[Event "KNSB"]
[Site "Leiden"]
[Date "2025.10.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Spel, Tom"]
[Black "Schenkelaars, Vincent"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]

1. e4 d6 {My first encounter with the Pirc defence - as a late starter in chess I am terribly behind with theory. But, as Johan Cruijff already said "every disadvantage has its advantage": if I lose my way in the opening, the opponent will probably do the same....} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. d4 Qa5 {Not sure why he played this...} 5. Bd2 e5 6. dxe5 dxe5 7. Bd3 {Should have played Bc4 of course, with the bishop on a better diagonal} Qc7 8. O-O Be7 9. Ne2 {I decided to move my knight to the kingside to build up some pressure there and maybe occupy f5} O-O 10. Ng3 b5 11. Bc3 Bd6 12. Bd2 {Looks like a loss of tempo, but now I can play Nh4. If he plays Be7, I repeat moves and draw against a much higher rated opponent. I am a bit of a coward....} h6 {This is the move Michiel always tells us not to play, it is nicknamed "WSC-h6"} 13. h3 {This is also a move Michiel tells us not to play: "WSC-h3". I should of course have stuck to my original plan to play Nh4} Be6 14. Nh4 Rd8 15. Qf3 {A naive move: 16. Bxh6 can easily be defended by 15. ... Nd7, which he does, and now my queen is in a bad position as it also blocks a possible retreat of the knight on h4} Nbd7 16. Ngf5 {That's the wrong knight I played. I thought it was a good idea to keep the option Qg3 open but again there is an easy defense of Bf8. And how am I going to protect my pawn on e4??} Bf8 17. Be2 {From here on it is blunder after blunder...} a5 {he gives me a chance to play Ng3, to make sure the knight on h4 can go to f5.} ({Now a piece could be won by} 17... g5 $1) 18. b3 {and I don't take it!!} Kh7 19. Qc3 {another chance and I don't take it again. Instead, I blunder a piece. The rest is history...} Nxe4 20. Qd3 Ndc5 {Time to resign: 0-1 Man, what a disaster!} 0-1

