1. d4 For some reason, he played 1. d4, but I think 1. e4 is better for White. I don't know 1. e4 that well, so I think this is a play in my favor to get into lines that I knew. 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 Nimzo! I always had a special bit of luck with this opening... 4. e3 b6 I considered Bxc3+ instead of b6, but I wanted to develop my pieces. 5. Nge2 Bxc3+ 6. Nxc3 Bb7 7. Qc2 d5 Threatening 8. ... dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bxg2 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Ba3 Preventing me from castling, but I didn't feel pressured at this point. 9... Rc8 Preparing c5 for Black. 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nb5 a6 12. Na7 An unusual choice which I didn't consider. The next move for Black is forced... 12... Ra8 13. Nc6 Black's queen has now come under fire, and the half-open c-file is sure to give me cramps if he doesn't do something drastic. Black's king is still in the center of it all, and will be easy to pick at if the c-file falls. So, I, as Black, made a desperate move... 13... Nxe3! The idea is that if he trades queens with Black, he's sure to gain at least a rook for all of his trouble, but of course, White saw this and chose... 14. fxe3 Qh4+ 15. g3 Qg5 Threatening Qxe3 and Qd5. 16. Kf2 Just when I thought that I had him he surprises me! He wants to put an end to my fun and for good reason! 16... Nf6 Threatening Ng4+. 17. Be2 Defending against Ng4+. 17... Qd5 If the knight moves, then 18. ... Qg2 is the crusher, since the queen will snag both of the White rooks. 18. Bf3 Forced. 18... Ng4+ 19. Ke2 Again, White's move is forced. 19... Qb5+ 20. Qc4 Qg5 21. Qd3 Kd7 22. h4 Qb5 Now that the White queen is on d3, the knight on c6 is under heavy fire, and capturing Black's queen will give him equality at least, maybe a slight edge. 23. Ne5+ Nxe5 24. dxe5+ Qxd3+ 25. Kxd3 Bxf3 Black is now up a pawn, but the opposite colored bishops make the position about equal. 26. Rhf1 Bh5 27. g4 Bg6+ 28. e4 h5 29. g5 Rad8 29. ... Rhd8 would have offered more possible tactics, but the position looks drawish anyway. 30. Ke3 Kc8 31. Rad1 Rxd1 32. Rxd1 Rd8 33. Rxd8+ Kxd8 34. Bf8 Kd7 35. Bxg7 c5 36. Bf8 Kc6 37. Bd6 A draw was agreed here with both players having around 20-25 minutes on each clock. The opposite colored bishops will make the rest of the game not worth playing. 1/2-1/2 [Ryan Cassidy]