My first T4545 game: a WIN!

This afternoon I played my first Team4545 league game. It was a well-fought game. My opponent and I were well-matched, but I managed to pull out the win. Here’s the PGN:

[Event "ICC 45 45"]
[Date "2008.01.27"]
[White "fuzzface"]
[Black "PeteyDaddy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Opening "Queen's pawn game"]
[ECO "A45"]
[TimeControl "2700+45"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Bg5 O-O 5. c3 d6 6. Qd2 c5 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8.
e3 e5 9. Ne2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nc6 11. O-O exd4 12. exd4 d5 13. Nbc3 Be6 14. a3
a5 15. Rad1 Bg5 16. f4 Bf6 17. Qc2 Rb8 18. Qb3 b5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Qb6
21. Bxc6 Qxc6 22. Qc3 Qxc3 23. Nxc3 b4 24. Nd5 Kg7 25. Nxf6 Kxf6 26. a4 b3
27. Rd3 Rb4 28. Rfd1 Rd8 29. d5 Rd6 30. Rd4 Rb8 31. R1d3 h5 32. Rc3 Ke7 33.
Rc5 Rb4 34. Rxb4 axb4 35. a5 Ra6 36. Rb5 Kd7 37. Rxb4 Rxa5 38. Rb7+ Kd6 39.
Rxb3 Rxd5 40. Rb7 Ke6 41. b4 Rd1+ 42. Kg2 Rd2+ 43. Kh3 f6 44. b5 g5 45. Rb6+
Kf5 46. Rxf6+ Kxf6 47. fxg5+ Kxg5 48. b6 Rb2 49. b7 Rxb7 50. Kg2 Rb2+ 51.
Kh3 Rb3 52. Kg2 Kg4 53. h3+ Kg5 54. Kf2 Kf6 55. Kg2 Ke5 56. h4 Rb4 57. Kf3
Rg4 58. Kf2 Ke4 59. Kg2 Ke3 60. Kh3 Kf2 61. Kh2 Rxg3 62. Kh1 Rg4 63. Kh2
Rxh4# {White checkmated} 0-1

It looked like he would be able to push his pawn on the queenside, but I pushed my pawns on the kingside and managed to get him into a mating pattern at move 44. Well, he did have one out. He could choose to lose his rook instead. I figured that he would resign, since being down a rook so late in the game is a nearly insurmountable disadvantage. However, he chose to battle it out until the very end. It took me a bit, but I was able to get the mate.

This was a huge win for me, and for my team. As a result, the Patzer Boyz pulled out a draw against a team with much stronger ratings. Go Boyz!

I really enjoyed the 45 45 time controls – I didn’t feel rushed (most of the time) and as a result was able to think more deeply about each move. The game took about 2 1/2 hours to play. Finding time for such games is really tough, which makes them a luxury for me. It’s something that I can look forward to each week.

I’ll take a little while to savor this win, and then I’ll start preparing for next week.