[Event "BCCC 2026"]
[Site "Ballarat Chess Club"]
[Date "2026-04-30"]
[White "Scott Stewart"]
[Black "Shanaya Guha"]
[WhiteElo "1806"]
[BlackElo "1638"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. d4 f5 {I selected the Dutch as I have recently played the KID against her. While being rather tactically sharp, Shanaya doesn't play the sharpest lines against the KID and I figured the same would be true if I pulled out the Leningrad Dutch. The same timid attitude to the Dutch can be overwhelming, after all Black is trying to pocket 2 whole tempi by throwing the f-pawn forward 2 squares on move 1.}
2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bf4 {Apparently the Bishop is misplaced on f4 but I have always found this line to be difficult to face as the Bishop joins the fight over e5.}
4... d6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 Qe8 {Qe8 supports the e5 pawn push and moves closer to the kingside to join the looming attack. In some lines eyeing the e8–a4 diagonal is also useful. It leaves the c7 pawn unprotected but Black can meet threats on Nb5 with Na6.}
8. O-O Nh5 {A knight on the rim is not always dim. The pony, while offside, is a bit misplaced on f6 blocking the g7 bishop. Doing this while winning a tempo on the f4 bishop is fine as the g7 bishop’s contribution to the battle on e5 permits the e5 central thrust.}
9. Bg5 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. e4 {A common way of preventing a pawn fork; it does seed f4 to Black. The engine says Black has more than equalised after the immediate f4. But I saw a ghost.}
11... c6 {The ghost being the possibility of the knight jumping into d4 and the weakness of the e7 square and annoying tactics. Black doesn't manage to win a piece as it ducks into e7 and out again on the a3–f8 diagonal. Black could play Rf7 and be better but not simple. I just shut it down and now the bishop trap is on.}
(11... f4 12. Nd5 12... Rf7 13. c5 h6 14. Bc4)
12. Be3 Na6 13. Qb3 f4 14. Bd2 Nc5 15. Qc2 a5? {This is a move that I regretted playing as soon as it landed. I finished this game with only 2 minutes left on my clock and I blame this move. I got into serious time trouble as I had to check the holes on b6 every move for potential counterplay.}
(15... g5 16. Be2 g4 17. Nh4 Qd8 {Black is loving this position. The woes of a5 cost me 30 minutes on the clock and delayed my kingside attack for at least 10 moves.} 18. g3 f3 19. Bd1 Nf4 20. gxf4 Qxh4)
16. Na4 Nxd3 {Then I further exacerbated the b6 weakness by not trading knights. I spent a lot of time looking at the Ne6–d4 manoeuvre but I suspect the ensuing position was not desirable.}
(16... Nxa4! 17. Qxa4)
(16... Ne6 17. Nb6 Rb8 18. Bc3 c5 19. Qb3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 cxd4 {and yuck, the queenside is White’s and the kingside attack is not even off the ground.})
17. Qxd3 Be6 18. Bc3 {This bishop’s 5th move, but it is threatening to win my e5 pawn anchor.}
18... Bg4 19. h3 Bxf3 {The bishop removes the defender on f3 from the board allowing the pawns to start rolling towards the white king.}
20. Qxf3 g5 21. Rad1 Nf6 22. Rd2 {Rd2 had me bouncing in my seat. The bishop on c3 has no squares. b5 and then b4 looked to be winning the bishop. But Shanaya finds the way through the mess.}
22... b5 23. cxb5 cxb5 24. Nb6 Ra6 25. Rd6
(25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. Rxd5 b4 27. Qd3 Rb6 28. Bd2 {Tough to assess. Black's attack is barely off the ground which usually translates as the king is very weak in the Dutch.})
25... b4 26. Qd3 Rxb6! 27. Rxb6 bxc3 28. Qxc3 g4 {And Black is back in the game. The pawn storm that should have begun on move 15 has finally arrived on the board. The position is still equal.}
29. Re1 {The pawn on e4 is already defended tactically (Qc4+ and fork on e4). The e1 rook could be deployed more actively on d1 or c1.}
29... a4 {There was a brilliant reason for wanting to control b3 during the game—I remember thinking, this is one of those moves you'll look back on proudly. Alas I cannot for the life of me find it now, but I am sure it is there!}
30. Rb4?? 
(30. hxg4 Nxg4 31. Rc6 Qh5 32. Qh3 {= White is fine})
30... f3 31. Qc4+ {When your king is under siege, we shouldn't be stealing pawns. This move even helps me bring my rook to g8.}
31... Kh8 32. Rxa4 fxg2 33. Ra3 Qh5 34. Qd3 Rg8 35. Qg3 Bf8 36. Rb3 Bh6 37. hxg4 Qh1# 0-1