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[Event "Fierce Queen is no chess machine..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017-09-07"] [Round "-"] [White "fiercequeen"] [Black "nandrew"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2157"] [TimeControl "3+10 blitz"] [WhiteElo "2001"] { The fond readers of my annotations, already know that I have a deep crushon blitz chess. To me, there is no cleaner form of chess to be found thanan on the board game, where any form of cheating is simply not possible.In correspondence chess, that is always the killer: we can just pick upsome book, or query some database to see what we might do next. We havevast records of every chess game of any importance, played anywhere inthe world at any time nowadays. All of this dissipates into thin air, ina real game against a real person; with limited time... } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 h6 4. c3 a6 5. O-O Nf6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Be7 8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5 { this is what it looks like, if you end up on the wrong side of a randomPhilidor defense; there are a lot of strong players, that use ancient openingslike this, just to get by. Only few of them, know the real intricacies...Black is about to embark on a very unpleasant tour... } 9... Nfd7 { better wouldhave been Qxd1, Rxd1, Ne4, Be3, Bc5, Nd4, Nd7, and set up some decent defense...this gives White the chance to play out a simple and dangerous move... } 10. e6 { even stronger, would have been postponing this strong move withsomething like Qc2, or even Qb3; but in these kind of blitz games - 3 +10 - you simply do not have the time to work all that out... you make aplan, and you stick to it... } 10... fxe6 11. Bxe6 { the plan is clear: if Nd7buckles, we trade Queens in a better position for White... on top of that,Black cannot castle for a while; the White LSB has a nice square on b3... } 11... Nc6 12. Re1 Nf6 13. Qxd8+ Nxd8 14. Bb3 { certainly not the best continuationfor both players, but who is to judge? White held some advantage, aftertrading Queens...but now, Black is embarking on a really dangerous tour... } 14... Bd7 15. Nc3 { already winning is Nh4!, with the potent threat of Ng6; notvery much, Black can do about it... } 15... Nc6 16. Bf4 Bg4 17. Bxc7 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Nd4 19. Bd6 { there is no doubt, that both players could have donebetter in the past few moves; but anyhow, White succeeded in gaining awinning edge... Be7 is all but gone... } 19... Nxf3+ 20. Kg2 Nxe1+ 21. Rxe1 { 20.Kf1, had been stronger, but Whites' advantage still holds... } 21... Nh5 { already,Black is breaking: after Kd7, Bxe7, Rae8, Ba4+, b5, there were still fightingchances... but I underestimated the threat of Nh5-f4+... } 22. Rxe7+ Kd8 { Kf8, Re5 is mate... } 23. Rxb7 { absolutely winning is Nd5, followed byRxb7, but I did not find it... } 23... Rc8 24. Be7+ Ke8 25. Ba4+ { it is alwayshard, to find the win in a winning position; Ne4!, is leading straightto mate, after Nd6+... } 25... Kf7 26. Bh4+ Ke6 27. Bd7+ Kd6 28. Ne4+ Ke5 { bynow, I was surprised by how many chances the Black King had left; and gotintimidated... } 29. f3 { still winning, but after a simple Bxc8, Rxc8, Re7+,we have it all... } 29... Rc2+ { Nf4+, would have been more cumbersome; and I goteven more intimidated... none off this would have happened, if I had played20. Kf1... } 30. Kh3 { after simply Bf2, Nf4+, Kg3, White has nothing toworry... this is bad... } 30... Rf8 { missing Nf4+, Kg4 (Kg3, Rg2 is mate), h5+(Rg2+, Ng3/Bg3+ solves all), Kg5, Rg2+, with lots of complications forWhite... } 31. Bg4 { following the wrong plan: still easily winning was Bg3+,Nxg3, Kxg3; suddenly, White is losing... } 31... Nf4+ 32. Kg3 Ne2+ { Rg2 mates,but Black misses it: Divine Justice? } 33. Kf2 Nf4+ 34. Ke1 { still holdingsome advantage, was Kf1, Rc1+, Be1, h5, Re7+, Kd5, Bd7; after this, theposition is totally equal... } 34... Nd3+ { after Ng2+, Kd1, Ne3+, Black reachesperpetual check... } 35. Kd1 Rg2 { too late for Black, to count blessings;best is probably Rxb2, and make the most of it... now, its Whites' turn... } 36. Bg3+ { directly winning is Rd7!, Nxb2+ (forced), Kc1, Rc8+, Kb1!... } 36... Kd4 37. Rd7+ Ke3 38. Re7 Nxb2+ 39. Kc1 { as planned? } 39... Rd8 { planning on Rd1mate; best was Nd3+, Kb1, Kd4, and get out of the line of fire... } 40. Nc3+ { still holding advantage: winning was Nc5+, Kd4, Ne6+... } 40... Kd3 { Blackis reaching the end of his tether; after just Be5, Rc2+, Kb1, there isnothing left to play... but I could not find it... } 41. Bf5+ { a terriblemove, totally equalizing all threats... } 41... Kxc3 42. Be5+ { the move, I wascounting on; but it means nothing... } 42... Kb4 { there must be a heaven for blitzplayers: after Rd4!, White has to fight against mating threats; best isRxg7, Rf2, Bxd4+, Kxd4, Bc2, for a fairly equal position... } 43. Rb7+ Ka3 { running right into trouble: after Kc4, Rc7+, Kb5!, Bxb2, g5!, Black canfight on... } 44. Bxb2+ { now, after Rxb2, Rxb2, Rd1+, Kxd1, Kxb2, Be6, thefight would be over; but not lost by a long shot, because we are stillplaying on time... but Black was starting to suffer lack of time... } 44... Kxa2 { a terrible move: Bb1 mates at once... but I failed to find it; weary fromthe fight... } 45. Be6+ { but I found this one: after Rd5 - the only one- Bxd5 mates; in this position, Black ran out of time: White still had4:04 on the clock... I truly believe, there is a heaven for blitz... } 1-0

[Event "Challenge from geniusacamel"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.11.01"] [Round "-"] [White "jkarp"] [Black "geniusacamel"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2352"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1275"] 1. e4 { So, I'll open up with the most typical move. } 1... e5 { This time, insteadof French, he'll do something different which I'm very used to. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 { Yes, the anticipated Ruy Lopez. } 3... a6 { Of course. A move thatyou typically see from masters and grandmasters, as Jack told me. } 4. Bxc6 { So, I take. While not so bad, as it's toward the center, my idea is tostill double his pawns. Since he cannot take back with his Q, I did notsee how this would strengthen his structure. Plus, as this is a similarinstince, that happened in my game against Jack, that if I played 4.Ba4,once 4...b5, I'd lose my B since it would be locked with my pawns. However,the oversight and paradox is that 5.Bb3 would be an option. The differencewith Jack is that the N was pinned, and a pawn was already on the fifthrank. So, when he attacked it, I played a similar move. Not sure, butlet's suppose it was, like this so, Ba4, then he played ...b5, so sincethe pawn was on a5, once I played ...Bb3, he was able to win a piece fora pawn after the immediate a4. So, that where I miscalculated by mixingconcepts which is something you don't want to do. Instead, the best move,here, was 4.Ba4 as it's conventional since most master and GM's play that. } 4... dxc6 { Conventional. } 5. O-O { So, I waste no time in deciding to castle. The idea castle early and often and get that K to safety. } 5... Bg4 { To pinmy N. But, of course I won't do anything about that, right away, becauseit is a nuisance and nothing serious. } 6. Nc3 { So, instead, I'll use thattime to continue with development. } 6... Qf6 { I knew there was a plan behindthis, but wasn't sure how he'd do that by bringing the Q out before completingdevelopment before, but there is a well known orchestrated because whatfollows is something similar to what Jack did, and afterward, he had aslight advantage, already. } 7. d3 { The DSB needs to come out, one way oranother to complete development. But, I decided on this move, rather then,a fianchetto because this is a center pawn needed to control the center. If I fianchettoed, it would be a wasted move, when the time needs to beused to contest the center, which is the decision behind this. Plus, Idon't lose anything and am not forced to waste time since my LSB is nolonger around. } 7... Ne7 { While that DSB is crammed still a good way to develop,and white still have some really good idea. } 8. Bg5 { ? Mistake as the computershows, and that's because this move loses a pawn, no matter what I do. What the computer, for the next few moves is exactly what gets played. With that, the computer says that best was 8.Qe2, with the idea of 8...0-0-09.Be3, Bxf3 10.Qxf3, Qxf3 11.gxf3, Ng6 12.Kh1, Be7 13.Rg1, Rd7 14.a4, Rhd815.a5, h5 16.Rad1 I agree. } 8... Bxf3 9. Bxf6 { There was another option thatI looked at, which wouldn't lose material. That is, 9.Qxf3??, but theproblem then is that he has 9...Qxf3, and after 10.gxf3, my K is exposed,which I was not going to allow, so this was the best move. In fact, thisQ exchange very similar to what happened in a game against Jack, wherewe exchanged with other pieces, but when he did this, like wise, he alsohad a slight advantage, and it was due to a miscalculation. } 9... Bxd1 10. Bxe7 { The only other move that came to mind was 10.Rxd1?? to prevent losingthe pawn, or so I thought. But, I looked at it and realized that thisis bad because I wind up a piece down, after 10...gxf6 which I was notgoing to do. } 10... Bxc2 11. Bxf8 { The analysis, here, is completely wrong asthey say that with my previous, 11.Rae1 would be indirectly. That's nottrue, and that move would be a blunder, as I'd be more then a piece down. This was best to prevent that. } 11... Rxf8 { Of course. But, now, I looked athow the pawn could be defended, and there is no way to do that, which meansthat I lose another. } 12. Rae1 { ?! The idea is to attack the center because,as I learned in the Deeper Chess Theory Club, attacking the center is away to control the center. This, however, is an inaccuracy because itloses another pawn. Instead, better was 12.f4 and then pawns are exchanged,instead. After that comes, 12...exf4 13.d4, 0-0-0 14.Rxf4, Rxd4 15.Raf1,Rd7 16.e5, Bg6 17.e6, Re7 18.exf7, Rfxf7 19.Rxf7, Bxf7 20.Rd1, Rd7 21.Re1 } 12... Bxd3 13. Ne2 O-O-O 14. f3 { Now, the computer says that the continuationis 14.f4, but I disagree with it. First, that that allows black to liquidatewith 14...exf4, when down material. Plus, this achieves a solid pawn chain. Remember when I disagreed over pawn structures and said what I would've,well this is the kind of thing I was alluding to. Here, it's no blunderbecause it also improves the mobility of my f R, which has the pressureof his LSB, due to this half pin against my N. } 14... Bb5 { However, I do notknow why he played this. } 15. Rf2 { But, this was also my plan behind 14.f3,is that the R is now mobile, and my N is no longer half pin so that I'mnow free to move it, without the loss of material which was the idea. } 15... Rd2 { He is deciding to apply the pressure. } 16. Nc3 { But, I have waysaround it, especially given that the N is not pinned, as noted above. } 16... Rfd8 { Doubling up and putting pressure. And, now I've got no idea whatto do, in this position. } 17. Rxd2 { Generally speaking, I don't like liquidation,when down material, even if less then a piece. But, here there was nochoice because of that LSB, so if I didn't take, while not right away,he would've won more material, which, I was not going to allow. } 17... Rxd2 { So,now it boils down to what to do next. } 18. b3 { Ok, the idea here was thesame, for the most part, pawn chains. But, unlike before, it's not a gooduse of that. Instead, best was 18.Nd1 keeping the pawn protecting, whilst,putting pressure on the R. } 18... Rc2 { So, now I'm forced to exchange pieces,which is the last thing I wanted. Anything else would lose the a pawn. } 19. Nxb5 { With that being said, my original instinct was to play 19.a4,but then, he plays captures the pawn, and when I take back, he gets myR. So, this is best. } 19... cxb5 { Of course. } 20. a3 { The idea was to preventthe loss of another pawn. But, he still wins it, with the next move, andwith it, 20.Ra1 was best. } 20... Ra2 { Yes, and like I said, he gets another pawn,no matter what I do. } 21. a4 { Not knowing what to do, I go after the pawn. Of course, I still don't like exchanging, but that's only with pieces. With pawns, however, I don't have a problem doing so, especially whenit strengthens my position, a little, after what I lost. } 21... bxa4 { Of course. } 22. bxa4 { But, I'm not going to go easy. } 22... Rxa4 { As I calculated there. } 23. Rc1 { Ok, since I'm down material, I try to come up with a plan to winback a pawn. It's good that I'm thinking ahead, but the plan is quitebad, as we're about to see. The idea is to maneuver that R, get it onthe seventh rank, and nab a pawn there. } 23... Ra2 { To put pressure on the firstrank, and the plan there is to get a passed pawn and promote. } 24. Rc5 { ? The idea is win a pawn, but as the computer says, this is a mistake. And, that's because it gives black a passed pawn after 24...b5!! Instead,best was 24.f4, exf4 25.Rf1, Kd7 26.Rxf4, Ke6 27.Rf3, h6 28.Rg3, g6 29.Rh3,Re2 30.Rxh6, Rxe4 31.Rh7, Rd4 32.Kf2, Rd2+ 33.Kf3 } 24... b5 25. Rxe5 { ?? As partof the plan. Now, for a while I've been debating, when, 'To take is amistake' This happened in my game easy19, where I took the R, and overlookeda mate threat. But, in my game against archduke_piccolo and could andought to have taken his R, though, not right away. So, I figured thiswas a similar situation, especially since I didn't see any immediate matethreats. But, there was most, certainly, a threat that I overlooked. And, taking was a terrible idea, this time as it loses very quickly. Thatpawn will promote, and black will do damage. And, in fact, the promotionswill happen earlier. So, as noted, based on what the computer, best was25.Rd5. And, actually I disagree with the computer about 25.Rd5, as bestbecause the result would be the same with black's next move. Instead,that R had to remain on c5. } 25... b4 { And, this pawn is going to promote, andwhen it does, I'm in big trouble. Acutally, similar to what happened inmy game against angellis, as I won the R, the same way, with a promotion,but this time, unlike with Jack, with no miscalculation. } 26. Rc5 { But,I'm not quite ready to use my K as a weapon, so this what I decide to play. The idea is that I'm going right after the P, though, with the last, moveit's too little, too late to stop from the promotion. If the R hadn'tmove, I could've prevented that from occurring, which is why taking wasa big mistake. } 26... b3 { Still making it's way. } 27. Rc3 { To temporarly delayit, seeing what I could do to stop it. } 27... b2 { But, there's no way aroundit. } 28. Rb3 { Still doing what I can, however. I actually wanted to playand was thinking about 28.Rc2, but black would immediately mate, after28...b1=Q# Worth noting is the fact, that in the past, I've missed thatmate. But, that's where I remember easy19's advice to, 'Be a spectatorof your game, which I emphasize to my students. In one respect, usingas a teaching tool, with a move which overlooked mate, and I deliveredit, teaching that same thing. So, another way to say that I used whatFred said, to teach others, in my first loss against him. } 28... Ra1+ { Guaranteeingthe promotion, because if black did so immediately with 28...b1=Q+, thistime, he would lose a pawn, after 29.Rxb1. But, this prevents that. And,as we know, and like I calculated, black is not going to underestimatebecause he knows what my R can really do, if he doesn't do something, rightaway, as he did here. } 29. Kf2 { Forced. } 29... b1=Q { As I talked about. } 30. Rxb1 { But, now despite the loss, I had to do something because anythingelse would lead to mate, shortly after 30...Qe1+ } 30... Rxb1 31. Ke3 { So, now'sthe time where I decide to use my K as a weapon. And, now I'm going toattempt to make use of the opposition anyway. However, as I discover shortlyafter, it's of no use and more or less, irrelevant due to what's happened. } 31... a5 { But, now, he's going to promote. } 32. Kf4 { I did consider 32.Kd4to stop this, but it's useless because that R, effectively prevents myK from reaching the b file, when it would have to take on the a file, tostop that pawn. Plus, now I also see a potential mating sequence whichI know can not be stopped. With best play, I can delay it but not forlong. Of course, I'll just keep playing. } 32... a4 { Making it's way, but tothis time, a Q, and then some, as noted above. } 33. Ke3 { Still trying todelay by getting my K towards, and when you're lost like this, and youhave the K as a main source, it's generally a good idea to get it rightin the center, and move it back and try to do what you can to last longer. } 33... a3 { Making it's way. } 34. Kd2 { ?? Still seeing what I can do, but as itturns out, this is a blunder because it allows black to mate that muchquicker. Instead, best was 34.Kf4 and even after 34...a2 35.h4, a1=Q 36.h5,Rb5 37.Kg4, Qh1 38.Kg3, Rg5+ 39.Kf2, Qxg2+ 40.Ke3, Rxh5 41.Kd4, Qxf3 } 34... a2 { Going to promote, but this time, with no way to stop it. And, it is alsoan example, of where the pawn chain is actually a good idea. That's whyI emphasized in previous annotations, but as I learned only recently withJack by not making the mistake, it's not always a good idea to think thatway. } 35. Kc2 { So, I'll keep my K as a weapon, and try to make it difficult,is the only way to describe, but it just makes it that much easier forblack. } 35... a1=Q 36. Kd3 { To prevent immediate, as the worry, was the blackcould use his R to check me on the first rank and mate, I played this. But, it's not going to make a difference one way or another. } 36... Rb3+ { Itstarts with this. } 37. Kc4 { I had other options, but bringing the K onthe second rank, would immediately mean mate either with the Q or R. Thismove, however, delays, but only for one more move. } 37... Qc3+ { Like I said,even with a move longer, it's not any more difficult for black. } 38. Kd5 { Forced. } 38... Rb5# { The only move that I did not calculate. I thought hisnext move would be 38...Qa5+, in which I have a three options, but no matterhe would have a mate in one. But, I just did not realize that it was mateimmediately. Interesting game, but what I learned there is more involvedof when taking is actually mistake, not just for immediate mate threats,but also about pawn promotions. And, it's important to calcaulate butdoing so accurately is important. So, what I learned is one way to dothat is by not mixing too many concept and while thinking ahead is important,don't overthink things. Actually, in some cases, thinking about too manythings like the strategy behind taking the pawn, or getting the K on c2,which was a mistake. It's easy to follow what a lot of people say, butsometimes, there are limits and you can't do too much at one time, as that'swhere you start making mistakes. And, thinking about too many things,in any position, can also cause problems, it's overthinking things, whichin chess and life the idea is think, but then, let those thoughts go toavoid cramming, so that you can still concentrate on the position. } 0-1

[Event "Yahoo Chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2008.01.27"] [Round "-"] [White "NN"] [Black "Ratão"] [Result "0-1"] { C01: French: Exchange Variation } 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Be2 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nbd7 9. Nc3 Nb6 10. Bb3 { lastbook move } 10... h6 { Covers g5 } 11. Be3 Re8 12. Qc2 Bg4 13. Nd2 { Alternativevariation: 13. Bxh6 gxh6 14. Qg6+ Kh8 15. Qxh6+ Nh7 $11 } 13... c6 { Consolidatesb5+d5 } 14. Nc4 Bc7 15. h3 { Alternative variation: 15. Rfe1 Nxc4 16. Bxc4Qd7 $15 } 15... Bh5 { Alternative variation: 15... Nxc4 16. Bxc4 Qd6 $19 } 16. a4 { Alternative variation: 16. Ne5 [was possible] Nbd5 17. Rae1 $11 } 16... Nxc4 17. Bxc4 Qd6 18. g3 Rxe3 { Decoy: e3 } 19. fxe3 Qxg3+ 20. Qg2 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Qxd4 22. Bb3 Re8 23. Rf2 { Alternative variation: 23. Rae1 Rxe1 24.Rxe1 Qh4 $19 } 23... Re5 { Alternative variation: 23... Re3 [and Black takes homethe point] 24. Rg1 g5 25. Rgf1 $19 } 24. Rxf6 Rg5 25. Qf2 { Alternativevariation: 25. Rxf7 Bxf7 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qe2 $19 } 25... gxf6 26. Qxd4 { Alternativevariation: 26. Rf1 [no good, but what else?] Qd7 27. Qe3 $19 } 26... Bf3# 0-1

[Event "wuzzie's mini-tournament XVIII"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.04.09"] [Round "-"] [White "a50tango"] [Black "fafa"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1734"] [TimeControl "7d+3d<10d"] [WhiteElo "1814"] 1. e4 { (C89) Marshall Attack } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 { Spoiler Alert:4.Bxc6. Fear not players of the Black pieces as you can spice this variationup too. No risk no reward. } 4... Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 { 6.Bxc6 is a grind toface.... } 6... b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 { Lots of anti-Marshall's out there including8.a4 } 8... d5 { The start position of the game from the thematic tournament. When I went through the CHESS OPENINGS link on GK's front page I foundabsolutely no annotated Spanish Game: Marshall Attacks to reference asI prepared to start games in two separate thematic tournaments on the site. So....I will remedy that to a degree. Not saying these are necessarilyoutstanding examples of the Marshall, but they are indicative of the tacticalnature of the line. } 9. exd5 { 9.d4 is seen from time to time. My takeon things is the Marshall is more likely to occur in correspondence (server)play than in high level otb games. } 9... Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 Bb7 { MilosPavlovic in 'Fighting the Ruy Lopez' (Everyman Chess, 2009), on page 12,calls 11...Bb7 one Black's strongest replies. More common are 11...c6and the 'original Marshall' 11...Nf6. } 12. Qf3 c6 { Both Pavlovic and DavidVigorito in 'Understanding the Marshall Attack' (Gambit, 2010), p. 6, prefer12...Bd6. There is probably nothing wrong with the overprotection, butit does greatly limit the scope of the Bishop in an attacking system. My gut feeling is White benefits more from the overprotection of the d5Knight than Black... Of course after I wrote all this and plugged theposition into Stockfish 7 the silicon beast says 12...c6 and 12...Bd6 areBlack's two best choices at a depth of 21. At 22. the move 12....Bd6 isslightly favored at 0.25 to 0.32. No real edge to White there! } 13. Bxd5 cxd5 14. d4 { I would not be surprised if this is a main line of the 12.Bxd5cxd5 variation arrived at via transposition. } 14... Bf6 { Note that ...Bf6 followsd4 at move 12 (alternative line) also. } 15. Re1 b4 { The Q-side minorityattack often associated with the Queen's Gambit Declined is also seen inthe Marshall Attack! } 16. c4 { I believe I made a blunder here. Betterwas 16.Bf4. } 16... Bxd4 { Materialy even now as I have blundered back the gambitpawn. And now Black's Bishops are well placed for an attack! } 17. Nd2 Qb6 { More pressure on f2. } 18. Qg3 { A safe square before the Queen is forcedto run. Perhaps the seeds of a counter attack after a future Bg6. } 18... Rae8 19. Rxe8 { Not quite forced, but darn near... } 19... Rxe8 20. Nf1 Re1 { A HUGEblunder in a winning position. Just about any other move retains Black'swinning edge. Evidently 20...dxc4, 20...h6, 20...g6 all seem to fit thebill. } 21. Qb8+ { All roads lead to mate. I was definitely more lucky thangood.... } 1-0

[Event "Henry survives a Sharp Opening"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "29-Jun-08"] [Round "-"] [White "dmaestro"] [Black "jstevens1"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1689"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1647"] 1. c4 f5 { 1. ............. f5 - the Anglo-Dutch Defense. This could leadto a very sharp opening and it does. } 2. e4 fxe4 { 2. ......... fxe4 - agambit, eh? Can I hold on to the extra pawn? Time will tell. } 3. Nc3 Nf6 { 3. ........... Nf6 - develops a piece and defends the advanced e pawn. } 4. d3 { 4. d3 - opens up the white dsb's diagonal but gives me an opportunityto swap off the advanced e pawn enabling me to be a clear pawn up. I amtempted to swap off at once but the database recommends e5 as the bestmove - it does enable me to get my own dsb out. } 4... e5 5. g4 { 5. g4 - a typeof delayed Grob Opening - that pawn is about to land on g5 forcing my knightback to g8. I develop my dsb by pinning his knight on c3 to the whiteking. } 5... Bb4 6. g5 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 { 7. bxc3 - the black knight must now retreatto g8 but not before I leave him with a shattered queenside pawn structure. } 7... Ng8 8. Qh5+ { 8. Qh5 , here comes the Wicked Witch of the West! I decideto block her out with g6. } 8... g6 9. Qh4 exd3 10. Bxd3 { 10. Bxd3 - I now findI have enough time to exchange pawns on d3 and so remain a clear pawn up,but will I pay for my retarded development? } 10... Ne7 { 10. ......... Ne7 - thisredevelopment to e7 is very necessary as white threatens Bxg6 winning theexchange as the h pawn is pinned to the rook on h8. } 11. Qh6 { 11. Qh6,nasty, nasty. The Wicked Witch of the West is threatening to come to g7and take either the h8 rook or the h7 pawn. I can prevent this howeverwith d6 so that if white plays Qg7, Henry can move to d7 opening up a linefor his wife Glenda to defend the rook on h8. } 11... d6 12. Qg7 Kd7 13. Qh6 Qf8 { 13. ........... Qf8. Glenda now fronts the Wicked Witch of the West. White has the option of either leaving his queen where it is, taking myqueen - either option results in a queen trade disarming white's matingattack or retreating it. White takes the latter option by checking onh3. Henry goes back to his home square. } 14. Qh3+ Ke8 15. Qg2 Nbc6 16. Ne2 Bf5 { 16. ........... Bf5 - out comes the wood. Now I have to manoeuvremy king into a castle by hand. I choose the queenside as there is morepawn cover. I might think about either a kingside or queenside matingattack on the white king wherever he chooses to go. Both kingside andqueenside is looking mega draughty. } 17. Be4 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 Kd7 19. f4 Qf5 { 19. ........................ Qf5 this queen move controls quite a fewsquares and offers up a queen trade. White declines the trade and movesthe queen back to g2. I now move my queen rook to f8, doubling up on thehalf-open f file and preparing to put my king on c8 achieving the plannedCastle By Hand. However .......... } 20. Qg2 Raf8 { ..........................I do not get to carry out my castle by hand plan because my opponent throwsin the sponge on the grounds of Impending Ruinous Loss of Material! Heresigned because he felt he had no play for the pawn minus, and indeedhis shattered queenside pawn structure could be a very vulnerable targetresulting in further loss of material. As in a previous note, where isthe safest place for the white king? All in all I think that black certainlyhas a clear advantage. This game was unrated so I did not win any points. However, I am very pleased to have survived an opening onslaught by theWicked Witch of the West in such a sharp opening and to turn the tableson my opponent. Very encouraging. } 0-1

[Event "Bury St Edmunds Rapidplay - Old Matey Strikes!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "17.9.96"] [Round "-"] [White "Joanne Stevens"] [Black "Tony Malindine"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "Under 1400"] [TimeControl "25 minutes per side"] [WhiteElo "1240"] 1. e4 { Hi everyone, this Rapidplay which took place on 17 September 1996was the Bury St Edmund's Jamboree where each participant played 3 gamesof 25 minutes per side. It was a traditional opener to the Bury League,where various teams in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk would play one another. There would then be four against four in the Bury League but that is anotherstory. I won one out of my 3 games and this is the one that I won. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 { 3. ................. Nf6 - this is the Two KnightsDefense. Bc5 would be the Guicco Piano. } 4. d4 { 4. d4 - and here is theMax Lange attack, challenging black's control of the centre. This triggersoff a plethora of exchanges with me getting a positional advantage. } 4... exd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. Qxd8+ Kxd8 { 7. ................ Kxd8 - hereis the end of the sequence. I decide to back up my e pawn with f3. } 8. f3 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 { 9. Bd2 - I answer black's check by developing a piece. Sets up a nice little discovery here should I choose to castle long. If BxB then NxB clearing the way for queenside castling which I think ismore appropriate now that the queens are off the board. } 9... Bc5 10. Bxf7 { 10.Bxf7 - black eschews the bishop exchange but drops a pawn. } 10... Rf8 11. Bc4 Re8 12. Nc3 { 12. Nc3 - develops and bolsters the pinned pawn on e4. } 12... h5 13. O-O-O Rb8 { 13. ....................... Rb8 - misses a tactical shot,ready ................. steady ........ } 14. Be3+ { 14. Be3 - GO!! - Ithas to be said that black could have saved his piece by interposing ond6 but he made another serious error - he blocks it with the knight andI grab the bishop - nice! } 14... Nd7 15. Bxc5 b6 16. Bf2 b5 17. Bh4+ { 17. Bh4!! - black must now drop a whole rook - his rook must interpose, blackis almost smothered mated!! } 17... Re7 18. Bxe7+ Kxe7 19. Be2 { 19. Be2 - thebishop must now dodge the b pawn's stab. } 19... b4 20. Nb1 c5 21. f4 { 21. f4- threatening to win a pawn by Bxh4. } 21... Nf6 22. Bf3 b3 23. cxb3 { 23. cxb3- what is doubled pawns when you are a whole rook up? } 23... Rb6 24. h3 g6 25. e5 Nd7 26. g4 hxg4 27. hxg4 { 27. hxg4 - these pawn exchanges open up theh file and this will prove lethal to the black king. } 27... Rb4 { 27. ...................Rb4 - tries to counter-attack by threatening my f pawn, but my king rookhas other ideas. } 28. Rh7+ Ke6 29. Bd5# { 29. Bd5# - and now Frere Leblancis the executioner here. Nice to deliver mate with something other thanthe queen or the castle. } 1-0

[Event "bigpeta's mini-tournament I, http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?b"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.05.12"] [Round "-"] [White "bigpeta"] [Black "efc8"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1412"] [WhiteElo "2080"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. e3 c5 6. Bd2 O-O 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Ne4 9. Rc1 Nd7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. dxc5 Ndxc5 12. Bd4 Bg4 { Blundersimply giving away the N on c5. Correct was Ne6 } 13. Bxc5 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Nxc5 15. Rxc5 { Leaving black with an isolated central pawn and no developedpieces } 15... Qe7 16. Rxd5 Rad8 17. Bg2 Rxd5 { When you are behind in materialand development it is not a good idea to swap of pieces } 18. Qxd5 Rd8 19. Qe4 Qd7 { back rank mate threat which is easily avoided by 0-0 } 20. O-O Re8 21. Bh3 Qd8 22. Qxb7 Re7 { This constant harrying of the Q achievesonly a further exchange of pieces } 23. Qc8 Qxc8 24. Bxc8 h6 25. Rc1 { ThreateningBf5 Rc8 mate } 25... a5 26. b4 axb4 27. axb4 { Giving white a passed b-pawn } 27... Re5 28. Bd7 Rg5+ 29. Kh1 Rd5 30. Rc8+ Kh7 31. Bc6 { Setting up the shieldwhich will allow the b-pawn to Q } 31... Rd6 { Probaly the worst place to putthe R. Now it cannot even get to a position to sac itself for the new Q } 32. b5 h5 { Aseeming pointless move but one which could catch the unawareout } 33. b6 h4 34. b7 h3 { Now if white gets tunnel vision on the Q promotionit would be possible to miss the back rank mate Rd1 } 35. Rh8+ { The R issafe as if KxR then b8=Q+ and the R is lost } 35... Kg6 36. Be4+ { At this point black asked if i was toying with him. But no i still had to stop Rd1 } 36... f5 37. Bc2 Rd2 38. b8=Q Rxc2 39. Qd6+ Kf7 40. Rf8# { The lesson from thisgame is keep an eye on the whole board or you may miss something important. } *

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "23-Sep-08"] [Round "-"] [White "ceco72"] [Black "veracitus"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1570"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1587"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. a3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 Bf5 { It's notclear yet what is the best square for this bishop, so better to continuewith the development of the kingside with ...g6. Here's a game with a similaropening: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.a3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e4d6 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Nge2 Re8 10.0-0 a6 11.f3 Nbd7 12.b4 cxb4 13.axb4 Qb6 14.Kh1Ne5 15.Na4 Qd8 16.Be3 Bd7 17.Nb6 Nxd3 18.Qxd3 Bb5 19.Qc2 Rb8 20.Ra3 Nd721.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Re1 Rbc8 23.Qd2 Bxe2 24.Qxe2 f5 25.Bf4 fxe4 26.fxe4 Bc327.Rxc3 Rxc3 28.e5 dxe5 29.Qd2 Rc4 30.Bxe5 Qf5 31.Bg3 Rxe1 32.Qxe1 Qe40-1 Laengl,M-Horvath,G/Cattolica 1992 Line } 7. e3 a6 { Unnecessary.Better to continue with your development. } 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 g6 10. e4 Bg7 11. Bg5 O-O 12. f4 { Very aggressive, but also risky with his king soexposed. } 12... Nbd7 13. Nf3 Qb6 { Good! If White is allowed to castle, he willhave the advantage. } 14. Rb1 { There were better ways to defend the pawn. } 14... Ng4 { ...Re8 was also good. } 15. h3 c4 16. Qc2 Ne3 17. Qd2 h6 { 17...Re8and 17...Bxc3 are more to the point, but this turns out very well! } 18. Be7 { Not a good place for the bishop, since 19.Bxd6 is not playable. } 18... Rfe8 19. Na4 { Ke2 was slightly better, but Black should still win comfortably. } 19... Qb3 { Black now wins a piece and the game. } 20. Bxd6 Rxe4 21. Kf2 Qxa4 22. Rhe1 Rae8 23. Be5 Bxe5 0-1

[Event "Family game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "'Jesse'"] [Black "Hellion"] [Result "0-1"] { It's the holiday season... which means weekends with family members younever see the other 11 months of the year. Luckily, my extended familyis actually pretty cool. Over the weekend, my brother-in-law 'Jesse' andI played a chess game, and this is the result. Neither one of us is aboutto become a grandmaster, and he was half-drunk. } 1. b4 e5 2. Ba3 d5 { 'Jesse'may be half-drunk, but I'm not. I take advantage of his odd opening toform an ideal center. } 3. c3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Be2 { I really didn't expecthim to overlook the threat to the Q, but let's just say I thought it wasworth trying. Besides, it's not like 4... B-N5 weakened my position. } 5... h5 6. d4 Nbd7 { I considered 6... P-K5, but decided it would leave me moreoptions if I kept the center flexible. } 7. Nd2 c6 8. Qc2 Qc7 { Both of usare ready to castle now, although I'm still considering castling K-side. } 9. O-O-O Be7 10. Kb1 O-O { With the Kings on opposite sides, I can attack'Jesse''s King without exposing my own too much. } 11. Rc1 a5 { Trying toopen some Q-side lines. } 12. Bd1 axb4 13. Bxb4 { Forced [13 PxNP loses theQB.] } 13... Qb6 { With the threat of 14... BxB 15 PxB QxP ch. } 14. a3 { Tryingto defend the threat by adding a guard to the B. But... } 14... Rxa3 { ...I simplyremove the guard. BxR is impossible becuase of the pin. } 15. h3 { Probablya frustration move. } 15... Bxb4 16. cxb4 Qxb4+ { I follow up with my plan. } 17. Nb3 { Twice guarded, the Knight looks safe. But... } 17... Bxd1 { Removing a guard.Whether the recapture is with the Rook or the Queen, either way the Knighton N3 falls. } 18. Rxd1 { I choose to capture with the Q, forcing the exchangeof Queens and a won ending. } 18... Qxb3+ 19. Qxb3 Rxb3+ { 'Jesse' could have resignedhere, but he let me have the honor of checkmating. I don't know whetherhe actually didn't see it, being half-drunk, or whether he chose to letme win a won game with a mate. } 20. Ka1 Ra8# { After this, we tossed arounda football and a Frisbee with the kids, in spite of inclement weather.Thankfully, the backyard of 'Jesse''s house is covered... it's part ofa housing complex, and they have a covered play area for rainy days. } 0-1

[Event "League division D1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.05.19"] [Round "-"] [White "vl007"] [Black "stylas"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1752"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1632"] 1. d4 { This game is interesting if only for the queen sacrifice that forcescheckmate. Most comments are useful for non-experts and there are no commentsabout opening strategies. } 1... Nf6 { Prevents white getting control of the centreof the board with e4 } 2. a3 { This seems like a pointless move at this stage. Neither important for defence nor does it develop any pieces } 2... g6 { Enablesdevelopment of bishop and black to castle quickly } 3. b4 { Still white hasnot developed any pieces and seems to be weakening his defence } 3... Bg7 { Developsbishop and is now ready to castle } 4. Bb2 { This move protects white’s rookfrom the potential threat of black’s g7 bishop. (It would only take blackto force a move from the a4 pawn to leave a knight move uncovering an attackwith possibility that the knight could simultaneously attack or take anotherpiece.) } 4... d5 { Allows the c8 bishop to develop and prevents the a4 pawn advancingwhich would have prevented black’s b8 knight from moving to c6. } 5. e3 { Defends the a4 pawn and allows white to develop f1 bishop } 5... O-O { Usuallya good idea to castle early without letting the opposition gain controlof the centre of the board. } 6. g3 { Although this gives the bishop optionsit seems a slightly wasteful move – is it not better to develop the knightsor at least pieces of value (i.e. the other bishop) – so far out of 6 moves5 have been pawns! } 6... a6 { This allows the night to move to c6 without gettingattacked by the bishop } 7. h3 { Yet another pawn move without developingany pieces! This is really weakening white’s defence without showing anysigns of an attack } 7... Bf5 { Bold if not pointless move! Why didn’t blackjust develop the knight? Black thinks if the white pawn attacks the bishopit doesn’t matter because he can then attack the white rook on h1 } 8. g4 { As expected } 8... Be4 { as planned } 9. f3 { Black had not planned for this asthere’s no way of preventing loss of the bishop. On the plus side, white’sdefence and pawn formation is a shambles with the king wide open and nowhereto develop pieces! This is whites 9th move and the 8th pawn move! } 9... Qd6 { Not worried about losing the bishop - this puts the queen within 1 moveof forcing the white king to move without castling. Also Nxe4 would bea big threat. The only way black could prevent this with Ne2 but thiswould mean black could do Bxf3 } 10. Qe2 { useful move because it enablesfxe4 without leaving too much of a threat from Nxe4 after Qg3+ } 10... Qg3+ 11. Kd1 Nbd7 { white still wants 12 fxe4 followed by Nxe4 so develops the finalknight which is better placed back up the knight on e4 } 12. Nd2 { whitemakes a well judged choice not to take the bishop with the pawn for reasonspreviously explained and instead attacks the bishop with the knight. Abetter move was Nc3 because it means that after 12... Bxc2 13 Qxc2 is possible } 12... Bxc2+ { black is best off taking the pawn forcing the white king to moveand preventing both develoment of the g file knight if Bxf3 } 13. Kxc2 { onlymove } 13... Qd6 { queen moves back in order to enable an attack on the king } 14. Qd3 Nb6 { an attempt to move the knight to a4 - a threatening position } 15. Ne2 { finally moves the second knight in an attempt to help defend theking } 15... Na4 { as planned } 16. Nb3 c6 17. Nc3 { this forces the black knightto either retreat or take a piece. } 17... Nxb2 { black opts to take the bishopbecause it forces the king to move into a position that could potentiallybe attacked by the g7 bishop - a tactic that paid off - wait and see! } 18. Kxb2 b6 { this prevents the knight from moving to a5 and enables eitherthe a or c pawn to advance } 19. Na4 Rfb8 { needed to protect the b6 pawn- black chose not to advance the b pawn because he wanted to move the aor c pawn forward } 20. Rc1 { this puts the rook in a powerful position andprevents the c pawn from advancing successfully, the pawn is defended bythe black queen } 20... a5 { as planned } 21. b5 { taking the pawn would have leftthe white king in trouble so the best move under the circumstances } 21... c5 { Very good move - it may leave black a pawn down but remember the bishopon g6 and the position of the black king } 22. dxc5 { this is exactly whatblack wanted } 22... bxc5 23. Nbxc5 { may have been better to use the rook to takethe pawn and certainly would have been better to move the king to safetybut white was worried about the c pawn advancing again and attacking thequeen } 23... Nxg4+ { white in serious trouble and about to lose a rook for nothingand probably wishes the f1 bishop had moved } 24. Ka2 Nf2 { the knight simultaneouslyattacks the queen and the rook and the queen is unable to protect the unprotectedrook } 25. Qc2 { probably the best possible move under the circumstances- attacking the black knight (who isn't bothered) } 25... Nxh1 { why wait? } 26. f4 { white needs to bring the bishop into the game but first decides tomove a pawn... who knows why? } 26... Ng3 { time to bring the knight back intothe game and into safety } 27. Bg2 { bad move! the bishop was protectingthe pawn on b5 } 27... Rxb5 { the b5 pawn is gone } 28. Qd1 { attacks the d5 pawnwith bishop and queen which is only protected by the black queen } 28... Rab8 { black hopes white takes the d5 pawn so that 29... Rb2+, 30 Nxb2, Rxb2+,31 Ka1, Rd2+ wins black the white queen for a rook } 29. Nd3 { good move!white is wise to the threat of Rb2 } 29... Nf5 { attacks e3 pawn and hopes whitemoves e4 so that he can move the knight to d4 } 30. e4 { hooray white didwhat black wanted } 30... dxe4 31. Bxe4 Nd4 { as planned - enables Rb3 to be followedby Qxa3 checkmate. Rb3 previously would enable white to swap queen for2 rooks (2 rooks are worth more than a queen) } 32. Nac5 { Excellent defensivemove. Puts a stop to blacks plan... now how can black go back to the originalplan of Rb2? } 32... Qxf4 { This is not a blunder - black wants white to take thequeen with the knight and it's game over! } 33. Nxf4 { Woohoo! } 33... Rb2+ 34. Ka1 { only possible move } 34... Nc2+ { whatever piece white chooses to take theknight with loses the game } 0-1

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.06.05"] [Round "-"] [White "sbmr"] [Black "porcho"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1089"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1069"] { I decided to annotate it because first it seemed like I'd win, then itseemed like he'd win and then finally I got a checkmate. I won a knightearly on due to oversight on his part, but somehow he managed to queena pawn and I had to trade a rook for it. Then, I got a queen checkmate. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 { All standard so far } 3. c3 { Hmm, I don't think thismove is a mistake but I don't usually see it. It could transpose into aGuicio piano. } 3... Nf6 { But I decided instead to take advantage of the factthat his QN can't defend the pawn. } 4. d3 { So now his LSB is blocked in } 4... Be7 { I thought this was the best square. d6 not only blocks in the d pawnbut doesn't have much scope. On c5 it would just get chased away. } 5. d4 { A mistake that loses a pawn } 5... exd4 6. cxd4 Nxe4 { So I take it } 7. d5 { I'mnot sure this is great. Sure it pokes my knight but it overextends thepawn so that it's harder to defend. } 7... Nb4 { A rather awkward square but theonly other safe one was a5. } 8. a3 Na6 { It probably would have been betterto go to a5 in the first place } 9. Bxa6 bxa6 { my queen side pawn structureis busted } 10. O-O d6 11. Qd4 Bf5 12. Nc3 { I don't want to exchange mycentrally placed knight, but it looks like I have to. } 12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Nh4 { ?? This is the blunder. I guess he didn't realize I had two piecesattacking it. } 14... Bxh4 15. Be3 { I might have considered fianchettoing it,lining up the bishop and queen so that if the c pawn is moved checkmateis threatened. } 15... Qf6 16. Qf4 Bg5 17. Qc4 Bxe3 { While this move does exchangematerial, I'm not sure it was so wonderful. Taking back opens up the filefor the rook and pins my LSB. } 18. fxe3 Qg6 { I unpin it } 19. Qxc7 { ...Butlose the pawn } 19... Be4 { Forks mate and the d5 pawn } 20. g3 Bd3 { ??? If I hadtaken the pawn it would never have promoted. } 21. Rf2 Qg4 22. Qxd6 { Theregoes another pawn and suddenly whites d pawn becomes a threat. } 22... Qh3 { Maneuverscloser to the WK } 23. Qf4 { Clears the way for the pawn to advance... } 23... Rad8 { Impeding the pawn } 24. d6 Rfe8 25. Rd1 { Forces the bishop out of the wayso the rook can support the pawn } 25... Bg6 26. Rfd2 { The pawn can now advancesafely } 26... h6 { With all those pieces lined up I was a little worried abouta back rank mate } 27. d7 { It advances } 27... Re4 { At least I can make the queenmove } 28. Qc7 { ...But it just pushed the queen where it wanted to go } 28... Ra8 29. d8=Q+ Rxd8 { No other reasonable choice } 30. Qxd8+ { And I was reallyglad I created some space for my king } 30... Kh7 31. Re1 { Defends the pawn } 31... Rc4 { Goes for a different one } 32. Qa5 { Nope } 32... Rc6 33. Rd8 Be4 { Threatens mate } 34. Re2 { But he sees it. Oh well, I didn't really expect it to work } 34... Rb6 { Thinking about playing Rb6b1+ } 35. Rd1 { He stops it, but runs into a skewer } 35... Bf3 36. Kf2 { ?? I guess he wanted to get my bishop in exchange, but nowit's mate in two } 36... Qg2+ 37. Ke1 Qxe2# { ...And MATE! As always, please commentif you notice something } 0-1

[Event "Blitz: Curtains for White..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.07.21"] [Round "-"] [White "pawnbrain"] [Black "kitrich_omar"] [Result "0-1"] [TimeControl "Blitz"] 1. e3 { I was unaccustomed to this unconventional opening... } 1... e5 2. d3 d5 { Already I am worried about my commitment to a large pawn center... } 3. h3 Nc6 4. g3 { A very defensive setup from white. I debate whether to proceedwith natural development or grab more space... } 4... Nge7 5. Bg2 f6 6. b3 { Perhapsthis is some type of 'hedgehog' setup... } 6... Bf5 { Perhaps placing the bishophere will prove too committal... } 7. a3 { Yes, I believe this is a hedgehog. } 7... d4 { I decide to try and open some lines. I am not finished with development,but I am much farther along than white... } 8. Bb2 Nd5 { A bad blunder thatsets the stage for the rest of the game. Falling behind in material meansI have to play for his king. } 9. e4 Ne3 { I wanted to damage his kingsidepawn structure in order to prevent the king from castling. His queensidepawns are already a bit loose, and I doubted he wanted to castle there. } 10. fxe3 Be6 11. exd4 Nxd4 { I had exd, which would keep more material onthe board, but the idea here was to exchange off his dark-squared bishop,as his light-squared bishop looks like it might be bad... } 12. Nf3 { Hewants to hang on to the bishop... } 12... c5 13. Nbd2 Nxb3 { Another move calculatedto damage his pawns...After nxb3 I am down 5 points in material, and thegame will be a write-off unless I can quickly stir up an attack... } 14. Nxb3 Be7 15. Qd2 c4 { A pawn sac. I am trying to open lines and make useof the semi-open b-file... } 16. dxc4 Qb6 17. Rd1 { Better would have beenrb1...This allows me to gain a tempo on his queen... } 17... Rd8 18. Nfd4 { Offeringmaterial back...but after exd and bxd4 he is regaining the initiative... } 18... O-O 19. Qf2 exd4 20. Bxd4 Qa6 { My attack seems to be waning, the queenhaving been driven to a seemingly weak square... } 21. Nc5 { Threateningnxe6 and then winning the exchange. } 21... Qa5+ 22. c3 Bxc5 { White's knight movehas allowed my queen back into the game... } 23. Bxc5 Qxc3+ 24. Rd2 Qc1+ 25. Ke2 { A forced move...White cannot play rd1 because of qxd1#. } 25... Bxc4+ 26. Kf3 Qc3+ 27. Be3 { White appears to have warded off the attack. Willf5 be to slow? } 27... f5 28. Bf1 { Vacating g2 for the king. Perhaps white isbetter with exf... } 28... fxe4+ { Winning the queen, I am now massively up inmaterial... } 29. Kg2 Rxf2+ 30. Rxf2 { His e3 bishop is en pris. White isnow losing this... } 30... Bxf1+ 31. Rhxf1 Qxe3 32. Kg1 Qxg3+ 33. Rg2 Qe3+ 34. Rgf2 { A useful pin that allows me to swing the rook into action withoutthreats of rf8# } 34... Rd6 35. Kg2 Rg6+ { It's going to be curtains for white... } 36. Kh2 Qg3+ 37. Kh1 Qxh3+ 38. Rh2 Qxf1# { This was an exciting game inwhich I used the initiative to overcome a substantial material deficit. } 0-1

[Event "How not to play the From Gambit"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "08-Aug-06"] [Round "-"] [White "NN"] [Black "paranoidyoshi"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1388"] [TimeControl "none"] 1. f4 { Henry Bird's opening. } 1... e5 { The classic From Gambit. Other strategiesagainst the Bird don't work as well (especially 1...d5, the Reversed Dutch.) } 2. g4 { A suicidal move (what else could it be?). } 2... Qh4# { Checkmate in twomoves. How saddening. This is why I didn't say who white was. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.09.14"] [Round "-"] [White "auuuu"] [Black "levoxine100"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1372"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1388"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 { 3. Con d4 en lugar de d3 se iniciaríael extremadamente complicado e inestable ataque de Max Lange. Aquí sigootra línea de ataque... } 4... Bc5 5. Nc3 O-O { The blacks are checking the whites' preference for gaining time in attacking development given that the center is closed and the king, for now, is well-protected. } 6. Bg5 { Why did the blacks neglect this movement which is the key to the victory of the whites? I suppose the reasoning of levoxine100 would be to protect the horse with the queen to avoid opening the line g with the knight on g7. } 6... a6 7. a3 b5 8. Bd5 Bb7 9. Nxe5 Na5 { Blacks have played the chess move C x C, but in principle, the blacks' strategy was more orthodox since taking the white horse b7 would mean losing the bishop b7, and given that white had a material advantage, it was best to avoid the exchange of pieces (leaving the white's attack mortal). Up to here, the outcome is unpredictable. } 10. b3 { 10.b3 instead of b4! I can't explain this slip (perhaps the only one, but enough for white's perfect game). The intention was clear: the double attack knight and bishop, with a loss of one of the two pieces. I thought I had played b4 instead of b3, which is an exciting move, but upon reviewing the game I find that bug... which demonstrates that the mind is not always at 100%, but instead experiences oscillations on the attention curve, and when you get caught in a valley, you make a mistake. } 10... Bxd5 11. Nxd5 d6 12. Ng4 Bxf2+ { After the bug b3 did not succeed: the funny thing is that the blackreacted as if White had played b4, taking the black bishop on f2. Perhapsthe explanation is in a deeper analysis of the black, to try his hand waitingfor the white king take the bishop, which seems reasonable since the horsewas well positioned g4. In this case auuu was prudent and began a quick'Analyze Board', discovering that with the king at f2 Black could playC x e4 +, what white should play d3 x e4, ie Black exchanges the horsenailed from the principle for a pawn... but the black lady would takethe bishop on g5. This would end the black white initiative, and even acquirematerial advantage of a pawn. } 13. Nxf2 h6 14. Nxf6+ { Here begins a more deceptive sequence, since white had two pieces threatened... Moraleja: always analyze, even to the most obvious. } 14... gxf6 15. Bxh6 Re8 16. Qg4+ Kh7 17. Qg7# 1-0

[Event "Dynamics of the Pirc: delayed Lion's Defence"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "05-Aug-08"] [Round "-"] [White "sandsaver"] [Black "freeman8201"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1653"] [WhiteElo "1789"] 1. e4 d6 { Pirc } 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. f3 { And this is calledthe Lion's defense: Lion's Jaw. The e pawn double protected by the knightand f3 pawn. This mirrors the Saemisch in King's Indian games. } 5... Nc6 { Continuallyplaying the Pirc I have learn, from experience, it is not always best tocastle when you can. } 6. Nge2 Nd7 { I believe, considering the g2, f3, e4pawn chain, the f6 knight had no future role on f6. } 7. d5 { unsound } 7... Na5 { The bishop is indeed misplaced, Furthermore the pawn chain restricts itsscope } 8. Bb3 { The bishop is doing nothing and there is no reason to takeit } 8... O-O 9. Bg5 { !? This seems like a attack coming from a Saemisch player } 9... h6 { It does not work! } 10. Be3 { This should have been his move in the firstplace } 10... Ne5 { The knights are going to coordinate with one another! if whiteplays Qd2: I'll play (either N) Nc4! } 11. Qc1 { Preventing white from castlingqueenside } 11... e6 { I try to set up a trap } 12. O-O Kh7 { s } 13. Kh1 c5 { Boththe bishops are useless } 14. dxe6 Nxb3 15. axb3 fxe6 16. Rd1 { And the tideshifts } 16... Qe7 { Getting out of the line of fire. Also, notice his next movecould have been Bxc5 } 17. Nb5 { I spent a couple hours looking at this position.An hour on the gameknot analyse program and another hour or so via printedcopy. I could have defended further by playing 16...Nf7 or 16...Rd8 Butthat would allow counter play along the a file with his rook and knight. } 17... d5 { It was best to attack! } 18. exd5 exd5 19. Rxd5 { Now the center isopen! } 19... b6 20. Nf4 g5 { it was best to rid the knight on f4. } 21. Ne2 { wastinga move! } 21... Nxf3 { A sound sacrifice } 22. Nec3 Bb7 23. gxf3 Rxf3 24. Kg1 Rxe3 25. Qd2 Qe6 26. Nc7 Qg4+ 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Bxc3 29. bxc3 Re7 30. Kg3 Bxd5 { This was a very bad trade. I look at the screen for 10 seconds andsaid to myself,'woo woo, take the rook. Better take the rook.' Better wasto capture the knight for free. } 31. Nxd5 Re2 32. Nxb6 { And I made anotherblunder. White had better endgame skills than I. } 32... Rf8 { Instead of pawnchasin', I decide to make a mating net with my two rooks, pawns and myking. } 33. Rxa7+ Kg6 34. Nd7 Rfe8 { two connected rooks! } 35. Ra6+ Kg7 36. h4 gxh4+ 37. Kg4 { ?! } 37... R2e4+ 38. Kf5 Re1 { !! } 39. Rg6+ Kf7 40. Rxh6 Rf1+ 41. Kg5 Rg8+ { I opted for a sideways mate } 42. Kh5 { The h pawn is poison } 42... h3 { The march to 8 rank! } 43. Ne5+ Ke7 44. Rh7+ Ke6 45. Ng4 h2 { !! } 46. Rh6+ Kf7 47. Rh7+ Kf8 48. Nxh2 Rh1 { white resign } 0-1

[Event "Grader gets a goin over!!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "25-Apr-08"] [Round "-"] [White "daveyr18"] [Black "graderguy"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1504"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1426"] 1. c4 { Another opening i like to use sometimes, i'm facing a tougher opponentso i don't wanna start making silly mistakes and using openings i'm notused to... } 1... Nf6 { Something i'm not used to.... } 2. Nc3 { I carry on as ifnothing has happened, and it hasn't... } 2... g6 { Finnachetto bishop (or whateverit is) is coming.... } 3. Nf3 { Another blinder or is it blunder? time willtell.... } 3... c5 { Up comes the c pawn...... } 4. e3 { In retaliation, i may god4 next depending on what Grader does.... } 4... Nc6 { Threatens d4... } 5. a3 { Stops Nb4... } 5... Bg7 { I was right on the finnachetto thing!! } 6. Be2 { I favoura different route... } 6... d5 { I don't wanna take that just yet so i radio forbackup.... } 7. b3 d4 { He waltz's right passed..... } 8. Na4 d3 { It did takeme a moment to realise the queen was backing up the bishop here so...... } 9. Bf1 { Annoying!!.. } 9... Ne4 { it's what he was aiming for! } 10. Ra2 { I spottedthe sneaky Bg7 threat on Ra1....just! } 10... O-O { Naturally..... } 11. Nb2 { Ihave to get rid of that pawn, i focus all my attention on it so i hopeit's the right thing to do.... } 11... Bf5 { Well ok but that is too little tolate for the pawn.... } 12. Nxd3 { Now hopefully i can carry on developingand castling and quick!! } 12... Qd7 { Allwing the rook link up..... } 13. Qc2 { Itwas a choice between h3 or this i couldn't allow Nc3 so this won.... } 13... Bg4 { That's why h3 was an option.... } 14. Be2 { I'm ok with an exchange if that'swhat's comming but also i've cleared the way to castling... } 14... Rab8 { Obviouslyplanning some form of pawn assault... } 15. h3 { So i start assaulting myself,that sounds wrong, i didn't start assaulting myself......but i threatenwith h3 you can see.... } 15... Bxf3 { rather than a weak back off he goes forthe jugular... } 16. Bxf3 { I willingly oblige.... } 16... Ng5 17. Nxc5 { At leasta managed a pawn grab out of that, hope it doesn't come back to bite meon the bum.... } 17... Nxf3+ { Annoying!! now i have to double my pawn right wherei want to castle, Grader sure knows how to ruin your day... } 18. gxf3 { ican't afford to go behind in material if i havn't got a plan, and i havn'tright now.....I also remember against diesel this open file was his downfallso watch out!! } 18... Qc7 19. d4 { I didn't want to back off just yet and i likethis pawn move it stops any e5 ideas and i'm sure grader was going forthe double threat next move, Nd4 threatening both knight and queen so thatstops that in it's tracks... } 19... Nd8 { He didn't want an exchange then....?I guess that knight has some kind of role in graders plans, i'll keep aneye on that little scamp!... } 20. a4 { You may think this is an odd movebut it's in preperation for Ba3 then, play allowing, Qe4 then Bxe7, that'sthe plan, lets see what happens, that's what i love about chess, the plancan change in the blink of an eye, it's so fluid. Yes i am wasted!! } 20... Ne6 { That stops my plan a little, gonna have to reposition c5 to Nd3 then onto d5 via b4, then carry on as before, yeah right...... } 21. Nd3 { off igo..... } 21... Qd7 { I guess this all heads toward a d4 meltdown, so in preperation...... } 22. Ba3 { I aim this little beauty somewhere useful, i hope.... } 22... Ng5 { Andhe starts to make inroads toward my king. Well if thats the case..... } 23. Ke2 { I'll go meet him personally...... } 23... Rfd8 { Erk!! extra back up forthe queen and her d file (well, almost hers, but not quite).... } 24. Nc5 { I couldn't risk putting my knight on e5 cos the last thing i want isan exchange on that square and open up the d file good and proper! no thanks!..Itwould be nice if he moves to d6 and then i have a discovered attack soi could potentially go a piece up if he makes the wrong move 24.... Qd6,25.Ne4 Qd7, 26.Nxg5...in a perfect world it would happen like this..........butthe world is far from perfect..... } 24... Qc8 { As i said, far from perfect........ } 25. h4 { I continue to annoy him and i need that knight out of there ifi am to continue with my plan, i need my queen on e4 to carry on though.... } 25... Ne6 { So he backs off which is ok but i now have to decide if i want toexchange or do i still need my knight...? } 26. Rg1 { I decide to leave itup to him and assert my rook on the g file... } 26... b6 { obviously he didn'twant to exchange then... } 27. Ne4 { Well nor do i yet, so i back off..... } 27... Rd7 { This puts the brakes on Bxe7 so i look for something else..... } 28. h5 { I decide the best course of action would be to smash the kings pawnguard to smithereens...... } 28... Bxd4 { Ah, annoying as i can't take the bishopbecause of the imminent fork Nxd5 ouch!! So, again i have to search elsewhere..... } 29. f4 { To try and disslodge that knight once and for all.... } 29... Bg7 { he backs off having failed miserably to lure me into his web of lies,although i have lost a pawn and a valuable file has been opened, i justhope i have enough time to do what i need to...... } 30. f5 { So i ploughon with my pawn attack, i'm in real bad shape and i need to keep pressureon my opponent or i fear the worst for my gallant army... } 30... Nf8 { A pleasantsight, the retreat of an enemy knight....... } 31. fxg6 { I gotta make thispawn rush count for something or i may be in for a shock.... } 31... hxg6 { ............ } 32. hxg6 { now his king will be just as exposed as mine and it may be acase of who gets in there first.... } 32... Nxg6 { I did expect the knight to takeso i have a little something in reserve... } 33. f4 { Ha ha, i'm coming foryou knight, i'm coming for ya!! I need that knight out of the way so ican exert pressure on the g7 bishop with Bb2. He cant move f6 yet as itwould leave his knight en prise... } 33... Qc6 { Under pressure, i have the Queensong running through my inner dialogue, 'under pressure da da da.....' } 34. f5 { So i move in to exert some, all i can say is i hope this works!! } 34... Ne5 { So that's good, he's out the way but i have to choose my next movecarefully.....do i go Bb2 or f6 or something else. Decisions decisions..... } 35. Bb2 { I plump for the Bb2 it felt right and i know i have the forceflowing through my viens or is it 10 year old smack?..... } 35... f6 { This wasthe reason i was um-ing and ah-ing about if i should go f6 or bb2 i thoughthe would probably move the pawn forward to protect the knight so..... } 36. Bd4 { I decide to block the d file for now and it also adds supportto the c4 pawn which i will have to move forward at some point in the nearfuture.... } 36... Kf7 { This un pins his bishop..... } 37. c5 { That pawn move iwas talking about....... } 37... Rc8 { ......... } 38. Bxe5 { That knight was causingto many problems for me logistically so it had to go..... } 38... fxe5 { the expectedresponse..... } 39. Ng5+ { I wasn't sure if i should go Qc4 or make thismove, this one won.....With that queen and those rooks so close togetherhe has to be careful not to set up a fork for me to take advantage of,good luck Grader.... } 39... Kf6 { Wriggling out of check...... } 40. Ne6 { I figurei have to keep the pressure on him and somehow manouvere my pieces intoa decent position to launch an effective attack, i have work to do!.... } 40... Kf7 { What?? Well if he wants to give me his pieces...... } 41. Rxg7+ { Iwas debating to take with the knight or rook both have their merits buti went with the rook in the end... } 41... Kf6 { And i'm glad i did... } 42. Rg6+ { That bitch is mine he can only go to f7 in which case my next move isNg5 and there she is, his queen down the barrel of my shotgun and i'mtaking her fucking head off!! Lovely little discovered attack!! } 42... Kf7 { Asi said, the only available square.... } 43. Nd8+ { I thought instead of Nf4i'de be greedy and see if i could get away with losing only 1 piece.... } 43... Rdxd8 { That's what you get for being greedy.... } 44. Rxc6 { Now i'm in myelement i'm on a roll and nothing can slow me down now!! } 44... Rxc6 { The expectedresponse..... } 45. Qc4+ { I want him on the back rank if possible..... } 45... Ke8 { Beautiful, it's all over for the G man now.... } 46. Qg8+ { He can onlyturn his tail and run like, i was gonna say the wind, but he's a big fatking and he's outta breath in one square... } 46... Kd7 { And there it is, at thispoint Grader resigned nowing only too well the crushing fate he has instore should he continue. Good game. Lesson from this game, i think itwas my very active pawns that won that game for me. He never had a chanceto coordinate his forces into any kind of meaningful attack. By keepinghim busy with very irritating play pawn wise, i managed to bully myselfinto a winning position. I enjoyed this game it showed the power of thelittle people, nice!! } *

[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "starlite551"] [Black "Zarn"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1899"] [TimeControl "5:30"] [WhiteElo "1644"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 { Opening with Sicilian Najdorf } 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 Be7 8. f3 { Normal Development } 8... d5 { BlackTrying to gain control of vital d5 Square! } 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. exd5 cxd5 { Black Succeeds in Controlling d5! But the game is still not over for white.. } 11. Bd4 { To Stop e5,.. } 11... O-O { Taking King to safety. } 12. Qd3 { Developingthe queen as well as opening two possibilities for white to castle. } 12... Re8 { King in the center so launching the attack immediately on the opposingking..! } 13. O-O-O { Its High time so castled Queen side bcoz there areless pawns on the queen side to launch an immediate attack on the whiteking also queen rook comes into play and attacks center. } 13... Bd7 { Preparinga violent attack from queen side against white..! } 14. g4 { Counter Attackby g4.. } 14... Bd6 { Preparing e5 pawn thrust to control center and increase mobilityfor black bishop. } 15. g5 { Bf4+ would be defended by Be3 on exchange ofbishops black would retreat his Knight to safer square then white wouldlaunch his attack on black king by using pawn thrust h4 or Rdg1.. } 15... Nh5 { Defending the Knight at the same time attacking the pawn with an opportunityto fork queen and bishop if white saves the pawn. Clearly Black has theupper hand over here I admit that black could have easily won by takingmy light colored Bishop on e2. Again with two Bishops advantage over Knightand a Bishop along with good center control...!! } 16. Rdg1 { No other optionbut to guard the falling g-pawn. Rdg1 and not h4 since g3 then becomesvulnerable point for white where black's Knight can easily exploit. } 16... Nf4 { As expected! } 17. Qd2 { Played purposely to invite Black to pin the Knightafter e5 thrust.. idea (e5-Bf2 Bb4-Qd1 Nxe2 Nxe2.. Followed by Kb1 andNc1)with defense for white king. } 17... e5 { As anticipated.. } 18. Bf2 Bb4 19. Qd1 d4 { Slight alteration to black's move He played d4 which is not a goodmove since it gives White Knight an Outpost on e4! and did not take myBishop on e2 which was again wrong option. } 20. Ne4 { White is slowly butsteadily coming back into the game and there is a hope to save the gameby a draw! } 20... Be6 { Threatening Qa5,,.. } 21. Kb1 Bf5 22. Bc4 Qc7 23. Bb3 { Solidifying the defense for white king.. } 23... Be6 { Trade offer.. ;) I willtake it but in a different way I will offer another Bishop instead.. Haha..that would really confuse the opponent.. and it worked.. } 24. Be1 Bxb3 25. Bxb4 Bd5 26. Qe1 { Trying to prevent an isolated e4 pawn.. } 26... Qc4 27. b3 Qc6 28. Rg4 { Attempt to double the rooks and prepare h4 thrust..alsowith a threat of Nf6+ active.. } 28... d3 { Attacking the undefended c2 pawn withd3! } 29. c4 { c4!! Since now black cannot take it by enpass and Bishop hasto retreat or take the Knight and then after exchanging the queens tryto play for a draw,.. } 29... Be6 { Defending Bishop and attacking the rook atthe same time! } 30. Rxf4 { Rxf4! I thought Knight on f4 was the active piecefor Black which was attacking and defending the position at the same timeso eliminating the active piece at once.. again Nf6+ is still ON.. } 30... exf4 { takes the rook with winning confidence.. White is a piece down! } 31. Qh4 { Qh4! again with brilliant attacking combination and a tactical move againstBlack's King.. Idea Nf6+ followed by Bc3 and Qh6 with Mate Net.. } 31... Bf5 { Tryingto eliminate the knight.. If Knight moves d2+ is ON. But still its problemfor black to save the King-side from strong attack by Knight Rook Queenand Bishop since all the white pieces are actively attacking the black'sking. Time for an attack!! } 32. Nf6+ { Perfect Move in the tough situation.Pawn takes Knight is forced since white can equalize the situation withNxe8.. } 32... gxf6 33. gxf6 { Threat is Qh6! and Qg7#.. Can Black Stop it?? Answeris NO he can't! } 33... d2+ { Desperation since he cannot stop the mate tryingfor a counter play.. } 34. Kb2 Qxf3 { At this point Black should have resigned.. } 35. Rg1+ { Worsens the situation for Black! only good move is Bg6.. } 35... Bg6 36. Qh6 { Qh6!! Final Nail to the coffin for black!! Mate cannot be stopped...;) Hope you enjoyed the game! Cheers!! :D } 1-0

[Event "Sicilian training spree (part 4 and final)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "24-jul-18"] [Round "-"] [White "fiercequeen"] [Black "opponent4"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2000-"] [TimeControl "no limits"] [WhiteElo "2059"] { three down, one to go: I am doing very well in this small competition;I get to play my favourite opening, the Sicilian: and I get the chanceto battle it... } 1. e4 c5 2. f4 d6 { way too early, to make a decision likethis: one of the tricks in the Sicilian is to not cover c5; d6, is usuallyplayed after e4, c5, Nc3, d6... } 3. Nf3 a6 4. c3 b5 { true to the Sicilian,Black starts to conquer the Queens' wing... } 5. g3 Nf6 6. d3 Bb7 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. Be3 Qb6 { not too accurate: maybe better Ng4 first... } 9. O-O O-O-O { you do not see this often: Black castling long, in the Sicilian; but whynot? } 10. h3 { take out Ng4... } 10... g6 { clever, but a bit late... } 11. Nbd2 Bg7 12. Qc2 { both players have completed development: White - as always- has reached a Grand Prix Attack setup; Blacks' position is solid, butthere still has a lot of work to be done... } 12... h6 { avoiding Ng5... } 13. g4 { relentless... } 13... e6 { preparing d5: a direct d5, would fail on e5; this isnot much better... } 14. Bf2 g5 15. e5 { time to break some tensions... } 15... dxe5 16. fxe5 Nd5 17. Bg3 { avoiding Nf4... } 17... c4+ 18. d4 Ne3 { these are thebreaks... } 19. Qe4 Nxf1 20. Nxf1 Nb4 21. Qe2 Bd5 22. Ne3 f6 23. exf6 Bxf6 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Ne5 { the move, White was waiting for: now, Nf7 is a veryunwelcome move... } 25... Bxe5 26. Bxe5 Rh7 27. Bxd5 Rxd5 { building, on the pinover d4: but that will not hold long... } 28. Rf1 { here is a problem... } 28... Rd8 29. Qe4 Rhd7 30. Rf6 Rd5 31. Rxh6 Rxe5 32. Qxe5 { a clear miscalculationfrom Black: he was loosely counting on Qa8+, Kd7, Rh7+, Kd6, Qf3, Re1+,Kf2, Rb1, Qg3+, Kd5, Qe5+, Kc6, Qxe6+, Rd6, and Whites' attack will nothold with a piece behind... } 32... Rd5 { Black is still building on the pin overd4: and at least, he is saving g5... } 33. Rh8+ Kd7 { a tough decision: afterRd8, Rxd8+, Black has made no progress... } 34. Qg7+ Kc6 35. Rc8+ Kd6 36. Qf8+ Kd7 37. Rd8+ Kc6 38. Rxd5 exd5 39. Qf6+ Kc7 40. Qxg5 Qe6 { just aboutthe only move for Black... } 41. Kf2 { the winning move: from now on, Whitewill try and trade Queens - for instance: Qf7+, Qf5; after that, the freepawns on the Kings' wing are decisive: so Black resigned... } 1-0

[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.02.06"] [Round "-"] [White "coolistdude"] [Black "luckylee"] [Result "1-0"] { Quicky game. Bought a Chromebook and decided to play Gameknot Blitz withit after getting slaughtered by a high rated player. This game has a nicetactical sacrifice/poisoned knight. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 { My openingseems a bit too passive. I'm a bit inexperienced in this line. } 3... Bg7 4. Nbd2 d6 5. e4 c5 { Trying to open up the diagonal of black's dark squaredbishop. } 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nbd7 8. O-O { +- I like white's position betteras he seems to have more opportunity, but the diagonal is a weakness thatwill need to be addressed in the future especially as pressure on d4 continues. } 8... O-O 9. Nb3 Re8 { Black is a bit cramped. } 10. e5 { ?! Maybe I felt threatenedor wanted to eat some of his clock. I don't think this move is necessarythough. } 10... dxe5 11. dxe5 Nd5 12. e6 { !? blocks black's e pawn in. } 12... fxe6 13. Re1 { Bxg6 is not possible since the pawn protects the d5 knight. } 13... Qb6 14. Ng5 Rf8 { Threatening Qxf2+ } 15. Be3 { Better than Qe2? I'll let you decide!Huzzah! } 15... Nxe3 16. Rxe3 Bxb2 { ? I don't like this move. Although it maintainsthe extra pawn and clears black's doubled pawns, it creates a discoveredthreat for white and removes black's threat on the diagonal. } 17. Rb1 Bd4 18. Rxe6 { I believe this is better than taking the bishop as that allowsblack's queen to get close white's king. } 18... Bxf2+ 19. Kh1 Qd8 20. Nxh7 { !regaining the pawn in an awesome manner } 20... Nb6 { ? Kxh7 is of course instantdeath. 20. ... Kxh7 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Qxg6 Kh8 23. Qh7#. 20. Nf6 is betteras Nb6 allows me to do this... } 21. Rxg6+ Kh8 { ?? Kf7 seems to allow aglimmer of hope } 22. Qh5 Bg4 { 22. ... Qd5 fails to Ng5# } 23. Rxg4 { Qxg4is a mistake as Qxd3 gives black a chance. After 23. ... Qe8 24. Qh3 blackhas no way to escape checkmate } 1-0

[Event "A smothered mate in fourteen moves"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "29-Aug-07"] [Round "-"] [White "yotta"] [Black "claespiper"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1522"] [TimeControl "3d+1d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1448"] { This game features reactions to phantom threats, a big black center anda blunder that leads to a smothered mate. } 1. e4 { This game is taken froma themed mini-tournament and real play starts with blacks sixth move. Myproper comments will start at move six. Since publication lighttotherighthave commented on a few occasions where my analysis haven't been correct.I have introduced these corrections to the annotation and marked whichare lighttotherights. } 1... e6 { The french defence. Not my favorite but it wasthe theme... } 2. d4 { Standard response. Grab the center while you can... } 2... d5 { Challenge the center. } 3. Nc3 { Bolstering the center. } 3... Nf6 { GivingWhite the choice to defend och stretch... } 4. Bg5 { Choosing to first pinthe knight. } 4... Be7 { Promptly unpinning the knight as well as clearing forcastling. } 5. e5 { Stretching the pawn chain... } 5... Nfd7 { Retreating. } 6. h4 { ... and here the opening gets the name Alekhine-Chatard version of theFrench defence. The general idea is to sacrifice the h-pawn to get a swiftattack going on the king side. White is hoping for BxB, pxB, Qxp and theneither Nh3 or Nf3 forcing the queen to retreat. White now have a half openh-file and can play either Bd3 or Qg4 as a continuation of the attack. } 6... c5 { But Black has other ideas. Challenge the center! This is my first move,but it's still a book move. } 7. Nf3 { White defends the pawn. } 7... Qb6 { Blackhas no plan (at this point) of taking d4 with the pawn. Black instead putmore pressure on d4 hoping to intice white to the exchange pxp, Nxp puttingthe the Black knight on a good square (c5) near the center as well as clearingd7 for the White bishop. } 8. Rb1 { White wastes a move. Black has no intentiontaking on b2. I was surprised to see White react to this phantom threat.In this opening White usually castles queen side as he has more or lesscommitted to a king side attack. Although not a bad move (lighttotherightanalysis), moving the rook takes queen side castling away. } 8... Nc6 { Developinga piece and putting more pressure on d4 (and e5 mind you :-) . I feel confidentat this point knowing I will have a good game. White have reacted to mymoves and have forgot about his king side attack. } 9. b3 { White loosesanother tempo. If he wanted to protect the pawn he should have played thismove directly. Better might have been 9. Bxe7 or 9. Na4 (lighttotherightsanalysis). The king still have two sides on his coffin... } 9... cxd4 { BAM! Isee that I can remove a pawn for free and gladly take it. [Annotation correctedafter lighttotherights comment]. } 10. Ne2 { The coffin now has three sides...Better would have been 10. Bxe7, Na4 or Nb5 (lighttotheright analysis) } 10... Bc5 { The black bishop was marked for destruction, only waiting to be takenon e7 (usually the case in the french defence), forcing the king to guardduty and preventing him from castling. Now the bishop guards d4 AND formsa deadly battery along the g1-a7 diagonal. } 11. h5 { The king side thrustis too little and too late. I rebuff it with... } 11... h6 { ... a pawn stab thatforces the bishop to retreat... } 12. Bh4 { ... to the wrong square. e5 isunder-protected. } 12... Ndxe5 { The knight strikes the free pawn and I proclaimthe center as black territory! :-) } 13. Nd2 { The lid is on the coffin...And I have a knight and a bishop ready for Nd3# or Bxf2# if the opportunityarises! } 13... O-O { I wanted to play d3 trying to force the issue, but couldnot find a good continuation (if you can see one, please comment and helpme improve my game). I choose a waiting move wishing White to move eitherc och g-pawn but expecting 14. Nf4. Any move by the c-pawn allows me toplay Nd3#. Playing 14. g3 allows me to win a piece with 14...d3!. Withthe threat of a smothered mate with Bxf2# White is forced to drop the knight. } 14. c4 { Remind me to use my power of wishing more often :-) d3 is unguarded! } 14... Nd3# { The knight nails the coffin shut! Hope you enjoyed the game. } 0-1

[Event "Trying to Survive vs. a Much Better Opponent"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.08.01"] [Round "-"] [White "hscer"] [Black "hanzelpeter"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2310"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1746"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 { A very typical Queen's Gambit position where Black is waiting for Whiteto move the bishop before playing ...dxc4. } 8. Qc2 h6 9. Bh4 Re8 10. a3 a6 { All these moves are common ones in that waiting game over White's LSB. } 11. c5 { White is running out of useful moves in the waiting game, butthis move to end that struggle seems a little fishy. Either 11.Bd3 or 11.cxd5would be better. } 11... e5 { A natural break in the center. } 12. Be2 exd4 13. exd4 Nf8 14. O-O Ne4 15. Bg3 { This felt pretty much forced. If 15.Bxe7Qxe7 Black has the immediate threat of 16...Nxc3 winning a piece. } 15... Nxg3 16. fxg3 { Without the e-pawn to worry about defending, this capture awayfrom the center made sense to open the f-file for the rook. } 16... Bf6 17. Kh1 { Black's last move appears to target the d-pawn, which can be attackeda second time with ...Ne6. Nudging the king over prevents ...Bxd4 frombeing a check, which could end up very useful tactically for Black. (Soperhaps recapturing with the f-pawn wasn't a great idea.) } 17... Rb8 { I wasexpecting continued targeting of the d-pawn with 17...Bg4. I thought maybethe point of this move was to try hit at the b-pawn, although it can simplyadvance at the moment if the b-file were to open. Perhaps Black just wantsto weaken White's queenside pawns generally. } 18. Rcd1 { First I lookedat 18.Bd3 Bg4 19.Qf2 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 Bxd4 21.Qxf7+ Kh8 22.Ne2 Bxb2 23.Nf4Re7 (23...Bxc1?? 24.Ng6+ will win for White) 24.Ng6+ Nxg6 25. Qxg6 Qg826.Rc2 and now both 26...Bf6 and 26...Bxa3 are good for Black. So it startsoff awfully tempting to trade the d4 pawn for the f7 pawn, but Black isnot obliged to do that and seems to be fine even if he plays every expectedmove in the variation. Then I considered 18.Rf2 to double rooks, but ifWhite recaptures on f3 with a rook, a knight capture on d4 becomes bothersome.Then I considered 18.Qd2 to defend the d-pawn, but now ...Bg4 also opensup skewers with ...Bg5. What about 18.h3 which prevents ...Bg4 and couldallow White to liquidate the doubled pawn with g3-g4-g5? It leaves thedark squares around the white king weak and White is already missing theDSB. So I ended up playing 18.Rd1, which also defends the d-pawn and isa slower way to double rooks, but it could still be done if desired. } 18... Bg4 { So Black does play ...Bg4 now and what 18.Rcd1 really means is thatWhite has committed himself to passive defense of the d-pawn. } 19. Ng1 { Since it's now too late to meet the threats on d4 with a counterattackat f7, this knight becomes more important than the LSB. Black's only consistentreply is to give up the two bishops with 19...Bxe2, otherwise I just putthe knight back on f3. 20.Ngxe2 will be forced (20.Ncxe2 Qe7), and Blackhas quite a few options for his 20th move, including 20...Ne6, 20...Qe7,and 20...b6. Those moves are useful at some point no matter what White's19th move; trying to predict what he will do now, at the expense of theknight, seemed unwise. } 19... Be6 { Instead, Black prefers to keep the two bishops. } 20. Nf3 { The knight prefers to be on f3, but it's also worth a shot tooffer a repeat position, even though it's unlikely to be accepted givenour difference in rating. } 20... Bg4 { But there's ...Bg4 again for the secondoccurrence of this position. It could well be Black has no plans to drawand is using a psychological ploy, but there's no reason the same logicfrom White's 19th move would not apply on the 21st move. } 21. Ng1 { Still,I set 21...Bxe2 22.Ngxe2 as a conditional move to let my opponent knowI wasn't expecting the draw. } 21... Bxe2 22. Ngxe2 { Which is what happened.(The conditional moves, not the draw!) } 22... Ne6 { With the d-pawn adequatelydefended (at least for now), White has some opportunity for active undertakings.The queen and the knight on c3 in particular could be put to better use,perhaps the queen on f5 or the knight on a4. A possible point to 23.Qf5would be dropping it to f2 and reinforce the d-pawn and freeing the e2-knightfor another action. If 23.Na4 Black could try to stop the knight from continuingto b6 with 23...Qa5 (24.Nb6 Bd8 and 25.Nd7 Rc8 26.Ne5 fails to 26...Nxd4),but 24.b4, a move that is probably going to be played at some point anyway,would change that. Even from a4, while on the rim, the knight would stillfreeze Black's queenside pawns. However, it weakens e4. } 23. Na4 { Butthe more I looked at it, the more 23...b6 seemed like a strong move worthpreventing. The move Qf5 could come later. But this was the first moveI reconsidered after making but before Black's reply. } 23... Qe7 { Threatening...Nxc5 not only winning a pawn but potentially making a 7th rank invasion--threatsonly possible because of White's previous move. The good news is, withBlack's queen now on e7, I didn't hate ...b6, so moving the knight backfelt okay even though it gives up tempi. (But like I said, I began regretting23.Na4 before Black replied.) } 24. Nac3 Qc7 { Here I became really temptedby 25.Rxf6, even getting to the point of deciding 26.Qf5 would be the bestfollow-up, but decided there wouldn't be enough compensation for the exchange.It would destroy his kingside pawn structure, remove an attacker of d4,and make f5 a nice-looking square for a knight. However, White's piecesare not in very good spots to take advantage of these factors. For instance,the quickest way to get a knight to f5 is to advance the g-pawn (allowingNe2-g3-f5), but the half-open g-file gives Black counterplay against thatpawn. Black also keeps his counterplay down the b-file. Trying to set upthe sacrifice with 25.Qd2 was also considered but found wanting and Blackcould also reply 25...Bg5. White just doesn't have a strong enough positionto sacrifice material. } 25. Na4 { Then I began looking at playing Na4 again.Black's last move seemed to indicate that a ...b6 break was indeed in hisplans, taking his eye off e2 in the process. } 25... Re7 { I thought Black mighttry to double his rooks. The knight on a4 will move back to c3, but Whitehas a move to work with before then. Is it of any use? } 26. Rxf6 { Despiteall my qualms about this sacrifice, I went for it now since Black's queenhas a harder time defending the kingside with a rook on e7. So I went forit instead of passively defending a hopeless position. I wasn't even sureif I would continue 27.g4 or 27.Qf5 or some other way. Hopefully the computercould tell me where I went wrong before this point, even if it was justthe 11.c5 move and maybe the Na4 moves. } 26... gxf6 27. Qf5 { Chose this becauseafter 27.g4 it's much harder for White to protect the king from back rankthreats. If I can last just 10 more moves, this game is a moral victoryfor me. } 27... Ng7 { And already 10 moves was looking wildly optimistic. Thiswas not a move I was expecting, although perhaps it should have been, withWhite's queen and knight attacked simultaneously. } 28. Qf3 Rbe8 29. Nac3 { Having the knight on a4 actually become one reason I went for the sacrifice,because being able to jump to b6 was useful in lines where Black allowsWhite's queen to start checking and tries to escape a draw by running tothe queenside. But it was already time to give up that pipe dream. If Whitecan get to an endgame, perhaps the slightly better pawn structure givesdrawing chances (yeah, right). } 29... Qd7 30. Ng1 Re1 31. h3 Qf5 32. a4 Qxf3 33. gxf3 { Now my pawn structure is a *LOT* better than Black's! } 33... Rxd1 34. Nxd1 Nf5 { White resigns. So I made it 7 more moves after the exchangesacrifice instead of 10. Close enough! } 0-1

[Event "An instructive R&K vs K ending"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.07.05"] [Round "-"] [White "chiefbuffaloo"] [Black "halfairchild"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1609"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1578"] 1. e4 { My opponent played well, but in the end played for a draw when awin was inevitable for White in a R&K vs. K ending. The strategy willbe explained when we get down to R&K vs. K. As a B/C player, I stick toa few openings, only experimenting when playing against players that Iknow I dominate. Here, I chose my standard Scandinavian. The idea isto challenge White from the very first move. } 1... d5 2. exd5 { Black is apawn down, but gets a little lead in development. The gambit of the pawnis temporary. } 2... Nf6 { The Modern Variation. Jack Peters, the IM and LA TimesChess columnist, taught me this opening in a series of private lessons. } 3. Bb5+ { White develops with check. It is a book move. } 3... Bd7 4. Bxd7+ { This, though, is bad. White has made two moves with a piece that is nowabout to vanish from play. A waste of time. After Black retakes, he'llhave two pieces developed to White's none. } 4... Nbxd7 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. d3 { I'mpretty sure a master would find fault with these moves. But Black is wantingto recapture the piece and control the center. Black also worries a bitabout getting castled. } 6... Nbxd5 7. Nf3 Nxc3 { Black makes this move to givehis opponent an ugly pawn formation. The isolated a pawn and the doubledc pawns are liabilities that can provide dividends in the end game. } 8. bxc3 e6 9. O-O Bd6 10. h3 { This looks like a wasted move. 'Every tempicounts!' Jack Peters would say. Black had no threat to occupy g4. } 10... O-O { And Black is comfortable with a lead in development and a better pawnstructure. } 11. Re1 Nd5 { Nice spot for the Knight, if he can rest therea while. } 12. Bd2 Rc8 13. c4 Nf6 { Now maybe it is Black who has wasteda few moves. } 14. Bg5 Be7 { I like this move. Comments anyone? } 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 { I didn't like White's move. } 16. Rb1 b6 17. Qd2 c5 { Black fixes theWhite pawns. } 18. Re4 Rc7 19. Rbe1 Rd7 20. Ne5 Bxe5 21. Rxe5 Rd4 22. R1e3 Rxc4 { Black takes advantage of White's mistake, and grabs a pawn. } 23. Rg3 Rh4 { I don't remember my thinking here. Maybe it was to add a defenderto the Kside? } 24. Reg5 g6 25. Qc3 Rd4 26. Qd2 Rd5 { Black is happy to exchangeto an endgame. } 27. R3g4 h5 28. Rxd5 Qxd5 29. Rh4 Qxa2 30. Qg5 Qa1+ 31. Kh2 Qg7 32. Qe7 Qe5+ 33. g3 Qe2 34. Kg2 Qxc2 { White is playing poorly. } 35. Rxh5 Qxd3 { Black sees that if 35...gxh (PxR), White plays Qg5 and mightdraw by perpetual check. } 36. Rh4 Qd5+ 37. Kh2 Qd8 38. Qxa7 Qb8 39. Qa1 { White threatens mate at h8. } 39... f6 40. Qb1 Kg7 41. Qb5 Rd8 42. Qb1 Qd6 43. Rg4 f5 44. Qb2+ e5 45. Ra4 Rd7 46. Ra8 Rb7 47. Qa2 { It's never easy. } 47... Rf7 48. Qa4 f4 49. Qe4 fxg3+ 50. Kxg3 Qf6 51. f3 Qg5+ 52. Kf2 Qd2+ 53. Qe2 Qxe2+ 54. Kxe2 { It's an easy endgame. } 54... Rb7 55. Rc8 Kf7 56. Rc6 g5 57. Ke3 b5 58. Rxc5 Ke6 59. Ke4 b4 60. Rxe5+ Kf6 61. Rc5 b3 62. Rc6+ Kg7 63. Rc1 b2 64. Rb1 Kf6 65. Ke3 Rb3+ 66. Kf2 Ke5 67. Kg3 Kf5 68. h4 gxh4+ 69. Kxh4 Kf4 70. Kh3 Kxf3 71. Kh4 Ke2 72. Kg4 Kd2 73. Kf4 Kc2 74. Rf1 b1=Q 75. Rxb1 Rxb1 { Here White should have resigned. But he thought he couldget a draw by perpetual check or the 50 move rule. Knowing how to closeout an ending like this is chess 201. (Chess goes all the way to infinity.) The idea is to close off the King's squares, push him to the edge, getyour own King in opposition. As follows. } 76. Ke5 Rb4 { White can no longermove to ranks 1-4. Important to note: Black did not try for a check. } 77. Kd5 Kd3 { The Black King takes 'the opposition' against the White King. When the Kings are one rank apart, and on squares of the same color, asabove, we have 'Opposition.' The King that now has to move is at a bigdisadvantage, because retreat is the only move. } 78. Ke5 Rd4 { This remandsthe White King to 1/4 of the board. } 79. Kf5 Re4 80. Kf6 Kd4 81. Kf5 Kd5 82. Kf6 Re5 { Squeezing. } 83. Kf7 Re6 84. Kf8 Kd6 85. Kf7 Kd7 86. Kf8 Re7 { The desired position. The White King is pinned against the edge of theboard. Any edge will do. Now the finish is very easy. } 87. Kg8 Ke6 88. Kf8 Kf6 89. Kg8 Rf7 90. Kh8 Kg6 91. Kg8 Rf6 { and mate next move. } *

[Event "e4-e5...Nd4 variation..i don't know the name of this variation."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "crielio_criel"] [Black "random player"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "0000"] [TimeControl "blitz game engine at GK"] [WhiteElo "1476"] { this game is one of my most beautiful one.i have this in the GK blitzgame engine,10min...e4-e5 opening. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 { 3.... Nd4!? last time when i have encountered this variation i have beentrapped.. and i lost the game.. } 4. Nxe5 Qg5 { 4. ... Qg5!? very nice attempto destroy my king side..but i counter attack at his king side having acheck at Bxf7!! } 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Qh5 { 6. Qh5!! here i have challenge himto a queen to queen to defense my horse from the attack his queen..buthe refuse, instead he attack my Qg2!? to have a piece advantage. } 6... Qxg2 7. Rf1 { see here..he have nothing to do.. } 7... Nf6 { 7. ... Nf6?? should takethe 7. ... Qxe4 to have a piece advantage. as have comment by: heinzkat (2202) on 19-Feb-08: I think you somehow missed 7. ... Qxe4 with AT LEAST a perpetual check for Black already. Maybe even more...via 8. Kd1 Qxc2 9. Ke1 Qe4 it's a draw; via 9. Ke1 Qxc1 10. Qd1 Nc2 Black should be winning. } 8. Qh4 Nxc2+ 9. Ke2 Nxa1 10. Nc3 { 10. Nc3!?is a good move to prepare for a check in d5..and probably have a mate inthe later game. } 10... Nc2 11. Nd5+ Kd6 12. Qf4 Qxe4+ 13. Qxe4 Nxe4 14. Nc4+ Kc5 15. Ne5 Kd6 16. f4 Nd4+ 17. Ke3 Kc5 18. Kxe4 d6 19. Nd3+ Kc4 { herehe wants to save his horse..but not quite..because he will be trapped. } 20. Nxc7+ { this position was very brilliant.. } 20... Ne6 21. b3# { as i was sayingthat it is a brilliant position!!! thanks for viewing my annotation! } 1-0

[Event "[R] Fast Ladder"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.02.04"] [Round "-"] [White "tomlib"] [Black "voske"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1241"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<3d"] [WhiteElo "1487"] { This is a Queen's Gambit Declined in which my opponent dropped a Knightearly in the game and I managed to capitilize by capturing pawn after pawneventually arriving in an end game with a huge pawn majority and my opponentresigned rather than wait for me to advance down the board. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Bg5 { I'm not sure why I played 3. Bg5 so early as here butI guess sometimes I like to try out other move orders as an experiment } 3... Be7 { I suspect this is weaker than 3. ... Bb4+ as the pin is not particularlydangerous at this time } 4. e3 d5 5. Nc3 Ne4 { A second move with the Knightforces me to be trade dark square Bishops but I've found that is usuallygood for White in the QGD. } 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Nxe4 { Now if Black recaptureshe has doubled pawns and White a good strong center } 7... O-O { My opponent getshis moves out of sequence here. I'm guessing thinking that the game iscurrently even rather than being down a piece. } 8. Nc3 Qb4 { Without thedark square Bishop this is an impotent threat easily refuted } 9. Qb3 Qxb3 { Up a piece I'm not hesitant to trade Queens but Black's alternatives werenot good. A retreat of the Queen leaves his b-pawn weak and pins the Bishopin place for at least a move or two. } 10. axb3 dxc4 { Now Black allows meto get my pawn structure in order in addition to total dominance of thecenter and a piece to the advantage. I think 10. ... Nc6 is better } 11. bxc4 Nc6 12. Nf3 Bd7 13. Bd3 Rad8 { Black is trying to activate his piecesbut he has one less and a cramped position because of my strong center } 14. O-O Nb4 { An attempt at being active. } 15. Bb1 { I've been watching someof GM games and am less afraid of moves like this now. I didn't want totrade off my Bishop with something like 15. Rfd1 Nxd3 16. Rxd3. This keepsmy Bishop on the potential dangerous b1-h7 diagonal but also makes thea2-g8 diagonal an option down the road. } 15... Bc6 { Again playing actively hopingto double my pawns and weaken my Kingside structure } 16. Ne5 { But, my Knighthas a very nice square and now I'm attacking both the Bishop and the danglinga-pawn } 16... f6 { This move is probably the worst choice as it does not dealwith either of the threats. The only safe square for the Bishop is e8 andmy opponent likely did not want to disconnect his rooks but this doubleshis pawns and loses a pawn as well. Probably better was either 16. ...Be8 or 16. ... a6 } 17. Nxc6 Nxc6 18. Nb5 { Down a piece Black must maintainhis pawns hoping for a storm at the end of the game to gain a draw butnow the pawns are under assault } 18... a6 19. Nxc7 { One gone } 19... Rf7 { Attemptingto trap my Knight but there really are no good moves at this stage. 9.... Rd7 20. c5 is no good. 19. ... e5 20. Ne6 forks the Rooks } 20. Nxe6 { Another pawn } 20... Re8 21. Nc5 Nb4 { Again Black tries to activate but thismove essentially traps the Knight as it can only retreat back to the c6square } 22. Ne4 { Looking at more forks with 23. Nd6 } 22... Rd8 23. c5 { My pawnchain is ridiculously strong } 23... f5 24. Nd6 { A spectacular square from whichmy Knight will be extremely difficult to remove } 24... Rf6 { An empty threat andgiving away yet another pawn. 24. ... Rc7 is probably bettter but thoseRooks are going to have an almost impossible task in getting past my pawnchain } 25. Nxb7 Rd7 26. Nd6 { Back to the womb as it were } 26... g6 { Even theforward Knight doesn't have any attacking prospects at this stage and Blackmust feel strangled } 27. Ba2+ { My plan was something like 27. ... Kf8 28.Bc4 Ra7 29. Ra4 Nc6 30. Rfa1 snatching the a-pawn and clearing the wayfor a storm } 27... Nxa2 { My opponent trades off his attacking Knight } 28. Rxa2 Kf8 { Gives away the a-pawn but after 28. ... Ra7 29. Rfa1 it is gone anyway } 29. Rxa6 Ke7 { While this allows me to trade off one of the Rooks what elsedoes Black really have? } 30. Nc8+ Kf7 31. Rxf6+ Kxf6 32. b4 Rb7 33. Rb1 Rc7 34. Nd6 { Mama, I'm home } 34... h5 35. b5 Ke6 36. b6 { My opponent resignedat this stage as there is no stopping my b-pawn once I get the Rook onthe a-file. Best for Black might be trading his Rook for my Knight anda pawn but it is hopeless. This was a methodical win on my part and I wasparticularly pleased with 15. Bb1 because it is the sort of move I neverwould have made in the past although I'm not sure it was integral to thisvictory. } 1-0

[Event "Pitting Computer vs. Computer"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Clubhouse Games computer"] [Black "GameKnot computer"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1600"] [WhiteElo "hard"] { Today I pitted computer versus computer: I turned on my Nintendo DS withClubhouse Games and loaded the 'Chess' app, and let its CPU play white.Then I went on GameKnot's 'Play Vs. Computer' and I let the CPU play black.Feel free to comment } 1. e4 { White starts with the King Pawn opening (1e4)... } 1... Nf6 { ...and black responds with the Alekhine defense (1 ... Nf6). } 2. Bd3 { This move is not considered a GK opening, but was in the db with2 ... Nc6 as a 100% win for black (2 ... d6 has equal results includingdraw chances, and 2 ... e5 wins for black 63% of the time, with 27% winfor white and 9% draw)... } 2... d5 { ...but this black move was not in the db. } 3. e5 Ng4 { Bringing the KN closer to white's kingside while also attackinge5 } 4. f4 { Pawn push supports e5 } 4... Nc6 { Other N development } 5. h3 { Harassesthe KN } 5... Nh6 6. Bb5 { White, seriously? Playing this four moves ago wouldhave given you more tempo. } 6... e6 { Allows development of the KB } 7. Qh5 { Bringingthe Q out now... } 7... g6 { ...only to be harassed by this... } 8. Qg5 { ...butwhite wants a queen trade. } 8... Qxg5 9. fxg5 { Queen trade occurs now } 9... Nf5 { Accordingto black, this is a good outpost for the KN } 10. Ba4 { Prevents harassmentby ... a6 } 10... Ng3 { Now targeting the h1 rook, what does white do, move itor sac it? } 11. Rh2 { White decides to move it } 11... Bd7 { Allowing a Q-side castle } 12. Ne2 { And now a N trade? } 12... Nxe2 { And black accepts } 13. Kxe2 { But thisallows... } 13... Nd4+ { First Check of the game } 14. Kd3 Bxa4 { B takes B } 15. b3 { Taunting ... Bb5+ } 15... Nxb3 16. axb3 { Pawn for Knight } 16... Bb5+ { Now the BCheck } 17. c4 { And white intercepts } 17... dxc4+ { Not 17 ... Bxc4 18 bxc4 losingthe bishop } 18. Kc3 { King here allows... } 18... Bg7 { ...the fianchetto to g7 } 19. Kd4 { This move looks like a mistake, better is 19 bxc4 eliminatingthe threat of a passed pawn, now black can play 19 ... cxb3 easily andfreely. } 19... cxb3 20. d3 O-O-O+ { Q-side castle for Check } 21. Ke3 Bxe5 { Bishopnow takes pawn freely } 22. Rxa7 { But white now has an active rook } 22... Rxd3+ { A series of Checks that eventually leads to a Checkmate, unless whitedoes something about it } 23. Ke4 Bxh2 { Free rook! } 24. Ra8+ { White wantsthat rook back! } 24... Kd7 25. Re8 { This is a blunder! Best was simply 25 Rxh8 } 25... Rxe8 { Now black's mate is easier } 26. Be3 Rd1 27. Nd2 { Nice try, white,can you do better? } 27... b2 { Passed pawn easily queened if not for the N... } 28. Bc5 { Blunder, now... } 28... Rxd2 { Takes knight, and... } 29. Bf8 { And thislooks like white's 'sporty' way to resign... } 29... b1=Q+ { Queened for Check... } 30. Kf3 Qf5+ { Check... } 31. Ke3 Qf4# { Checkmate! } 0-1

[Event "Australia Day Weekender"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Michael D'Arcy"] [Black "Justin Tan"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2037"] [TimeControl "90 mins + 30 sec/move"] [WhiteElo "1193"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bd2 { This is all theory. I am used to 16...Bg7 herebut the text makes sense. I am not sure whether of not I should play d4-d5or try to keep the central pawns adjacent } 16... exd4 17. cxd4 c5 18. Qc1 h5 19. Bg5 cxd4 20. Qd2 Qb6 21. Qxd4 Qxd4 22. Nxd4 Bg7 23. Rad1 Rac8 24. Bb1 Nc5 25. f3 Nh7 26. Be3 Na4 { now i am getting pushed around the board. there is no good way to get rid of this knight } 27. Rd2 d5 28. Bf2 Ng5 29. h4 Ne6 30. Kf1 Nxd4 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 Nxb2 { I was quite annoyedhere, as I had missed that I can't grab the d pawn due to 33...Rxe1, 34.Kxe1,Rc1+, when the knight controls d1 where I had planned to move the rook! } 33. e5 Rc4 34. Rxc4 bxc4 { now this is very winning for black } 35. f4 c3 { ?? (!). Now the pawns lose their support and coordination } 36. Ne2 Rc8 37. Rc1 Na4 38. Bc2 Nc5 39. Bb1 Na4 40. Bc2 { draw offer } 40... Nb2 41. Bb1 Nc4 42. Kf2 Na3 43. Bd3 c2 44. Ke1 d4 { now i think i should have just takenthe pawns } 45. Kd2 Rd8 46. g3 a5 47. Rf1 Bc6 48. f5 Ba4 49. fxg6 fxg6 50. Rf6 Be8 { Check the computer here, but I think 51.Nf4 should hold. definitelybetter than the move i played } 51. Bxg6 Bxg6 52. Rxg6+ Kh7 { now the rookhas nowhere to go and i can't stop the pawns. 30 seconds left } 53. Rc6 d3 54. Ke3 d2 55. Rc7+ Kg8 { 0-1 } 0-1

[Event "trachess's Leningrad Dutch"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.02.16"] [Round "-"] [White "karatekid"] [Black "slygal"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1645"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1514"] 1. d4 { This game was part of 'trachess's Leningrad Dutch' mini-tournament.The first 4 moves are predetermined to give us a staring position. I wantedto annotate this game to show the resilience of my opponent and how itis possible to maintain a serious attack even after loosing material. } 1... f5 2. g3 d6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 { First 4 moves was preset by trachess'smini-tournament with Leningrad Dutch opening. The game starts with move5. } 5. Bg5 c6 6. d5 { Mistake from karatekid, opening the diagonal for mybishop. So I tell myself, 'That's all I need to win this game! ( or isit? ) } 6... Bxb2 7. Nbd2 Bxa1 8. Qxa1 { I've got a 3 point piece advantage atthis point but... his queen has taken control over my bishop for the longdiagonal. And that positional advantage will disturb me until the endgame. } 8... Nf6 { Only move possible to protect my Rook. ( Don't even think about e5because : 9. dxe6 e.p. ) } 9. dxc6 Nxc6 10. Bh6 { My next move will be amistake, but I want to prevent ... Bg7 } 10... Kf7 11. Ng5+ { Aie! I didn't seethat coming. But It's part of Leningrad weakness for black (Ng5). I'velearn from this mistake. The fact that my Bishop isn't there anymore andthat the white Bishop is occupying h6, I couldn't do h6 as defencive move.Now, he's giving in real pressure on my King side. } 11... Kg8 12. g4 e6 13. gxf5 gxf5 { The pawn I chose for the exchange here is crucial for future defenseagainst his Queen diagonal. I need to keep my pawn on the e column. } 14. Nge4 { This puts more pressure on his Queen diagonal. As you can see, ifhe can clear the diagonal, it's mate with Qg7. } 14... fxe4 15. Nxe4 e5 { Now youcan see the importance of having my pawn to protect the diagonal. } 16. Bg5 Qa5+ { Finally, I feel the pressure going down a little and I got outof having my Knight pinned in front of my Queen by putting him in check. } 17. Nc3 Kf7 18. O-O Rg8 { His King is in a fragile position with his pawnon g missing. } 19. h4 Bf5 20. f4 { More pressure! With this move, he forcesme to weaken my defense of the diagonal and he adds a pressure coming fromhis Rook. } 20... e4 { I couldn't let him have the clear way for his Rook on thef column. But by advancing my pawn, he regains access to the diagonal withhis Queen. } 21. Bxf6 { Nice move! He gains my Knight because I can't takehis Bishop back. If I do... : 21. ... Kxf6 22. Nxe4+ (double check).Wherever I place my King, he comes in with his Queen at Qf6+ which putsme in a very uncomfortable position. } 21... Rg6 { This is an attempt to regaincontrol over the g7 and f6 square to prevent an attack from his Queen. } 22. Bg5 h6 { So, would you say his Bishop is trapped? Let's see... } 23. Nxe4 { If I take his Bishop, he can finally open the f column fxg5 and thatwould pin my Bishop against my King. I would also loose access to the gcolumn for my Rook. And his pawn structure is solidified. } 23... Bxe4 24. Bxe4 Re6 25. f5 Re5 { I can't take his bishop right now because of Qf6+. Fromthere, he can force a threefold draw. } 26. Bxh6 Rg8+ 27. Bg5 { Now thatI'm occupying the g column with my Rook, I can take the Bishop. } 27... Rxe4 28. Qf6+ Ke8 { As you can see, he can't really push his attack further now thatI've placed my pieces at the right place. } 29. Kh1 { I can see he triedto remove the pin on his Bishop. But this Finally gives me an opportunityto attack. } 29... Rxh4+ { Rook sacrifice! (That move opens up the diagonal onhis King) If he takes it, I've got a mate sequence. If he doesn't takeit, he is sure to have some material loss. } 30. Bxh4 { He decides to takeit. Mate in 5 } 30... Qd5+ 31. Rf3 Qd1+ 32. Kh2 Qg1+ 33. Kh3 Qg2# { It's been areal challenge to play karatekid. I had to be very vigilant to avoid histraps. This game was really exiting!!! } 0-1

[Event "I am getting better (Owned!)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "aug 28"] [Round "-"] [White "terris87"] [Black "Bufordtjustice"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "5mins"] [WhiteElo "1200"] 1. e4 { A game that shows that I am greatly improving, thanks to practiceand a lot of help from comments on my past annotated games. Thanks alland thanks L-d-j for all the help and working with me. This is a very quickgame that ends in resign. } 1... e5 { Back to back king pawns opening } 2. Nf3 { Knight to f3 } 2... Nc6 { black moves knight to c6 } 3. c3 { I prepare to movemy pawn to d4 and also free up the diagonal for my queen. } 3... g6 { I thinkhe is preparing to fianchetto bishop. } 4. Bc4 { I move bishop to c4 afterI notice black's weakness in the middle so I eye down f7 with lsb. } 4... Nf6 { black moves knight to f6 } 5. d4 { I know that I am leaving e4 pawn vulnerablewith this move but my plan is to move knight or bishop to g5 which is badbecause then if ne4 then the knight will be defending g5. which is whatwill happen } 5... exd4 { black pawn take on d4 } 6. cxd4 { I take back on d4 withmy pawn } 6... Nxe4 { Then of course knight takes pawn on e4 } 7. O-O { I castle } 7... Bd6 { black bishop to d6 . Getting ready to castle. Black is desperatelytrying to keep the knight from getting pinned and the king checked thathe is leaving his knight undefended. } 8. Re1 { So I go for the knight withmy rook still pinning the knight. } 8... O-O { Black castle's } 9. Rxe4 { My rooktakes knight on e4 } 9... Re8 { Black moves rook to e8 to take my rook on e4. } 10. Qe1 { I move queen to e file to defend. } 10... Nb4 { I think this is anok move considering the move that would follow. but also a bad move. betterwould be to finish developing black's pieces. } 11. Bg5 { I believe thisis a great move trapping the queen. black's queen can't take bishop obviouslybecause of the f3 knight defending. } 11... Re7 { black rook to e7..I think a bettermove for black would have been pawn to f6. but black had not many options } 12. Bxe7 { I take with my bishop. } 12... Qe8 { Black saves his queen by movingto e8. } 13. Bxd6 { I take black's bishop at the same time threatning black'squeen. } 13... Qd8 { Black moves queen back to d8 } 14. Be7 { I move my bishop backtrying again. } 14... Qe8 { Black does the same. } 15. Bxb4 { So I take black's otherknight. } 15... Qf8 { black queen f8. bad move again. I could take here with mybishop. But I don't know if I missed this or I saw a better move but... } 16. Re8 { I think rook to e8 was a better move. } 16... Qxe8 { queen takes my rook. } 17. Qxe8+ { and I retake with my queen also checking black's king. } 17... Kg7 { Black's king is on the run. It's pretty much lost from here as I thinkof ways to checkmate. } 18. Qxf7+ Kh6 19. Bd2+ Kh5 20. Qd5+ Kg4 21. h3# 1-0

[Event "48th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "10-Aug-08"] [Round "-"] [White "jornj"] [Black "fletch22"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1380"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1330"] 1. d4 f5 { Bird's. } 2. h3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 { I enjoy this opening. I am oftensuccessful with it. } 4. a3 { I think it is not frequently used and is difficultto attack. } 4... Be7 5. e3 O-O { Mainly because of the quick and efficient opportunityto castle. } 6. Be2 b6 7. Nf3 Bb7 { Fianchetto. } 8. Bb5 c6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bb3 { His pawn structure is depressingly miserable. (yawn) } 10... Qa5 { 1st waveled by the queen. } 11. O-O b4 12. Ne2 { Immobilizing. } 12... Ne4 { 2nd wave withthe knight. } 13. a4 d5 14. Ne5 Ba6 { Third prong with the bishop. } 15. Re1 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Bd6 17. Bd2 c5 18. dxc5 { Leaves his knight hanging. } 18... Bxe5 19. Rab1 Nxd2 20. Qxd2 Qxc5 { Retreats with his queen. } 21. Qc1 Nc6 22. Ra1 { He loses a lot of time doing God knows what with his rook. } 22... g5 23. Ra2 a5 24. Qd2 { More lost time with his queen. } 24... Rad8 25. Qe2 h6 26. Rc1 { Again, lost time. } 26... f4 27. Qb5 { Had I not had superior position on theboard my next move could've cost me the game. I was unaware that my queenwas undefended. } 27... fxe3 28. Qxc5 { Ouch. However, my lead pawn is ready tomake white very uncomfortable. } 28... exf2+ 29. Kh1 f1=Q+ 30. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 31. Qg1 Rdf8 32. Ra1 Rxg1+ 33. Kxg1 Nd4 34. Rb1 Nxb3 { Trading away. } 35. cxb3 Rc8 36. Kf1 Rc2 37. Re1 Bxb2 38. Rxe6 Rc1+ 39. Kf2 Bd4+ 40. Kf3 { All overnow. } 40... Rc3+ 41. Kg4 Bg7 42. Rd6 Rxb3 43. Rxd5 Ra3 44. Rxa5 b3 45. Rb5 b2 { Forcing a sacrifice. } 46. Kh5 Ra1 47. Rb8+ Kh7 48. Rxb2 Bxb2 49. g4 Rh1 50. h4 Rxh4# { Toast. } 0-1

[Event "Casual Game, http://www.itsyourturn.com"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.10.13"] [Round "-"] [White "rravanne"] [Black "John Coffey, Chess Player at Lar"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. g3 { Having an extra openingfor the bishop is really unnecessary. } 5... Nc6 { More usual for me would beBd6. } 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bg5 { This costs valuable time when white needsto castle. } 7... O-O 8. Bg2 Re8+ 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Qd2 Nxe3 11. fxe3 { This backwardpawn will be white's undoing. } 11... Ne7 { Obviously better than Na5 12. b3. } 12. O-O Nf5 13. Re1 h5 { Since Black's pieces are aimed toward the kingside,this makes sense. } 14. Qd3 c5 { 14. ... h4 is also good. 15. g4 h3 16.Bxh3 Nh4 with threats and complications. 17. Nxh4?? Qxh4 forks two pieces. 18. e4 dxe4 19. Rxe4 Rxe4 20. Qxe4 Qh4 with powerful threats. } 15. c4 { A tactical blunder. } 15... dxc4 { Now white should try to hang on with Qd2. } 16. Qxc4 { Qd2 was better. } 16... Nxe3 17. Qe2 { 17. Qc3 is just slightly betterbecause black would like to be able to play cxd4 followed by Bc5. } 17... Bd7 { Bf5, Bg4 and cxd4 are also good. } 18. Nc3 { This is the wrong square becauseafter cxd4 threatening the knight, white's options are more limited. Nbd2is better. } 18... cxd4 19. Nxd4 Bc5 { Suddenly things are horrid for white. Now 20. Nb3?? Nxg2+ 21. Kxg2 Bc6+. If instead 21. Nxc5 Rxe2 22. Rxe2Qb6 will eventually win because the pins and material advantage. } 20. Qd3 { 20. Qd2 doesn't seem to be any better after Nxg2. } 20... Nxg2 { Now if 21.Kxg2 Bc6+ 22. Kf1 Qd7! puts white in a world of hurt. } 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. Kxg2 { 22. Nce2 might prolong the agony longer. } 22... Bc6+ 23. Ne4 Qxd4 24. Qxd4 Bxd4 25. Kf3 { If 25. Re1 then Re8. } 25... Re8 0-1

[Event "Blitz: King's Gambit"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.11.13"] [Round "-"] [White "romcyte54"] [Black "bwaa"] [Result "0-1"] [TimeControl "5m + 10s"] 1. e4 { Hey all! Just a quick annotation over lunch; nothing too in-depthbut I thought this would be an enjoyable game to take a look at. Many thanksto my opponent! } 1... e5 2. f4 { The King's Gambit! One of my favorite openingson both sides of the board. It's very rare to see a dull game in this opening. } 2... exf4 { 'The refutation of any gambit begins by accepting it.' Not that Iintend to refute the KG, but at least Mr. Fischer agrees with me that 2...exf4is best. } 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 Bg7 5. d4 { All very by-the-book. I should mentionthat I played several games against this opponent; this was one of thelater ones and the opening was played quite rapidly as we'd already playedit out a couple of times at this point. } 5... h6 { Bolstering g5 in preparationfor developing the KN. This is still standard play in lines where Blackseeks to hold on to the gambit pawn. } 6. Nc3 d6 7. h3 { The first game weplayed, White played 7.Bxf7+?! in this position. I ended up with a crushinglead, and I think this time he was feeling somewhat too cautious. Morecommon are 7.h4, 7.g3, or simply 7.O-O. } 7... Ne7 { Ready to deploy to g6, f5,or maybe c6, depending on how things unfold. } 8. e5 { I probably would havecastled first, but this is still fine. It does make f5 an enticing spotfor Black's Knight, however. } 8... d5 9. Bb5+ { I'm not sure how to feel aboutthis. On the one hand, it invites Black to bottle up his forces with 9...c6,making development slightly more difficult. On the other hand, it doesn'taccomplish a whole lot, and Black's QN frequently ends up aiding on thekingside via d7 anyway, so this check may not accomplish much of anything. } 9... c6 10. Ba4 O-O { I always feel especially daring castling kingside in thisopening. } 11. Bd2 { This Bishop doesn't have many prospects--one of thereasons White usually tries to break up Black's kingside pawn chain earlierthan this. } 11... a5 12. a3 { Preventing the Bishop from getting trapped (by 12...b513.Bb3 a4). } 12... Be6 { This is an ugly spot for the Bishop, but Black intendsto reposition it after dealing with the e-pawn. For now, the Bishop servesmerely as a blockade. } 13. Qe2 { Preparing for queenside castling. } 13... Nf5 { Finally arriving on this comfortable outpost--with the threat of leapingto g3 and winning a crucial exchange as the game heats up and lines beginto open. } 14. O-O-O { ? Overlooking Black's threat. } 14... Ng3 15. Qf2 Nxh1 16. Rxh1 Nd7 { Intending to assist pushed on f6 or c5. } 17. h4 f6 18. hxg5 fxg5 19. Ne2 { Transferring forces to the kingside. White is firmly behind now,so he has to see if he can make Black pay for his overextended kingsidepawns. } 19... b5 { Black responds with a queenside counter. } 20. Bb3 c5 { ?! Questionableat best, but Black really wants to break up White's center and let hisBishops get into the action. } 21. c3 cxd4 { ? Probably 21...Rc8 or 21...c4were better. Remember, this is blitz, and both players are starting torun low on time, but the text gives White some real equalizing chances. } 22. Nexd4 Bf7 { ? Black miscalculates his resources, thinking to respondto 23.e6 with ...Bxd4 and ...Bxe6, but that simply does not work. } 23. e6 Bxd4 24. Nxd4 Bg6 { White has just about equalized. After 25.exd7 Qxd726.Rxh6, White will be in quite good shape. } 25. Bxd5 { ...but time pressuremakes fools of us all. This looks strong--grabbing a pawn and compoundingthe threats against Black's position by striking at the Rook and threatening26.e7+! winning the BQ as well. But Black has a little more time on theclock--enough to find an effective resource. 25.exd7 etc was better andsimpler. } 25... Ne5 { In the face of the multiple threats on the table, this moveisn't obvious--until you notice that the Bd5 is undefended. That fact largelyneutralizes the available threats, and while White will still come outbetter than he was, it's nowhere near the strong position he would havehad by just taking the Knight. Now, not only is Black threatening the Bishop,but his Knight also leers down at d3, ready for a royal fork if given theopportunity. } 26. e7+ { This is still White's best option, I think. } 26... Qxd5 27. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 { At this point, the players are basically equal in materialand have less than a minute on their clocks, but Black's positional advantagesare huge, he's still threatening ...Nd3+, and the WK is suddenly lookingpretty exposed. What is White to do? } 28. Qe2 { Innocuous-looking, but Ithink this actually loses due to the WK's perilous positioning. White hadto deal with the potential fork, but I think the right way to go aboutit was by hiking the King back towards the kingside with 28.Kd1. Certainlyhe's still in some serious trouble, but (time pressure aside) he mightbe able to play to a draw from here if he's careful and gets some goodcounterplay on the kingside. As it stands, I don't see a direct win, butBlack certainly has a strong play... } 28... Qa2 { 0-1. Here White timed out lookingfor a response. The best move looks to be 29.Kd1, where I think White hasenough outstanding threats to keep Black from clamping down on a mate,thanks largely to the heroic Nd4. There are several variations after 29.Kd1,but the gist of them all is that as long as the Nd4 controls b3 and c2,Black can't finish the mate, and he'll have to back off after maybe winninga pawn or two in order to defend his own King. Many thanks to romcyte54for some very enjoyable games; I only regret we didn't get to see thisone through to the end. Comments are much appreciated, and thanks for reading! } 0-1

[Event "Sicilian Dragon"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "14-Nov-06"] [Round "-"] [White "moppa"] [Black "newbrad"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1850"] [TimeControl "5d+2d, 7d max"] [WhiteElo "1774"] 1. e4 { This game was played in Sicilian Dragon mini-tournament, which Ifounded in order to learn something of this opening. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 { This was the initial position of the tournament. } 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 { White chooses a sharp continuation, the Yugoslav Attack. } 7... Nc6 { Black can play 0-0, but my opponent had something different in hismind. } 8. Qd2 Ne5 { !? This is by no means a 'book-move' (as far as I know!).It seems a little suspicious to move queen's knight second time when kingis still in centre and queen bishop in his original square. In my view,the best part of this move is that it should take the game out of well-studiedtheory of the Dragon. } 9. h4 { White's standard plan is to play h4-h5xg6and Bh6, so this move is necessary in many cases. Maybe solid 0-0-0 wouldhave been slightly more accurate, but in this game it would've came sownin exactly the same thing. } 9... a6 { Preparing to advance b-pawn and denyingb5-square from white pieces. Maybe black is trying to keep white's light-squaredbishop out of a2-g8 diagonal, so in case of castling and white playingh4-h5xg6 black can take back with f-pawn, keeping a-file closed. However,I think black should've castled or moved his bishop, since now he dropsbehind in developement. } 10. O-O-O Bd7 11. g4 { White doesn't want to commithis king bishop yet and continues the pawn-storm. } 11... Rc8 { With this naturalmove black shows that he isn't afraid of white's pawn storm and tries tomake nonsense of it by keeping his king in the centre. } 12. h5 { Chancingplan in this stage would make no sense at all } 12... Nc4 { ?! This is a bad move,and I'd like to think that the whole game is just showing how much loseof two tempi effects in the Dragon. After this move, the game transposesin a sharp line of Yugoslav attack with 9.Bc4, with white having two extratempi and black having played h6 instead of 0-0. In the line with 9.Bc4,black often want's to exchange it by ...Ne5 and after white had playedBb3 only then force the exchange with ...Nc4. } 13. Bxc4 { White is happyto part with his king bishop, since he gets quite an attack as compensation. } 13... Rxc4 14. hxg6 fxg6 { Black now hopes to get to castle, move his queen andplay Rc8 } 15. e5 { ! But he never gets the time. White hits in the centreand all of a sudden, black king isn't feeling very safe at all } 15... Nxg4 { Blackobviously can't play 15...dxe5 in view of 16.Ne6, but this sacrifice justcan't give him enough compensation. The alternative ...Ng8 would hardlybe satisfying either. } 16. fxg4 { white has no reason not to take the knight } 16... Bxe5 { 16...Bxg4 would not have frustrated white's plan, although it mayhave been slightly stronger. Now it seems that black gets three pawnsfor the piece and try to exchange pieces and advance his kingside pawns.I felt that although black had sacrificed, I shouldn't give him the initiativefor free, and decided to play actively instead of going passive with 17.Rdg1or something. } 17. Qd3 { This move looks quite modest, but is actually quitegood, since it improves queen with tempo. } 17... Qc8 { Black isn't willing toretreat his active rook, but maybe 17...Qc7 would have been bit safer. } 18. Rxh7 { ! This is what I was planning when I played my last move. } 18... Rxh7 { Black has nothing better } 19. Qxg6+ Rf7 20. Rf1 Bxd4 { A blunder,but black was lost anyway. 20...Bf6 and white has a pleasant choise between21.Ne4 and 21.g5 (I think Ne4 is bit stronger). The problem is, for black,that he just can't step out of the pin and his rook is gone: 20...Kf6 21.Bh6; 20...Bf6 21.Ne4 and white has too much threats, for example Rxf6 followedby Nxd6 pocketing the queen. } 21. Qg8+ { It's mate next move. } 1-0

[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.09.21"] [Round "-"] [White "brettbevans"] [Black "porygon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1606"] [TimeControl "3min"] [WhiteElo "2411"] { Copying the opponent leads to a tactical game like chess 960. And thendouble queen blunders leads to a draw. } 1. Nf3 Nf6 { I always mirror myopponent's nf3 with my nf6 and wait for white to decide the center. } 2. g3 g6 { I don't like to commit to g6 when white hasn't committed to a queenpawn opening, but I decide to mirror white to take them into less familiarterritory. } 3. d4 { and that works out as g6 - bg6 is my main defense inthe queens pawn game. } 3... d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 c6 7. Bf4 Bf5 8. Nh4 Nh5 9. Nxf5 Nxf4 10. Nxg7 Nxg2 11. Kxg2 Kxg7 12. Qc2 Qc7 13. Nd2 Nd7 14. e4 e5 15. exd5 exd4 16. dxc6 { and here, 16 automatic moves in, is themoment when I must stop copying to prevent hanging my queen. } 16... Ne5 { Notentirely sure why I choose this over bxc6, but I may of felt c6 was a deadcause and re positioning the knight would be a better option. } 17. cxd4 Ng4 { Down 2 pawns for the position of an odd placed 4th rank knight doesn'tseem worth it. } 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. Nf3 Rfd8 20. h3 Nf6 21. Rfd1 Nd5 22. Ne5 Rd6 23. f4 { I didn't see the fork now available at e3. } 23... bxc6 { so Ichoose a lousy pawn. } 24. h4 { but white didn't see it either, so I gotmy second chance. } 24... Ne3+ 25. Kf3 Nxc2 26. Rxc2 Qa5 27. Rdc1 Qxa2 28. Ke3 Qxb2 { I panicked under the pressure and captured the pawn out of order. } 29. Rxb2 { Everything after this leads to a draw, but taught me that blundersoccur in top levels just the same. } 29... f6 30. Rbc2 fxe5 31. dxe5 Re6 32. Ke4 Kf7 33. g4 Ke7 34. f5 gxf5+ 35. gxf5 Rh6 36. e6 Rxh4+ 37. Ke5 Ra4 38. Rxc6 Ra5+ 39. Kf4 Rxc6 40. Rxc6 Kf6 41. Rc7 Rxf5+ 42. Kg4 Kxe6 43. Rxa7 h5+ 44. Kh4 Kf6 45. Ra6+ Kg7 46. Ra7+ Kh6 47. Ra6+ Kh7 48. Ra7+ Kg8 49. Kg3 Kf8 50. Kh4 Ke8 51. Ra8+ Kd7 52. Rh8 Kc6 53. Rxh5 Rxh5+ 54. Kxh5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "19-Jan-08"] [Round "-"] [White "cognomen"] [Black "kirbde"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1390"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1409"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. d3 Bg4 7. Na4 Bd4 8. Be3 Bxe3 9. fxe3 Bxf3 { There is no reason to capture the knight. Youshould maintain the pin until White plays h3 and then retreat it to d7.Later you might consider Qc8 and Bxh3! } 10. Qxf3 h5 { You should only playthis move if there is a pawn or piece on g3 to attack. Alternatively, itcan support the advance of your knight to g4, but that wouldn't achieveanything in this position. The best move was 0-0, or, if you were feelingadventurous, 10...Qd7 followed by 0-0-0. } 11. d4 { If White had a rook ond1 this would be a good move! } 11... exd4 { If that rook had been on d1, it wouldbe better not to capture. } 12. exd4 Nxd4 13. Qd3 c5 { This is the move thatlost you the game! It weakens your d-pawn, providing an easy target forWhite's heavy pieces. Better to move the knight immediately. } 14. c3 Nc6 15. Qg3 { Targeting both your weak pawns. } 15... g6 { 15...0-0 may be better, butthat weak pawn on d6 is still a problem. Try to avoid backward pawns onopen files. } 16. Rad1 Nxe4 { You could have tried 16...0-0 or 16...Qe7,but I think White is winning whatever you do. } 17. Bxf7+ Ke7 18. Qxg6 b5 19. Qxe4+ Ne5 20. Nxc5 Rf8 21. Ne6 Qb6+ 22. Kh1 Rxf7 23. Qxa8 Rxf1+ 24. Rxf1 Kxe6 25. Qe8+ Kd5 26. Rd1+ Nd3 27. Qxh5+ Ke4 28. Qg6+ Ke3 29. Qxd3+ Kf2 30. Rd2+ Ke1 31. Qe2# 1-0

[Event "1974 Washington Open"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "January 74"] [Round "-"] [White "P Michael"] [Black "R Miller"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1700+"] [WhiteElo "Unrated"] { This was my first ever tournament. I was in the military at the timeand soon to be discharged. I had performed well on base in a simultaneouscompetition and several people encourged me to participate in this tourney. The entry fee was steep (for someone in my financial condition) but Imanaged it ( and no, I did not win a darn thing - although if memory servesI did score 2.5 or 3.0 for the tourney (5 round swiss).) } 1. e4 c5 { AmericanChess had reached new popularity in those days bolstered no doubt by BobbyFischer's triumph at Reykjavik in 1972. However, truthfully, I had toyedwith game while I was in college at Purdue, but I really never played itwith any compassion until I learned that it could help pass the time awayin Southeast Asia. My chess buddy there was from the Phillipines and taughtme a great deal about openings and tactics. } 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 { The poisoned pawn varaition had become ratherwell known by this time, still I thought maybe that that was where my opponentwas heading. } 7... Be7 { Sorry, not this time!! Still a slight sigh of relief,he was using a variation I was somewhat familiar with albeit from the otherside of the board. } 8. Qf3 e5 { Opps, perhaps I spoke too soon. More common(at least at that time) is 8. -----, Qc7 (and it was certainly most familiarto me.) } 9. Nf5 { Ne2 and Nb3 were also available, but I opted for somethingI felt was more aggressive. } 9... Bxf5 { 9. -----, 0-0; 10. Nxe7 ch, Qxe7; 11.0-0-0, ef (11. ----, Be6; 12. f5); 12. Nd5 } 10. exf5 Nc6 11. O-O-O { I generallydo not castle on the Queenside but will not hestitate to do so when I believethe position warrants it. } 11... Qb6 12. g4 Nd4 13. Qg2 { I had intended to putmy King's Bishop here when the time was right. } 13... Rc8 14. fxe5 { This probablywas not the right move, but I wanted to open a line back to the Queensidefor my g5 Bishop. The drawback is that it also lets Black open a lineto my Queenside for his dark squared Bishop. But then, I was also hopingthat I could do something on the Kingside before he did something on theQueenside. } 14... dxe5 15. Bd3 { While this provides additional protection formy c2 square, it also blocks the file for my Rook at d1. } 15... h6 { Forcing theBishop to do what it was going to do anyhow - withdraw to a more usefulposition. } 16. Be3 { While the pin looks attractive, providing additionalsupport to the c3 Knight with Bd2 may have been better, but I thought Iwould be able to take my Queen to the d2 square. } 16... Ba3 17. Na4 { I felt that17. bxa3, Rxc3 would leave me with more problems than I wanted. } 17... Qb4 18. Bxd4 { Exchanging off potential attacking units is sometimes the best defensiveoption. } 18... exd4 { 18. -----, Qxd4?; 19. Bb5 ch or 18. -----, Qxa4; 19.Bxe5 } 19. Rhe1+ Kf8 20. bxa3 { My Knight really had no place to go so exchangingit for the a3 Bishop made sense to me. } 20... Qxa4 21. Qxb7 Qxa3+ 22. Kb1 { Thed file just did not appear attractive to me at the time. Besides I hadno wish to give away a pawn. } 22... Qc5 23. Re5 { This move apparently came asa surprise to my opponent as he now spent a considerable amount of hisclock deciding what to do. As for myself, I was just trying to survive; I knew that if he ever got his Rooks connected I would likely be deadmeat. I briefly considered 23. Qxa6, Nxg4 or 23. Bxa6, Qxc2 ch but I neverexplored these any further at the time, perhaps White has some resourcesavailable after these moves. } 23... Qxe5 { On 23. -----, Qc6 (or Qc7) then 24.Qb4 ch, Kg1; 25. Qxd4 or 23. -----, Qc3; 24. Re7 } 24. Qxc8+ Ne8 25. Bxa6 Kg8 26. Bd3 Kh7 27. h4 Nf6 28. Qc4 Nd5 { 28. -----, Nxg4; 29. Qxf7, Nf6;30. Qg6 ch, Kg8; 31. Bc4 ch, Nd5; 32. f6. And besides my King is on theQueenside. } 29. f6+ g6 30. g5 h5 { 30. -----, hg; 31. h5, Rb1 ch; 32. Ka1with hg to follow or 30. -----, Nc6 ch; 31. Ka1, Nxd1; 32. Qxf7 mate. The text creates a box canyon which will be very important later. } 31. Ka1 Rb8 32. Rb1 Rxb1+ 33. Kxb1 Nc3+ 34. Kc1 { Russell now undertakes a seriesof checks most likely intended to help him address his time control issues- and who knows, maybe White will make a mistake. } 34... Qe1+ 35. Kb2 Qb1+ 36. Ka3 Qc1+ 37. Kb4 Qb2+ 38. Kc5 Qxa2 { Russell takes a pawn and defends againstthe mate at the same time. } 39. Qxa2 Nxa2 40. Kxd4 { I removed his advancedpawn from the board and regained my pawn's superiority. } 40... Nb4 { WHile timecontrol is no longer an issue for Black, his position on the board is. } 41. Kc5 { Played to chase the Knight back from whence it came or forcingit to capture while simultaneously moving my King closer to where it needsto be. } 41... Nxd3+ 42. cxd3 { And the race is on!! } 42... Kg8 { Black may have beenhoping for d4 when his King might have escaped the canyon. } 43. Kd6 Kf8 44. Kd7 { And Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "A tight game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2015.05.19"] [Round "-"] [White "cyrano"] [Black "akjoltoy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "2699"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2603"] 1. e4 { Hi everyone! GM Cyrano (Afro) asked me to annotate this game andanother against his opponent, Akjoltoy who needs just one rating pointto get to 2700 - wow! I will give the commentary and hopefully somebodycan provide a little deeper analysis, so here goes. Afro opens with 1.e4 and his opponent responds with e6 which is the French Defense. } 1... e6 2. d4 { 3. d4 - pretty standard follow up. } 2... d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 { 4. e5. Thispawn advance is often played by white in the French Defense to exert acramp on black's game. However, black does find some ingenious ways ofgetting round the cramp! } 4... c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 { 6. bxc3 - B for N tradewhich busts up white's queenside pawns. } 6... Ne7 { 6. .... Ne7 - this is theway black usually develops the knight. It then sometimes goes to g6. } 7. Qg4 { 7. Qg4 - with a black bishop not defending g7 white usually attacksit with his queen to try and provoke a weakness in black's castled positionby an impromptu g6. } 7... cxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 { 9. Qxh7 - black has neitherplayed g6 or castled and allowed the WQ to inflict mayhem on his position. It will be interesting to see what counterplay black has to this. } 9... Qc7 10. Ne2 { 10. Ne2 - Afro develops his knight to this square to prevent anasty queen check on c3. } 10... Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 { 11. .... dxc3 - recovers pawnloss and puts a crimp on Afro's queenside. } 12. Qd3 { 12. Qd3 - back comeshis queen and now that c3 pawn is starting to look vulnerable. } 12... d4 13. Ng3 { 13. Ng3 - clears the way for Afro's white square bishop to develop. } 13... Bd7 14. Rb1 O-O-O 15. Be2 Nf5 16. Nxf5 exf5 17. Bf3 { 17. Bf3- Afro hasstill not yet castled. Instead, after a knight trade he elects to improvethe position of his lsb. } 17... Be6 18. Kf2 { 18. Kf2 - hmm, with the queens stillon he keeps his king in the centre. Interesting. } 18... Qd7 19. g3 Bd5 20. Bxd5 Qxd5 21. Re1 Rd7 22. h4 { 22. h4 - Afro advances his h pawn in order toavoid a rook attack. } 22... Qa2 { 22. .... Qa2 - invasion! } 23. Rb3 Na5 24. Rb4 b6 25. h5 { 25. h5 - Afro pushes on his passed pawn, but he could be leavingit vulnerable to attack. } 25... Kb8 26. h6 Nb7 27. h7 Rgd8 { 27. ...... Rgd8 -instead of tying his KR down to preventing pawn promotion, black electsto double his rooks on the queenside. } 28. Rc4 Rh8 29. Qxf5 { 29. Qxf5 -Black's foremost f pawn drops off and now his rook is en prise. Afro'spasser is now defended by his queen. Hmm, Glenda is often pressed intodefending the peonage during my own games! } 29... Rdd8 30. Qd3 Rxh7 31. Qxh7 Qxc4 { 31. ..... Qxc4 - an interesting trade off and Afro loses his passer. } 32. f5 d3 { 32. ..... d3 and a draw offer. Hmm, at the moment, those twoadvanced black pawns on d3 and c3 are suddenly beginning to look a bitmore menacing than Afro's passers. However, I may be missing something. I hope the Inquest Jury will enlighten me. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "mythosellipseal8's Sicilian, Stiletto Attack CXXI"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2019.09.27"] [Round "-"] [White "rvpop"] [Black "dumbartonbluebir"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1323"] [TimeControl "3d+3d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1133"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Qa5 { The stilleto attack. Dubious reputation } 3. c3 { Preparingd4 } 3... d6 4. a4 Bg4 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. b4 { Blundering a pawn. After 6.... cxb47. cxb4 Qxb4 white has nothing, and still has to defend the pawn on e4 } 6... Qc7 { ? } 7. h3 { Quite unnecessary. Perhaps 0-0 should have been considered,with d4 in mind } 7... Bxb5 8. axb5 cxb4 9. Qb3 a6 10. Qxb4 a5 11. Qd4 Nf6 12. b6 { Look how fast it gets crazy. Should have castled!! } 12... Qc6 13. d3 e5 { Theantipositional thrust e5, a move that has not been refuted to date in theseSicilian type positions } 14. Qe3 a4 { What is the idea behind this move?Perhaps sanity was better with Be7 and 0-0 } 15. g4 { White responds aggressively } 15... Ra6 { Black wants to munch pawns at the expense of his development } 16. Nbd2 { Hanging the pawn on c3 } 16... Rxb6 17. Nc4 Ra6 18. Ba3 { White's developmentis almost complete } 18... d5 { Black breaking in the centre while his developmentis incomplete.....what a recipe! } 19. Ncxe5 { Blunder, as black shows } 19... Qxc3+ 20. Ke2 { No castling now for white. Black should aim to get his king awayfrom the centre quickly } 20... dxe4 21. dxe4 Qc2+ 22. Nd2 { He disregards thisprinciple } 22... Re6 23. Rhc1 Qxe4 { And blunders the queen lol! What does hehave after Nxe4? Yeah....you got that right.... precisely NOTHING!! } 24. Nxe4 Rxe5 25. Rc8+ Kd7 26. Rxb8 Rxe4 27. Rxb7+ Ke6 28. Rb6+ Bd6 29. Rxd6+ Ke5 30. f4# 1-0

[Event "157th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.01.22"] [Round "-"] [White "e4newman"] [Black "colorman"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1533"] [TimeControl "1/172800"] [WhiteElo "1589"] 1. e4 { Matus SLO 34 - 5.0 in Round #1. I need these wins for Round #2because horsekis is moving up. Accelerated dragon Maroczy bind... latershown to be completely faulty. Yuck what a terrible position I get myselfinto. I was lucky to win. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bg7 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Be3 { Can't remember why the rush to play 7.Be3 because Be2looks better in hindsight. Must have been worried about that N on d4. Was it ...Nxd4 .Qxd4 Nxe4 or ...Qb6 or ...e5. Even 7.h3 or f3 work outbetter than the text. Maybe I thought I could capture Qxg4 but that leavesmy d4 N unprotected (...Nxd4 9.Qd1 Nc6 and I have initiative plus saved byDSB). Hmmmm, might be better than the mess I got into. So 7...Ng4 isa good move. At least after 10.O-O my R is on an open file. } 7... Ng4 8. Be2 Nxe3 9. fxe3 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Nxc6 { Again, 11.Nxc6 allows his fianchettoB too much range. Computer says black already has an advantage. Better11.Nf3 or Nb3 to keep control of central squares. After the text playsout to 13.Rad1 I control 7 vs his 5 so 12.Qc2 would have been better. I need threats. } 11... dxc6 12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Rad1 { 13.Rad1 maybe this was abad idea. I have too many pawns hanging. His 13...Ba6 proves this becausenow my LSB is protecting a pawn. } 13... Ba6 14. h4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 { Game note:'15.bxc3 now there's a pretty picture'... ending in the uglier 20.e5 lol } 15... Bb7 16. a3 c5 17. Bf3 Ba6 18. Be2 Rab8 19. g4 Bb7 { Game note '19...Bb7 nottoo sure. He really needs f6.' } 20. e5 Rf8 21. g5 { Game note: '21.Rd7would also be strong at some point but I’m finishing off my plan first.' Computer says I blew it because he could have played ...Bc6. Luckily hedidn’t so I jumped on it by move 22.Rd7 and now I start to re-gain equalityof some sort. } 21... Ba6 22. Rd7 Rb7 23. Rxb7 Bxb7 24. Rd1 Bc6 25. h5 { Game note:'25.h5 I control 5 in the centre vs his 3. And 25...Ba4 leaves me morecontrol so I don't find that to be a good move. Especially if he's thinking...Bxc4. His dark squares are weak.' } 25... Ba4 26. Rd2 Bb3 27. h6 { Game note:'So 27.h6 with R lift to come soon. He needs to open his f-file for hisR. But how do I land the final blow?' } 27... f6 28. exf6 { 28.exf6 post gameanalysis computer shows the immediate Rd7 to be much better. Even gxf6followed by Rd7 is better. Anyway, I had the idea of moving my R up soI’m oK. } 28... exf6 29. gxf6 Rxf6 30. Rd8+ Rf8 { Game note: '30...Rf8 I just learnedI need 1 of 2 points from this 2 game match vs colorman in order to tiefor first in this 2nd round. Sadly, I can't figure out a plan to get pastthe current position. I thought advancing my R was the answer, but nowwhat?' } 31. Rd7 Rf7 32. Rd8+ Rf8 33. Rd7 Re8 { Game note: '33...Re8 he breaksthe cat and mouse. I'm not looking for 3 move repetition just can’t figurehow to move forward.' } 34. Rg7+ Kh8 35. Rxa7 { Game note: '35.Rxa7 so I’llgrab this for now.' } 35... Kg8 36. Rg7+ Kf8 { Game note: '36...Kf8 he goofed up.' } 37. Rxh7 Rxe3 38. Kf2 Rxc3 { 38...Rxc3 post game play through and I don’tsee much value in my c3 pawn so he should have considered ...Rh3 ...Kg8. } 39. Rh8+ Kf7 40. Rb8 { 40.Rb8 looking after the game and computer prefers Bf3which I never would have considered but it’s brilliant with the potentialfor c4-f7 fork or 40...Bxc4 41.Rb8 and the h-pawn promotes due to his R beingblocked out. } 40... Bxc4 { 40...Bxc4? He really needed ...Rh3 because my re-captureputs him in check. } 41. Bxc4+ Rxc4 42. h7 Rc2+ 43. Ke1 { 43.Ke1 I almostblew it. Needed to protect the h-file, but it’s a lost cause anyway Iend up with the R advantage. } 43... Rh2 44. h8=Q Rxh8 45. Rxh8 Ke6 46. Rd8 { Gamenote: '46.Rd8 cut off the board so he can’t get over to his Q-side pawns.' } 46... Kf5 47. Rd6 g5 48. Rxb6 g4 49. Rb5 g3 { 49...g3 the computer thinks it seesa mate in 14 lmao. Let’s hope I can win before 14 more moves. } 50. Rxc5+ Kf4 51. a4 Kf3 52. Kf1 { Game note: '52.Kf1 surely he sees it's over.' } 52... g2+ 53. Kg1 Kg3 54. a5 { He resigns 1-0 and I secure at least a tie in thisround of the tournament. Getting ready for round 3!! If I can win theother game against him I take clear first place. } 1-0

[Event "A Dubious Dutch Stonewall"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Anonymous"] [Black "CheapShotFail"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1914"] [TimeControl "40/90; SD/30; I/30"] [WhiteElo "1907"] { So, this is my last-round game from the US Open in Las Vegas. I had justlost 3 winning positions due to time-trouble and lost 1 better positionfor the same reason, so I was itching for a win. My opponent, like me,was playing up, but it seems this may have been the wrong section for them(whereas I came out knowing that I can out-think and out-play expert levelplayers). Anyways enjoy, and hopefully you'll learn or reinforce somethingyou already knew. } 1. d4 d5 { I am currently a fan of the Dutch Stonewallagainst 1. d4, but I've found many anti-Dutch variations annoying, forexample the Staunton gambit, so now I transpose via QGD - Semi Slav - Stonewall. } 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 { Should White have proceeded with 3. cxd5!? Black can simplyrecapture with a nice Rubenstein pawn structure. } 3... c6 4. Nf3 { This was White'sonly chance to keep Black out of the Dutch (should they know I want toplay it or just should they play the variation themselves). 4. e4 keepsthe game a Semi-Slav, but is perfectly fine for Black after 4...dxc4. } 4... f5 { And finally my Stonewall is constructed. Now against cxd5 I respondwith cxd5 (or exd5!? if I'm looking for a risky game for a fast win). White'snext moves demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the Stonewallposition. } 5. Qc2 { Perhaps 5. Bg5, 5. Bf4, or 5. g3 are superior. It isunclear where the queen belongs at the moment and White is still two stepsaway from castling. } 5... Nf6 6. e3 { A slight bit dubious. Hemming in the DSBis only thematic when the queenside knight is still on b1 and the queenis on d1, that way Ba3 can be organized with b3 and if Qe7 then Bb2 andQc1. Here it just seems like White's DSB is simply inferior. } 6... Bd6 7. b3 O-O { And I have finished my obvious developing moves. Next I must decidewhether I want to continue to develop towards the center or towards oneof the sides of the board. } 8. Bb2 { The only decent square for the DSB,but once again White should consider trying to castle with 8. Bd3 or 8.Be2. Castling queenside is risky since all 3 B to D pawns have moved andBlack can exploit the king rather quickly. } 8... a6 { Playing for 9...b5, a thematicattack to open the c-file, which is better since it is where the queencurrently lies (as well as a pin-able knight). Also discourages cxd5 asNb5 is no longer an option afterwards. } 9. a4 { Stopping b5 but I thinkWhite is overstretching. The b4 hole is hard to deal with, and the multitudeof pawn breaks makes castling queenside impossible (or at least poorlyadvised). } 9... Qe7 { Developing the queen to a natural location as well aspreventing 10. Ba3. Although the 2-Tempo bishop would be technically agood trade for the 1-Tempo bishop, I want to keep my DSB with my pawn structureas it is, especially since his structure is weak on the queenside darksquares. Stockfish recommends 9...a5, but as it doesn't threaten anythingimmediately and makes a future b5 push harder, I opted against it. I alreadyhave plenty of control of b4, and want to respond to cxd5 with cxd5. } 10. Ne5 { First technical mistake of the game. White loses his opening advantagewith this dubious move. The knight move is a prime example of over-stretching:White should be focused on castling and finishing his development. Thismove makes the knight a weakness, and even if he should retreat the knightlater I will have gained a few tempos on his knight moves and have a bettergrip on future e5 maneuvers. } 10... Nbd7 { The obvious reply. Putting scrutinyon the knight on e5 while developing to a completely natural square. } 11. Ne2 { Horribly dubious. White neglects all opening principles with this(and the last) move: don't move a piece twice in the opening, don't retreatunless there is a clear advantage, etc. White once again has left his king2 moves from castling to safety, and this time it's too late. } 11... Bb4+ { Whenyour opponent plays odd moves or passively, you must find a swift tacticalblow. In this case, Black's development is complete aside from the LSBand the a8 rook, so it is here where you must calculate how to punish White'splay. This is the critical position where you must spend time to calculate:I spent about 10-15 minutes ensuring that I had found the best move. Inthis case, the weakness on b4, specifically the a5-e1 diagonal comes backto haunt White. Now he must tread carefully in order to not be crushedquickly. Stockfish eval (-1.1) Depth 23 } 12. Bc3 { White should have considered12. Nc3, allowing the pawn to drop on e5 with hopes that the DSB will becomeactive on the diagonal after Bd3 and 0-0. 12. Bc3 is equally bad, but leavesBlack with some nice positional trump cards even with correct play. } 12... Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ne4 14. f3 { Here White needed to avoid creating more weaknesses,and although this move does so it is still difficult to recommend anythingbetter. If White does not force the knight to move it is unclear how hewill finish his development, let alone save the e5 pawn. } 14... Nxc3 { Snaggingthe bishop-pair and a pawn. } 15. Nxc3 Qc5 { The punishing move. Here I targetall 3 of White's weaknesses: the e5 pawn, the e3 pawn (thanks to 14. f3),and the c3 knight (indirectly). As they say, loose pieces drop off, andone of those will drop off on the next move. } 16. Qd3 { Allowing Qxe3 wouldbe horrible, so either Qd3 or Qd2 is necessary. } 16... dxc4 17. bxc4 { Not fallingfor 17. Qxc4? Bxc3+ where White can resign with a clear conscience. } 17... Qxe5 { An improper pawn grab. 17...Qa5 was superior, threatening Rd8 followedby Qxe5 where the e3 pawn is falling off soon after. However this movedoes have its perks. Black will be able to secure a space advantage andbeautiful center, all the while keeping White's queenside under question.White is still much worse here. } 18. Rc1 { Forced. 18. Kd2 is just terrible. } 18... Qa5 19. Be2 Rd8 20. Qc2 Qc5 { And now e3 comes under scrutiny again. Insteadof taking on c3 and a4 (20...Bxc3 21. Qxc3 Qxa4) where it is unclear whetherBlack can do anything with the extra pawn as White can calmly castle kingsideand apply pressure to the A and B pawns (Benko gambit-esque). } 21. Kf2 e5 { Creativity at full power: 21. e5! Although it may seem like a naturalmove to simply develop the LSB to e6 and connect the rooks, there is adeeper, more devious purpose to this push: 22...Qxe3! is now being threatened,after which Black wins decisively even if the king retreats: [Dummy move22. a5] 22...Qxe3 (23. Kxe3?? Bc5#)(23. Kf1 Rd2!-+) 23. Ke1 - and blackcan proceed with several plans: 23...b5 to open the queenside, 23...e4to open the center, 23...Be6 to develop and threaten c4, etc. It's alllosing for White. } 22. Rhd1 { My opponent played this move quite quickly:maybe a natural developing move, maybe a response to my threat on e3. Eitherway it stops 22...Qxe3, so I will assume that my opponent was aware ofmy intentions. } 22... Be6 { Unfortunately, I must go with Plan B: develop normallyand win from a superior position. } 23. Bd3 { Dubious, but why?! } 23... g6 { Dubiousmyself?! I calculated the correct continuation, and still kick myself overmissing it: 23...e4! [24. fxe4 f4! 25. Qe2 fxe3+ (-+) and the queen cannotrecapture or it will be won via deflection: 26. Qxe3? Rf8+ 27. Ke2 Bg4+].23. g6 does not lose any advantage but does not gain anything either. Itactually probably slows down any potential kingside play in the future.Either way, you learn from your mistakes. } 24. Qe2 { Logical move to defende3 to allow the White king to flee to safety. } 24... Qe7 { A useful centralizingmove. Allows the queen access to any side of the board and prepares todouble rooks more effectively. } 25. Kg1 { Necessary. 25...Bc5 can now bemet with Kh1. } 25... Bc5 { Played anyways. The bishop cannot be kicked from c5and the weakness on e3 will not be going anywhere without creating furtherweaknesses. } 26. Kh1 Rd7 { Calmly doubling rooks. When it is unclear howto continue the attack, many lower-rated players lash out, but expertsand masters just improve their position. All of White's pieces are optimallydeveloped, and there is no clear plan for White to do anything to attack.I'll just simply improve my last piece and begin the vice-grip. } 27. e4 { Like I said about lower-rated players, White lashes out, violating manyrules (keep pawns on the opposite color as your bishop, advancing pawnscreates weaknesses that cannot be repaired, etc.) and allowing Black tocomplete his vice-grip faster. } 27... f4 { Now Black has a space advantage inthe center and on the kingside. The LSB can support g5-g4 or h5-h4-h3,or itself go to h3 should the g2-pawn move. Be3 is now a powerful ideato increase my grip on the d-file. White is now in, cue the music, direstraits. } 28. g3 { And another mistake of lashing out. g3 does nothingrealistically to help White, but it creates targets for Black to exploit. } 28... Be3 { An important tempo-gainer to allow gxf4 to be met with Bxf4, as wellas to emphasize the weakness of the dark squares in White's position. } 29. Rb1 Rad8 { And calmly finishing development. White, now facing threatson the queenside, kingside, and down the center, attempts to simplify,but it is too late. } 30. Bc2 { 30. Bc2? loses on the spot. Black needs notcapture on d1. } 30... Rd2 { And a piece is lost, thanks to the Bishop on e3. Andas if losing a piece wasn't bad enough, the lasting grip on the White kingis easily losing. Stockfish eval (-8.3) } 31. Qe1 { Wanting to avoid anyunnecessary simplification. At least he follow the rule that when down,try not to trade: it leaves more winning chances. } 31... Rxc2 { Winning the piece.Now 32...Bh3 is threatened. } 32. Rxd8+ { And as quickly as White followsthe rules, he breaks them again: lashing out to simplify. Perhaps he thoughthe would win the pawn on b7, but after 32...Qxd8 33. Rxb7?? Rc1 crushesall hope. Frankly the position is already resignable. } 32... Qxd8 33. Rd1 { Nowseeing the refutation to the pawn-grab, White futily attempts to gain atempo on Black's queen, in lieu of any actual threats. I never know whyplayers like to play these kinds of positions out, it seems absolutelyhopeless and no fun at all. It frankly is disrespectful to a degree (atleast OTB) as it is basically saying that your opponent's time is not valuableand that you think they could mess up a position this winning (Stockfisheval -16.5). At class C or below maybe it would be acceptable, but certainlynot in the Expert section. } 33... Qa5 { Forcing simplification. Slightly betterwas 33...Qg5, but not by much. } 34. Nb1 { Stockfish recommends Ne2 instead,but it's all losing now. } 34... Qxe1+ { I had foreseen the winning combination,so I played it quickly and without mercy. } 35. Rxe1 Bh3 36. Rg1 Bxg1 { Aninaccuracy, a mistake or blunder even. Slowing down would have helped mesee 36...Bg2+! mating by force (37. Rxg2 Rc1+ 38. Rg1 Rxg1#), but to befair this wins quickly as well. } 37. Kxg1 Rc1+ { And my opponent resigned,finally facing the inevitability of their loss. An informative game ofhow to play high-precision chess against a strong but inaccurate opponent.Hope you got something out of this game, and thanks for reading! } 0-1

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "10-Jul-07"] [Round "-"] [White "luke666"] [Black "edderball"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1589"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1602"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h4 { Well, I don�t know. Sometimesit�s better a waiting until we have more pieces on the table. } 5... Nbd7 6. Be2 O-O { Black would be confortable with a more desirable 6...e5 and if7.d5 Nc5 wouldmake some room to counter attack white�s structure } 7. h5 { Off course you have to go with your plan, that�s the way } 7... c5 8. hxg6 { Thereis a problem of perspective here, seems like we are eroding black�s structure,but at the same time we are opening some lines for the opponent, like thef column, to win the h column, but the clearvoyance would fail before makinga clear advantage. When there is not a certain perspective sometimes weprefer moves like 8.h6 to stay straight the path of the plan and wait fora psicological result. I don�t say that 8.hxg6 it�s not a good move, infact it�s a good one, but as I said is a perspective view. } 8... fxg6 9. Nf3 { Oh my gosh. Changing plans in middle of the battle would be incongruentwith the soul of chess, but with the human spirit. It seems like 9.d5 isa move with a few more chances, obviously you give the e5 point, but retaine6 and e7 and can try with f4, Nh3 and Qd3 to exploit the king side, andat last the f column is blocked before 0-0-0 } 9... cxd4 { Off course! It doesn�tmatter that there is a three pawn islands, but this position is more desirableto defend the e6 and e7 points } 10. Nxd4 { What kind of openning is thisone? There�s not an easy answer to this question, just one thing remains:one move can change our life... } 10... Ne5 { ... but I don�t think very good thinkingsabout this move. I would like 10...Nc5 against e4 and try to make a freeworld to the beasts living in g7 and c8. At last the white can�t move theb pawn without hazardous results. } 11. Bf4 { What kind of competition weare seeing! It�s like you are saying: 'No, I do the bad move-. No, I dothe worst move-'. For Jesus! Did not see that after 11...Ne4 12.Ne4 Rf4there is no a doubt about the more posible winner } 11... Qc7 { Yesss! Oh gosh!It�s like the football team against us failing a penalty! After this movewhite can reorder the pieces with Ndb5 and Be3 or Bd2 to regain control } 12. Qb3 { Looks very aggresive, but with 12...Ne4 (again) there is an openf column and a weak g7-d4 diagonal to exploit } 12... Qc5 { Well white, as chessplayer, you are a good poker player ;), because black did think that youhad a joker underwear with c5. Now, in this instance, recover power with13.Be3 and the queen has to fly quickly } 13. O-O-O { All right white I�masking you: Do you like that queen in c5? } 13... Nc6 14. Be3 { Ufff! How it�spossible to lose here? Not in this world! } 14... Qe5 { I will call this queen,the Nomad Queen. Because 15.Nf3 and 16.Ng5 she is helping our best attackposition } 15. Nf3 Qe6 16. Ng5 Qe5 { Well Luke, all the planets are aligned,as your head astrologist I say you will destroy some castles. At this timethe a2-g8 diagonal belongs to white } 17. Nd5 { Hey luke, please don�t abandonyour plan in the middle of the battle!! The best of the best of the bestmove is 17.c5! o even the magnificent 17.f4! and the Nomad Queen wouldgo to 17...Qa4, and after 18.c5! there is no time to cry for black. 17.Nd5is not bad, only close our beloved a2-g8 diagonal } 17... Nxd5 18. cxd5 { I like18.Rd5 because leave the hot move c5 alive, and remember the Nomad Queenhas to walk. Off course 18.cxd5 leaves open the c column to the remaininga8 tower } 18... Na5 { Yep, black has the right to give back one punch } 19. Qb4 b6 20. Rxh7 { 20.Nxh7! and keep the attack } 20... Rxf2 { After this move I justonly have to say THANK YOU BLACK! Why are you so comprensive? I did waitfor this moment since the beginning of the times! And the moment of glorycomes when white play 21.Rxg7! How many pieces are very important for black?How many are in good shape? Just the Nomad Queen and the terrible beastin g7. Then, at this moment I say: get out of here black bishop and thanksfor the rook in f2 } 21. Qd2 { What�s up man? Are you crazy? What kind ofdemons did you see? Or it was just a moment of incredible weakness? } 21... Rxg2 { Off course 21...Nc4 would be deffinitive } 22. Nf3 { Noooo, fellow, youstill had 22.Rg7 to rescue some of the board } 22... Qxb2+ { I don�t know aboutyour football club, but, well, it�s like to see Manchester United losingagainst Aston Villa by 0-1 in the last minute, and the last words in ourhead is: 'How I did not see?' } 0-1

[Event "Worcestershire v Shropshire"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "16/11/2019"] [Round "-"] [White "Charles L Higgie"] [Black "Stephen Mellor"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "ECF175"] [TimeControl "40 in 1 Hr 50 + 25 mins + 10 secs"] [WhiteElo "ECF171"] 1. d4 { This was the first Shropshire match in the county championship foryears! I was lucky as my opponent had an 'off' day, after playing the openingbadly he mistakenly grabs a pawn that he would be better advised leavingalone, and pay a heavy price very quickly! } 1... Nf6 { My first match for Shropshirein the County Championships. I was board 5. } 2. c4 { Conventional so far. } 2... c5 { Heading for Benoni type structures. } 3. d5 { I advance. } 3... b5 { He playsthe Benko Gambit. } 4. cxb5 { I take. } 4... a6 { he offers the second pawn. } 5. Nc3 { I protect the pawn. } 5... axb5 { He takes. } 6. Nxb5 { I take back. } 6... Qa5+ { I think this is inaccurate. More usual is Ba6 7. Nc3 transposing intomain lines (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3)reaches exactly the same position. } 7. Nc3 { Forced. } 7... Bb7 { I prefer Ba6here, taking control of the f1-a6 diagonal } 8. Bd2 { Indirectly protectingd5. } 8... e6 { Attacking it again. } 9. e4 { Protecting it again, and developing. } 9... Qc7 { Qb6 is the usual move here, preventing white's next. } 10. Qb3 { Protectingd5 and also eyeing Bb7 } 10... exd5 { He takes } 11. exd5 { I take back. } 11... Qe5+ { Hethrows in a check. } 12. Be2 { I block. } 12... Bxd5 { He takes. } 13. Nxd5 { I takeback. } 13... Nxd5 { Of course, if he takes with the queen, I exchange queens thenBf3 wins. } 14. Nf3 { I develop with tempo } 14... Qe6 { The queen drops back - ofcourse it has to continue to protect the Nd5. } 15. Ng5 { I attack the queenagain. } 15... Qe5 { Queen comes forward. } 16. f4 { Fritz prefers 0-0, but by thisstage white is winning easily - plus 3 after 0-0 or plus 2.88 after 16.f4. } 16... Qd6 { Queen drops back. } 17. Bf3 { Now the Nd5 is doubly pinned! } 17... Qe7+ { He throws in a check. } 18. Kd1 { Now with the threat of Re1 as well asthe threat to his Nd5 he resigns. Fritz prefers 18. Kf1(+5.25) to thismove (+5.13) but it is rather academic. I avoided 18. Kf2? as then blackcan escape with 'only' losing a pawn and exchange with 18.....c4 and if19. Qxc4 Qc5+ 20. Qxc5 Bxc5+, but better is 19. Qb7(+4.81 according toFritz). Many thanks for reading, please leave a comment or two, and ratethe annotation on the star system. Until next time dear reader! } 1-0

[Event "Trapped!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.06.16"] [Round "-"] [White "ryanyu10"] [Black "???"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "???"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "???"] { So, this is a game I played on Gameknot that I only really got the advantagenear the end. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 { The Scotch Game/Gambit, you'veall seen this before. For me, this is my favorite opening. } 3... exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 { Ah, This isn't a really good move. It brings the queen out, and thequeen also has no threat, which means white technically takes the centerright out of blacks hands. Better would be d6 or Nf6. } 5. Qxd4 d6 { Thismove takes back some center control, but not that whole lot. It also stopswhite from playing e5, which almost completely traps the DSB, stops blackfrom even doing the slightest to take back control of the center and alsostops the knight from going to f6. } 6. Bc4 { This is just a simple movewhich develops my LSB, allowing me to castle and also attacking the weakf-pawn. } 6... Be6 7. Bxe6 fxe6 { Okay, maybe not the best trade-off, but theking is exposed now! } 8. O-O Nf6 9. Bg5 { I'm not letting this knight goany further. Also, I'm almost done with my development. } 9... Be7 10. Nc3 { Yeah,I'm done with my development. This position is fairly equal. I think. } 10... O-O 11. e5 { Ok, this is a fairly offensive move, isn't it? If you can seeI am aiming to land my Queen on e6, forcing the King into a corner, orpinning the rook. } 11... dxe5 { The system marked this as a mistake, dunno why. } 12. Qxe5 Qd6 { Only move to prevent Qxe6. I really don't like Queen trades,for some reason. } 13. Qe2 Qb6 { Now, the Queen eyes down the undefendedb-pawn while giving a small threat to f2. } 14. Rab1 Rad8 15. a4 { The computeranalysis said that we were at a completely equal position. I guess I'dexpect that much. } 15... h6 { Alright, Now he chases my bishop away? It wouldhave been more effective earlier } 16. Be3 Qc6 { Now the Queen is attackingthe g2 square, though leaving the h-pawn wide open. } 17. Rfd1 { I am gettingbored, so I try to enforce a rook exchange. } 17... Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Rd8 { Anotherexchange? I guess he had some troubles with rooks in past games. } 19. Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. Bd4 { I don't know what else to do! } 20... Be7 21. Qe5 { The only placeBlack can move his knight is h5, and it is always bad to put knights onthe edges. } 21... a6 { Didn't really get this move, maybe just now he realizedhis pawn was in danger. } 22. f3 { The king always needs a bit of space.Plus, this removes from the pressure given by the queen to g2. } 22... Qd6 { Again,trying to do a queen exchange. I have 3 options here, capture, move toe3 or don't bother with the queen and let it be captured, still enforcingthe exchange but also moving the DSB to e5. } 23. Qe3 { As I mentioned before,I hate Queen exchanges, so I decide to bring my Queen back. The score withthe system stands at +0.01 for me, apparently. } 23... c5 { ... This move forcesme to either take a pawn and gain a slightly worse position or threatenthe Queen, so this really isn't that good. } 24. Be5 Qb6 { Attacking my B-pawnagain, apparently. } 25. Ne2 { Well, That move allowed my knight to actuallymove again so think something better could have been played. } 25... Kf7 26. Kf2 { Yes, I did mirror my opponents move because I really didn't want to thinkat the time I moved. } 26... Bd6 { I don't care, if he wants to exchange, go ahead. } 27. Nf4 Bxe5 28. Qxe5 { At this point in the game, I really started despisingthe Black Queen. If it were somewhere else, I would have been able to captureon e6. } 28... c4+ 29. Kg3 { The system said that this was inaccuracy. I don'tsee anything wrong with this move... Also, this was the only time in thewhole game that I went to negative anything, according to what the analysissaid. } 29... Qc6 { This was also marked as inaccuracy. I don't see anything beneficialto my opponent here... Better would have been g5. } 30. h4 { Pushing pawns! } 30... b6 31. b4 cxb3 32. cxb3 { I really thought that this game would end ina draw at this point. } 32... b5 33. a5 Qd7 34. b4 Nd5 { Now, my opponent goesonto the offensive. } 35. Nd3 Qe7 { Looking at this, what do you think thebest move is? It may not seem like it, but there is a trap here to lurethe opponent into a losing state. } 36. Nc5 { You probably figured this trapout already. It's very thinly hidden, so it should be easy to see. To behonest, I thought a player with a higher rating than mine wouldn't fallfor this trap... } 36... Nxb4 { But they did. This is a really bad blunder. } 37. Qf4+ { A pawn for a knight. } 37... Kg6 38. Qxb4 { This was actually marked as amistake... Well, I guess Qe4+ could be considered better. } 38... Qd6+ 39. f4 e5 { At this point I thought there was no way I could win, only draw, despitethe fact I was a knight up. I needed to eliminate the Queen. Then, I thoughtof something. } 40. f5+ { Since my opponent had been greedy enough to takethe extra pawn and fall into my trap before, I considered he would thistime as well. } 40... Kxf5 { And he did! Taking the pawn was a blunder, makinghim lose his queen. This was a bit more concealed than the last trap. } 41. Qg4+ { This is the finishing move, In which Black's king is forced tomove back to f6, and then with Ne4+, his Queen is gone. He promptly resigned.I hope you enjoyed this! } 41... Kf6 42. Ne4+ Ke7 43. Qxg7+ Ke6 44. Qxh6+ Kd5 45. Nxd6 { Basic continuation. } 1-0

[Event "A long, drawn out ....... victory!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.07.16"] [Round "-"] [White "dragons3000"] [Black "jstevens1"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1779"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1659"] 1. d4 { Hi everyone! This is my longest game, albeit by just one move (surpassingthat epic draw against the Master Mater), this time against a fellow ClassB player. Out of a QP opening I went into the middlegame and my positionseemed fairly passive yet again. However, a late pawn push eventuallyproved decisive in my favour. My opponent allowed me to retain one ofmy promoted pawns and played the game out to mate. Gameknot analysis isprovided as follows:- http://gameknot.com/analyze-board.pl?bd=15585965&rnd=0.366394555896965 } 1... d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 { 3. Bf4 - this is actually a themed MT which coversthe Mason's Opening. } 3... c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Qb3 { 5. Qb3 - offering a queen tradeof which the database suggests it is best to decline. } 5... c4 6. Qc2 Nc6 7. Nbd2 Bg4 { 7. ...... Bg4 - development. } 8. h3 Bh5 9. Ne5 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 { 10. Bxe5 - knight trade. } 10... Qc6 11. e3 Bg6 12. Qd1 Nd7 13. Bg3 { 13. Bg3- avoiding N for B trade. } 13... e6 14. Be2 Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 { 15. ...... Qxd6- after Fou Lenoir emerges a trade of dsbs follows and I am now ready tocastle. } 16. b3 cxb3 17. axb3 { 17. axb3 - pawn trade - I then decided totuck Henry away on the kingside. } 17... O-O 18. O-O { 18. 0-0 - and white followssuite. } 18... a6 19. c4 dxc4 20. bxc4 { 20. bxc4 - another pawn trade. Whitenow has a very strong pawn centre - how on earth does he lose from here? Read on. } 20... b6 21. Bf3 Ra7 22. Qb3 a5 { 22. ..... a5 - however, I do havea passer on the queenside and passed pawns must be pushed! } 23. Be4 Bxe4 24. Nxe4 { 24. Nxe4 - bishop trade. } 24... Qc7 25. Qb5 h6 26. Rfc1 Rc8 27. Rab1 f5 { 27. ..... f5 - after the build up of a lot of pressure on the b andc columns I decide to start a kingside pawn push with this move. } 28. Ng3 Qc6 29. Qb3 { 29. Qb3 - white declines a queen trade and the Wicked Witchof the West lines up on the a2-g1 diagonal, of which Henry is sitting on! } 29... Rac7 30. Ne2 Qd6 31. Nf4 g5 { 31. ..... g5 - another pawn push - must becareful though, it is still the middlegame and Henry is getting ratherdraughty - time for those Medieval Stockings, Glenda! } 32. Nd3 Kf8 33. Rc2 Qe7 { 33. ...... Qe7 - but Glenda decides to snuggle up to him instead,aaah! } 34. Rbc1 h5 35. Qb2 g4 { 35. ...... g4 - the pawn push carries onand now follows a pawn trade. } 36. hxg4 hxg4 37. d5 e5 38. Kf1 Kf7 { 38...... Kf7 - Henry makes room for a black rook to land on the h column. } 39. Rc3 Rh8 40. Ke2 Rh2 { 40. ..... Rh2 - suddenly, a black attack fromnowhere. } 41. g3 f4 42. gxf4 exf4 43. Nxf4 { 43. Nxf4 - a pawn sac but thisdoes open white up a bit and I try to take full advantage of the rook pinon the f2 pawn. } 43... g3 { 43. ...... g3 - like this. } 44. Rf1 Qh4 { 44. ....qh4 - and here comes Glenda! } 45. Qb1 Qg4+ 46. Kd2 gxf2 { 46. ..... gxf2- I now recover my pawn deficit. } 47. Qe4 Nc5 { 47. ..... Nc5 - and nowmy passively placed knight moves to an active square and menaces the WickedWitch of the West. } 48. Qe5 Re7 49. Ne6 Rg2 50. Qf4+ Qxf4 { 50. ..... Qxf4- queen trade, but it does prove advantageous to me. } 51. Nxf4 Ne4+ { 51...... Ne4+ - in between move which puts pressure on white. } 52. Kd3 Rg3 53. Ra3 Nd6 54. Ke2 Nxc4 { 54. .... Nxc4 - the f2 pawn is doomed but atleast I will trade it off for white's c4 pawn, breaking up white's queensidepawns. In fact white has no queenside pawns, only the two centre pawnsare standing and that will not be for long either! } 55. Kxf2 Rgxe3 56. Rxe3 Nxe3 57. Rb1 Nc4 { 57. ..... Nc4 - now that the dust has settled Iam a pawn up and white only has his passed d4 pawn, but white still hasa strong knight so he is still in the game. } 58. Kg3 Rb7 59. Rh1 Kf6 60. Rh6+ Ke5 { 60. ...... Ke5 - Henry makes for the queenside where the twopassers are. } 61. Re6+ Kd4 62. Re1 a4 { 62. ..... a4 - my a pawn, standingon a5 for many moves makes one tentative step towards Glendadom. } 63. Rd1+ Kc5 64. Ne6+ Kd6 { 64. ..... Kd6 - Henry deftly avoids the annoying checksfrom white's rook and knight by hiding behind the white pawn on d5. Sometimesenemy pawns can be very useful shields for kings as the enemy cannot capturetheir own pawns! } 65. Ng5 Ne3 66. Rd3 Nxd5 { 66. .... Nxd5 - I do take offthe d5 pawn and now white has nothing to promote. Meanwhile I am now aclear two pawns up and determined to make it count. } 67. Ra3 b5 68. Ne4+ Kc6 { 68. .... Kc6 - a point worth mentioning here. If you do not wantyour king to be checked by a knight, move him two squares diagonally fromit. You could also put the king one square adjacent but NOT diagonallyadjacent to the knight. It will take a few moves for the knight to manouevreitself to check your king. } 69. Kf3 Ra7 70. Ke2 b4 { 70. .... b4 - the twoblack pawnies now get involved in a race to Glendadom. } 71. Ra1 b3 72. Kd2 a3 { 72. .... a3 - neck and neck! } 73. Kd1 b2 74. Rb1 a2 { 74. .... a2- white must now give up ruinous amounts of material to avoid dealing withGlenda. } 75. Kc2 axb1=Q+ 76. Kxb1 Rb7 77. Nd2 { 77. Nd2 - trying to stopmy remaining pawn from crowning but even if he does, a rook is sufficientto force checkmate. } 77... Nc3+ 78. Kc2 b1=Q+ 79. Kxc3 { 79. Kxc3 - interesting,he keeps the knight on the board but allows Glenda to breathe. She willgive him cause to regret this. } 79... Qb2+ 80. Kd3 Rd7+ 81. Ke4 Qxd2 { 81. ....Qxd2 - white is left with just his king. Now I must avoid the wrong kindof mate! } 82. Ke5 Qd4+ 83. Kf5 Kd5 { 83. .... Kd5 - Henry helps in the drivingback process. The WK will be driven to the h column. } 84. Kg6 Ke5 85. Kg5 Qf4+ { 85. .... Qf4+ - closer and closer. } 86. Kh5 Qg3 87. Kh6 Kf6 { 87....... Kf6 - Henry plays his part well. White was hoping for Qg4 stalemate. Not a chance. White now cops old Matey next move. Both Glenda and therook have a bit of a stand-off about who will deliver the Coup De Grace. Henry plays referee and commands that it is the rook's turn for this royalhonour. Whew, what a marathon! Hope you have had a good read. Bye fornow - Joanne } 88. Kh5 Rh7# 0-1

[Event "Latvian Gambit 6"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.07.05"] [Round "-"] [White "bertinator"] [Black "bwaa"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1666"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1431"] { Hi all! This is just a quick league game in my Latvian Gambit series--Whitedeclines to take either of the proffered pawns, and Black's resulting spatialadvantage on the kingside quickly turns into a monstrous attack. Enjoy! } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 { ?! The key move of the controversial Latvian Gambit.Very rarely seen at high levels, Black gives up a pawn (and usually muchmore) for a lead in space and development. } 3. d3 { Personally, I don'tthink White can safely decline this gambit, especially with such a passivemove. That said, I see this all the time. More widely accepted are 3.Nxe5,3.Bc4 and 3.exf5. } 3... Nc6 { Essentially a waiting move. Black develops andwaits for White to commit to an attack... or not. } 4. Nc3 Bb4 { White isplaying passively, so Black goes immediately on the offensive. } 5. Bd2 Nf6 6. Qe2 { Preparing to castle long. White should be looking for a wayto develop his KB soon, probably to g2 or maybe h3 at this point. } 6... d6 7. O-O-O Qe7 { Black is also looking to castle queenside, to make use of hiskingside spatial advantage. } 8. a3 Bc5 { Black would have nothing to gainby trading off this Bishop on c3 right now. } 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Nd5 { This isan interesting idea, but I still think White should be dealing with hiswoefully undeveloped kingside. } 10... Qf7 11. Bxf6 { ? This gives up the bishop-pair,opens the g-file for Black's Rook, and gives Black doubled f-pawns thatare more of a strength than a weakness. I don't see any justification forthis move--g2-g3 followed by Bh3 is stronger, I think. } 11... gxf6 12. c4 { Blackwas technically threatening to win a pawn on d5, but I think retreatingthe Knight or even giving up the pawn to clear some space would have beenbetter. } 12... O-O-O 13. Qc2 { ? I don't know what this is intended to accomplish.Perhaps White is trying to play Be2 and make some action on the kingside?Even if so, I think he would be better served by playing h3 and g4. Hisposition is hopelessly disjointed right now. } 13... Nd4 { Trading off White'skingside protection and opening c6 for a pawn kick. } 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. Kb1 { The center is in danger of being blasted wide open, and getting theKing off the c-file is good--but putting him on a diagonal with his Queenisn't much better, and White should have other priorities right now! } 15... c6 16. Ne3 { This blocks the Bishop's attack on f2, but I was expecting Nc3at the time--on e3, it will be easily-harassed. White wants to defend hiskingside, but on e3, he will be hard-pressed to defend his actual King! } 16... fxe4 17. Be2 { ? Of all the times to move the Bishop... } 17... exd3 18. Qxd3 f5 { White didn't deal with it early when he had the chance, and now Black'spawn center is formidable. } 19. Rhf1 { White is preoccupied with defendinghis kingside pawns, and they are certainly weak--but Black, for the moment,is not aimed that way. } 19... f4 { After 20.Nc2 Bf5 21.Qd2 Rhg8 White's positionis looking fragile indeed. } 20. Ng4 { ?? White overlooks the royal pin,and will lose in short order. } 20... Bf5 21. Qxf5+ Qxf5+ 22. Ka2 d5 23. cxd5 Rxd5 24. Bc4 Ra5 { ? Here I overlooked the direct route with 24...Qc2 andmate to follow. } 25. f3 Qc2 26. Be6+ Kc7 27. Nxe5 { ?? Not that it matters,but White could have dragged it on a bit longer with 27.Rb1 or 27.Rxd4. } 27... Qxb2# { Many thanks to bertinator for the game! Declining the Latvian Gambitcan have brutal consequences without some very active play--White's forceswere scattered and ineffective throughout the game. Comments on the analysisor the game itself are much appreciated. If you leave a rating, pleasealso comment to let me know what I did well or how I can improve. Thanksfor reading! } 0-1

[Event "Old Indian defence, critical mistake at 25"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "08-Dec-06"] [Round "-"] [White "ssth"] [Black "rpilaud"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1449"] [TimeControl "3d+1d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1542"] 1. d4 { When you see d4, you should probably expect c4 as the second move. One of these days, I might learn to recognize all these openings. } 1... Nf6 { Fisher for black. } 2. c4 d6 { The early d6 makes this the Old Indian defense,but it all goes to the same place. } 3. Nc3 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 { What I like about this opening is that it gives you a lotof options. You can attack with the e pawn, or the c pawn, or you canstay closed and develop the b pawn. Against a weak opponent, this openingseems to work well. In this case, this was not a weak opponent. } 8. Re1 c5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Na4 e4 12. Be2 Qxd1 { Sometimes, againsta stronger player, it seems logical to take the queen. But, then again,it simplifies the game for the stronger player, too, and this isn't necessarilygood. I reminded myself to watch the c6 pawn with this note: 13. Bxd1b6 } 13. Rxd1 b6 14. Rb1 Bd7 15. Nc3 Rab8 { I don't think I had a coherentplan in this game. This move seems like a waste, but I suppose, now lookingback, that I wanted to attack the c4 pawn. } 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. cxd5 f5 18. b3 b5 19. Bb2 Bxb2 20. Rxb2 Rbd8 21. Rc2 { No clear plan, and I waste moves. } 21... Rc8 { 22. Rd-c1 f4 23. Rc2xc5 fxe3 24. Rc5xc8 Rxc8 25. Rxc8 Bxc8 26. fxe3a6 (-1) } 22. f3 exf3 23. gxf3 Rfe8 24. Kf2 b4 25. d6 Re6 { This would beat least the first mistake that causes me to lose. I allow a diagonallystacked rook and king in white squares with the white bishop on the board. Foolish. } 26. Bc4 { He's a good player; he sees it. } 26... Kf8 27. Bxe6 Bxe6 28. e4 fxe4 { I expected him to stack his rooks in the d file. 29. fxe4Ke8 30. Rc-d2 Kd7 } 29. fxe4 Ke8 30. e5 { Instead, he strengthened his dpawn. } 30... Kd7 31. Rdc1 { ... and stacks his rooks in the c file. } 31... Rf8+ 32. Ke3 Bd5 { 33. Rc2xc5 Ke6 34. Rd1 Rf3 35. Kd4 Rf4 36. Ke3 Re4 } 33. Rxc5 Ke6 34. Rd1 Rf3+ 35. Ke2 Be4 36. d7 Rd3 { Desperation: 37. d8=Q Rxd8 38.Rxd8 Kf5 } 37. d8=Q Rxd8 38. Rxd8 Kf5 39. Rd6 Kf4 40. e6 g5 41. e7 Bb1 42. e8=Q Bxa2 43. Rd4# 1-0

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.01.21"] [Round "-"] [White "pasha582"] [Black "braavio"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1424"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1575"] 1. e4 c5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Bd2 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Nh4 e5 8. Nxg6 { White doubles up black's pawns. } 8... hxg6 9. Nc3 Nge7 10. a3 Qb6 11. b3 Nd4 12. Be3 O-O-O 13. Bg2 f5 14. Bg5 Re8 15. exf5 gxf5 { Undoubled. } 16. Bxe7 { The bishop/knight exchange relieves the knight's defense of d5,where white can push the black queen around a little, and maybe bring somepower down on the king's pawn fortress. } 16... Bxe7 17. Nd5 Qa5+ 18. b4 cxb4 19. axb4 { Now the black pawn at a7 is defenseless. } 19... Qd8 20. Rxa7 Nc6 21. Ra8+ { The rook will keep black's knight pinned until black moves his king. White is only up one pawn at this moment, but it will be easier to traderooks from here. Every even exchange makes white's one pawn more valuable. Finally, black's queen is really boxed in as well. Qd7 is blocked byNb6+. Black will have to spend several moves getting material off theback row--moves white will exploit taking pawns or setting up other costlytrades. } 21... Nb8 22. gxf5 Kd7 { NxB will be followed by BxPb7, or Qg4. Qg4sets up discovered check with Pf6 against whichever piece snapped up theknight. } 23. Nxe7 { White is only ahead two points after the exchange. QxN opens up Qg5. White's undefended bishop could move to e4 to protectthe undefended pawn. Most scenarios look pretty good for white at thispoint. } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017.12.02"] [Round "-"] [White "bearwits"] [Black "bogota"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1598"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1528"] 1. e4 { This one saw me wrap up my 1400th win on the best chess site. GameKnot.Bearwits, thank you ! Standard e4, c5. d3, Nc6 opening. My c5 reply I feelgives me options ! } 1... c5 { The Sicilian defence a fav of many former greatplayers. Myself who is a massive fan of it. } 2. d3 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Be2 g6 { I think this is called fianchetto, perhaps those of superior chessknowledge will comment. Any's having the dark squared bishop here is threatening. } 5. O-O Bg7 6. c3 e6 7. h3 Nge7 { Nge7 supports nc6, getting the Knightsworking together can be deadly ! } 8. Bd2 O-O 9. a3 Qb6 { Qb6 ?? Thoughtso myself on reflection. Leaves d6 hanging, do I have a plan ? } 10. b4 cxb4 11. axb4 { Nxb4 ! White can't take or Bxa1, leading to an advantagein piece material. } 11... Nxb4 12. Na3 Nbc6 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Qc1 { Qc1 ? ThreatingBh3 ! } 14... Re8 { Re1 ! Having my Rook pinned doesn't benefit me ! } 15. Nh2 b6 16. f4 Bb7 { Bb7 ! Both bishops playing a role from afar ! } 17. Qa3 { Qa3?? Move baffled me as does this help white's momentum ? } 17... Red8 18. Rac1 b5 { b5, that Knight was bugging me. Also saw an opportunity for a possibletwo passed pawns. Was I already getting greedy. With the Bishop on g7.White's queenside is looking vacant ! } 19. Ne3 a5 20. d4 Qb6 { White hasto bring a piece over on queenside ! } 21. Rb1 { White has two pieces hanging!! } 21... Ba6 { I'd say time to launch an attack on one of them hanging pieces.I'm sure it say's in books, protect your pieces at all times ?? } 22. Nc4 { knc4 ?? Interesting move, gains what ? } 22... Qc7 23. Ne3 b4 { b4 weaken's white'scentre (attack's the White Queen, although those three musketeers are battlehardened. Open's the door for Bxe2 } 24. Qb3 Bxe2 { Piece advantage ! Bd3coming right up ! } 25. Rfe1 Bd3 26. Rbc1 Bxe4 { Now the threat of white'srook on the e file ain't much of a threat. } 27. Neg4 a4 28. Qc4 Bd5 29. Qf1 { b3 leads to c4 ! light squared bishop then has limited options, Ifeel. } 29... bxc3 30. Bxc3 Nf5 { There's a possible pin that I'm aware of. Rc1on knc6, so that stays put. kne7 tof5 ! Double pronged attack. e6 ! & h4,threatens g2. I'm sure white is feeling somewhat pressurised. } 31. Nf3 a3 32. Ra1 Bxf3 { Ganging up on a piece at times is a smokescreen ! } 33. Qxf3 Ncxd4 34. Rec1 { Blunder !! What is white thinking ? } 34... Qb6 { Missedmove on my part ! Or not ! Checkmate is a possiblity with my two warriorknights ! } 35. Qf2 Ne2+ { At this point white resigns. As kn(5)g3 leadsto significant damage to whites cause. } 36. Kh1 Nfg3+ 37. Qxg3 Nxg3+ 0-1

[Event "Challenge from paul_nicholls"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27-Aug-06"] [Round "-"] [White "paul_nicholls"] [Black "michael_seymour"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1334"] { My first gameknot.com game with a friend who introduced me to the site. We have played many games in the past and this site will make it easierfor us to play more often! Also my first attempt to annotate a game! } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 { fairly standard type of opening - attacking my pawn anddeveloping a piece. } 2... Nc6 { I could have used the queen's pawn to defendbut chose to develop my Knight instead. } 3. d3 { securing white's King'spawn and opening a diagonal for the black square bishop } 3... d6 { respond inkind } 4. h3 { ? questionable (slow) move. It's only merit is it createsan escape square for the king should he castle on his side. Too earlyto really need that though. Better to developthe queen's knight or oneof his bishops. } 4... Nf6 { I continue to develop my pieces. This gives me bettercoverage of the centre of the board. } 5. Bd2 { still a very conservativedeveloping move for his bishop - only one square. } 5... Be6 { Taking advantageof white's hesitancy I push for more room - usually black does not havethis luxury. } 6. Be2 { Another conservative developing move. } 6... d5 { I decideto press early to try and achieve dominance over the centre. } 7. Nc3 { Atlast the knight comes out. } 7... dxe4 { I go for the pawn exchange. Note thatif white re-captures with his knight it will be unsupported by a pawn whichmakes it vulnerable. } 8. dxe4 Bb4 { Pin that knight to a bishop (and potentiallyhis king). } 9. Nd5 { ??? after being so timid white advances his knightagressively with only a pawn supporting it. It does unmask an attack bythe bishop as well as attacking with his knight. My bishop only has onedefender so I must either retreat, exchange or protect it eg with a pawn. } 9... Bxd2+ { ! I exchange. Note that I have my eye on his lone pawn in the centre. It is also his only support for his knight. Moving a piece into dangerunnecessarily is only wise if you believe you can force the play to youradvantage. } 10. Qxd2 { White completes the exchange but note his lone pawnis now vulnerable to my knight. This wins a pawn and attacks his queenwhilst his advanced knight is vulnerable. One must go! } 10... Nxe4 { I go upby a pawn with more to come. } 11. Qe3 { He counter attacks with his queen,but my bishop can take his knight an then protect mine. } 11... Bxd5 { Up by apawn plus knight. My aim now is to continue to pressurce white now thathe is down. Forcing exchanges until I can queen a pawn is my aim. } 12. Rd1 { White attacks the bishop with a more powerful piece. As long as thebishop has some support (eg my queen) then it is ok (better would be toattack it with a pawn on c4). White has, however, pinned my bishop tomy queen. Note that white's queen side pawns are left quite exposednow. } 12... f5 { I provide more support for my advanced knight with a pawn (thebest support). This relieves my bishop from his defensive role. Firststep in consolidating my advantage. Note that this clears space on f6for my knight to retreat without leaving my centre pawn unsupportable byanother pawn. } 13. g3 { ? weakening pawn move. much better to castle, givinghis rook support and providing some defense given white is down by 4 points. } 13... Nf6 { I decide to use the extra time to extricate my queen from the pin. I first protect my bishop. Note that I could have done so with a knighton b4 but that would be vulnerable to a pawn attack and I would preferwhite leave those pawns unmoved at this stage. } 14. O-O { finally whitegets his defenses in order. } 14... Qe7 { My queen is free! I rejoice! } 15. Qg5 { ?? White decides to pin my knight to my queen, but with the worst possiblepiece. His queen is too valuable for such tasks. Also he is at risk ofbeing cut off and maybe losing his queen altogether. } 15... f4 { I threaten white'salready weakened pawn defense and also trap his queen - the net is notcomplete though. } 16. g4 { ? white attempts to avoid exchanges but thisfurther restricts his queen's potential movements. } 16... O-O-O { queenside castlegets my king away from danger. Also provides added protection for my bishop. I can use this to force exchanges of pieces. } 17. c4 { Finally a pawn attackon the bishop. This should have been done to start with. } 17... Bxf3 { I go forexchanges. Maybe better would have been to retreat to e6 and place furtherpressure on white's queen. The reason I took this approach is the f3 isa perfect spot for a knight (forks king and queen!). } 18. Bxf3 { white retakes. } 18... Nd4 { I now move my knight into position, threatening his bishop. NoteI ensured my knight has pawn support. } 19. Bh1 { White retreats his bishop. It is now going to be very difficult to lure his bishop away from defendingthis square (he has no other diagonals to move away from. } 19... Rhe8 { I providesupport for my queen in case of the need for an exchange. } 20. Rfe1 { pinspawn to queen, but the pawn is unlikely to move off this file. } 20... Ne2+ { !If white captures with his rook (an easy mistake) then black can take white'srook on d1 I had given up on the king/queen fork given the position ofwhite's remaining bishop. } 21. Kf1 Rxd1 { I use this opportunity to forceexchange of rooks. } 22. Rxd1 { white retakes. Note the positioning of white'sbishop, king and rook. His pawn on f2 defends two possible knight forksquares on e3 and g3. } 22... Nd4 { Black's knight retreats to his pawn support. } 23. a3 { pawn move? White should be more concerned about his queen. } 23... Ng8 { Black forces a queen exchange. Any space that the queen can move to isbeing attacked except h5. If Q-h5 then p-g6 wins the queen. This couldbe an easy mistake to make if white were to try and retain his queen andsome chance of a win. } 24. Qxe7 Nxe7 { retake with the knight, not the rookas it leaves the back rank unprotected. } 25. b4 { a pawn push. White maybe attempting to knock down black's kings pawns. } 25... Nc2 { fork of two pawns. Not a big threat in itself but it's a case of continuing to put on pressureand retain the initiative. } 26. Rd3 { A rook is not the best piece to usefor defense. It and the queen are best suited to offense (the rook froma distance). } 26... Rd8 { attack the rook! } 27. Be4 { White then has to commitanother piece to a defensive role. With fewer pieces remaining this willinevitably fail unless black makes a mistake. } 27... Rxd3 { exchange the rookswhich will leave the pawn on a3 undefended. } 28. Bxd3 Nxa3 { and the pawnfalls. } 29. c5 { White is moving the pawn away from danger so his bishopis free to attack the pawn on h7 - a chance to take some initiative. Whitemay not have realised this yet though. } 29... a6 { ? Black has missed the unprotectedpawn and has started a pawn advance with the aim of promotion to a queen. } 30. c6 { ?? White hasn't taken the pawn yet and has offered up his pawnfor naught. Black at this point realises he has the unprotected pawn. } 30... Nxc6 { ! Black is happy to take with his Knight and also force the lossof the white's pawn on b4 in exchange for one pawn on h7 ending up anotherpawn up instead of a pawn down. } 31. Bxh7 Nxb4 32. Bf5+ { White attemptsto take the initiative with an easily evaded checking move. } 32... Kd8 33. Be4 { And now attacks the unprotected pawn. } 33... b5 { which can easily move to safety. Bishops and Knights are nowhere near as useful as rooks in the end gamebecause they are much poorer at protecting or attacking a pawn that isattempting to promote. } 34. h4 { white attempts his own pawn advance onthe other side. Perhaps his last chance. } 34... Nc4 { Black spots the risk andcommits a Knight to the cause. Black is keeping his king free to helpwith pawn promotion, confident that he can manage the g and h pawns withthe knight. } 35. Ke2 { White starts to move his king into action given thereduced risk of mate now. Pawn promotion has clearly become both sidesgoal. } 35... a5 { Until white moves his pawns further black is pursuing promotionas far from the enemy king as possible. } 36. h5 { Here comes white's attempt. } 36... Nd6 { and black's knight is moved into position to block. This also threatenswhite's bishop. } 37. Bg2 { If instead of the bishop fleeing, 37 p-g5 then37 .... Nxe4 38 p-h6 then 38 ... pxh6 39 pxh6 N-f6 still prevents thepawn promoting. If 38 p-g6 then 38 ... K-e8 39 p-h6 pxh6 40 p-h7 K-f2and black's pawn promotion fails again. } 37... a4 38. g5 { white now moves forward. } 38... Nf7 { Black's Knight is moved into position for defense. } 39. g6 Nh6 { Pawnsare easily blocked and with white's bishop on white squares unless hisking can attack the pawn on g7 he is powerless. } 40. f3 { ? White shouldhave moved his King to attempt to prevent the pawn promotion. If he canget his king into the square formed by a4, a1, d1 and d4 then he can stopthe a4 pawn promotion (except for interference from black's knight andother pawn. Alternatively B-h3 then to e6 may stop the advance temporarily. } 40... a3 { Promotion is now inevitable. } 41. Bh3 { White sees a chance to use hisbishop for defense but it will arrive one move too late. } 41... a2 42. Be6 a1=Q { and the pawn is promoted to a queen. } 43. Kf2 Nd3+ 44. Kg2 Qb2+ 45. Kh3 { white continues to retreat } 45... Nf2+ 46. Kh4 Qe2 47. Kg5 { White's king isnow heading towards a trap - it can't retreat any further. } 47... Nh3+ { ?? inan attempt to force an end to the game black makes a mistake. } 48. Bxh3 Qxf3 { Black's capture of the pawn is just an easy way to get to g3 - amating square. } 49. Kh4 { white attempts to protect his bishop with hisking but it is too late. } 49... Qg3# { game over. I hope you enjoyed this annotatedgame. } 0-1