The game can be seen at M6 but here I want to focus in detail on the opening, which as a general rule I take to last until one side has connected rooks.
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3
The Colle is nowhere near as popular at club level - or any other level, for that matter - as it used to be, almost certainly largely because of the rise of the London (1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.Bf4) and New London (1.d4, 2.Bf4).
3...Bg4
Playing for ...e5 is just about the only way to justify 2...Nc6.
4.c3!?
White can prevent 4...e5 with 4.Be2 or 4.Bb5, and discourage it with 4.c4. The text looks a little passive, but after ...
4...e5 5.h3
... Black is more-or-less obliged to give up the bishop-pair.
5...Bxf3 6.Qxf3
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| How should Black proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
6...e4!?
This gain of space looks natural, especially as the white queen does not have a good square to occupy, but it is not much liked by Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1.
They suggest the somewhat surprising 6...a6!?, not so much, I believe, to prevent a pin of the queen's knight but to leave the white light-squared bishop short of squares. Clearly 7.Bd3?? is a blunder thanks to 7...e4, but 7.Be2?! e4 8.Qg3 h5!? also favours Black, according to the engines. White could prepare a fianchetto with 7.g3, but it seems slow and the white kingside pawn-structure looks a little inflexible.
7.Qd1
7.Qg3?! is a mistake, according to the engines, as the white queen becomes a target for Black's minor pieces and kingside pawns.
However the engines quite like 7.Qh5!? Nf6 8.Qd1, which at first glance looks like a clear tempo loss, but the point is the black centre cannot be quickly reinforced with ...f5.
7....f5 8.c4
White must attack the black centre or face suffocation, so c4 will be necessary either immediately or very soon, despite the fact White has already spent a tempo playing c3.
8...Nf6 9.Nc3 Bb4 10.a3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 0-0 12.cxd5 Nxd5
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| Both players' last few moves have seemed to flow quite naturally, but how should White continue? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
13.Bc4
White's bishop-pair can best be exploited in the diagrammed position by gaining space, and that calls for 13.c4, which the engines reckon gives White a clear advantage.
13...0-0 14.Bxd5?
Exchanging your good bishop when you have a bad one is nearly always a mistake, and that is especially so here as Black's reply ...
14...Qxd5
... develops a piece and ensures the black knight gets the c4 square. Black is positionally winning, according to Stockfish14.1, although Komodo12.1.1 is much less enthusiastic.
The engines reckon White should have played 14.Qc2, meeting 14...Na5 with 15.Be2, leaving a position that is dead-equal, according to Komodo12.1.1, although Stockfish14.1 gives White a slight edge.
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