A game

A game I played yesterday. As my opponent was a rather high rated player I felt proud of the win, especially given that this was a 3+0 blitzgame, not a 1+0 bulletgame where all kinds of weird things tend to happen:

US – Léonard Steffenello (FIDE elo: 2112, server rating 2237), 3+0 blitz:

1.e4…c6
2.d4…d5
3.exd5…cxd5
4.Nc3…Nf6
5.Bg5…Nc6
6.Nf3…Be6!? (if it wasn’t for the fact he spent 18 seconds on that move, I’d have thought it was a mistake. It looks very strange, but I won’t discard the posibility that it might be theory)

7.Bd3…g6
8.Qe2…Bg7 (I must admit I regretted playing Qe2 almost the second I’d let go of the piece, in games against a kingside fianchetto the Queen belongs on d2 in a great majority of lines)
9.0-0…0-0
10.Rfe1…Qb6
11.Na4…Qc7 (…Nxd4 is probably somewhat stronger, but after the exchanges it looks awfully drawish. The fact that my rating was much lower than my opponents probably played a role here, as I doubt he would have been content with a draw, prefering instead to go into a slightly inferior position with potential winning chances later on)
12.Nc5…Bg4

The position is probably roughly equal here.

13.h3?…Nxd4 (Bxf3! is even stronger, ie. 14.Qxf3…Nxd4! and the knight on c5 is hanging. The only good thing to be said about my move here is that it brought about a complicated position that made Steffenello spend a lot of time)
14.Qxe7…Nxf3+
15.gxf3…Qc6 (Qxe7 is much stronger, the rook on e7 does not pose a threat)
16.fxg4…Rae8
17.Qxb7…Qxc5
18.Be3…d4

19.Bd2…Nd5
20.Rxe8…Rxe8
21.Re1…Rf8 (objectively bad, but you can’t blame him for trying to keep the pieces on the board)
22.b4…Qd6
23.a4…Nf4
24.Qxa7?…Nhx3+ (This queenmove was a horrible blunder in a won position caused by just a few seconds’ loss of attention to the board. Sometimes that’s all it takes, now it’s hardly more than a draw with optimal play by both. However, I did have an advantage on the clock, Steffenello now has only 10 seconds left on his clock whereas I have 35 secs)

25.Kg2…Nf4+ (Nxf2! – if White takes with the King, 26…Qh2+ followed by 27…Qxd2)
26.Bxf4…Qxf4
27.Re4…Qg5
28.Qc5…h5?? (three seconds left on his clock, I still have 20)
29.Qxg5…Bh6?
30.Qxh6…hxg4
31.Bc4…g5
32.Qg6+… resigned (why resign one sec. before you lose on time or get mated?)

1-0

The end position: