Path to Chess Mastery: November 2012

28 November 2012

Annotated Game #72: Round 1 - Round Turkey Tournament

This was technically the first round game of the 2012 Round Turkey tournament, although it was in fact played after the round 2 game (analysis forthcoming) against Rocky Rock. TomG graciously took over Wang's spot, after the latter was a no-show, and played an interesting take on the Slow Slav as White against me.

One of the two main points of analytical interest in this game actually occurs quite early on, with move 6. Black makes a standard-looking developing move (...Nbd7), which is in fact an unintended pawn sacrifice, a fact which I spotted immediately afterwards. The variations that flow from the initial tactic, which involves a queen fork on b5, show a dynamic balance between material on the one side, and piece activity and placement on the other, that is worth studying. White however avoids the line, instead relieving the central pawn tension with 7. c5, at the same time gaining a bit of space on the queenside. I usually am perfectly happy to see these types of moves, since they pose no immediate problems and offer possibilities of counterplay by attacking the head of the pawn chain.

The second main point of interest is the 17th (and last) move of the game. As played, it was the result of a misclick, the electronic equivalent of a touch-move fault in an over-the-board (OTB) tournament. With 16. e4, TomG had thrown down the gauntlet in the center and I was forced to consider the various permutations of pawn exchanges and follow-up moves. Unfortunately, this type of pawn structure is a particular weakness for me, as I have trouble calculating and evaluating it. However, that makes it all the more important for me to play. My intended move (17...Qe5) was fine on the surface, but would in fact have lead to a significant White plus following the next round of exchanges. Taking with the pawn in the center would have led to equality instead.

Props to TomG for a well-played game until that point, which despite the premature ending still provided value to me in the post-game analysis process.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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D10: Slav Defence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 Nbd7 this was played rather quickly on general principle. I then spotted, however, that White could win a pawn by force, although Black would have some compensation in development. 6...e6 is the overwhelming choice here. Normally a game would transpose back into a standard Slow Slav variation after this, unless White deliberately avoided Nf3. 7.c5 White either didn't see the chance to pick up a pawn, or didn't want to go down that road. This removes the central tension early, which is tempting but dampens White's possibilities in the center. 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Qb5 with a double attack on d5 and b7. e6 is what Houdini prefers as a response, giving the line as equal. 9.Qxb7 Be7 10.Nf3 0-0 at this point Black has a small lead in development and White has to take some care with his queen placement, so as not to get it trapped. 11.Qa6 Rb8 and now if 12.Qxa7 Bb4 13.Qa6 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Ne4 is considered equal by the engine, with Black having enough superior piece activity to provide compensation for the material. 7...e5 the obvious pawn break, taking advantage of the fact that White has delayed playing Nf3. This gains space for Black in all variations. 8.f3N Secures e4+g4, notes Houdini via the Fritz interface. 8.b4 is Houdini's choice and a logical follow-up to the c5 thrust, which gained a bit of space for White on the queenside. This would support c5 against Black undermining it from the front with ...b6. 8...Be7 9.Nge2 0-0 10.0-0 this marks the start of the middlegame, at least for Black; White still needs to fully complete his development. Qc7 largely a developing and waiting move, connecting the rooks and putting the queen on a more useful square supporting e5. 11.Bd2 b6 after some thought, I didn't see much of a future for kingside play for Black, so decided to work to undermine White's pawn structure and play on the queenside and center. 12.b4 Rab8 12...Rfe8 immediately probably was better, as the e-file is relatively more important and potentially useful to Black. 13.Rab1 b5 here Black is guilty of prematurely releasing the tension. No reason not to keep the pressure up on c5. 13...Rfe8 14.Rfc1= Bf8 with a similar idea as to the game continuation. 14.Ng3 Rfe8 15.Rbe1 Bf8 intending eventual redeployment on g7, if possible. Otherwise, the bishop still provides a useful extra defender of the king position and its retreat activates the Re8. 16.e4 bold play and the most active choice. I have problems evaluating these kinds of positions where pawn duos are facing off against each other and there are different permutations involving their exchanges. exd4 17.Qxd4 Qd6 ChessAdmin resigns 17...Qe5 was my intended move, which I thought would hold things together in the center. 18.Qxe5 Nxe5 was essentially where I stopped my analysis, not seeing any major threats. However 19.exd5 is awkward for Black and Houdini points out a nasty variation: Nxd5 20.Nxd5 cxd5 with a positional plus for White due to the isolated queen pawn, with an additional tactic 21.Rxe5 Rxe5 22.Bf4 available to increase that plus. 17...dxe4 is instead recommended. 1–0

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	ECO	Rnd

TomG

1420

ChessAdmin

1713

1–0

D10

24 November 2012

Annotated Game #71: Mate in Never

Once the 2012 Round Turkey tournament is completed, I'll post analyses of those games. This time, I'll continue my past tournament game analysis with this heartbreaker.

Following the relative success in Annotated Game #70 against a higher-rated opponent, in the next round of the quad tournament I faced another Class A player. My opponent employed an offbeat defense as Black, starting with a queenside fianchetto; see Annotated Game #30 for a similar start. Although White could have made some early improvements in play, he gets a favorable position out of the opening. By move 11 there is an opposite-sides castling situation, which even without queens on the board can be dangerous for the player (in this case Black) with a weaker king position.

The course of the rest of the game demonstrates how weak my thinking process was at the time and the dangers of passive play once a winning advantage has been obtained. Black in the middlegame ignores White's potential threats down the half-open c-file, which eventually are realized on move 22. Breaking into Black's king position, White misses a mate in 3 on move 26 - a shocking rook sacrifice to shut off the king's escape - but nevertheless emerges with a comfortable winning material advantage. Here is where things start going wrong, ironically.

Black refuses to go quietly and instead plays the most threatening moves possible, which is the best (and usually only) way to aim for a swindle. White's key mistake is on move 35, where instead of calmly taking Black's h-pawn, he backs his king into h1. Objectively he is still fine, but the conditions for the swindle have now been created.

Black's immediate next move gives White a mate in 2. I recall thinking hard about the position, knowing that there must be a winning possibility, but I was simply unable to see it. The psychological pressure - all self-inflicted - simply got to me. This is also another example of the importance of CCT (checks, captures and threats) in the thinking process. The failure to see the mate is also symptomatic of a more general weakness of mine in visualizing mating nets. I've gotten better at it, especially in the last year, but it's still an area for improvement. The ratings gap (around 300 points) also contributed greatly to the psychological pressure; I've subsequently learned to put aside ratings fear and instead treat it as an opportunity.

The remainder of the game - still won for White up until move 43 - is a classic example of the winning side making a series of passive moves and failing to calculate the more active ones, for fear of losing. This is punished effectively by Black, who never stops looking for aggressive continuations and finally traps White's king on the back rank.

I remember that after the game, one of the kibitzers mentioned to me that I had missed a mate. I told him, feeling somewhat bitter, that I knew that. Too bad that as it happened, it was a mate in never.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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A10: English Opening: Unusual Replies for Black 1.c4 b6 2.Nf3 Bb7 3.g3 Bxf3 4.exf3 d5N that's right, out of the database on move 4. This can't really be good for Black. 4...c5 is overwhlemingly played here. 5.Bg2 The obvious 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nc3 is also good for White's development. 5...dxc4 6.Qa4+ White is in a bit too much of a hurry to recover the pawn. 6.f4 looks strong here, will be necessary at some point anyway, and gains a tempo with the attack on the Ra8. 6...Qd7 7.Qxc4 Qc6 8.Na3 8.d3 would be the alternative choice to help White's development. I preferred the idea of the central knight placement, however. 8...Qxc4 while the queen exchange simplifies down material, it also leaves Black with weaknesses on the queenside and in the center. 9.Nxc4 Nd7 10.f4 0-0-0 11.0-0 White has a much better king position, by comparison. Even without the queens on the board, Black has to worry about king safety. Ngf6 developing knights before bishops, but ...e6 would have allowed Black to cover b4 with the bishop. 12.Rd1 12.b4 would have taken advantage of Black's failure to play ...e6 by gaining space on the queenside. 12...g6 Black prefers developing his bishop on the long diagonal. This should not be a surprise, considering his first two moves. 13.Ne5 this prematurely gives up White's hold on e5; the minor piece exchange also favors Black, since the Nc4 is superior to the Nd7. Nxe5 14.fxe5 Ng4? this is tactically unsound due to a pinning theme, which I unfortunately failed to find. 14...Nd5 is the logical central spot for the knight, which cannot be chased away by a pawn. 15.d4= 15.d4?! focusing on the "obvious need" to protect the e5 pawn. 15.Bh3 a shame that White overlooked this excellent chance, says Fritz. h5 16.f3+- 15...Nxe5= the only way to get the knight back in the action. This works due to the hanging Rd1. 16.Bf4 White is unfazed by the sacrificed pawn, which allows him some useful initiative. Nc4 17.Rac1 Nd6 18.a4?! 18.Rc2 sometimes the obvious plan is the best. Black is going to be on the defensive due to the half-open c-file and White's bishops pointing in his direction. Kb8 19.Rdc1 Rc8 20.Bh3 f5 21.Re1 18...h5 with opposite-side castling, the middlegame can be a race to see who gets in their attack first. Black here makes his first aggressive move. 19.Re1 e6 this solves Black's immediate problem of freeing the bishop from protecting the e-pawn, but also creates other positional weaknesses. 20.Be5 obvious but not best. 20.a5 is Houdini's attacking choice. White advanced the pawn already, so why not use it? bxa5 20...b5 is assessed as best by Houdini, declining the second pawn. 21.Be5 Bh6 22.Ra1 Bd2 23.Re2 Bb4 24.Bxh8 Rxh8 20...Rg8 20...Bh6 as in the above variation would more creatively help solve Black's problems by getting the bishop out. 21.Rc6 Bg7?? ignoring White's threats on the c-file. 21...Ne8= is the defense preferred by the engines, also removing the knight from potential tactics involving the pin of the c-pawn. 22.Rec1+- now the doubling of rooks is obvious. Bxe5? 22...Ne8 23.Bxc7 Rxd4 24.Bxb6+ Kd7 25.Bxa7 Rd3+- 23.Rxc7+ 23.dxe5?! is clearly worse Ne8 23...Kb8 24.dxe5 Nf5 this allows a mate in four. Let's see how far White goes along the mating path... 24...Ne4 no good, but what else? Says Fritz. 25.Bxe4 Rd1+ 26.Rxd1 Kxc7+- 25.Rb7+ so far so good... Ka8 26.Rxb6+ not leading to mate, but still winning. 26.Rc8+! at this point in my career, I would not have even considered this type of tactical, sacrificial move. Rxc8 27.Rxb6+ Rc6 28.Bxc6# 26...Rd5+- 27.Bxd5+ exd5 28.Rbc6 White emerges an exchange and a pawn up. Unfortunately, Black does not just roll over and die and I start getting careless as a result. Rg7 29.b4 29.Rc8+ and White can already relax, comments Fritz. Kb7 30.R1c7+ Kb6 31.Rc6+ Ka5 32.Rb8+- 29...Nd4 30.Rc8+ Kb7 31.R1c7+ Kb6 32.Kg2 g5 33.Rd7 h4 34.Rxd5 h3+ 35.Kh1 Although this move still wins in objective analysis, it is the root of White's coming loss, giving the king no escape squares off the back rank. 35.Kxh3 was perfectly fine, but I didn't bother calculating it because it superficially looked too dangerous. g4+ 36.Kg2+- 35...Ne6 this gives White another mating opportunity, this time a mate in 2. An excellent example of where using CCT would have made the difference. 36.Rd7 36.Rb5+ Ka6 37.Rc6# 36...g4+- 37.a5+ 37.Re8 would have made excellent use of the pinned pawn on f7. Rg5 38.Ree7 37...Kb5 38.Rxa7 Rg5 39.Rc1 Rf5 Black continues to play for a swindle, setting up the most aggressive and threatening continuation possible. 40.Kg1 40.Ra8 the engines aren't afraid of the threat to f2. Rxf2 41.a6 Ra2 42.Rb8+ Kxa6 43.Ra8+ Kb5 44.Rxa2 40...Nd4 41.Rb1 White continues to make passive moves and does not calculate more active possibilities. 41.Rb7+ Ka4 42.a6 Ne2+ 43.Kf1 Nxc1 44.a7+- 41...Nf3+ 42.Kh1 Nd2 43.Rb2 the careless, losing move. 43.Rb7+ again wins, but is not as easy to see here. Ka6 44.Rb6+ Ka7 45.Rd1 Rxf2 46.Rh6+- 43.Rc1 would have kept the win in hand as well, more simply. 43...Rxf2 43...Rxe5 is the quicker mate. 44.Rb7+ Ka6 45.Rb6+ Ka7 46.Ra6+ Kxa6 47.b5+ Ka7 48.Rb1 Nxb1 49.b6+ Ka6 50.b7 Re1# 44.Rxf7 44.Rb1 does not improve anything Nf3 45.Rb7+ Ka4 46.Ra1+ Kb3 47.Rb1+ Ka2 48.Ra1+ Kxa1 49.e6 Rxh2# 44...Rxf7 44...Rxf7 45.Rb1 Nxb1 46.Kg1 Nd2 47.e6 Rf1# 0–1

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	ECO	Rnd

ChessAdmin

Class A

0–1

A10

22 November 2012

Book completed: The High Window

From Chapter 15 of Raymond Chandler's The High Window:

The chessmen, red and white bone, were lined up ready to go and had that sharp, competent and complicated look they always have at the beginning of a game. It was ten o'clock in the evening, I was home at the apartment, I had a pipe in my mouth, a drink at my elbow and nothing on my mind except two murders and the mystery of how Mrs Elizabeth Bright Murdock had got her Brasher Doubloon back while I still had it in my pocket.

I opened a little paper-bound book of tournament games published in Leipzig, picked out a dashing-looking Queen's Gambit, moved the white pawn to Queen's four, and the bell rang at the door.

From Chapter 36:

It was night. I went home and put my old house clothes on and set the chessmen out and mixed a drink and played over another Capablanca. It went fifty-nine moves. Beautiful, cold, remorseless chess, almost creepy in its silent implacability.

When it was done I listened at the open window for a while and smelled the night. Then I carried my glass out to the kitchen and rinsed it and filled it with ice water and stood at the sink sipping it and looking at my face in the mirror.

'You and Capablanca,' I said.

18 November 2012

2012 Round Turkey Tournament (final update - Nov 26)

2012 Round Turkey Tournament organization

Organizer: Rocky Rook

Participants:

ChessAdmin
Rocky Rook
TomG (replacing Wang)
Moth

Time Control: 60 5 (Game/60 plus 5 second increment)

Site: FICS

Round 1:

TomG vs. ChessAdmin 1-0
Rocky Rook vs. Moth 1-0

Round 2:

ChessAdmin vs. Rocky Rook 1-0
Moth vs. TomG 1-0

Round 3:

Moth vs. ChessAdmin 0-1
TomG vs. Rocky Rook 0-1

-----------------------------------------

I'll keep the above updated with results as they come in. Once I have a chance to analyze my games, I'll also put up annotated versions as separate posts.

Will have to think about my openings selection for this tournament. Should I use the tried and true ones, but which my opponents can prepare for ahead of time? Or go with new, untested weapons that may still be partly on the drawing board? Hmm....

Nov 22 update: It's been an interesting two games so far. The one with TomG would have been a whole lot more interesting if I hadn't misclicked and put my queen down a square off, which forced an early resignation. Will be useful to look at the game up to that point in analysis, though.

Nov 24 update: Had a nail-biter of a game against Moth (Tim Clark), managed to pull it out in the end.

Nov 26 update: Final results are in and I've won the tournament on tiebreak. Many thanks to Rocky for coming up with the tournament idea and to him and my other two opponents for playing such interesting games, which will be analyzed over the next week or so.

04 November 2012

Annotated Game #70: Early endgame struggle

This next tournament game is from the first round of a quad. My Class A opponent chose early to head for a queenless middlegame, which I think mostly benefited Black. Some interesting tactical and positional themes arose at various points and in the final position I had the only winning chances, but accepted a draw due to the ratings difference (over 250 points). While an understandable decision, this really isn't the way to improve one's chess, which requires the mental toughness to take on and defeat superior opponents.

Some highlights of the analysis:

The White line with 4. a4 is considered a sideline of the Slav with 3. Nc3, apparently with good reason. Black scores quite well in it and is not seriously challenged. The counterblow 4...e5 is quite effective here.
The tactic on move 9 that White missed is instructive. The White knight can simply run roughshod over Black's queenside, which is undeveloped, with the dual threat of Nc7+ and Nb6. The intermediate bishop capture on d2 for Black doesn't help.
Black shied away from concrete analysis on move 18 of the obvious pawn advance, kicking the Nc3 and winning a pawn on d5 after the exchanges are through. The actual move played, 18...Nd4, in fact invalidates Black's potential tactic by blocking the pin on the d-file. This shows how my thinking on tactics was in the past much more muddled; I was unable to clearly break down the tactical elements in a position.
Black keeps plugging away, however, and makes the good strategic choice to simplify down into a minor piece endgame where by move 27 his pieces are relatively stronger.
The move 33 variation with ...h5 is an excellent example of endgame strategy and tactics. Black could have assured his superiority on the kingside with this tactic.
The move 39 variation has a game-winning tactic based on promotion and a unique X-ray motif. Another useful pattern, along with the move 33 variation, to keep in mind for potential endgame tactics.

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D10: Slav Defence: cxd5 (without early Nf3) and 3 Nc3 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.a4 White evidently doesn't want to play a gambit line and looks to recover the pawn as soon as possible. e5 end of personal book. The idea is of course similar to other lines in the Nc3 variation, for example after 4. e4, giving back the pawn in order to disrupt White's play. 5.dxe5 Qxd1+ 6.Nxd1 Bb4+ Black scores over 50% from this point with all moves in the database, but especially well with this one. 7.Nc3 b5?!N 7...Nd7 is the best by test, although there are very few games in the database. This was also Fritz's preference. Here's the highest-level example: 8.Nf3 Nc5 9.Be3 Nb3 10.Rd1 Bf5 11.Nd4 Bg6 12.g4 h5 13.Bg2 Ne7 14.h3 hxg4 15.hxg4 Rxh1+ 16.Bxh1 Nc5 17.Ra1 0-0-0 18.Bg2 a5 19.f4 Be4 20.Kf2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Nd5 23.Kf3 Rh8 24.Bf2 Rh3+ 25.Bg3 Nxc3 26.Kg2 Rxg3+ 27.Kxg3 Nb3 28.Nc2 Nxa1 29.Nxa1 Nxa4 30.f5 Nc5 31.Kf4 b5 0-1 (31) Gavrilov,O (2338) -Danielian,E (2433) Minsk 2005 8.Bd2 Bd7?! Black's intent when playing ... b5. 8...Ne7 would cover d5 and keep things relatively even. 9.Nf3 9.e4 This overlooks a tactical resource for White where he could exploit the d5 hole with his knight following the pawn exchange on b5. 9.axb5!? cxb5 10.Nd5 Bxd2+ 11.Kxd2 now Black cannot adequately defend against the knight's threats, as his rook is trapped in the corner. Kd8 12.Nb6 axb6 13.Rxa8± 9...a5 now Black's rook has an out. 10.axb5 cxb5 11.Nd5 Bxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Ra7 13.Ne2 13.Nf3 would give the knight greater scope and not block the Bf1. 13...Nc6 14.f4 Nge7 a position of dynamic equality. 15.h3 Secures g4, notes Fritz. However, the bishop development to g2 takes some extra time, which Black uses to good effect. 15.Nxe7 is Houdini's preference, which would avoid later problems down the d-file. 15...0-0 16.g4 Rd8 17.Bg2 Bailing out with 17.Nxe7+ was still possible. 17...Be6 putting White in a bind. 18.Nec3? 18.Kc1 is what the engines agree is the best defense. Rad7 18...Nxd5 19.exd5 Bxd5 20.Bxd5 Rxd5 21.Nc3 19.Nxe7+ Rxe7 18...Nd4?! an overly cautious move that lets the Nd5 off the hook by breaking the pin. 18...b4 is the obvious and best response. 19.Na4 Nxd5 20.exd5 Bxd5 21.Bxd5 Rxd5+ and Black is a clear pawn to the good with his pieces better placed than White's. 19.Rad1= b4 a move too late. 20.Nxe7+ Rxe7 21.Nd5 Now instead of being a pawn up, Black has another Nd5 to contend with. Nc6 21...Red7!?= 22.Kc2 Red7 Black's pieces look menacing, with the pressure on the d-file and d5, but White has everything covered. 23.Rhe1 b3+ this is a bit impatient. 23...a4 is what Houdini advises. 24.Kb1?! 24.Kc3 would take advantage of the new hole on c3. 24...Nb4 The black knight is well posted, comments Fritz. 25.Nc3 Rxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 27.Nxd1 Nd3 without the rooks on the board, Black's well-placed knight is relatively stronger. 28.f5 interesting that it took White such a long time to play this. Despite the loss of the e5 pawn, White needs to extend his space on the kingside and drive Black's bishop away. Bc8 29.Ne3 Nxe5 30.Bf1 Bb7 30...Ba6 is also possible, but I felt this would tie Black to the c-pawn in an uncomfortable way. 31.Nxc4 31.Bxc4!? would be the better way to capture, according to the engines. Bxe4+ 32.Kc1 Nxc4 33.Nxc4 a4 31...Nxc4 32.Bxc4 Bxe4+ 33.Kc1 Bg2 33...h5 played immediately is a more sophisticated way to attack White's kingside pawns. 34.Bxb3 h4 the key move. Now the h-pawn will fall to Black's bishop and give White winning chances . 34.h4 Bh3 35.Be2 h5 36.g5 Bxf5 37.Bxh5 In contrast with the above variation, here black's extra queenside pawn gets him very little, with proper defense. Kf8 38.Bd1 a4 39.Kd2? a major tactical error, which I fail to spot. 39.Be2 Bd7 and it looks quite drawish. 39...Ke7 39...a3! 40.bxa3 40.Bxb3 axb2 41.Bc2 b1Q 42.Bxb1 Bxb1 40...b2 41.Bc2 b1Q and the x-ray motif wins the bishop. 42.Bxb1 Bxb1 40.Kc3 Bd7 40...f6 immediately is a better try for an advantage, hoping to exchange off pawns and then pick one up with the king. 41.h5 f6 42.gxf6+? 42.h6!? is the best option White has, notes Fritz. gxh6 43.gxh6 Kf8 44.Bh5 f5 45.Bg6 Kg8= 42...Kxf6-+ 43.Kb4 and here Black takes the draw due to the ratings difference, although he was in no danger and could have played on to see if there were winning chances. ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	ECO	Rnd

Class A

ChessAdmin

½–½

D10