h3. I assumed that this sacrifice was unsound, stopping my analysis there; but now, over the board, matters did not look so clear, and Simon had played all the same moves again very quickly and confidently. I decided to put the knight on d4 and the bishop on f3 and so played 17 Kh2 to defend h3. However, this positionally desirable plan is slow, like many of my positionally desirable plans. Without doing anything obviously wrong White has drifted into a remarkably awkward position.] 17 ..Bd7 18 Nd4 f3! Black must burst out at once. 19 Nxf3 Qf4+ 20 Kg1 Bc6 21 Bd2 [21 Ne1 might have been better, with hindsight.] 21 ..Qxf3! A forced, but sound sacrifice. 22 Bxf3 Rxf3 23 Kh2 Nd3! The first stage in Black's grand plan to establish his dark-squared bishop on the h2-b8 diagonal. White's queen is surprisingly helpless against the swarming minor pieces. 24 Be3 Nxe5 25 c5 Raf8 [25 ..h6! would be very hard to meet: ...Bf6, ...Ng6 and ...Be5+ is the plan.] 26 Qe2! Ng6 27 g5! Again, forced. 27 ..b6? [Simon is good at putting his opponents under pressure by moving quickly in critical positions. But here he is too hasty: more thought might have produced 27 ..h6! , e.g. 28 gxh6 Bf6! when Black's slightly open king position is unimportant in view of the time gained.] 28 Rad1 bxc5 29 Qc4! Any bishop which arrives on the d-file will be immediately chopped off. 29 ..Kh8 30 Qxe6 Bb7 [30 ..Ba8 might improve, as if play were to continue as in the game Black would have 33...Rxe3, not fearing 34 fxe3 Rxf1 35 Qb8+ Rf8. However, 31 Rd7 would not then be forced: 31 Rg1 keeps the position messy.] 31 Rd7 Bd6+ [Or 31 ..Bc8 32 Rxe7!] 32 Rxd6 Phew! 32 ..cxd6 33 Qxd6 Bc8 34 Bxc5 Bxh3 35 Qd1?! Moving the rook is better, but with the time control approaching I was just glad to see the back of the remaining bishop. 35 ..Bxf1 36 Qxf1 Rc8 37 Qe2?! [37 Be3! interferes with Black's co-ordination. After the middlegame mayhem I was finding it difficult to adjust to this endgame, and thought that Black's rook was a threat to my king, whereas it is actually out of play. ] 37 ..Rh3+ 38 Kg1 Rc3 39 Be3 Ne5 40 Qb5 Nf3+ 41 Kh1? Another unnecessarily defensive move, after which Black should be able to draw. 41 ..Rf8! 42 Qxa5 Rd3! An active plan, forcing perpetual check. 43 Qc5 Rd1+ 44 Kg2 Rg1+ 45 Kh3 Kg8?? But this is suicidal - another gambler's move, but totally out of place now. 46 Qd5+ Kh8 47 Bf4! Ne1 48 Qe4 Rf1 49 Qe2 Rh1+ 50 Kg4 Rg1+ 51 Bg3 Nf3 52 Qe7 Having been unable to trap the knight I was unwilling to risk playing on with only about 12 minutes left to complete the game. Yet once again I overestimated Black's threats; the direct advance of the queenside pawns looks extremely strong. 1/2-1/2