First slow Zuke game

[Fromper]

So I've tried the Zuke in a couple of blitz games already, and I've tried to play it and gotten sidetracked by anti-Colle responses (Queen's Indian, Bg4 (Twilight Zone variation), etc). But this was my first time getting a chance to play the Zuke in a slow game where I had time to think.

In fact, it was a correspondence game at chess.com where I had 5 days per move, though the whole game only took two days. I figure while switching my opening repertoire as white, it'll be good for me to get back into playing correspondence games, since I can use opening references and databases for reference during the games. This gives me a chance to learn as I go, and helps me remember what I've read, so I'll be more likely to remember details I need when I use this stuff OTB without a book in front of me.

But this does bring me to my first complaint about the expanded edition of Zuke Em. I ended up going back to version 1.1 of Zuke Em as my reference for this game, because the coverage of the 8. Ne5 lines just isn't as good in the newer version. Anyway, this one's straight out of chapter 4, pages 55-57 of version 1.1, but my opponent played just inaccurately enough to open himself up to a killer attack.

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2009.12.14"]
[White "Fromper"]
[Black "Opponent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1877"]
[BlackElo "1711"]
[TimeControl "1 in 5 days"]
[Termination "Fromper won by resignation"]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Bb2 O-O 8.Ne5 Nb4 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Be2 Bd6
11.f4 a6 {The first non-book move. I saw this as a wasted tempo and took advantage of it to improve my position, a move up from the book line.}
12.a3 Nc6 13.Bd3 {Perhaps I should have traded on c6 first, but I was trying to set up the mating attack, not just settle for a better position.}
Qc7 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Bxf6 {When you can open up the opponent's pawns in front of his castled king this way, and all his pieces are on the other side of the board, go for it!}
gxf6 16.Bxh7+ {Probably the easiest piece sacrifice I've ever played. I barely had to think about this one.}
Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg7 18.Qg4+ {Pushing the king back to the h file. Otherwise, he could have moved his rook and given his king the f8 square as an escape hatch. Also, the queen on g4 blocks the bishop on c8 from attacking h3 if black plays e5.}
Kh7 19.Rf3 Bxf4 20.Rh3+ {I almost took the bishop with exf4, allowing the spite check with Qa7+ or Qb6+, since I don't see a followup for black after Kh1, but this just felt safer.}
Bh6
21.Qh5 1-0

[abcott]

Tasty

[Rudel]

(12-17-2009 12:13 PM)Fromper Wrote:  So I've tried the Zuke in a couple of blitz games already, and I've tried to play it and gotten sidetracked by anti-Colle responses (Queen's Indian, Bg4 (Twilight Zone variation), etc). But this was my first time getting a chance to play the Zuke in a slow game where I had time to think.

In fact, it was a correspondence game at chess.com where I had 5 days per move, though the whole game only took two days. I figure while switching my opening repertoire as white, it'll be good for me to get back into playing correspondence games, since I can use opening references and databases for reference during the games. This gives me a chance to learn as I go, and helps me remember what I've read, so I'll be more likely to remember details I need when I use this stuff OTB without a book in front of me.

But this does bring me to my first complaint about the expanded edition of Zuke Em. I ended up going back to version 1.1 of Zuke Em as my reference for this game, because the coverage of the 8. Ne5 lines just isn't as good in the newer version. Anyway, this one's straight out of chapter 4, pages 55-57 of version 1.1, but my opponent played just inaccurately enough to open himself up to a killer attack.

[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2009.12.14"]
[White "Fromper"]
[Black "Opponent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1877"]
[BlackElo "1711"]
[TimeControl "1 in 5 days"]
[Termination "Fromper won by resignation"]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Bb2 O-O 8.Ne5 Nb4 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Be2 Bd6
11.f4 a6 {The first non-book move. I saw this as a wasted tempo and took advantage of it to improve my position, a move up from the book line.}
12.a3 Nc6 13.Bd3 {Perhaps I should have traded on c6 first, but I was trying to set up the mating attack, not just settle for a better position.}
Qc7 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Bxf6 {When you can open up the opponent's pawns in front of his castled king this way, and all his pieces are on the other side of the board, go for it!}
gxf6 16.Bxh7+ {Probably the easiest piece sacrifice I've ever played. I barely had to think about this one.}
Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg7 18.Qg4+ {Pushing the king back to the h file. Otherwise, he could have moved his rook and given his king the f8 square as an escape hatch. Also, the queen on g4 blocks the bishop on c8 from attacking h3 if black plays e5.}
Kh7 19.Rf3 Bxf4 20.Rh3+ {I almost took the bishop with exf4, allowing the spite check with Qa7+ or Qb6+, since I don't see a followup for black after Kh1, but this just felt safer.}
Bh6
21.Qh5 1-0

This fun game can be viewed here!