Kenilworth Kibitzer

Analysis is not computer-assisted, so consume at risk.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd?! (a patzer move occasionally favored by the likes of Morphy, Kasparov, and Jim West) exd 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Bd6 6. Ne2 Ne7 7. Qc2 Be6 8. Bf4 h6 (seems to signal ...O-O) 9. Nd2 Qd7 10. BxB PxB?! (Max was playing for a win and a chance at one of the excellent trophies and needed to mix things up.  While the doubled center pawns cramp white's pieces slightly, they prove a weakness very shortly.  Maybe setting up for O-O-O was a more straightforward way to imbalance things) 11. Ng3?! (Nf4) O-O +/= 12. O-O Rac8 13. Qd1 (...Nxd4 was afoot) Bf5?! (not a strong bishop but why volunteer it?) 14. NxB NxN 15. Re1? (Qg4 is much stronger, with ...g6 being the only satisfactory defense as Max pointed out, since after 15...Nce7 Rfe1 is uncomfortable) Nfe7 16. Qf3 (Qh5 maybe more economical) Rfe8 17. Nf1 Nb8 18. Ne3 Qc6 (this concession is necessary to defend the doubled pawn, now white can attack the kingside without risk) 19. Qh4 Nd7 20. Ng4 Nf8 21. Re3 Neg7 22. Rg3 Qb6 23. b3 (hoping vainly for ...Rxc3?) Qa5

24. BxN NxB (...fxB leads to the same) 25. NxP+ PxN 26. RxN+ PxB 27. QxP+  1/2-1/2  with perpetual check to follow, the coward's way out.  This brings my total in the exchange French to 1 win, 0 losses and many, many draws.