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1.Nf3 Trying to play to my strengths. Before the tournament I realised that I wasn't very sharp tactically and my opening repertoire was a mess. I was planning to play this game in something like "plus-equals mode" as John Speelman had against me at last year's British; just enough tension to claim a little something and giving the opponent very little scope for activity. I have noticed that Paul is world class in exact positions but less strong in abstract ones. The main thing was to keep the position strategic, and Paul on the defensive.
1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3! Trying to fiddle with the move order; avoiding the Slav proper and in the full knowledge that Paul doesn't play the Semi-Slav.
3...Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 This was pleasing, though not surprising knowing Paul's repertoire.
5.d4 Now it's vaguely theoretical, but I know these lines reasonably well.
5...Bg7 6.Be2! I think this is the best square for the bishop; if Black plays ...Bg4(and ...Bxf3) I want my queen targeting Black's weakened light squares on the queenside on b3 or a4, rather than looking somewhat lost on f3.
6...0-0 7.0-0 Bg4?! I'm not sure if this is the best move; I think White now has good chances to gain a stable advantage.
8.cxd5! Nxd5?! I know that Paul tends to prefer fluid positions, but I think it is just a mistake to give White an extra centre pawn like this. White will quickly establish central control because Black is not sufficiently mobilised to undermine White's central predominance. [8...cxd5 looks more consistent, when 9.Qb3 is slightly better for White.]
9.h3 Bxf3 Paul doesn't like to lose time; [9...Bf5 10.Qb3 b6 11.Bd2 is very comfortable for White.]
10.Bxf3 Now I have two bishops and an extra centre pawn.
10...e6 11.e4! The most vigorous interpretation of the position; quieter approaches may give White some positional advantage, but Black is very solid.
11...Nb6 12.e5! Consistent. [12.Be3 Nc4 13.Qb3 Nxe3 14.Qxb7 Nxf1 15.Qxa8 Nd2] In such structures Black sorely misses his light squared bishop. Without it, it is very difficult to play freeing pawn breaks without creating weaknesses. I think Paul only now realised that he had some problems. White is already clearly better and Black will have to do something very creative to avoid coming under heavy pressure.
12...N8d7 Perhaps a little routine, this may be the moment when Black's position goes from bad to worse. It is difficult to know what to suggest. Somehow Black has to cover d6, get ready for Ne4 and Bg5(or b3 and Ba3) and either attack d4 or play for a pawn break. [12...f5!? 13.exf6 (13.Qb3 Qxd4 14.Qxe6+ Kh8-unclear; 13.g3+=) 13...Qxf614.Ne4! Qxd4 15.Nd6!±; 12...Na6 13.Ne4 h6 14.b3 Nb4!? 15.Ba3 a5 16.Nd6 Qe7 17.Qd2 Nc8 18.Nc4±; 12...a5 This looks obtuse, but I like it somehow. 13.Ne4 Na6 14.Bg5 Qc7 15.Qd2 a4 Just inviting me to do my best, or worst; an exchange sacrifice on d8 may be possible if the rest of Black's position is in order. 16.Qf4 Nd5 17.Qh4 Nab4!? It's all a bit suspicious, and I know Paul tends not to be so provocative, but maybe Black's best bet is just to mobilise effectively, let white get on with it, and react accordingly.
13.Ne4 Qc7 [13...h6 14.b3!; 13...Nd5 14.Bg5 Qb6 15.Qd2 A) 15...c5 critical. 16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Nxc5 Qxc5 18.Rac1 (18.Rfc1!?) 18...Qb5 19.a4 Qd7 20.Rfd1 Bxe5 21.Bxd5 exd5 22.Qxd5 Qxd5 23.Rxd5 f6 24.Be3 Rfd8 25.Rcd1 Rxd5 26.Rxd5 b6 27.b4 Rc8 28.f4!± That's a long line(not all forcing), but the gist of it is that Black is struggling to hold on.; B) 15...Qb4 16.Qxb4 Nxb4 17.Be7 Na6 18.Bxf8 Bxf8 This is reasonable way for Black to play; all of Black's pieces will be good; d4 is weak and it's not easy to make use of the extra exchange. That said, White has good winning chances.
14.Bg5 f5 This turns out bad, but you can understand why Paul was keen to get some breathing space for his pieces. [14...h6 15.Be7? (15.Bh4! after this, breaking with the f-pawn will leave the king very weak.) 15...Nxe5!]
15.exf6 Nxf6 16.Nc5! Rae8 17.Re1! Only now did I have some difficult decisions to make. I didn't like to weaken my f2 pawn like this, but I was keen to hold up ...e5 and [17.Qb3 Nfd5 leads nowhere.]
17...Qf7 [17...e5 18.dxe5 Rxe5 19.Ne6]
18.Bh4! The key move which I had foreseen. I will clamp down on ...e5, protect f2 and threaten to come to d6; things have become fairly desperate for Black.
18...Nfd5 [18...Nh5 19.Ne4!] 19.Bg3 e5! A good practical try. For most of the next twenty moves Paul outplays me, but his position, on the board and the clock, was too really too bad to allow for a full comeback.
20.dxe5! This way I get rid of my newly pacified bishop, recentralise my knight and keep Black's position bottled up.
20...Nf4 21.Bxf4 Qxf4 22.Re4 Qf7 23.Qe2?! Sensible enough; I just wanted to get all my forces mobilised and then think about regrouping. However, Paul did well to show that my weaknesses on the d-file make it difficult to regroup so with more than an hour on the clock I should have thought a little longer here. The main problem is that my bishop on f3 is not too happy. [23.Qe1! looks better. Intending a quick Bd1-b3. I think this would leave me with fewer technical problems.]
23...Nd5 24.Nd3 [24.e6?! is premature. 24...Qe7 25.Nd7 Nf6!] 24...Rd8! Paul calmly and effectively regrouped despite being very short of time.
25.Re1 Rfe8! 26.a3 Qe7! 27.Qc2 Kh8! Both of us have played the technical phase sensibly, but now I got impatient and decentralised. I had seen the knight manouver d5-c7-e6-d4 but for some reason I missed that the knight could also come to d4 via b5.
28.Ra4?! [28.Be2!? Nc7 29.Bf1 Ne6 30.Qa4 Rxd3 31.Bxd3 Nc5 32.Qc2 Nxe4 33.Rxe4 Bxe5 34.f4 Bd4+ 35.Rxd4 Qe3+ 36.Qf2; 28.Nc1!? Nc7 29.Nb3]
28...Nc7! Oops; my first uneasy feeling of the game. I found a novel way to make sense of my position, but it was by no means all part of the plan.
29.Ree4!? Partly solving the d4 problem and maybe veering towards something on the kingside. [29.Rxa7 Nb5 30.Ra4 Nd4 31.Qd1 b5 And my coordination has been badly compromised.]
29...Nb5 30.Rac4 a5 31.Be2 Rd5! 32.a4 Nc7 33.Bf1 Red8 34.b4! Trying to create a second weakness to distract him from the kingside.
34...Ne6 35.bxa5 Rxa5 36.Ne1? Well well. IM Douglas Bryson once told me that he almost never plays a game that flows smoothly from start to finish; there is always a "moment" of sorts where someone misses a big defensive opportunity or the nature of the position changes more than one might reasonable expect. This was such a "moment". Until now I have more or less kept things under control but I was beginning to catch Paul up on the clock and was somewhat frustrated by my lack of progress over the last few moves. I had long since been wanting to put my knight on f3 and bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal but here I momentarily took away the protection of the e5 pawn. It's been overprotected for so long that I doubt if either player had thought about taking it for, say, at least a quarter of an hour. I really can't remember if I did it knowingly; trying to make his teetering flag collapse under the shock or strain of calculation; more likely I just lost my bearings for a moment. In any case it all passed very fast and I don't consider it a huge blemish on the game. [36.Qb1! keeps control; Rb4 may follow.]
36...Rad5 [36...Rxe5 37.Nf3 Rxe4 38.Rxe4 White still has some initiative; in particular the opposite bishops and Black's lack of pawn shield holds promise for some attack. Still, with just three moves to make (in about twenty seconds) and the most chunky part of advantage gone, Paul would have good defensive chances.]
37.Nf3 Now I have total control and at long last I can think of attacking the black king.
37...c5 38.Re1! b6?! 39.Qb1! Over-stretching Black's forces.
39...Qc7 40.Rh4! Nd4 41.Ng5 Suddenly White's forces coordinate perfectly; what is luck in chess? 1-0