12 April 2025

Annotated Game #305: An endgame escape

This first-round tournament game had two big lessons. First, it highlighted a hole in my repertoire involving the move-order used to reach a Dutch Stonewall; I'll have to fix that for the future. Second, it demonstrated why at the Class level one should always keep yourself alive with practical chances in an endgame. Here I reached a situation where my opponent was up the exchange and could have sacrificed it back to lock in a win, but instead I exploited the opening he gave me to threaten mate and collect most of his pieces, forcing a resignation. A good illustration of why materialism can lead to bad outcomes in all phases of the game.


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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 e6 the Triangle/Wedge formation. 4.Nc3 Bd6 I think I have to abandon this particular move-order to reach the Dutch Stonewall, since there are too many potential exploits by White to reach an easy and just better position. 4...f5 is the other route to the Stonewall, but again offers White better options such as 5. Bg5 4...Nf6 is a Semi-Slav. 4...dxc4 scores the best in the database. 5.Qc2 f5 6.Bg5± the engine now gives a significant plus to White. As we'll see, that does not immediately translate to a winning game in practical terms. Nf6 7.e3 0-0 8.Bd3 h6 so far a standard sequence and expected. 9.Bf4 Ne4 9...Bxf4!? 10.exf4 Qd6 followed by ...dxc4 limits White's advantage, giving him an isolated d-pawn. 10.0-0 White is perfectly fine here, but I was pleased during the game that I could use a normal expansionary Stonewall strategy on the kingside now. Be7 played after long thought about my middlegame strategy. 10...Bxf4 is still the engine recommendation. 11.exf4 Nd7 10...a5 was an idea I contemplated here and other times, but it seemed here like an unnecessary distraction from the kingside plan. 10...Nd7 immediately is another choice. 11.Bxd6 Nxd6 12.Ne2 Qf6± 11.h3 clearly aimed at preserving the bishop on the h2-b8 diagonal. Nd7 I wanted to get some more development in before advancing the g-pawn. 12.Rac1 g5 13.Bh2 Qe8 a standard idea in the Dutch, to move the queen to g6 or h5 for the attack. Also helps cover these otherwise weak squares, against penetration by White's pieces. 14.Ne5 Nxe5 no reason not to exchange. 15.Bxe5 Bd7 played to connect the rooks and get the bishop at least slightly more developed. 15...Bf6 immediately was my other option. 16.Qd1 while this covers the h5 square and prevents my queen from going there, it seems a little slow. Bf6 17.Bh2 consistently preserving the bishop on the diagonal, also as a kingside defender with the possibility of reoccupying a central square. Qg6 Again a long think. I want to pursue pressure on the kingside. However, I underestimated White's next move in response. 17...Nxc3 it may now be time to liquidate the knights. 18.Rxc3 Qe7± 18.Ne2 Be7 best according to the engine. The problem is that the Ne4 has no good retreat squares in response to f2-f3, now that it cannot exchange itself on c3. 19.f3 Nf6 19...dxc4 this idea, played later in the game, may be a little more effective if executed now. 20.g4 I found this unnecessarily provocative, although White still retains an edge. The point is that the f-pawn is pinned against the Qg6 and cannot capture on g4. Rf7?! played with the idea of dissolving the center and not having a bishop on c4 moving there with check in some variations, since the rook is blocking the diagonal. However, this ends up making the situation worse later, not better. 20...dxc4 21.Bxc4 Nd5 22.Qd2 Rad8± 21.Be5 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Nd5 this move, threatening a fork on e3, appeared to be a surprise to my opponent, who nonetheless found the best response. 23.Qd3 protecting e3 while re-establishing the pin on the f-pawn. Raf8 getting the rook into play. 24.Ng3 I also underestimated the effectiveness of this move. Qh7?! played after a good deal of thought. This resolves the problem of the hanging queen, but allows White's next sequence. 24...Kh7!? may be simplest. 24...b5 going after the bishop does not resolve the problem. 25.Bb3 a5 26.a3 a4 27.Ba2+- 25.gxf5+- exf5 26.e4 White's central pawn duo is now very strong, along with his centralized pieces. f4 Black is losing now, but this counterattack is still the best chance. 27.exd5 Qxd3 28.Bxd3 fxg3 29.dxc6 Bxc6 30.Bc4 and now the pin on the rook should win for White. Kh7 31.Bxf7 Rxf7 I'm now significant material down, with the only hope being to leverage the power of the two bishops. 32.Kg2 h5 33.Kxg3 Kg6 33...h4+ I looked at this, which was objectively best according to the engine; however, I did not see any real practical benefit, since it fixed my pawns and reduced the potential threats they could make. 34.Kh2+- 34.Kh2 34.Rxc6+ this exchange sacrifice, preferred by the engine, would give White a fully won endgame. bxc6 35.Rc1 34...Bxf3 35.Rc7 my opponent played this as if it were crushing - and it mostly is - but I still can improve my position by g4 now things are stable on the kingside and the bishop on f3 also holds b7. White should still win, but there is no immediate knockout. 36.hxg4?! there is no reason to reduce the tension by the exchange, but my opponent evidently thought it would help simplify the situation. hxg4 now the advanced passed g-pawn, coupled with the two bishops, gives me significantly more drawing chances. The newly opened h-file was ignored by my opponent, who tried to go for a knockout blow with 37.d5? but after Rh7+ the king has only two squares, one of which loses: 38.Kg1?? 38.Kg3 this looks more risky, but White escapes at the end of the sequence. Bh4+ 39.Kf4 Bg5+ 40.Kg3 Rh3+ 41.Kf2 Bh4+ 41...Bxd5 may pose a few more problems for White but also draws. 42.Ke3 Bg2+ 43.Ke2 Bxf1+ 44.Kxf1 with a draw. 38...Rh1+-+ 39.Kf2 Bh4+ 40.Ke3 Rxf1 41.d6 Re1+ 42.Kd2 Rxe5 and my opponent resigned. 0–1
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Class B-ChessAdmin-0–1D31
Posted by ChessAdmin at 10:24 AM 0 comments

29 March 2025

FT article: India’s VC-backed chess academy churns out champions across the board

The latest Financial Times article involving the chess world - "India's VC-backed chess academy churns out champions across the board" - talks about the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (Waca for short). It's an example of how world-class expertise (former chess world champion Viswanathan Anand) has combined with patronage from WestBridge venture capital firm to create new champions through training and sponsorship.

While amateur chess improvers will not make the world champion grade, the formula for success is still similar: talent (of whatever level) + personal interest + time investment + master-guided training = skill improvement. We are fortunate at the amateur level that there now exists a great deal of master-guided training in a wide variety of accessible forms - video and online courses, books, coaching either live or asynchronous, etc. Making sense of which content and formats work the best for us as individual players is another challenge, admittedly.

One of the themes of this blog is a holistic approach to chess skill development, including cross-training and pulling practices and lessons from other sports and training programs. This is also valued at the highest level of chess training, as noted in the article and worth mentioning here:
Singhal said that at Waca they tried to think about “multiple intelligent perspectives . . . is there anything else that’s a little X Factor”. He noted the decision, unusual in the world of chess, to bring South African cricket coach Paddy Upton to help Dommaraju prepare mentally for the world championship.
Posted by ChessAdmin at 11:07 AM 0 comments

17 March 2025

Annotated Game #304: Just enough activity

This last-round tournament game follows a trajectory that is all too typical of many of my games: I play reasonably well in the opening, then neglect the possibility of a pawn break or two, then somehow end up with my pieces passively placed on the back ranks while my opponent gains space. In this Caro-Kann Classical, however, I manage to find just enough activity and then open things up in the endgame, for an almost but not-quite win. In fact White may have had more chances, but I demonstrate how to use my bishop as a long-range piece effectively versus his knight, and thereby seal the draw.


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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 the Classical Caro-Kann 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 11...Bd6 is another option, uniquely enabled by this variation's move-order, as there is no knight on d7 to block the queen from protecting d6. 11...Bb4+ I also considered during the game. 12.c3 Bd6 is considered a better version of the ...Bd6 idea by the engine. The d4 pawn is reinforced, but was not really threatened in the first place, while White having moved the c-pawn means increasing the space around his king if it castles queenside. 12.c3 Qa6 this was drawn from an similar idea in other variations, but perhaps simple development is better. 12...Nbd7= 13.Qxa6 Nxa6 14.0-0 Nd5 chasing the bishop. 14...Be7 is more conservative, also preparing to castle. 15.Bd2 Bd6?! this just loses a tempo after White's next move. 16.Ne4 Be7 17.a3 White essentially returns the tempo here. 0-0= 18.c4 the c-pawn advance against a Nd5 is something Black always has to watch for. Here the knight can simply retreat. Nf6 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.Bf4 Rfd8 21.Rfd1 Rac8 getting my rooks into action before starting anything. My opponent does likewise. 22.Rac1 Nc7 bringing the knight back into play, but foregoing the ..c5 pawn break. 22...c5 I considered this carefully but in the end thought it premature. However, it is likely Black's best plan and natural, it just has to be calculated properly. 23.d5 exd5 24.cxd5 b6 and then the knight can come back into play via c7. 24...Bxb2 is a little wilder. 25.Rb1 Bxa3 26.Rxb7 c4 27.Rxa7 Bd6= 25.Rc2 Nc7 26.d6 Ne6 27.Bg3 Kf8 with the idea of using the king as blockader on d7 if necessary. 28.d7 Ra8 29.Bd6+ Be7= White cannot force the d-pawn to queen and will be tied up defending it. 23.b4 Ne8 24.Be5 Kf8 25.Kf1 Be7 not a good look, with all of Black's pieces on the bottom two ranks. 26.Rd3 Nf6 the idea behind the bishop maneuver. 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 27...gxf6!? should not be feared, as the doubled pawn controls e5. 28.Rcd1 Ke7 29.Ng1 Rd7 this is fine, but now would also be a good time for a pawn break on the queenside, to break up White's formation. 29...b5 29...a5 and Black will easily recover the pawn after ...Ra8 30.Ne2 Rcd8 31.f4 b5 finally some Black pawn action. 32.cxb5 cxb5 33.Kf2 my ability to target the d-pawn is already at maximum pressure, so I play a waiting move rather than commit a rook to the c-file (which also is fine). a6 34.Ke3 Rd5 I had this idea in mind, physically blocking the d-pawn and putting lateral pressure on the h5 pawn. 35.g4 g5 I thought for some time here and could not see anything better. The engine validates my active choice. 36.hxg6 fxg6 37.Nc3 R5d7 38.Ne4 g5 39.Nc5 gxf4+ 40.Kxf4 I now spent a lot of time looking at the various options for capturing on d4, and picked the best (only) one that works. Rxd4+ 41.Rxd4 Rxd4+ 42.Rxd4 Bxd4 43.Nxa6 Kd6 I'd originally thought that I had an advantage here, but the knight cannot be trapped. 44.Ke4 e5 45.Nc5 Bb2 choosing to keep the bishop on the board. I knew I could draw even if White ended up with one pawn left. 45...Bxc5 I thought I might screw up the K+P ending afterwards, so did not choose this option. 46.bxc5+ Kxc5 47.Kxe5 Kc4= 46.a4 bxa4 47.Nxa4 Bc1 48.Nb6 Kc6 49.Nc4 Kb5 50.Nxe5 Bg5 50...Kxb4?? 51.Nd3++- 51.Nf7 Bc1 showing how the bishop as a long-range piece works. 52.Kf5 Kxb4 53.Kg6 Kc5 54.Nxh6 Kd5 55.Kf5 Bxh6 56.g5 Bxg5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
Class C-ChessAdmin-½–½B19
Posted by ChessAdmin at 7:37 PM 0 comments

08 March 2025

Book completed: John Nunn's Best Games, 1985-1993

    


I recently completed John Nunn's Best Games 1985-1993 (Batsford Chess Library, 1995), annotated by the author. GM Nunn is one of the chess world's most accomplished and interesting authors, and has been referenced multiple times on this blog. Some of his other works are specifically aimed at improving players; this is not one of them. 

I would say it falls into a similar category as Victor Korchnoi's best games collection - these high-level annotated games are similarly high-quality, but have relatively little hand-holding for Class-level players. The benefit of studying annotated games collections from the author's own perspective is that you get a unique window into both their chess-related thought process and general psychological factors affecting the game. Nunn's thought process insights are uneven in their level of detail, but in many of the games he does provide more of an explanation of the positions' key characteristics and his evaluations, making them very pertinent for improving players. The biographical details are both personally interesting and lend useful context into his state of mind for each tournament and game, although the chess politics comments are now mostly irrelevant.

One theme that struck me while reviewing the games was Nunn's mastery of evaluation of compensation, which involves understanding positional factors that outweigh the material balance, in the absence of forcing tactics. His comments in that regard I found particularly useful, and are not something you can easily find in chess training material. Nunn's games were also routinely very tactical and combative, with a lot of King's Indian and Sicilian games, so there was plenty of material there as well for understanding tactical concepts, visualization and calculation.

I'll close this with an example of one of Nunn's games (number 34 in the collection) that I think very well illustrates his mastery of compensation for sacrificed material.


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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Nf3 b6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bd3 Ba4 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.0-0 c4 12.Be2 Ng6 13.Ng5 Nxe5 14.f4 Nd3 15.Bxd3 cxd3 16.f5 e5 17.Qh5 Qe7 18.Ne6 Kd7 19.Bg5 f6 20.Be3 Na6 21.cxd3 g6 22.Qg4 Bc6 23.Nd4 exd4 24.Bxd4 h5 25.Qh3 g5 26.Rfe1 Qf8 27.Re6 Rh6 28.Qe3 Re8 29.Re1 Nc7 30.Bc5 Qf7 31.Be7 Rh7 32.Qc5 Bb7 33.Qxa7 Kc8 34.Rb1 Rxe7 35.Rxb7 1–0
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Nunn,J2610Nikolic,P26251–0C19
Posted by ChessAdmin at 1:19 PM 0 comments

05 March 2025

Annotated Game #303: A strategically won game...is not an actually won game

The next tournament game illustrates how well one can be placed out of the opening, in this case a Stonewall Attack, and yet fail to convert a positional advantage. By move 13 my pieces were dominant and by move 18 I could effectively have been winning on both the queenside and kingside. Unfortunately a mishandled attack, which could at least have led to a perpetual check, failed and Black emerged with a winning material advantage.


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1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 d5 4.f4 a standard Stonewall Attack opening position c5 5.c3 b6 unusual to see this early, but consistent with how Black will need to develop the light-square bishop. 6.Nf3 cxd4 7.exd4 the usual rule in the Stonewall is to recapture with the e-pawn, which points towards future kingside play, but recapturing with the c-pawn is fine as well. Bb7 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Nbd2 developing and controlling e4. Qc7 a signal that my opponent may be looking to castle queenside. It also attacks the f4 pawn. 10.Ne5 blocking the attack on the f-pawn and placing my knight on its best outpost. White has achieved a small plus out of the opening, due to the space advantage. 0-0-0 sensing danger on the kingside, the king is removed elsewhere. However, the Stonewall setup is flexible and I should be able to shift my attack. 11.Qe2± played after some thought. The B+Q battery is useful and the rooks are closer to being connected. Nxe5?! my opponent wants to get rid of the advanced knight, but the advanced pawn on e5 and semi-open f-file are advantageous to White. 11...Kb8!? getting the king off the diagonal and adding a defender to a7. 12.fxe5 the advanced e-pawn is now a major thorn in Black's side. Ne8+- at this point White has a strategically won game, with my pieces and pawns dominating the board; however, this is not the same thing as an actually won game. I recognized this and thought about my plan, starting off well enough. 13.Nf3 this best activates the knight, which may be able to profitably go to g5, as well as freeing the diagonal for the Bc1. h6 14.a4 I now correctly shift to a direct attack on the Black king position, which is vulnerable. The a-pawn in this case can be used much like the h-pawn would be against a normally castled king. Qd7 15.a5 Nc7 16.axb6 so far so good. axb6 another long think. Unfortunately I start to lose the thread here. I need to connect the rooks and move the bishop, but e3 or f4 would be much better squares. 17.Bd2 here it blocks the ability of the queen to move laterally to the a-file, and the e1-a5 diagonal is less promising if it opens up, unlike the g1-a7 or h2-b8 ones. f5 18.Ra7 not a bad move, but I was too afraid of opening the kingside to play the best one, per the engine. 18.exf6 the Stonewall, when most effective, allows play on both sides of the board. gxf6 19.Nh4+- and White is dominant on both the kingside and queenside, with Ng6 likely coming. 18...Kb8 19.Rfa1 the obvious and effective follow-up. g5 20.Ne1 with the idea of repositioning the knight either to help the queenside attack, or if needed to defend the king. 20.b4 g4 21.Ne1 looks like a superior version of the same idea, with b4-b5 coming. 20...Be7 connecting the rooks and giving the bishop some future prospects on the kingside. 21.Nc2 21.b4!? the alternative idea of advancing the b-pawn, as mentioned earlier, may have been a more effective attack. For example h5 22.b5 h4 23.Qd1 with the idea of bringing the queen to a4, and if Nxb5 then 24.R7a2+- retreating is best, and now White has the half-open b-file to target Black's weak b-pawn and king position, for example with Qb3 and Rb2 to follow up. 21...f4 my opponent is doing a good job of attempting counterplay, despite still being significantly under pressure. After another long think, I go astray with the attack. 22.c4? I did not assess and calculate accurately here, simply going for the attack based on the open long diagonal after 22.Nb4 would be the logical continuation of the knight maneuver, but I did not see past the piece exchange and doubled pawns. Bxb4 23.cxb4 and White is doing well with the additional open lines, for example after Rhf8 24.b5 Qf7 25.Bb4 f3 26.gxf3+- 22...dxc4 23.Rxb7+= Kxb7 24.Be4+ Nd5 25.Qxc4 is the best I could find at the board, but now the attack stalls. Grabbing the pawn is worth less than opening lines. 25.b3! is the non-obvious move found by the engine. The point is that it threatens to take on c4 and win the pinned Nd5, and White keeps the initiative, moving with tempo after cxb3 26.Qa6+= with a draw by perpetual check. 25...Rc8?! 25...Ra8! cutting off control of a6. 26.Bxd5+? again sub-par calculation. 26.Qa6+ should maintain a dynamic balance. Kc7 27.Nb4 the knight sacrifice is only temporary, and other moves are fine too. Nxb4 28.Qb7+ Kd8 29.Qxb6+ Ke8 30.Bxb4 Bxb4 31.Qxb4= 26...Qxd5 now White does not have any compensation for the exchange. 27.Qa6+ Kc7 now the point of the placement of the Qd5 is the fact there is no check on b7, unlike in the above variation, and White does not have enough pieces near the Black king to threaten it. 28.Rc1 from this point, I simply try to make threats and hope for the best, knowing I'm losing. Kd7-+ 29.Qxb6 at this point I correctly assessed that I was essentially lost, but still hoped to swindle a draw based on Black's exposed king position and/or setting up a fortress. Rb8 30.Qa7+ Qb7 31.Qa4+ Qb5 32.Qxb5+ the best choice technically, although simplification of material also makes Black's job easier on the brain. Rxb5 33.Bc3 the engine validates this as the best choice, but Black is still winning. Ra8 34.Kf2 Ke8 35.Kf3 Kf7 36.Rf1 Kg6 37.Ke4 h5 at this point Black's kingside majority looks like it will cruise to victory. 38.h3 Rbb8 39.Rf3 using a rook as a physical blocker against pawns is rarely a good idea. Rf8 40.Nb4? the idea of a fortress, although perhaps technically doomed, was much more likely to work in practical terms with the knight helping. Bxb4 41.Bxb4 Rf7 42.Bc5 Ra1 43.Ra3 Re1+ now it's essentially over. 44.Kf3 Kf5 45.Kf2 Rc1 46.b4 g4 47.h4 g3+ 48.Kf3 Rf1+ 49.Ke2 Rf2+ 50.Ke1 Rxg2 51.Kf1 Rb2 52.Ra8 f3 0–1
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ChessAdmin-Class B-0–1D00
Posted by ChessAdmin at 9:32 PM 0 comments

01 March 2025

Annotated Game #302: All queen endings are drawn (?)

There is a saying that all rook endings are drawn - obviously not meant literally, but the idea is correct that with an active major piece, the defender can often draw even when down material, so should not despair. Queen endings are even more complicated and tricky for Class players, who are unlikely to know the key ideas or be able to calculate the greater possibilities for checks.

This next tournament game has some useful observations in the opening (a Caro-Kann Exchange) and middlegame phases, especially regarding the interplay between defense and counterplay possibilities. However, the main feature becomes the ending, which seesaws back-and-forth until I calculate out the correct K+P sequence to draw, after missing a win (which my opponent did as well).


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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 in response to White varying from the usual c2-c3, I thought for a while here, then decided to continue with normal development. 5...Bg4 scores very well in the database. 6.h3 preventing Black's standard idea of ...Bg4. I normally play ...g6 anyway, though. g6 7.c3 Bf5 8.0-0 declining to make the trade on f5, which would significantly imbalance the position's structure. Qc7 the most common move in the database, although if I intend to trade on d3 anyway, doing so immediately might make more sense. 9.Qc2 however, this is now just a waste of a tempo by White. Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Bg7 11.Re1 immediately adding pressure to the e-file. 0-0 no need to postpone castling. 12.Nbd2 Rfe8 the position now is rather quiet and level, although with the imbalances in the pawn structure there is still some play left in it. 13.Ne5 Rad8 13...e6 here or earlier is an alternative way to play, also not ruling out an eventual ...e5 pawn lever while maintaining flexibility. 14.Ndf3 Nd7 this is a little passive. 14...Ne4!? would take advantage of White's loss of control over e4 and disrupt control of the e-file. 15.Bf4 now White has her pieces deployed most actively. The big fight is obviously over e5. Ncxe5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 with all the minor piece trades, now White's more active pieces are gone and it's a level position again. Bxe5?! this premature exchange, however, ends up giving White a little too much space on the kingside and another boost to her piece activity. 17...Qb6= is better, targeting the queenside weaknesses. 18.Rxe5 e6 19.Qf3 this is a bit slow, however, and should let me consolidate my position. 19.Rae1 19...Kg7 20.Rae1 now it was unclear to me how to best continue. I pick a passive option, looking to avoid tactics on the e-file with the under-defended Re8. Rf8 20...h5 immediately would blunt White's ideas on the kingside. 20...b5!? is also possible, aiming for counterplay on the queenside. 21.Qg3 this lines up on my undefended Qc7, but does not actually threaten anything, so my next move is not necessary. Rc8 too slow. If I'm looking for counterplay ...b5 is quicker. 22.h4 h5 after some thought, I find the best defensive idea. This was not hard, as allowing the h-pawn to advance further was clearly bad. 23.Qd3 Qc4 obviously exchanging queens would be better for me, preventing further tactics on the kingside. 24.Qb1 protecting a2 b5 finally I get something going for counterplay. 25.Rg5 Rc6?! the idea of having a defender on the 6th rank is generally a good one, but it would be better to put the queen on c6, since it improves her mobility and gives more flexibility to my rooks. 25...Qc6= 26.g4 hxg4 27.h5 Kf6 requires a bit of courage, but the king is not under real threat. 26.Re3 looking to increase the pressure on the kingside via the rook lift to g3. Ra6? now I start realizing some of the real problems on the kingside, and try to distract my opponent on the queenside. This was not the right way, however. 26...b4! 27.Reg3 Kf6 this pin-breaking idea occurred to me during the game and is key to the defense, but I was not courageous enough to seriously consider it. 27.Reg3+- now the threat is simply Rxg6 e5 having discarded ...Kf6, this is the next best defensive try. 28.b3?! this just forces the queen to a better square for the defense, although White still has the advantage. 28.Rxh5+- 28...Qc7 28...Qe2!?± 29.Rxe5 Qd8 30.Rxh5! things are looking grim, but at least I can trade off one of the attackers. Rh8 31.Rxh8 Qxh8 32.Rh3 Re6 everything is losing for Black at this point, as I'm two pawns down without compensation, but I felt I had better practical chances with an active rook on the e-file. 33.Qd1 Qe8 finally I get to make some threats as well. 34.Qd3 Re1+ 35.Kh2 Qe2 naturally I would be happy with a queen exchange and a strong rook on the 2nd rank afterwards. 36.Qg3?! 36.Qe3! would allow White's pieces to dominate and give her a more active rook after exchanges. 36...Qxa2= an effective pawn snatch. Now with my active major pieces and near-equality with material, I should be fine in the ending. 37.h5 Qb1 38.h6+ Kh7 39.Qf4 my opponent is still going for the attack, although this leads to a draw. Rh1+ 40.Kg3 Rxh3+ 41.Kxh3 Qd3+ I felt keeping the queens on was better for my drawing chances. 41...Qf5+!? the engine also shows as a draw in the K+P ending. 42.Qxf5 gxf5 43.b4 Kxh6= 42.Qe3? my opponent evidently miscalculated the K+P ending afterwards. Qxe3+ 43.fxe3 a5! now I calculated this as winning, and it should have been. However, time pressure leads to me not following up correctly. 44.e4 a4? now it's a draw again. 44...Kxh6! is the winning idea shown by the engine. The queenside situation cannot be improved by White and ...a4 is coming anyway. 45.bxa4= bxa4 46.exd5 a3 47.d6 a2 48.d7 a1Q 49.d8Q Qxc3+ 50.g3 things are still tricky, however, and difficult to calculate in this queen ending. I have to make sure my king does not run out of space, or end up in a forced queen trade to my disadvantage. My opponent has similar concerns, and we both miscalculate along the way. Kxh6 51.Qf8+ Kh7? here I hallucinated that White could make progress by squeezing my king if I went to g5, so played the "safe" (incorrect) move. 51...Kg5 52.Qxf7 Qxd4= 52.Qxf7+ now this comes with check. Kh6 53.d5?! Qe1? 53...Qc8+ 54.Kg2 Qc2+ 55.Qf2 Qe4+ 54.Qf4+? White could win by first restricting the squares available to my king. 54.Qf6 54.Kg4 54...Kg7= 55.Qd4+ Kf7 56.g4 g5 now White's king is boxed in. 57.Kg2 Qe2+ 58.Qf2+ somehow I didn't see this came with check, forcing the queen trade, but I had calculated out the K+P ending correctly anyway. Qxf2+ 59.Kxf2 Kf6! 60.Ke3 Ke5 61.d6 Kxd6 62.Kd4 White will now lose the opposition by force in the following sequence, so it's a draw. Ke6 63.Ke4 Kf6 64.Kd5 Kf7 65.Ke5 Ke7 66.Kf5 Kf7 67.Kxg5 Kg7 68.Kh5 Kh7 69.g5 Kg7 70.g6 Kg8 71.Kh6 Kh8 72.g7+ Kg8 73.Kg6 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
Class B-ChessAdmin-½–½B13
Posted by ChessAdmin at 9:51 AM 0 comments

22 February 2025

Annotated Game #301: Cramping is never good

This next first-round tournament game demonstrated multiple themes in analysis, which are worth remembering for the long term:

  • The slightly cramped nature of the position for Black early on was unfortunately relieved by my poor decision to exchange minor pieces, which led to immediate equality.
  • Later on, I cramped my own position progressively, with misplaced rooks and (more decisively) with a misjudged f2-f3, which created dark-square weaknesses and blocked my own bishop on the light squares.
  • In this opening structure, the immediate d4-d5 advance to kick a black knight appearing on c6 is key.

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1.d4 Nf6 2.e3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Be2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.c4 c5 7.Nc3 logical development, but not the only possibility. 7.d5 7.b3 7...Nc6 8.Re1 while it's good in principle to get rooks into the game, there are more productive things to do immediately. 8.d5 immediately kicks the knight to a worse square. 8.h3 restrains ...Bg4 8...e5 9.d5 best and essentially forced, positionally. However, Black now has a better square for the knight to go to and a central pawn on e5. Ne7 10.e4 White has a space advantage and Black's pieces will take some more time to re-deploy. Ne8 11.Bg5 11.Rb1 would be faster with White's queenside expansion plan, plus the bishop is all right for now where it is on c1. 11...h6 12.Bxe7 exchanging simply helps relieve Black's more cramped position. 12.Bd2 the bishop's journey would not be completely useless, as White now could establish a Q+B battery on the c1-h6 diagonal. 12...Qxe7= 13.Rb1 here I thought a while about the best plan. I correctly identify that the b2-b4 break is what White should be aiming for. 13.a3 may be the better way to get in the b2-b4 advance, however. 13...f5 the standard King's Indian f-pawn lever. Black will play on the kingside, White on the queenside, and it becomes something of a race. 14.b4 cxb4 15.Rxb4 b6 I was surprised by this, but the engine agrees that it's the best move. The Rb4 is now awkwardly placed and should shift position. 16.a4 played with the intent to crack open the queenside as quickly as possible. 16.Rb3!?= 16...Nc7 at first this looks a bit weird, but the knight's path to c5 is now clear and comes with tempo, with the rook on b4. 17.Nd2 Na6 18.Rb2 the rook ends up being a bit awkwardly placed here. 18.Rb1 is the engine's preference, although humans have a problem returning pieces to their original squares, wanting to see at least some progress to show for their moving around. 18...Nc5 this is a key positional plus for Black, being able to occupy this excellent outpost. 19.f3?! I played this before in a similar position and it also turned out wrong; the ability to further reinforce e4 seemed to outweight the negatives, at the time. 19.Qc2 immediately accomplishes the same goal without the f-pawn move creating weaknesses and blocking the Be2. 19...Bd7 20.Qc2 Bf6 Black is now able to activate his dark-square bishop, while my light-square counterpart is walled off and my counterplay inadequate. 21.Ra1 Bg5 22.Nf1 at least I spotted the Be3-d4 maneuver that my opponent ideally wanted. Qf6 23.Bd3 Rac8 24.a5 here I thought I was doing fine, but I missed Black's simple follow-up, which keeps things shut on the queenside. bxa5 25.Rxa5 a6 now my backwards c-pawn will become more of a problem than Black's isolated a-pawn. Note how strong the Nc5 is at both defending a6 and pressuring d3/e4. 26.Qe2 Qd8 27.Raa2 Qc7 28.Bc2 this was the point of move 26, to try to exchange on a4. Rb8 29.Nd2 unfortunately this does not solve my problems on the b-file. Visually it's clear how Black's pieces are combining their efforts effectively, while mine are uncoordinated and desperately trying to cover weaknesses. 29.exf5 gxf5 30.Ng3 is suggested by the engine but still looks miserable. 29...Rxb2 30.Rxb2 Rb8-+ now I could see how exchanging rooks would let the Black queen in on the b-file, but the alternative turns out just as badly. 31.Ra2 Qb6 32.Kf1 Qb4 33.Ndb1 Bc1 34.Kg1 played to avoid tactics on the a6-f1 diagonal, but now Black gets a winning bind even more quickly. Bb2 35.Qd2 f4 sealing off the diagonal and protecting h6. 36.Bd3 a5 now the idea of Nb5 occurred to me, but in visualizing the variations I did not see that the Bd3 would be left hanging after the queen exchange. 37.Kf1 a4 38.Nb5 Qxd2 my opponent however saw this worked, and as soon as he played it I did too. 39.Nxd2 Nxd3 40.Nxd6 a3 and with more material losses coming, I resigned. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
ChessAdmin-Expert-0–1E61
Posted by ChessAdmin at 11:02 AM 0 comments

12 January 2025

Training quote of the day #52: John Nunn

   


From John Nunn's Best Games 1985-1993, Batsford Chess Library, 1995:

Initiating tactics when you have a serious positional disadvantage usually results in an early train home.

(From the annotations to game 30 in the collection, comment made after Black's move 24.)


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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g4 Nc6 7.g5 Nd7 8.h4 a6 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Qe2 b5 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.Bd4 Bb7 13.0-0-0 Rc8 14.Rh3 b4 15.Nd5 a5 16.c4 Kd8 17.Kb1 Nc5 18.Rf3 Rc7 19.Re3 Rd7 20.Bh3 h6 21.g6 fxg6 22.Rg1 g5 23.hxg5 hxg5 24.Rxg5 Nxe4 25.Bb6+ Kc8 26.Rh5 Rxh5 27.Qxh5 Kb8 28.Rxe4 exd5 29.Re8+ Bc8 30.Bxd7 Qxd7 31.Rxf8 Qe7 32.Qe8 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
Nunn,J2600Howell,J24501–0B81
Posted by ChessAdmin at 3:12 PM 0 comments

02 January 2025

Annotated Game #300: When the initiative turns

In analyzing this final-round tournament game, what struck me about it - other than yet again my failure to play the e3-e4 pawn break at the right time - was how quickly the game turned once I lost the initiative as White. The opening is unusual, but I come out of it in reasonable shape. The missed chance to play e3-e4 was the first inflection point in losing the initiative, but it really hurts only when my opponent targets the queenside pawn weaknesses I had ignored, once I had foolishly fixed the center by advancing the c-pawn. The collapse afterwards of White's structure is both quick and instructive.


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1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 Bg4 4.f3 this takes away transpositional possibilities and moves the game into more creative territory. However it's tricky to play right, since the move f2-f3 always creates a weakness. Bh5 5.c4 a standard response to Black's early bishop sortie, hitting d4 and opening up the diagonal for White's queen. c6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nge2 so far pursuing standard available development. Be7 now White has to make some decisions about how to proceed. 8.b3 this is a bit premature, since it's not clear where the Bc1 is best placed, and slow. 8.Nf4!? 8.0-0 is probably the least committal route. 8...Bg6 9.0-0 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 I did not mind the exchange on d3, since it brings my queen to a good square. 0-0 11.Bb2 consistent, if not the most dynamic move. 11.e4!? gives White some initiative in the center. 11...Nbd7= now Black is very solid. 12.c5 this idea backfires on me immediately. The d6 square is not particularly valuable now, and Black will now have the obvious plan of using the e-pawn lever. 12.cxd5= 12...e5 13.Ng3 13.b4 immediately may be better, trying to stir up some counterplay on the queenside. 13...Re8 14.b4 exd4 15.exd4 b6 this is possible due to the weak b4 pawn, which would be exposed after cxb6. White would lose time defending it and Black would gain even more positional dominacne. 16.Bc1 the general idea should be correct, repositioning the bishop, but the timing is poor. 16.a3!? protects the b-pawn and is probably simplest. 16.Nce2 immediately also keeps the rooks connected. 16.Rfe1 getting the rook into play. 16.cxb6? Qxb6 17.a3 Ne5! 16...Nf8 repositioning the knight is positionally justified, but this is too slow. 16...a5! would immediately break things open on the queenside. 17.Nce2 I play similarly slowly, however, so Black can catch up. 17.Nf5 immediately would be much better. 17...N6d7 18.Nf5 a5 I missed seeing the possibility and the potential strength of this break, although I could do a reasonable job of containing it. 19.Bd2 after a long think, this seemed to be the least worst approach; however, my position quickly falls apart. 19.cxb6! takes a lot of the sting out of the situation. For example Qxb6 20.bxa5 Qxa5 21.Nxe7+ Rxe7 22.a4= 19...axb4-+ 20.Nd6 largely done out of desperation, but I was still hopeful that I was not yet losing. Bxd6 21.cxd6 Ra3! now I'm lost, as the Ne2 is hanging after the queen is chased away. 22.Qb1 Rxe2 23.Bxb4 Rae3 24.Rf2 Qh4 25.Rxe2 Rxe2 and with the d-pawn also about to fall, it's past time to resign. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
ChessAdmin-Class C-0–1D00
Posted by ChessAdmin at 10:20 AM 0 comments

01 January 2025

Annotated Game #299: What the Caro-Kann is good for (part 2)

The below third-round tournament game is thematically similar to Annotated Game #294, in which White first presses Black - this time in a Panov variation of the Caro-Kann - then missteps, not sensing the danger. This is typically what Black is going for in the Caro-Kann overall, being patient and then seizing counterplay when it becomes available. Here I deliberately chose the most dynamic middlegame plan on move 13, after a long think, which is what opens up the opportunity later on for White to stumble.


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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Panov variation. Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 this seemed to be the end of my opponent's opening familiarity. 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Bf4 a non-standard move here. 0-0 no reason not to castle here, although I had to check to see if the Nb5-c7 idea would work for White. 8.Rc1 8.Nb5 and Black can simply ignore the supposed threat to play Nc7, as the Bf4 is vulnerable. For example Nc6 9.Nc7? Nh5 10.Nxa8 Nxf4-+ and White's knight is lost. 8...Nc6 8...b6 is the engine preference, preparing to develop the bishop on the long diagonal and restraining c4-c5. 9.c5 I was not concerned about this advance at the time, since in analagous positions it's not a real threat. However, here it is worth preventing, since it creates a potential outpost on d6 which both the Bf4 and a future Nb5 could use. Nh5 not a bad idea to chase the bishop, but it leaves me a little underdeveloped. 9...Ne4!? and Black would welcome a trade on e4, which would expose the suddenly weak d4 pawn. 10.Nxe4 dxe4 11.Ne5 Nxd4-+ 9...a6 10.Bg3 Nxg3 this was perhaps a little too hasty, giving White the half-open h-file while removing a key defender on the kingside. It is still theoretically balanced, but it causes stress for me later. 10...a6 again would restrict the Nc3 from reaching b5. 10...f5!? the engine considers White vulnerable to a kingside pawn advance, the immediate threat being f5-f4. 11.Be5 g5= 11.hxg3 Bf6 12.Bd3 g6 I felt for defensive purposes it was better to blunt the bishop's diagonal, although ...h6 would be good as well. 13.Qd2 Nxd4 long think here. I can in fact get away with the pawn capture, which is the most dynamic choice and the engine agrees is best (slightly). 13...Bg7= is the simpler way to play. 14.Qh6 Nxf3+ 15.gxf3 Re8 16.Qxh7+ Kf8 17.Kf1 I had correctly calculated/visualized to this point. Black has several options here, I went with the one I could best visualize as limiting White's counterplay. a6 I decided prophylaxis was most important here, taking away the b5 square from my opponent and not letting the knight get into the fight that way. 18.Ne2?! looking to redeploy, but this gives me time to gain some piece activity. This type of error was why I chose this middlegame approach in the first place, since it gave my opponent more difficult problems to solve, and along with that more opportunities to go wrong. 18.Kg2= 18...e5 while a nice way to help restrict the Ne2, it more importantly also frees the Bc8 on the diagonal. 18...Bg7 I also considered, with the point being that it opens up the diagonal for the Qd8's use. The engine considers it best; during the game, I was unable to confirm its safety during calculation, so chose the text move. 19.Nc3 Be6 I had envisioned this defensive idea from move 17. Black has now consolidated the extra pawn. 20.Kg2 connecting the rooks and thereby renewing plans for the h-file attack, but with a loss of time. Ke7 finally getting out of the corner, although the king is not safe yet, with tactics having to be calculated. 21.Qh6 the queen of course was in danger of being trapped, with the path to h8 cleared for a rook. 21.Bxg6? Rh8-+ 21...Rh8?! this allows the queen to escape without consequence. 21...g5! keep the pressure on. 22.Qd2= Qd7 ...Bh3+ looks dangerous, but I cannot actually make progess with it - until my opponent attempts to block it with 23.g4? a decision made based on the fact that the g-pawn visually looks safe, being protected by another pawn. However, this is tactically incorrect. 23.Bc2 Bh3+ 24.Kg1 and the position is certainly awkward-looking for White's king, but there is no breakthrough. 23...Bxg4!-+ now the White king's shield is broken and Black is winning. 24.Be2 24.fxg4?? Qxg4+ 25.Kf1 Rxh1# 24...Bh3+ 25.Kg1 otherwise it's mate Be6 this was the simple approach for my still-stressed brain, at the time. 25...Rad8 is preferred by the engine, bringing the rook into play and protecting the d-pawn at the same time. 26.Kg2 26.Rxh8 Rxh8 27.Bf1-+ would have forced Black to maneuver some more to get at the White king. 26...Rh5 26...Bh3+ 27.Kg1 Rad8 would free up the queen by reinforcing d5. 27.b4? 27.Rxh5 gxh5 28.Rg1 Rg8+ 29.Kh1 and there's no immediate win, although White will still lose once Black consolidates the center. 27...Bh3+ now the bishop returns with deadly force. 28.Kh2 Bf1+! and the queen will be able to come to h3 and then mate. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResECORnd
Class C-ChessAdmin-0–1B14
Posted by ChessAdmin at 11:17 AM 0 comments
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