Mar del Plata 2012: The eye of the hurricane

[Event "VII Continental Americano"] [Site "Mar del Plata, ARG"] [Date "2012.10.12"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Iturrizaga, Eduardo"] [Black "Ferreira, Kleber Victor"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A92"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2121"] [Annotator "Sergio Slipak"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] {In this first round, we will witness a wonderful lesson in positional play by the Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga, the third seed of the tournament.} 1. Nf3 f5 {The Dutch defense.} 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 {White doesn't rush to play d4, since if Black decides to play the Stonewall (e6, d5, c6), it could be useful to play d3 instead, to fight for the e4 square.} d6 4. d4 {Now d4 is needed to fight for the e5 square, and since Black played d6, the Stonewall is no longer a possibility.} e6 {Nowadays this is not as common as the Leningrad, which would have been the line had 4...g6 been played.} 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. b4 $5 {An interesting plan designed to gain space on the queenside.} Ne4 8. Bb2 a5 9. b5 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 a4 11. O-O Nd7 12. Qc2 {Preparing the e4 rupture.} Qe8 {A typical maneuver in the Dutch defense, to bring the queen to the kingside.} ({ If} 12... Nf6 13. Nd2 {insisting on the e4 rupture.}) 13. e4 f4 $1 {The right way to gain counterplay.} 14. e5 $1 {Securing central space since Black is focusing his chances on the kingside.} dxe5 15. dxe5 Qh5 16. h3 $1 { Temporarily containing a possible attack from his opponent. An excellent example of prophylaxis.} g5 $6 {Going astray. Since White had already prepared against this move, this only serves to weaken Black.} ({Correct was} 16... Nc5 {with a slight white advantage.}) 17. g4 $1 {Now Black's attack stalls and will now suffer as a result of the g5 weakness. If he wants to play h6 at any time, he will then be forced to contend with queen invasions on the b1-h7 diagonal.} Qh6 18. Rad1 Rf7 19. Rd2 Nf8 $6 {Another mistake, possibly decisive. The knight wants to cover the kingside weaknesses but as a result gives up control over valuable central squares.} (19... Nc5 {was necessary though either way White had a clear advantage. It is interesting to note how Black neglected to take advantage of the valuable c5 square he had gained for himself, which has cost him dearly.}) 20. Qe4 $1 {Centralizing the queen and tying down Black's queenside.} Ng6 ({There is no longer time to redeploy to the strong c5 square. If} 20... Nd7 21. Rxd7 $1 Bxd7 22. Qxb7 Rd8 (22... Qf8 23. b6 $1) 23. Qxc7 {and White's pawns decide it.}) 21. Rb1 Qf8 ({If} 21... Rb8 {planning b6 and Bb7, then} 22. b6 $1) 22. Rbd1 Qh6 (22... Rb8 23. c5 $1 { taking advantage of Black's need to protect g5.}) 23. Rb1 Qf8 24. Rd3 a3 25. c5 $1 {Together with some preparatory moves, Iturrizaga finds the quickest path to victory. Black's only choices are to either weaken himself even further and slowly wait to be suffocated. He decides to gamble on complications, but this only speeds up his defeat.} Bxc5 $6 26. Nxg5 Re7 27. Qc4 Re8 28. Ne4 { Coordinating his pieces with great precision, the entry on f6 decides the game. } Be7 29. Qxc7 Nh4 30. Bb4 Qg7 31. Bxe7 Rxe7 32. Rd8+ Kf7 33. Nd6+ Kg6 34. Qc2+ Kh6 35. Rxc8 1-0