Queening at all costs!

This is a game I played on-line. You can play it out on a board, or use a pgn viewer such as Chesspad (which is free). If you don't know how to read chess notation you can learn at, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_chess_notation

[Opening "Caro-Kann: advance variation"].

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5

The advanced variation of the Caro-Kan

3...Bf5 4.f4 h5 5.Ne2 e6 6.Ng3 g6

I would have kept the Bishop with Bh7.

7.Nxf5 gxf5 8.Be3 Nd7 9.Bf2

With the idea of being able to go Bh4 in some positions.

9...c5

Black tries to break up white's center.

10.Bb5 a6 11.Bxd7+ Qxd7 12.dxc5 Qb5

Black attacks two white pawns. Which white then defends.

13.Qd4 Rc8 14.b4 a5 15.a3 b6 16.Nc3 Qc6

It looks like white's pawns are falling apart, but white has a trick move.

17.cxb6

White sacrifices a piece, but black loses right away if he takes it. 17...Qxc3, 18.Qxc3...Rxc3 19. b7 and black cannot prevent the pawn from queening!

17...axb4 18.axb4 Ne7 19.Ra3

Now white is a pawn to the good, and making things even sweeter, the pawn is close to queening. White's plan here is to castle, then work on queening the pawn or forcing black to sacrifice a piece to stop the pawn.

19...Ng6 20.O-O Be7 21.b5 Qc4 22.b7 Rb8 23.Qxc4 dxc4 24.Ra7 O-O

Black could have taken the pawn on f4, but white would still win quickly in that variation.

25.g3 Rfd8 26.Rd1

White is happy to trade rooks since the lone rook will not be able to hold back whites b-pawn from queening.

26...Re8 27.Rd7 Nf8 28.Rc7 Bb4 29.Na4 Re7 30.Rxe7 Bxe7 31.Bb6

Preparing Bc7, winning the rook.

31...Kg7 32.Bc7 Nd7 33.Bxb8 Nxb8 34.Ra8

Black resigns since the knight is now lost and white will soon queen one of the b-pawns.

*