In the game, by move 12 (...Nb4) I'm fine, but could have also looked at the 12 ...c5 pawn break idea, which was more challenging in the center. (I would say that missing this idea is part of a pattern of playing openings "by rote", which I need to overcome by thinking more for myself.) The main problem is a lack of strategic understanding of the position, which results in either drifting planless (moves 13-19) or finally selecting a wrong-headed plan focusing on the c-file. Move 22 is an instructive strategic error, as (more seriously) is 24...f6?, which opens lines around my king and weakens my center. I committed a similar error in another recent game, unnecessarily advancing the f-pawn and only focusing on the increased activity it could (theoretically) give my pieces, without properly taking into account that my opponent would benefit twice as much from it. A good strategic lesson - although one should not conclude to never move the f-pawn as a result, just be very careful about the balance of forces that are unleashed.
17 September 2018
Annotated Game #195: Drifting into the wrong plan
This second-round tournament game features the Slav main line for White, and the Lasker variation (5...Na6) for Black. This looks unusual, but I like it because it avoids a huge amount of theory and is OK for Black. Basically the knight should hop into b4 fairly early on and otherwise standard Slav developing moves are good.
In the game, by move 12 (...Nb4) I'm fine, but could have also looked at the 12 ...c5 pawn break idea, which was more challenging in the center. (I would say that missing this idea is part of a pattern of playing openings "by rote", which I need to overcome by thinking more for myself.) The main problem is a lack of strategic understanding of the position, which results in either drifting planless (moves 13-19) or finally selecting a wrong-headed plan focusing on the c-file. Move 22 is an instructive strategic error, as (more seriously) is 24...f6?, which opens lines around my king and weakens my center. I committed a similar error in another recent game, unnecessarily advancing the f-pawn and only focusing on the increased activity it could (theoretically) give my pieces, without properly taking into account that my opponent would benefit twice as much from it. A good strategic lesson - although one should not conclude to never move the f-pawn as a result, just be very careful about the balance of forces that are unleashed.
In the game, by move 12 (...Nb4) I'm fine, but could have also looked at the 12 ...c5 pawn break idea, which was more challenging in the center. (I would say that missing this idea is part of a pattern of playing openings "by rote", which I need to overcome by thinking more for myself.) The main problem is a lack of strategic understanding of the position, which results in either drifting planless (moves 13-19) or finally selecting a wrong-headed plan focusing on the c-file. Move 22 is an instructive strategic error, as (more seriously) is 24...f6?, which opens lines around my king and weakens my center. I committed a similar error in another recent game, unnecessarily advancing the f-pawn and only focusing on the increased activity it could (theoretically) give my pieces, without properly taking into account that my opponent would benefit twice as much from it. A good strategic lesson - although one should not conclude to never move the f-pawn as a result, just be very careful about the balance of forces that are unleashed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really like your unbiased and both ways analysis. You are working very hard to upload valuable stuff on this blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I started this blog for my own training purposes, and it's hard to make real progress if you're not objective.
Delete