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natetsang

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[Event "French Defence"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "06-Sep-07"] [Round "-"] [White "sacsandviolence"] [Black "mybookrunsdeep"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2087"] [TimeControl "5d+2d, 7d max"] [WhiteElo "1794"] 1. e4 { Here is a short French Alekhine-Chatard attack finished recently. There are some interesting educational themes in this game. The attackagainst solitary king, the trapped piece and weaknesses in the castledposition. Feel free to leave comments. } 1... e6 { The French is a counter-punchingopening. A favorite of mine in the recent past, I now exclusively play1...c5. } 2. d4 { White opts for the main line French instead of the KingsIndian Attack with 2. d3. } 2... d5 { The central counter-strike. } 3. Nc3 { TheClassical set up against the French is probably the most testing. Whiteavoids extending the center with 3. e5 and prepares to develop activelywith 4. Bg5, among others. } 3... Nf6 { Another very interesting possiblity is3...Nc6!?, which transposes to a line of the Nimzowitch, also known asthe Hecht-Reefshlager. } 4. Bg5 { Another interesting line is the ModernClassical with 4. e5 Nfd7; 5 Nce2!? } 4... Be7 { Breaking the pin. } 5. e5 { Thisis a typical strategy for the Classical French. White wants to exchangehis bad dark-squared bishop for Black's good bishop. This will leave Blackwith the problem light-squared bishop to deal with, while White's light-squaredbishop will find an active role to play very early. } 5... Nfd7 { 5...Ne4 is dubious. } 6. h4 { An interesting move that offers a pawn to start an immediate attackon the Black kingside. In the days of romanticism, where gambits werealways accepted, this led to some spectacular defeats for the second player. Today, with defensive technique much stronger, this variation is almostextinct. } 6... Bxg5 { The best way to refute a gambit. } 7. hxg5 { White hopesthe open h-file will help him to attack the Black kingside. Of course,only someone with a deathwish would castle kingside at this point. } 7... Qxg5 8. Nf3 { 8. Nh3 is interesting, intending to play a later Nf4, whensacrificial possibilities (especially on d5) abound. } 8... Qe7 { This keeps thequeen available for the defense of the kingside if needed. } 9. Bd3 { Immediatelytargeting the pawn on h6, but this is of no consequence as Black shouldcontinue developing and wait for White to commit his king before castlinghimself. } 9... Nc6 { Not 9...c5, when 10. Nb5 is annoying. } 10. a3 { White wantsto keep the bishop on d3 without the ...Nb4 swat, however, this move weakensthe White king's soon-to-be shelter. Notice on move 16 how this weaknesswill become the target of my attack. } 10... Nb6 { c4 will make a nice outpostfor my knight. } 11. Qe2 { Preparing to castle queenside. 11. Qd2 wouldamount to a fairly similar game, however, the White queen would have theoption of coming to f4 after both sides had castled. } 11... Bd7 { Developing anotherpiece and waiting for White to castle. } 12. O-O-O { White has to commitsometime. He would never be able to undertake any effective plan withthe kings in the center. } 12... O-O-O { We are now pretty clearly in the middlegame and the respective plans are shaping up. After 13. Kb1, White willplay on the kingside with Rh3 and Rdh1, followed by an advance of the g-and f-pawns. Black will blow out his castled position in an attempt toget at the White king. An interesting battle is set to ensue. } 13. Rxh7 { Although, this just gets the light-squared bishop trapped. Now the planbecomes easier. While White tries to extricate his piece, I will workon the king. } 13... Rxh7 14. Bxh7 g6 { White is effectively down a piece. } 15. Qe3 { Attempting to bring the Queen to assist in the extrication, butthis allows... } 15... Nc4 { a smooth landing with tempo. } 16. Qh6 { Two of White'spieces have abandoned the king. I have the ability to bring my bishopto a4 and my other knight to c4 via a5. I decide it's time to strike. } 16... Nxa3 { I don't think this this wins by force, but White responds badly. } 17. Qg7 { ?? I had analysed 17. bxa3 Qxa3 ; 18. Kd2 Na5; 19. Ne2 Qb4 ;20. c3 Qb2 ; 21. Ke1 Ba4, when I have two pawn and a huge initiative, whichis more than enough to give Black the advantage, but the game is not over. } 17... Nc4 { Preparing ...Qb4 and a final assault on the White position. } 18. Rh1 { Removing another piece from the defense. White can stop the Black queenfrom invading on b4 with 18. Nb1! and if now 18...Qb4?!; 19. b3 and itdoesnt seem to me that Black's attack is going anywhere. Black can improvewith 18...Nb4, when I'm still better. } 18... Qb4 { White is lost now. } 19. Nd1 { White has to give up a ton of material to stay alive for a few more moves. } 19... Qa4 { Mate on a1 is threatened. } 20. c3 { Mate is forced now. } 20... Qa1+ 21. Kc2 N6xe5 { Clearing the way for the light-squared bishop to enter theattack. } 22. Nxe5 { 22. dxe5 amounts to the same thing after 22...Ba4 . } 22... Ba4+ 23. Kd3 Bxd1 24. Nxc4 { 24. Rxd1 prolongs the inevitablefor a few more moves. } 24... Qb1+ 25. Kd2 Qc2+ 26. Ke3 Qe4+ 27. Kd2 Qe2+ 28. Kc1 Qc2# { Thanks to my opponent. } 0-1

[Event "Challenge from davidg23"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "09-Jan-08"] [Round "-"] [White "klondyke"] [Black "davidg23"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1763"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1709"] { I have been playing 10 opponents between the rating category of 1700-1800in an attempt to get 5pts. The reason for this is that if you can manageit you should move up a category and attempt it again, however if you onlyget between 3.5 - 5 you should stay within the rating you are currentlychallenging. if lower than 3.5 you should drop down a category and followsuit. This was the 7th match and i had 4pts so needed this to reach mygoal. } 1. e4 { I had a peak at my opponents past games and seen he playedthe Sicilian when posed with 1.e4 and I though that it would be an interestinggame seeing as I had come off of some nice positions in previous gamesagainst the Sicilian. Except against Marin.....that doesn't count :) } 1... c5 { As expected. Here i was thinking of playing 2.d4 and attempting the morragambit where white loses material for development after cxd4 3. c3, dxc34. Nxc3. However i had never played that gambit before and was unsure whereit would lead so played the sounder 2.Nf6. } 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 { Sicilian Najdorf Ivkov variation whichusually leads to interesting middle games so i have read and so it turnsout. Here i was expecting Qa5 which would continue the mainline to whichwhite would respond with Qd2. Also all moves to date are book and on theGK database pretty popular. } 7... Ne5 { This was a pretty unusual move and icouldn't find a variation on any website when i was doing this annotationto talk about it more. Although it forces the LSB back it has no real benefitas now white can win more territory and gain a tempi from black after Bb3,Nc6 reverting to another line of the Sicilian. Perhaps black should havewaited and continued with the mainline so he can achieve more developmentas at the moment black has an inactive bishop. } 8. Bb3 e6 { This now makesthe bishop more active but also closes the LSBs path, It also pins theknight to the queen these are typical in the sicilian opening, but perhapssomething that could be exploited. } 9. f4 { A very aggressive response bywhite taking a stronger stance in the centre of the board and forcing theknight to go on the run. } 9... Ng6 { (?) I am giving this as Nc6 seems more benficialand continues the strength of the sicilian where this now gives attackingoptions to white. IMHO white looks slighty stronger after this move. } 10. f5 { Continuing the pursuit of the knight to the view white should comeout looking as strong as it went in and has the opportunity to exploitblacks 8th move e6. } 10... exf5 11. O-O { The idea behind this is 11...., fxe412. Bxf6, gxf6 13. Nxe4, Be7 14. Qf3 giving white a good position althougha pawn down, however after blacks next move white has a good advantageand should be able to capitalise. } 11... Be7 { Declining the pawn instead optingfor defence. which now allows white to disrupt blacks knight again. } 12. exf5 Ne5 { only safe place, apart from f8 which does nothing except clogup blacks back line and prevents castling. } 13. Re1 { And so the interestingmiddlegame begins. Applying pressure along the e file with a view to addmore pressure to the knight with bishop and queen. Blacks position is soleya defensive counter attacking position so white still has to be carefulof the king on g1, as a check on him could hand back an advantage to black,even though white does have the slightest of advantages. } 13... O-O { Gettingthe king safe and fully developed with the exception of the LSB. } 14. Bf4 Qc7 15. Qe2 Bd7 { playing 16. Bxe5 loses for white dxe5 17. Qxe5 Bd6 18.Nd5 Nxd5. therefore i continued along the lines of pressurising the centreand a view to a possible combination. } 16. Rad1 Rfe8 { (?) This allowsa neat combo (reason for Ra-d1 it will become apparent why) which giveswhite a good attacking option and black a headache! I can see why it wasplayed so black can move Ne5 and protect the bishop. Although i think Bc6is much better. } 17. Nd5 { This now allows white to carry out a small attackthat is as subtle as a sledgehammer. It is not a winning attack apart frommore position and it does ask alot of questions of black. } 17... Nxd5 { expectedallows black to free the bishop and protect the knight. } 18. Bxd5 Bf6 19. Qh5 { (!) Threatening f7 pawn after Ne5 is eliminated. This now forces blackto open his kingside and gives white something else to attack and hopefullyexploit. } 19... g6 20. fxg6 Nxg6 { Nice move threatens bishop and rook whilstdiscovering a threat on the knight so Ra-d1 was well played. Now if whiteswaps rooks white is not In as strong a position as it could be. I alsoadopted the philosophy that the attacker should not swap pieces unlessit is beneficial in the circumstances. therefore... } 21. Rf1 { guardingall the pieces and keeping the advantage of the position i have gainedas well as a possible threat on the unprotected bishop. } 21... Bxd4+ 22. Rxd4 { This now improves white chances as i still have the bishop pair nearingthe endgame which is a great advantage in most cases against the bishopand knight paring. } 22... Be6 { Was thinking Qxc2 might be played however i dontthink that is such a good move after Rd2 black is forced back and whitethen has initiative from a similar position to this. } 23. c3 { Hedging mybets and making sure Qxc2 cannot be played as well as protecting the position. } 23... f6 { (?) This now gives white the edge and allows for white to go for the'kill' although there are not many options open to black as the board stands... } 24. Bg3 { attack on the unprotected pawn which now allows for white to takeadvantage from this position. } 24... Kg7 { From here white takes the materialadvantage as well as the positional one. } 25. Qf3 { a double attack on f6and b7 pawns. } 25... Qf7 { Only real option black can play. } 26. Bxb7 { White winsa pawn and after a small battle is able to hold on to the pawn advantagewith the view to extending the material advantage. } 26... Ra7 27. Bc6 { threateningrook also prevents any reinforcement to the d6 pawn which is getting eyedup by both rook and bishop. } 27... Rb8 { sensing the fate of the d6 pawn blacknow trys for a trade of pawns though allowing the rook onto my back linesis not a very inviting option. } 28. Qf2 { (!!) This move now protects thepawn and is on the line to threaten rook and has the future option of harrassingthe king on g7. something that is very beneficial if it can be developeda little more. } 28... Bxa2 { Alot better than Rxb2 had i played Rxd6. } 29. Rxd6 { The trade of pawns which now gives white an awesome attack the f6 pawnwith 3 major pieces. Note: The Queen also eyes up the rook on a7. } 29... Rf8 { giving more fire power to the defence of f6. } 30. Rxf6 { This starts somevery dubious moves by black. } 30... Qe7 { What was wrong with Qxf6?, Qxa7 , Rf7,and see where that takes whites attack. This now loses the game for blackindefinitely however the way white wins is helped by blacks choice of moves. } 31. Rxf8 { This now allows white to go ahead 5pts including a minor piece. } 31... Nxf8 32. Qd4+ Kg8 { probably the best move for black as Kg6 or Kh6 althoughthere are alot of options open to blacks king he will be harrassed andi am sure the long walk for the king would result in mate or the loss ofthe queen. } 33. Rxf8+ { taking with king is a terrible move as Bd6 is lyingin wait. } 33... Qxf8 34. Qxa7 { A rather nice final attack from white if i dosay so myself :) Black now throwns in the towel but does not resign justyet. } 34... Qf5 35. Qa8+ Kg7 { checking king and getting on same diagonal as bishopin order to harrass blacks queen. } 36. Be4 Qg5 37. Qa7+ { Bf7 prolongs thematch, however black plays. } 37... Kg8 38. Qxh7+ { Black resigns. I make my 5ptsso now i move up to the rating of 1800-1900 to mount my challenge, afteri finish the other 3 matches. I should say from the position they are2 forced mates. 1. Kf8, Bd6 , Qe7, Qxe7 , Kg8, Qh7# 2. Kf8, Bd6 , Ke8,Bc6, Kd8, Qd7# I hope you enjoyed the game and found something usefulsomewhere in here. Any comments are welcome as if i missed something ordidn't see value in moves which had been played or not played i'd appreicateyou pointing them out to me. Cheers, David . } 1-0

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.10.19"] [Round "-"] [White "nevhelp"] [Black "marrianne"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1064"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1032"] 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 { Patzer opening. } 2... Nf6 3. Qxe5+ { For some reason black seemsto do pretty well with this opening. } 3... Be7 4. Bb5 Nc6 5. Qc3 { BxNc6 is alsodecent. Here NxPe4 threatens the white queen, but it would be a bad movebecause QxPg7 then gives white a couple of pawns. } 5... O-O 6. e5 Nd5 7. Qc4 Nb6 8. Qg4 Nxe5 9. Qe4 d6 10. Bd3 f5 11. Qf4 g5 12. Qb4 { The problem withbringing out the queen is that she gets chased. Notice here white hasmoved the queen 8 times, but has only two pieces in the field. Black hasadvanced three pawns and three other pieces. } 12... c5 13. Qb3+ d5 14. Bb5 a6 15. Be2 c4 16. Qg3 f4 17. Qc3 d4 18. Qa5 d3 19. Qxe5 dxe2 20. b3 { Oh, reallyterrible idea. QxPe2 seems better. With this move black plays Bf6 pinningthe queen against the rook at a1. } 20... Bf6 { Yes, just like that. } 21. Qe4 Bxa1 22. c3 Bf5 23. Qxe2 { Ok, now taking the pawn is a terrible idea, becausethe king and queen are lined up beautifully for a rook pin, such as Re8. } 23... Re8 { Yes, again just like that. } 24. Na3 Rxe2+ 25. Kxe2 { Oops, NxRe2 wouldhave been enormously better, helping free up the h rook. This move leadsto mate in two. } 25... Qd3+ 26. Kd1 Qf1# 0-1

[Event "Challenge from aspiemikey"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.05.11"] [Round "-"] [White "aspiemikey"] [Black "sinziana"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1276"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1320"] 1. e4 e5 2. d4 d6 3. dxe5 dxe5 { The d-file is open... } 4. Qxd8+ { ...soI remove my opponent's queen... } 4... Kxd8 { ...forcing his king out of his startingposition, so he cannot castle. } 5. Nf3 { I attack his pawn... } 5... f6 { ...buthe covers it. } 6. Be3 { Now I bring up my bishop... } 6... h6 7. Nh4 { ...and eyeup his rook and bishop... } 7... Rh7 { ...but he is wise to this... } 8. Nc3 { ...soI bring up my other knight... } 8... Bb4 9. O-O-O+ { ...enabling me to castle,bringing my rook into play, checking my opponent. } 9... Nd7 10. Bc4 { I eye uphis other knight... } 10... Ne7 { ...but he is again wise to this... } 11. Nd5 { ...soI attack it again... } 11... g5 { ...and he attacks mine... } 12. Nxf6 { ...but Ibring its twin on the attack, eyeing up an even better piece (a rook),noticing that the d7 knight is keeping the king out of check. } 12... Rf7 { Thatwas a real blooper there... } 13. Bxf7 { ...as the bishop accepts the giftof a more superior rook... } 13... gxh4 { ...in exchange for a less superior knight... } 14. Nxd7 { ...and I deem it worth removing one myself, with a slight advantage,especially with more horizontal/vertical power... } 14... Bxd7 { ...in exchangefor my remaining knight... } 15. Be6 { ...allowing me to line up the bishopas that is now the piece that is keeping the king out of check... } 15... Bd6 16. Bxd7 { ...which I remove... } 16... Kxd7 { ...at the expense of mine... } 17. Bc5 { ...so I line up the other bishop... } 17... b6 18. Bxd6 { ...and remove it... } 18... cxd6 { ...but lose mine, creating yet more space on the board. A 15 pointsteal in seven moves against 12. } 19. Rd3 Rg8 20. g3 { This was to stopthe remaining rook from getting too deep... } 20... hxg3 21. hxg3 { ...so I openup the far right-hand side. } 21... Rg6 22. f4 exf4 23. gxf4 { I decided to swapa pawn apiece, as I am ahead, even if my advantage is slight. } 23... Nc6 24. Rdh3 { I double up on the far side to line up the pawn... } 24... Rg4 25. Rh4 { ...butline up the rook to save mine... } 25... Rg3 26. Rxh6 { ...and take my opponent'spawn then. } 26... Nd4 27. Rh7+ Kc6 28. Kd1 Rg2 { My opponent moves his rook deep... } 29. R7h2 { ..so I line it up... } 29... Rg4 { ...to repel it... } 30. Rd2 { ...soI line up the knight... } 30... Nf3 31. Rd3 { ...and again... } 31... Rxf4 { ...and myopponent removes a pawn... } 32. Rf1 { ...allowing me to split the rook andknight, with the latter under attack from both rooks... } 32... Rxe4 { ...so heremoves another pawn... } 33. Rfxf3 { ...and I do likewise to his knight,doubling my rooks on the 3rd rank. } 33... a5 34. Rc3+ Kd5 { This played into myhands here... } 35. Rfd3+ { ...as I could check him again... } 35... Ke6 36. Re3 { ...allowing me to pin his rook down to the e-file... } 36... Kd5 37. Rxe4 { ...soI remove it... } 37... Kxe4 { ...at the expense of one of mine. } 38. Rb3 { The rookcan play the role of the 'predator'... } 38... Kd5 39. Rxb6 { ...and the b-pawnis its 'prey'... } 39... Kc5 40. Rb3 a4 41. Rc3+ { ...but it has to retreat, andI line up the king this time. } 41... Kb5 42. a3 { Now the a-pawn cannot escape... } 42... d5 43. b3 { ...so I attack it here... } 43... axb3 { ...giving my opponent no optionto take my b-pawn... } 44. cxb3 { ...creating two passed pawns on my left-handside. } 44... d4 45. Rd3 { Now I line up his final pawn... } 45... Kc5 46. b4+ { ...andpush one of mine up... } 46... Kc4 47. Kd2 { ...and defend my rook... } 47... Kd5 48. b5 { ...and keep the pawn moving... } 48... Kc5 49. Rxd4 { ...and deem it worthremoving the pawn, as removing the rook gives my b-pawn a clear run, whileremoving the pawn would allow my rook to get back or bring my king up toit. } 49... Kxd4 { He takes the rook... } 50. b6 { ...so I push the pawn. } 1-0

[Event "Backdraft"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.5.31"] [Round "-"] [White "G. Polin"] [Black "O. Kitrich "] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1549"] [TimeControl "10 min blitz"] [WhiteElo "1846"] 1. a4 { A dreadful opening move, even for blitz. } 1... c5 { Would 2. B4 undermineblack's attempt to set up a Sicilian/English opening..? } 2. a5 { Is whitecongenitally immuno-compromised..? } 2... Nc6 3. g3 { Finally a sensible move;3.g3 followed by Bg2 could work together with the a5 push, weakening theB7 square... } 3... d5 4. Bg2 Nf6 { This move seems natural, as I wish to avoid...e6. } 5. c3 { An interesting move. It is surprisingly difficult to calculatewhether white's d4 break would pose a substantial danger... } 5... Bg4 { A controversialmove. Perhaps black has lost his advantage. } 6. a6 { A crap move. } 6... b6 7. c4 { 7...d4 or 7...dxc is an obvious mistake. } 7... e6 { Outside of the pawn chain,blacks LSB looks like it can be harried... } 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qa4 { I thinkthis threat is easily parried... Perhaps 9. Nf3 was stronger... } 9... Qd7 10. Nc3 { Black's position is superior in my view. } 10... Be7 11. Nxd5 { White is justlosing material here. } 11... Nxd5 12. Bxd5 Qxd5 13. f3 Bd7 { The black positionplays itself. } 14. e4 Qd3 { I had thought that ...Bh3 followed by Nxh3 and...Qf3+ was playable, but it is not in light of Nf2. } 15. Ra3 Qd6 16. Ne2 Ne5 17. Qb3 O-O { Enabling ...Be6 } 18. h4 Rfe8 { I am not so sure about thismove. Maybe an immediate ...Bd6 was better. } 19. h5 { I did not want toplay ...h6 and risk white's playing d4. } 19... Be6 20. Qc3 Bf6 21. h6 g6 { AndI think black's position will be fine. Of course, I will have to watchthe long diagonal, now that white has attained a thorn pawn -- his onlyachievement thus far. } 22. f4 { White is getting some counter play here,after ...Ng4. } 22... Ng4 23. e5 { Maybe ...Qc6 was good here as well. } 23... Nxe5 { ButI am happy to return the material, with advantage. } 24. fxe5 Bxe5 25. Qf3 Bxb2 { Not the classiest continuation. However, I was under time trouble,and was trying to clear the e-file for a discovered check on white's king. } 26. Bxb2 Bc4 { For the moment, white cannot play Qf6. } 27. Rh2 Rad8 28. Kf1 { White is not going to be able to defend his king, so in this positiona more direct attack was called for. } 28... Qxd2 29. Qf6 { White is of courseone move away from mate. } 29... Bxe2+ 30. Kg2 Bg4+ { And white is losing by force... } 31. Qf2 Re2 32. Kf1 Qd1+ 33. Kg2 Rxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Qe2+ 35. Kg1 Rd1# 0-1

[Event "Botvinnik Game #4: Underpromotions are always fun"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "GM Topalov"] [Black "GM Kramnik"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "?"] [WhiteElo "?"] 1. d4 { I haven't annotated a game in the botvinnik since my first threeannotations, so while this will be similiar to the game Van Wely-Smeets(as these game are the same until move 19). The botvinnik may be analyzedto death, but to the uninitiated, such as I (though I'll do my best), it'swonderously absurd in it's tactical spectrum. I'll start annotating atmove 7. } 1... d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 { And we enter the world of the botvinnik. } 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 { White couldplay 9.Bg3, but what fun would that be? } 9... hxg5 10. Bxg5 { So white is regainingthe piece. } 10... Nbd7 11. exf6 { An alternative is 11.g3 which frequently transposesafter 11... Bb7 12.exf6 but black could try 11... Rg8 there attacking thepinning piece, after 12.h4 Rxg5 13.hxg5 black has broken the pin but whitecan seriously damage black's kingside after 13... Nd5 14.g6! fxg6 15.Qg4Qe7 when white can play Bg2-e4 building pressure or just take on g6. Withwhite in this opening Kramnik has favored that line, but I think most whiteplayers prefer to not give black that option. } 11... Bb7 { Regaining the pawnon f6 would walk into a pin, why do that? } 12. g3 { This may look like itopens the a8-h1 diagonal for black but white can shut it down with d5,and where else will the f1 bishop go? e2 looks weak and then there's stilla weakness on the long light squared diagonal, the one on g2. } 12... c5 { Blackattacks the rook. } 13. d5 { White temporarily shuts down the diagonal andwill at the right moment blast the game open with dxe6. } 13... Qb6 { This themain move but both Qc7 and Qa5 have been played. This move seems logicalas e6 is given extra defense, but the others have clear purposes to, Qc7-e5is a possibility and Qa5 pins the c3 knight while all of them prepare tocastle queenside. note that 13...exd5? loses to 14.Qe2 black cannot allowtactics around king in the center. } 14. Bg2 O-O-O 15. O-O { Opposite sidecastling, almost always dangerous, and in this position black has two halfopen files against white's king white his queenside pawns are potentiallyover-extended. Note that black is the one who has sacrificed a pawn here. } 15... b4 16. Rb1 { The older move is 16.Na4. I plan to annotate some games withthat move as well. } 16... Qa6 { The queen must sidestep the rook. If 16... bxc3?17.bxc3 attacks the black queen and after 17... Qa6 18.Rxb7! Qxb7 19.dxe6and we see white explode the game open while attacking the black queenon the long diagonal. This opening is extremely tactical, it's almostalways based on finding the right way to open the position. } 17. dxe6 { Whiteopens the game anyway. } 17... Bxg2 18. e7 { And the absurdity is now full blown,white gives up the g2 bishop AND the f1 rook in order to stick a pawn one7. } 18... Bxf1 19. Qd5 { Threatening a dangerous attack with Qa8 with Bf4 andexd8=Q in the air. } 19... Bxe7 { This is where this game diverges from Van Wely-Smeets. In that game black tried to stop a potential Bf4 with 19... Bh6. } 20. fxe7 Bd3 { Retreats the bishop from danger while attacking the white rook. Kramnik had played Rdg8 against Kasparov and was quite bad after 21.Ne4Rg6 (defending d6) 22.Qa8 Nb8 23.Bf4 and white soon has a winning advantage,in fact fritz showed the win after 23... Qb7 24.Qxb7 Kxb7 25.Kxf1 Kc626.Rd1 Nd7 27.Nd6! } 21. Ne4 { There's no need to worry about material, whitebrings another piece towards the black king. Note that white only managesa draw in this game so perhaps white needs something better earlier inthe variation with 19... Bxe7. Maybe he must try 19.Kxf1 which keeps somethreats and stops the Bd3 ideas. } 21... Bxb1 { Now white goes all out for thekill but he does not have quite enough. } 22. Nd6+ Kc7 23. Bf4 { ! This makesblack's defense difficult due to the double check of Ne8. After 24.Ne8 (if it was white's move here): a) 24... Kb6 25.Qd6 Ka5 26.dxe8=Q iseasily winning or 25... Kb5 26.Nc7 or 24... Kb7 25.Qc7 Ka8 26.exd8=Q b) 24... Kc8 25.Qa8 instantly would end the game. } 23... Kb6 { ! Black avoidsthat potential check, though I'd be scared to have my king so far out. } 24. Nxc4+ Kb5 { And the king is drawn forward, but white simply doesn'thave enough to win it. } 25. Nd6+ Kb6 26. exd8=B+ { Tossing in a check, butit's doesn't win the game. } 26... Rxd8 27. Nc4+ Kb5 28. Nd6+ Kb6 29. Nc4+ { Sohere they drew, but were there any alternatives, what about 29.a4 but after29... bxa3 30.Nxc4 Qxc4! 31.Qxc4 a2 and the strong pawn makes the positionun-win-able for white. So what about an earlier a4? 28.a4 and both takebacksare interesting: 28... Kxa4 29.b3 Kxb3 and there are discoveries but blackhas great pawns for stopping checks, and he should be fine. 28... Qxa429.Nd6 Ka5 (29... Kb6 30.Qb7 mates) and again I doubt that white's gotmore than a perpetual. I hope you enjoyed this lively game that seemsto draw doubt upon the move 19.Qd5. It's a great theoretical dispute,and I wish more players played the botvinnik so that we could see moreof these kinds of developments. Perhaps I'll annotate a game with 19.Kxf1next or with 16.Na4. If you have comments I'd love to hear them. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "19-Oct-06"] [Round "-"] [White "mottistone"] [Black "scaryfinger"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1317"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1379"] { I am annotating this game for a member of my team, so I will only mentionwhite moves which I feel are significant } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 { The SicilianOrthodox variation, one of the main alternatives to the Dragon } 3. Nc3 { A rarer move, more common is d4, Nc6 keeps the game closed, which is nota good idea against the Sicilian. } 3... e6 { Freeing the KB to protect the pawnon c5 } 4. d4 { An important move against the sicilian, opening up the board,black must capture or white will gan ground in the centre } 4... Nf6 { A mistake,black should have captured when he had the chance, now d5 will wreak havocin black's position } 5. d5 exd5 6. exd5 Qe7+ { The only way to save theKnight without retreating, black's queen is badly placed (it would be betteron c7 or b6 to support a queenside counter attack) Black will continueto suffer for not capturing on d4 } 7. Be3 Ne5 8. Nb5 { An odd attack thatis easily refuted by a6 } 8... d6 { Black's knight is a liability which he willbe forced to defend, better would be Nxf3, attempting to open up the gameto correct blacks earlier mistake } 9. Nxe5 { If Qxe5, then Nc7 !!, winninga rook, if dxc5 then black's pawn structure is ruined } 9... a6 { A good way torefute the attack, limiting white's attack on the vulnerable pawn on d6 } 10. Nxf7 { White completely throws away his advantage, much better wouldbe Nc4, axb5, Nb6, ontinuing to ruin black's position } 10... Qxf7 11. Nc3 Be7 { Preparing to castle } 12. Bc4 b5 { Finally begining his counter attack,white has lost his advantage, both sides are equal at this point. } 13. Be2 O-O 14. Bf3 Rb8 { A better move would have been Bc7, puuting pressureon the pawn and winning it after b4! } 15. a3 Bb7 { Begining the attack onthe pawn, but too late, white can prevent b4! by playing B4 first } 16. b4 c4 { The point of the Sicilian is to counter attack on the queenside,this move shuts down blacks pawn advance, weakens his position, and strengthenswhite's e3 Bishop. Better would be Rc8, forcing white to defend his knight,followed by cxd4 and Rc4, continuing his attack } 17. O-O Bc8 { Here blackbeginings a desparate attack on white's king, which is easily refuted.Black has lost his ability to attack on the queenside and so turns to thekingside. } 18. a4 { Continuing to weaken black's queenside } 18... Qg6 19. axb5 axb5 { Opening up white's Rook rook } 20. Qe2 Bh3 { Begining his kingsideattack, which if countered correctly is easily refuted } 21. Ra5 { Winninga pawn } 21... Nh5 { This move does nothing to assist black's attack, white's kingis solidly defended, blacks best bet would be to attack White's splinteredqueenside pawns with Bf5 } 22. Nxb5 { White gets greedy, better would beKh1 in order to win the Bishop } 22... Rf6 { Here was black's best chance to defeatwhite, and he missed it. Much better would be Rxf3! After Qxf3, Bg4! winningthe Queen } 23. Kh1 { This accomplish's nothing, after Rxf3 white still cannotrecapture with his pawn because Qg2#! } 23... Nf4 { Black once again misses hischance and offers a tradeoff which makes his Rf6 move even worse becausenow the rook will move again } 24. Bxf4 Rxf4 25. gxh3 { Black's attack isgone, he has lost his chances on the queenside and kingside, his boardwill now quickly fall apart } 25... Rxf3 { A useless sacrifice as the Bishop isno longer needed to defend g2 } 26. Qxf3 Rf8 27. Qe2 Rf4 28. Qxe7 h6 29. Nxd6 Rf6 30. Rg1 { While both players made mistakes, his kingside attackwould have not even had a possibility of working had white played correctly.Black lost this game because of one move. 4...Nf6?? The best lesson thatcan be learned from this game is; always study an opening before usingit. Gameknot has an excellent databse available to all players, and itis not breaking any rules to view the database during a game, so use itif you are not sure what to play during the opening. } 1-0

[Event "Cable Match, 1953"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Nicolas Rossolimo"] [Black "George Koltanowski"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "San Francisco"] [WhiteElo "Paris"] { Both men battle fiercely, but in the end Rossolimo ends up the victor. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 { Book for the Indian defense. } 2... g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Bf4 { Rossolimosticks to the accepted line. } 4... d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. e3 { White emerges with atemporary advantage in space. } 6... Nc6 7. Be2 Nd7 8. d5 { Rossolimo makes acentral committment. } 8... Nce5 9. h4 h6 10. e4 { Locking in a central wedge. } 10... c6 11. Qd2 Kh7 12. Be3 { A slight tactical adjustment. } 12... Nxf3+ 13. gxf3 Nf6 14. h5 { Pressuring Koltanowski's King. } 14... Nxh5 15. O-O-O f5 16. Rxh5 { Sacrificingthe Exchange to open up Koltanowski's defenses. } 16... gxh5 17. Rh1 h4 18. Rxh4 { Continuing to pressure the weakened K-side. } 18... f4 19. Bxf4 Rxf4 20. Qxf4 { Koltanowski has been forced to give back the Exchange, leaving Rossolimoa Pawn up. } 20... Qf8 21. Qxf8 Bxf8 22. f4 { The fewer pieces remaining on theboard, the bigger Rossolimo's Pawn advantage seems. } 22... Bg7 23. Bd3 Kg8 24. Ne2 { Centralizing the Knight and strengthening his Pawns. } 24... Bd7 25. b3 Kf7 26. Ng3 { Moving to the K-side, where the action is. } 26... Rh8 27. Kd2 Bd4 28. Rh2 { To defend the pawn on KB2. } 28... Kf8 29. Ke1 Bc3+ 30. Kf1 { With the K inplace, the R is freed of guard duty. } 30... Bd2 31. Rh4 Bc3 32. Be2 { Preparingto move out from behind the Pawn chin. } 32... Bf6 33. Rh1 Kf7 34. Bh5+ { Freeingthe B with a check. } 34... Kg7 35. Rg1 cxd5 36. exd5 { Leaving Koltanowski's KPbackward. } 36... Kf8 37. Ne4 Bd4 38. Bg4 { Looking to trade off another piece. } 38... Bxg4 39. Rxg4 Rg8 40. Rh4 { With his Pawns split and his Rook tied downto defense, Koltanowski resigns. } 1-0

[Event "Speed Demon's Chess Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "johnnyk12"] [Black "NN"] [Result "*"] [TimeControl "Game in 1 minute"] { This was a blitz game played with 1-minute time controls (1 minute tocomplete all your moves, no time added, period.) This was done using areal-time chess server at another site whose address will be withheld. Please comment on this game, but know that it sucked because of the timecontrols. (Note: there is little time control information because thereis no way to track the time each move took.) Enjoy! } 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3 { Developing, but leaving my pawn hanging. } 3... d5 { Forks pawn and bishop. Now my pawn is attacked by two pieces. } 4. Bb3 Nc6 5. Nc3 { And we havea huge standoff in the center. } 5... d4 { That is definitely going to tear mycenter apart. } 6. Nb5 { Sets up the fork, but leaves the e4 pawn hanging. Black has a stronger hold in the center. } 6... Nxe4 7. O-O a6 { Chasing theknight away. Obviously, however, one square for the knight looks a lotbetter than the others. That's 'looks,' not 'is' because they all suck. } 8. Nxc7+ { A very quick move on my part, made without really thinking aboutit. I was using more time than him; that could have got me into troublequickly. } 8... Qxc7 { The excessively obvious move. } 9. d3 { Trying to get someof the center back. } 9... Nc5 10. c4 { Should have moved the bishop. But I panickeddue to time control, even though I had a fair amount of time left. } 10... Nxb3 { Wins the knight for bishop exchange. } 11. axb3 Bd6 12. Bg5 { And I grabsome squares in his territory; maybe I can force him to panic. } 12... O-O 13. Be3 { A very quick move made without thinking at all, and a huge mistake. Should definitely have thought a little more, like how to get the a1 rookinto the action. } 13... dxe3 { No messing around here. } 14. fxe3 e4 { This wasa mistake. I could now play dxe4 and open up (most of) the d-file formy queen. } 15. Ng5 { A slight mental lapse. } 15... Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 { Forced, andmy king is crammed in a box, but black cannot work with that without freeingthe king. } 16... exd3 { Ouch! } 17. Qxd3 { My queen stares bullets at the h-pawn. } 17... Rd8 { Threatens the queen. That rook looks like a good piece to take... } 18. Qxh7+ { but I want the pawn. } 18... Kf8 { Forced } 19. Qh8+ Ke7 { Forced again } 20. Qxg7 Bd6 { Probably could have found better moves with another secondor two of searching. He was probably counting on me getting into timetrouble. } 21. Qxf7# { That never happens, I checkmate him with 17.5 secondsto spare. Black ended with 36 seconds left on his clock. } *

[Event "Witney 2 v Didcot 2, Oxford & District League Div 2 Bd 4"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "1994/11/17"] [Round "-"] [White "Carl Moxley"] [Black "Bob Jacobs"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1528"] [WhiteElo "1680"] 1. d4 { Notes in '' are by John Walker from his column in the Oxford Times,6 Jan, 1995: 'Bob Jacobs supplied this exciting gamescore together witha penetrating analysis too detailed to reproduce'... Notes without '' arefrom my 'penetrating analysis' :-) } 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 { This is inferior according to BCO2, which dismissesit with 7 0-0 =, but it avoids the line Carl wanted to play: 6...e5 7.de de 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9 Bg5, when he reckoned 9... Re8 is best but difficultto find if you do not know the line. I avoided it because I do not likeswapping Queens early in the game. 6...Bg4 would have avoided trappingmy Bishop in - unless I play vigorously from here on I get a very crampedposition. } 7. O-O e5 8. d5 { More flexible is 8. Bg5 and it interferes withBlack's development. } 8... Ne8 { 'Dissuading White from Bg5 and aiming for anearly ... f5 himself' 8...Nc5 attacks e4 and frees the Bishop, but I wantedto get f5 in as quickly as possible. } 9. b4 { Now I have missed the opportunityto play Nc5 but I have other plans for the Knight on d7. Additional note2008: normal is 9. Ne1, preparing 10. f3 in response to 9...f5 and a laterNd3 to support the c5 advance. } 9... f5 10. Qc2 f4 { I decided to disregard White'sbuild up on the Queen side and launch a King side pawn storm. This moveshuts off the White QB and allows me to build up unmolested. In view ofwhat happens later, White should have taken on f5, or played 10 Bg5. } 11. Na4 { This offered me further encouragement - the White Knight is sidelined. I thought White should play c5 straightaway, attacking d6 in order tocreate a weakness to attack. } 11... g5 12. Nd2 Ndf6 { Abandoning any claim toc5 and leaving the Ne8 to hold the fort on d6 and c7. It is heading forh5 and possibly g3 or f4 to cause complications, also freeing my Bc8, whichwas in danger of being shut in for good. } 13. c5 g4 { 'Typical of the ClassicalKings Indian we have a blocked centre with the armies massing on oppositewings. Theory favours White but Black has a king on the end of his attack.'As planned, I'm avoiding any Queen side moves which might slow down myprogress. } 14. Qb3 { The main point was to cover the third rank but it turnedout to be rather ineffectual for this purpose. } 14... Nh5 15. Bb2 { I thoughtthis was rather irrelevant but Carl pointed out that it connected his rooks,which later proved important. What else was there anyway? I still thoughtcd was needed. } 15... Qh4 { 'White is showing little feel for the demands of theposition and Black's direct play seizes the initiative.' ! Carl expectedthis. It looked right, but I still had no clear idea how I was going toproceed. } 16. g3 { Carl thought a long time over this. I felt that anypawn move in front of his King should now prove fatal, but how was I goingto prove it? From my later analysis, it appears that 16 h3 f3 also loses,though it is quite difficult to find the right continuation for Black. } 16... Qh3 { Preventing the h pawn from moving. If 17 gf 17... Nxf4 18 Qxh3 Nxe2 19 Kh1 gh and I am a piece up. } 17. Rfe1 { Threatening to trap my Queenwith Bf1. I can release the Queen with Nhf6 but then my attack disappearsand White storms through the centre... } 17... fxg3 { Threatening 18 Bf1 Qxh2 mate,so White has to retake. } 18. fxg3 { Carl was happy with this pawn structure,since I could throw no more pawns at it and he could chase my pieces away. I began to feel that I had to do something now or I would not get anotherchance to attack. The Knight retreat was still unattractive. } 18... Rf2 { '!!A bolt from the blue... but one that Bob must have planned well in advance:his queen being otherwise imperilled.' John credited me with too much foresightbut I do love this move, inspired as it was by Nigel Short's Bishop sacrificeon f2 in his 17th game against Kasparov, which I had witnessed live atthe Savoy. I felt a Rook sac might be on, maybe when the Bishop came tof1, but it would be too well covered by White's Rooks and I was still undevelopedon my Queen side, so I could not bring my other Rook into the attack. Then I saw that if I could entice the King away from h2, the pawns felland White's King might get mated. So I looked at Rf2. With the threatof mate on h2, White had to take. Even if the King didn't get mated, Ishould recover the piece when White had to block check on f3... Incidentally,when I played through the game on my computer, it played Rf2 instantly. } 19. Kxf2 Qxh2+ 20. Ke3 Qxg3+ 21. Bf3 Bh6+ 22. Ke2 { '? This loses but,after 22. Kd3, Black exerts considerable pressure with 22...Qf2.' } 22... Qh2+ { It was only here that I realised that I wouldn't be able to take on f3because of 23 Rg1, pinning the Queen against my King. This move took mea long time to find - in retrospect it was obvious! } 23. Kd3 Qxd2+ 24. Kc4 c6 { 'The mercenary might have settled for 24.... gxf3 25. resigns butBob can be excused demanding more fun!' This took another long think. It had looked as if White's King might escape. b5 failed to cxb6ep andI did not want to move the a pawn to a6 as I wanted that for my white squaredbishop. Now dc is not possible because my bishop would skewer White'sKing and Queen. } 25. Qd3 { ? I think that Mike Truran suggested b5, whichwould have lasted longer but Carl only had about 2 minutes on his clockfor the next 6 moves. cd or Rg1 might have lasted longer as well. } 25... b5+ { 'and White resigns.' I always like it when a pawn delivers the coup degrace: 26. Kb3 Qxd3 27 Nc3 Qc4 28 Ka3 a5 or 26 cb Ba6 winning the Queen. This game should really carry a health warning: 'Do not try this at homekids!' The Bc8 and Ra8 have still not moved. } 0-1

[Event "Openings: Kings Indian Defence"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "26-Mar-07"] [Round "-"] [White "m_art_in"] [Black "orangutan"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1747"] [TimeControl "3d+1d, 7d max"] [WhiteElo "1717"] 1. d4 { sorry for my english any comments welcome } 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 { Initial position of mini-tournament } 5. Nf3 O-O 6. g3 Nbd7 7. Bg2 e5 8. O-O exd4 { black desided to exchange central pawns early } 9. Nxd4 Re8 10. h3 { preparing Be3, otherwise Ng4. But pawn on h3 could beweak } 10... a6 { Gallagher variation. Black desided not to play c6 (leaving d5for white pieces) and trying to make counterplay on queenside. } 11. Re1 Rb8 12. Rb1 Ne5 { pawn c4 is common subject of black pieces in fianchettoline } 13. b3 c5 { black is continuing in his plan. This move makes whiteknight to leave his centralized field but d5 and d6 are now black problem } 14. Nc2 Nc6 { 14. .. b5 is logical continuation but after 15. f4 Ned7 16.Qxd6 white has an advantage as shown in many games. I prefer Be6 insteadof Nc6, there is no reason to leave with knight, let's wait for white f4which makes white kingside weaker } 15. a4 { prevent from black main plan- b5 } 15... Be6 16. Re3 { Re3! attack (Rd3 heading for d6) and defence (coverof knight c3) in one move. } 16... Qa5 { Original idea but well-tested Qd7 withh-pawn thrust is more testing for white. Now white can play 'normal' developmentmoves without weakening his position } 17. Bb2 { logical move. Strong KingIndians black bishop on g7 has his oponent on b2 now Not Qxd6 becauseBh6 and Rbd8 of course } 17... h5 { this move would be more stronger with queenon d7! but we can see other weakness caused with h3 move. White will playf4 soon or later a black h4 can break white pawns structure. Paradoxis that white played h3 for Be3 and bishop is now on b2 :) } 18. Nd5 Bxd5 { Black get off weaknesses d5 and d6 but another trouble is about to besolved. Maybe acknowledge a mistake and return Qd8? } 19. cxd5 { yes, whereis place for c6 knight? And there is beatiful place for white knight onc4 } 19... Nb4 { Ne5 wasnt possible for f4 with e5, maybe stick with black planand go for Na7?! with b5 idea Knight on b4 is out of play will stay heretill the end } 20. Qd2 { pinning b4 knight and making space to transfer rookb1 to new battle-field, kingside } 20... b5 21. axb5 Qxb5 { Allow white knightto go for c4. } 22. Na3 Qd7 23. Nc4 Qd8 { Black queen is back from tripd8-a5-b5-d7-d8 to starting position. was it worth 4 moves? Maybe somewherehere we can find co-reason of final result } 24. f4 Bh6 { Black doesn't wantto exchange blacksquared bishops so there is another plan of defense .. } 25. Qf2 { Mistake IMHO. White logically wanted to leave from c1-h6 diagonalbut forget about b4 knight. It's 'trapped' on b4 square but some whitepiece must cover d3 field! } 25... Nh7 26. Rd1 { Consequence of inaccurate Qf2move. Rook would feel better on f1 or e1 } 26... g5 { surprise! I thought thatNh7 was preparation of passive f6. Black want to create any counterplay } 27. e5 { yes, white plans is over } 27... gxf4 { opening of g-file will help white'sattack } 28. gxf4 dxe5 29. Rg3+ Bg7 30. fxe5 Ng5 31. h4 Nh7 { Ne6 Nd6 } 32. Nd6 Re7 { Nf5 is lethal } 1-0

[Event "- Walking the Walk -"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.12.12"] [Round "-"] [White "alex_ratchkov"] [Black "easy19"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2179"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2015"] 1. e4 { B00 King's Pawn Opening. The King's Pawn opening move is both popularand logical. It controls the center, opens lines for both the Queen andthe Bishop, and usually leads to an open game in which tactics, ratherthan slow maneuvering, predominates. } 1... Nf6 { B02 Alekhine Defense. Alekhinesuccessfully introduced this defense in the 1920's and it is still validtoday. It avoids major attacking lines by White, while inviting White tooverextend in the center. } 2. e5 { B02 Alekhine Defense. This natural movedeclines to advance with 2.Nc3, which would transpose the game into a Viennagame. } 2... Nd5 { B02 Alekhine Defense / Normal Variation 2.e5 Nd5. This is a'standard' position in the Alekhine Defense. Black's idea is to enticeWhite to advance pawns, making them targets in need of defending later.After ten years or so, the Alekhine is making a new appearance on the tournamentscene. 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 is still considered the most solid for White. } 3. d4 { B02 Alekhine Defense / Normal Variation 2.e5 Nd5. } 3... d6 { B03 AlekhineDefense / Normal Variation 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6. } 4. Nf3 { B04 Alekhine Defense/ Modern Variation. The Modern Variation relies on development rather thana pawn assault. } 4... Nc6 { B04 Alekhine Defense / Modern Variation. } 5. c4 { B04Alekhine Defense / Modern Variation. } 5... Nb6 6. Nc3 { Finally developing thequeenside knight, but with the c-pawn not being blockaded in the process.White has a very strong center. } 6... g6 { Black's plan is to fianchetto thedark squared bishop to counterattack the central squares after the inevitableexchange at e5 or d6. } 7. exd6 cxd6 { 7...exd6 8.Be2 Bg4 9.d5 Bxf3 10.Bxf3Ne5 11.O-O Bg7 12.Bf4 Nbxc4 was another possibility } 8. d5 { White gainsspace and begins to harass the black knight, which buys an extra tempo } 8... Nb4 9. a3 Na6 { Now it is White's move again and the d4-square has beenfreed by the earlier pawn maneuvre which gives an excellent opportunityto centralize the white Queen, while also threatening one of Black's piecesat the same time. } 10. Qd4 f6 { Black's position becomes pretty crampedafter the text move, so perhaps 10...Rg8 was worth considering. } 11. Be3 { White centralizes the dark squared bishop and enables the possibilityof queenside castling in the future. } 11... Bg7 { Black is aiming to castle kingside. } 12. h4 { Creating lots of potential threats for Black down the line. Theidea is to combine the pawn thrust h4-h5 with pressure on the g6 square(the FOCAL POINT) with a move like Bd3. } 12... Nc5 { Black finally finds a greatsquare for the poor knight which started it's journey at g8, and has beenforced to move four times due to being harrassed by white pawns. Here itis very strong, as the knight outpost at c5 blockades White's potentiallypowerful c4 pawn, as well as controlling the key squares b3, d3, e4 ande6! } 13. Rd1 { Avoiding the nasty threat of ...Nb3 } 13... Bf5 { Black disengagesthe pin on f6 and reinforces the control of e4. } 14. Qf4 { White aims toprevent any nasty tactical surprises arising after ...g5 with the possibilityof a discovery attack on the Queen. Black really wants to play ...g5 butWhite has that square covered four times at the moment. } 14... Qc8 { Very strongmove, reinforcing the powerful bishop at f5 and making ...g5 a possibilitysince the pawn on g6 is no longer tied to the defense of f5. } 15. b4 { Whitebegins it's own attack on the queenside, the question is whose attack willbe faster. } 15... g5 { Both sides are fighting for initiative. } 16. Qg3 { The pawncannot be captured: 16.hxg5? fxg5! 17.Nxg5 (or 17.Qxg5) 17...Bxc3+ withan advantage for Black. Now with the text move, the g5 pawn is pinned. } 16... Nb3 { The black knight and bishop are working in tandem, making the whiteRook at d1 quite vulnerable (for instance, Black may play ...Bc2 and theRook has no escape squares) } 17. c5 { Clearing the d-file for an assaultdirectly on the uncastled black King. White is prepared to sacrifice apawn for initiative and a central attack. } 17... dxc5 { Black takes the offeredpawn, isolating the white d-pawn but also helping it advance further sincethe d6-square is now free. Now White continues to reinforce that squarebefore actually pushing the pawn. } 18. Nb5 { The knight is ideally placed,with the dual function of threatening Nc7+ as well as reinforcing d6 andd4. } 18... O-O { Black finally castles, but with the white Queen at g3 it is aquestion of just how safe the black King really is. For the moment, Blackat least frees the g5-pawn from the pin, although it is only to White'sbenefit to have it gone from the g-file. } 19. d6 { Threatens both c7 ande7. White's initiative has grown substantially, with the multiple threatshanging over Black's head. dxe7, bxc5 and hxg5 are all being threatenedon the very next move! } 19... cxb4 { Black chooses to deal with the threat ofWhite's b4-becoming a much more powerful threat on c5, and in the processisolates White's pawn at a3. } 20. dxe7 { Attacks Black's rook at f8, addsa promote threat at e7, and creates a passed pawn on e7. } 20... Re8 21. hxg5 { The attack on the black King is in full swing. White consolidates by clearingthe h-file for the Rook, isolates Black's pawn at h7 and Black's pawn atf6 and prepares a full-on assault on the g-file. } 21... fxg5 22. Bxg5 { ProtectsWhite's pawn at e7, creates a passed pawn on f2, and isolates Black's pawnat h7. } 22... Qc5 { 22...Qe6+ 23.Be2 was another possibility. } 23. Be2 { Createsa very valuable square for the white King to run to (f1) in the event of...Qc3+. } 23... bxa3 { Creates passed pawns on a7, b7, and a3. Black wins a pawn. } 24. Nd6 { Forks Black's rook at e8, Black's pawn at b7 and Black's bishopat f5. } 24... Qc3+ { Black seeks to buy a valuable tempo with the check to dealwith the threats created by the White knight. } 25. Kf1 Bg6 { Moving theRook instead of the bishop would not have been any better, i.e. 25...Rxe726.Bxe7 or 25...Reb8 26.Nxf5 } 26. Qg4 { White is aiming at e6, since Qe6+is lethal for Black. } 26... Nc5 { Defending against both Qe6+ and Nxb7. } 27. Rc1 { Skewering the Queen and the knight at c5. } 27... Qb3 { Black is banking everythingon the passed pawn at a3, ready to give up the knight if it will buy anothertempo. } 28. Rxc5 { Now b7 is onyl again vulnerable, but White has to takeextreme care due to the impending threats with ...a2 and ...a1=Q } 28... a2 { Thethreat is a1=Q+ } 29. Rc1 { Probably the only move, White must be willingto give up the extra material in order the neutralize Black's attack. Now29...a1=Q 30.Rxa1 Bxa1 31.Nd2 Qd5 32.N2c4 Nd7 33.Nxe8 Rxe8 34.Ne3 Qe5 35.Qc4+looks good for White. } 29... Qd5 { Probably a mistake, since Black now loses morematerial. A better try might have been a1=Q, leading to 30.Rxa1 Bxa1 31.Nd2Qd5 32.N2c4 Nd7 33.Nxe8 Rxe8 34.Ne3 Qe5 35.Qc4+ Kh8, which gains a rookand loses two pawns by comparison. White still has a better position butit is not as clear cut. } 30. Nxe8 Rxe8 31. Nh4 { Opening up a line of defensefor the Queen to defend the important bishop at e2, which is under somepressure from Black. } 31... Bb1 { Black now has a very tangible threat: ...a1=Q } 32. Bf6 { White threatens mate and creates an absolute pin (the strongestkind of pin!) on g7. } 32... Qf7 { Black must consolidate and guard g7 which iscurrently the focal point of White's attack. } 33. Ba1 { Removing the promotionthreat and banking on the power of the absolute pin - the white bishopis immune on a1 as long as the g7 bishop remains pinned to the king. } 33... Qxe7 { With the e7 finally undefended Black jumps on the opportunity to captureit, adding to the pressure on e2. Also worth considering was the prophylacticmove ...Kh8 } 34. Re1 { White consolidates king safety, adding another defenderto e2 and creating discovery check threats. } 34... Bd3 { Black pins the bishopat e2 and adds even more pressure on it. 35.Bxd3?? Qxe1# } 35. Nf5 { Whitecreates its own threats with which Black must deal immediately. Both theQueen and bishop at g7 are under attack, and the pressure on the h-fileis also mounting. So in order to alleviate the pressure Black must giveup some more material. } 35... Bxe2+ 36. Rxe2 Qxe2+ 37. Qxe2 Rxe2 38. Kxe2 { Thedust has settled, and White find itself up a piece with the threat on a2nearly neutralized. This endgame is easily won for White. } 38... Bf8 39. Kd3 Nd5 40. Kc4 Nf4 41. g3 Ne6 42. Nh6+ { Forcing the exchange of Black's darksquared bishop for the knight. Note that the black king has no escape squaresfrom the check. } 42... Bxh6 43. Rxh6 Ng5 44. Kb3 Ne4 45. Rh5 { Setting up a neattactical trap. The key here is enabling the white Rook access to g5 (withcheck), if the black knight decides to gobble up the pawn on f2. } 45... Nxf2 { Black falls for it, but the position was dead lost anyways. Now the knighton f2 is lost by force due to the impending Rook fork. } 46. Rg5+ Kf8 47. Rf5+ Kg8 48. Rxf2 h5 49. Rxa2 h4 50. gxh4 a5 51. Rxa5 b5 52. Rxb5 Kh7 53. Rb6 Kg8 54. Rb7 Kf8 55. h5 Ke8 56. h6 Kd8 57. h7 Kc8 58. Rg7 Kb8 59. h8=Q# 1-0

[Event "Saturday Chess at Wendy's, Wendy's 9200 E Arapahoe Rd, Greenwood Village, CO 80112 303 649-2118"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.06.21"] [Round "-"] [White "Jeff Baffo"] [Black "Somnath Mukherjee"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1. Nc3 d5 2. e4 d4 3. Nce2 e5 4. Ng3 Be6 5. Nf3 f6 6. b3 Nd7 7. Bc4 Bxc4 8. bxc4 d3 9. cxd3 Nc5 10. O-O Nxd3 { Alternative variation: 10... Qxd3 } 11. Ne1 Nxc1 { Alternative variation: 11... Nxe1 } 12. Rxc1 Bc5 { Alternativevariation: 12... Qd7 13. Qb3 b6 } 13. Nf5 Qd7 { Alternative variation: 13...g6 } 14. Nc2 O-O-O 15. Nce3 g6 16. Ng3 Ne7 { Alternative variation: 16...Qxd2 17. Qg4+ Qd7 18. Qf3 Qa4 (18... Qe6) } 17. Qb3 Qxd2 { Alternative variation:17... h5 Alternative variation: 17... c6 } 18. Rcd1 Qb4 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. cxd5 Qxb3 22. axb3 Rd6 { Alternative variation: 22... Bd4 } 23. Rc1 Bb6 24. Kf1 Kd7 25. Ke2 c6 { Alternative variation: 25... Bd4 } 26. dxc6+ Rxc6 27. Rxc6 Kxc6 28. f3 Kc5 { Alternative variation: 28...a5 29. Kd3 Bd4 30. Ne2 Kc5 } 29. Kd3 Kb4 30. Kc2 Bd4 { Alternative variation:30... a5 Alternative variation: 30... Bg1 } 31. Nf1 Bc3 { Alternative variation:31... b5 32. g4 ( 32. Ng3 a5) 32... a5 Alternative variation: 31... a532. g4 (32. Ng3 b5) 32... b5 } 32. Ne3 Bd4 33. Nd5+ Kc5 34. Nxf6 h5 35. Nd5 { Alternative variation: 35. Nd7+ Kd6 36. Nf8 g5 37. Nh7 Bg1 38. h3Be3 39. Kd3 Bc1 (39... Bf4) } 35... a5 36. h4 b5 { Alternative variation: 36...Kd6 37. Kd3 b5 38. f4 a4 39. fxe5+ (39. bxa4 bxa4) 39... Kxe5 } 37. b4+ axb4 38. Ne7 Kc4 39. Nxg6 b3+ 40. Kb1 Kd3 41. g4 { Alternative variation:41. Ne7 Bc5 (41... Ke3) (41... Bf2) } 41... hxg4 42. fxg4 Be3 { Alternative variation: 42... Kxe4 43. g5 Kf4 44. g6 Bg7 45. Nd5+ Kf5 46. h5 e4 47. h6 Kxg4 48. Ne3+ Kg6 49. Kc1 Kxg6 50. g7 Bxg7 51. Nb4 e3 } 43. Nxe5+ { Alternative variation: 43. g5 } 43... Kxe4 44. Ng6 { Alternative variation: 44. Nf7 Alternative variation: 44. Nc6 } 44... Kf3 { Alternative variation: 44... Bd4 } 45. g5 Kg4 { Draw agreed Alternativevariation: 45... Bd4 } 1/2-1/2

[Event " King Hunt, internet"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.05.21"] [Round "-"] [White "blake78613"] [Black "SW"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1746"] [TimeControl "1 in 14 days"] [WhiteElo "1896"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 { Wishing to avoid the Nadjorf or dragon, I intendto play a closed Sicilian and first get the bad bishop outside the pawnchain, before playing d3. } 3... e6 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bb3 O-O 7. c3 Nc6 8. Re1 b5 { Black rapidly occupies the Queenside. } 9. Nbd2 { My defaultplan, maneuver the knight to the kingside via d2, f1 and then either e3or g3. } 9... Bb7 { 9...d5 10.e5 is often played here. } 10. Nf1 Qc7 11. Ng3 { Withno contact between the sides, both sides seem on autopilot. } 11... a5 12. a4 { Standard move in these type of positions, keeps Black from dominatingthe Queenside. } 12... b4 13. h3 { preparing to maneuver the f3 knight. } 13... Rad8 14. Bf4 { I was trying to provoke ...e5 from Black which would transpose tothe modern Italian. A position which could also be reached with the d3Spanish. The move also prevents...d5. } 14... Qb6 { Black is not interested intransposing, and moves the Queen off of the diagonal. Black is probablyplanning an eventual ...d5. } 15. Bc2 { The bishop is biting on graniteon the a2-g8 diagonal and moves to support the White center. } 15... Nd7 16. Be3 { making the queen uncomfortable and preparing for d4. } 16... Qc7 17. d4 { Whitemakes his move in the center and starts to clear a path for the c2-Bishop. } 17... h6 { This weakens the kingside, I wonder if Black had thoughts of kingsideaction, or perhaps he is trying to provoke action from White. } 18. Nh2 { It had been part of my plan to maneuver this knight to g4, and now I havea target on h6. } 18... Kh7 { I not sure what Black is thinking. Possibly he wantsto play ....Rg8 and g5. He also could be trying to provoke e5. If Whiteever loses the initiative after playing e5, Black is ready to detonatethe center which would be overextended and has three stress points. } 19. e5+ { I can't resist the discovered check, but I know I have to proceedresolutely from now on, as Black is ready to destroy the White center andhis pieces are poised for a counter attack once he breaks through the center. } 19... g6 { This is just plain bad, Black's best move was 19...Kh8. } 20. Qh5 { Idon't know if Black didn't see this or underestimated it. It is possiblehe played for it and hoped to trap the queen. } 20... Rh8 { This move loses, althoughit may be part of Black's strategy to lure the White Queen to its destruction. } 21. Ng4 { The immediate 21.Bxg6! would have worked. This move (Ng4) cutsoff any retreat for the White Queen and allows Black to offer more resistance. } 21... Kg8 { This loses, but was probably part of Black plan to trap the WhiteQueen. 21...Bf8 would have offered more resistance for instance: 22.Nxh6Bxh6 23.exd6 Qxd6 24.Qxh6 Kg8 25.dxc5 Qe5 +- } 22. Bxg6 { Its all over now. } 22... Rf8 23. Nxh6+ Kg7 24. Bxf7 Ncxe5 { Desperation, but White has a forced mate. } 25. Ngf5+ exf5 26. Nxf5+ Kf6 27. Bg5+ Kxf5 28. g4+ Nxg4 29. hxg4# 1-0

[Event "Out from nowhere"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.10.30"] [Round "-"] [White "damalfi"] [Black "falconet"] [Result "0-1"] { A wonderful game I lost being in a winning position. It was the firstof a strike of games with a lot of fun, but I could only save the firstone. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nbd2 Bd6 5. Ne5 { All pretty standardso far. } 5... Nc6 6. e3 Nd7 { White can go for the normal line, with Nd2-f3,or... } 7. Qg4 { The fun begins here. } 7... g6 { Now black has a ready made reaction:Qf6. } 8. Bg5 { Looking for complications. } 8... Ncxe5 { Just losing centralpawns, or... } 9. Qh4 { ? Bad move. } 9... f6 { Obvious. } 10. Bh6 { A weak compensaitonfor the piece. } 10... Nf7 11. Bg7 { If the Rmoves, Qxh7. Maybe the sac was notcompletely unsound. } 11... g5 12. Qh5 { Black fails to find the right way: nowthe N is pinned. } 12... Ke7 { Not more scratches I can see, so I cash in. } 13. Bxh8 Qxh8 { My position doesn't compensate for the piece. } 14. Bd3 f5 15. O-O-O Nf6 { End of my queen's journey. } 16. Qe2 { -1. It could be worse,but it's not the right way to play the opening for white. } 16... Bd7 { Both sidesare cramped and slow. Black's impressive center will be hard to break. } 17. f3 { Some space control, please! } 17... c5 18. c3 { Of course, I am playingthis to make room for my lsb, but is not my intention to move the c3 pawnfrom there. } 18... cxd4 { ? Black wants to open my queenside, but he is openingmy e file! } 19. exd4 Rc8 20. Bxf5 { In a move I will force black to defend.An unusual position. } 20... Nh6 { The B has a good diagonal, but currently Ineed it pressing on e6. On the other side, after Bh3 black has g4. Butthat will help me, in fact. } 21. Bh3 g4 22. fxg4 Ba4 { ? Helping me. Nxg4is impossible. } 23. Rde1 { Pressuring e6, and threatening the g5 fork. } 23... Qg8 { Defending e6, but not... } 24. g5 { Can you believe it? I will recoverthe piece, and with a strong attack. But I didn't see that far as my opponent. } 24... Rxc3+ { !! I could have tried to resist with Kb2, Qg6+, Ka1. But I didn'tsee it on time! } 25. bxc3 Ba3+ 26. Kb1 Qg6+ 27. Ka1 { No mate? } 27... Bb2+ { !!Very nice. My next's is forced. } 28. Kxb2 Qc2+ 29. Ka1 { Maybe better wasKa3. } 29... Qxc3+ { This was the whole point I missed. } 30. Kb1 { Forced. } 30... Bc2+ 31. Kc1 { Forced. } 31... Bd3+ 32. Kd1 { Forced. } 32... Qc2# { A wonderful counterattack.+7 and losing. Very well played, falconet! Your mate was very sound. } 0-1

[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "zakmo"] [Black "jagun"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1965"] [WhiteElo "1200"] { Following the victory over the mighty Liberion, Lord Zakmo the great conquererfrom Weston continued his advances into the chess world, entering a longand close battle with jagun the wise. It was a war full of glorious sacrifices,and Zakmo once again defied the odds and claimed an incredible triumph. } 1. e4 { Kings pawn opening. The most noble of openings! } 1... e5 { He respondswith kings pawn as well. It is clear that Zakmo is up against a noble,and exceptionally cerebral opponent! } 2. Nf3 { My noble knight leaps intothe battlefield! } 2... Nc6 { His knight quickly flies to the aid of the kingsfoot soldier! } 3. Bc4 { I continue the aggression, making the pawn of f7the target of my assault! } 3... Bc5 { jagun is truly wise and recognizes my planof action. He prepares an appropriate defense! } 4. Nc3 { I continue my attemptto gain control of the battlefield by sending the valiant Knight of B1into battle! } 4... Nf6 { He continues to mirror me, competing valiantly for controlof the war zone! } 5. d3 O-O { Observing the battlefield, their king seesfit to retreat into his castle! } 6. Be3 { My bishop prepares for a sacrifice,ONE THAT WILL SET OUR GLORIOUS ASSAULT INTO MOTION! His sacrifice willnot be forgotten! } 6... Bxe3 { HIS BISHOP SWEEPS IN! } 7. fxe3 { THE STAGE ISSET! thanks to the valiant sacrifice by the Bishop of Black Square! } 7... Na5 { His knight foolishly leaves his post in his futile attempt to assaultmy remaining Bishop! YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR PAWN OPEN FOR ATTACK! } 8. Nxe5 { HIS PAWN IS SLAIN AT THE HANDS OF THE NOBLE KNIGHT OF G1! } 8... d6 { jagunsqueen pawn advances onto the battlefield, threatening the noble Knightof g1! The noble Knight of g1 and the Bishop of White Square have bothfought gloriously, and they prepare for the ultimate sacrifice! One ofwhich that shall win me the battle!! } 9. Nxf7 { the noble Knight of g1 STRIKES! } 9... Rxf7 { His rook sweeps into battle, slaying the noble Knight of g1! hissacrifice was not in vain! } 10. Bxf7+ { The Bishop of White Square glidesaway from the threatening knight and slays the kings rook! An ultimatesacrifice that takes out one of the most powerful of opposition! } 10... Kxf7 { Alas, their king is a mighty warrior, ending the threat of my Bishop ofWhite Square! } 11. O-O { Zakmo enters his castle and allows his Rook passageto Glory! } 11... Kg8 { His king sees that danger approaches and retreats intohis castle! ALAS, YOUR WALLS ARE CRUMBLING AND YOUR PROTECTOR IS SLAIN! } 12. Ne2 { My valiant Knight of b1 sees opportunity at the other side ofthe battlefield and leaps towards glory! } 12... Bg4 { ALAS, his Bishop of WhiteSquare sees the knights plot, and attempts to foil it! He pins the valiantKnight, who must now remain a stationary bulwark defense of the Queen! } 13. Qd2 { The queen sees her position is interfering with the movement ofthe Knight and quickly moves away. This move relieves the valient Knightfrom his defending post! } 13... c5 { HIS MINIONS BEGIN THEIR ADVANCE!! } 14. c3 { ALAS, i see your plans you devilish rogue! DEFEND THE LEFT FLANK MY MINIONS! } 14... c4 { HE CONTINUES HIS ADVANCE?! This was not anticipated by me... } 15. d4 { ALAS, YOU CAN NOT HAVE MY PAWN! But wait... I have committed a blunder!In an attempt to protect my ranks... i have left the Kings pawn undefended! } 15... Nxe4 { His Knight STRIKES! He quickly defeats the noble Kings pawn and threatensmy noble queen! } 16. Qc2 { My queen hastily removes herself from harms way...but it is a hollow move as the kings pawn has been slain... he will bemourned. } 16... Qe7 { His queen moves into the battlefield, aiding the knightwho slayed the kings pawn! ALAS, HIS DEED WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED! } 17. Rf4 { The Kings Rook, our Stalwart of nobility glides into the field andthreatens both jagun's bishop and knight! } 17... Bxe2 { The bishop is forced tosacrifice itself, doing battle with the Valiant Knight of b1! } 18. Qxe2 { My queen quickly defeats him. } 18... d5 { HIS MINIONS CONTINUE THEIR ADVANCE!HE IS UNAWARE OF THE ASSAULT THAT IS ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE!!! } 19. Raf1 { Andthe Battering Ram of truth is completed as the Rook of a1 slides into thef column! THE F COLUMN IS UNDER MY COMPLETE CONTROL! } 19... Nc6 20. Qh5 { Myqueen glides, gracefully onto the battlefield! Threatening the f7 squarealong with the battering ram of truth! The opposing d5 pawn is also threatened! } 20... Nf6 { His knight catches on to my threat! He retreats back to cover boththe threatened positions! } 21. Qg5 { My queen quickly forces him to defendhis queen! } 21... Rf8 22. Rxf6 Rxf6 23. Rxf6 { The battle rages on as both ofZakmo's stalwart rooks sacrifice themselves for glory! } 23... Qxf6 { The Battleof the F column dies down! A war full of sacrifices that gains Lord Zakmoastounding position! } 24. Qxd5+ { My queen glides gracefully and swiftlyends the d5 pawn, threatening both jagun's king and the c4 pawn! } 24... Kh8 { THEIRKING RETREATS FARTHER INTO HIS CASTLE! WE HAVE THEM ON THE RUN! } 25. Qxc4 { DIE EVIL MINION! } 25... h6 { The kings castle is crumbling! He makes an escapehatch! } 26. b4 { ADVANCE MY MINIONS! } 26... Qf5 { His queen sees an opportunityto control the bank rank! Alas, i see your tomfoolery! } 27. h3 { COMMENCEOPERATION ESCAPE HATCH! } 27... Kh7 { His king moves into his escape hatch, seekingprotection from his queen! ALAS... your fate is already sealed! } 28. a4 { CONTINUE YOUR ADVANCE MY SOLDIERS! ONWARD FOR GLORY! OUR DAY HAS COME!!! } 28... a6 { His own foot soldiers prepare for battle! Alas that battle will notcommence, for his resignation will come far before battle takes place! } 29. d5 { His knight is threatened as my minions continue their advance! } 29... Ne5 30. Qf4 { My noble queen prepares herself for the ultimate sacrifice! } 30... Qb1+ { But their queen is a coward! RUN YOU EVIL SUCCUBUS! RUN AROUND LIKETHE WHORE THAT YOU ARE! } 31. Kh2 Ng6 { His knight threatens my noble queen! } 32. Qd4 { But my swiftly glides from danger, and comes to aid my minionsadvances! } 32... Qf5 33. d6 { ADVANCE MY MINIONS! } 33... Qd7 { YOU WILL NOT STOP MY ADVANCEEVIL SUCCUBUS! } 34. e4 Nf8 35. e5 Qxa4 { The succubus slays one of my minions!IT IS TOO LATE! YOU CAN NOT STOP MY MINIONS ADVANCE! } 36. e6 { MY MINIONSCONTINUE FORWARD! } 36... Nxe6 { His knight slays a foot soldier! Alas, it wasa blunder! YOUR FATE IS SEALED! } 37. Qe4+ { VICTORY! Jagun fought a gloriousfight, but is forced to resign after both his king and knight is endangered.My minions have advanced far into enemy territory, too far to be stopped.The war is won! } *

[Event "Wch U18, Chalkidiki"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2003.10.24"] [Round "-"] [White "Henry, Liam"] [Black "Franca, Ricardo Bedin"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2181"] { I like this game more for the beauty of the variations I let escape...but during the game, without the Rybka to incriminate me, I was feeling very strong! } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12. h4 { For the last few years, the trend has been to play Kb1. Unfortunate for those who have materials from the decade of 90, when this move was almost unknown... } 12... h5 13. Rdg1 { This knight does not combine well with the attack, since g4 will always be played as a sacrifice and thus does not need support. It is better to keep a tower on d1 for now and play Kb1, Bg5 or Bh6. } 13... Qa5 14. Kb1 Rfe8 { O lance padrao para evitar incomodos com Nd5. } 15. g4 { Coerente com Rdg1,mas convida as pretas a abrir uma cratera ao redor do rei branco. } 15... Rxc3 16. bxc3 { White Queen's Pawn to c3, allowing Black to exchange queens and take the pawn on g4, with excellent compensation for the material loss. } 16... Nxf3 { A well-known theme for white is playing the dragon. Now the blacks are playing with one less tower, but the white has not felt comfortable in the midst of the crossfire of the queen and the minor pieces. } 17. Nxf3 Nxe4 18. Qd3 Nxc3+ 19. Kc1 { Alternative variation:[O Rybka sugere o aparentemente insano] 19. Kb2 [com a possivel continuacao]19... Bb5 20. Qxg6 $1 Nd5+ 21. Qxg7+ Kxg7 22. gxh5+ Kh8 23. Ng5 Rf8 24.Bxd5 Bc6 25. Bxc6 bxc6 $13 [E teriamos uma grande bagunca devido ao materialdesequilibrado e ambos os reis expostos. Durante a partida, nem me passoupela cabeca uma variante tao estranha!] } 19... d5 { A major move that you needed to find since the beginning of the game: so many pieces to give, and better forget them and take possession of some central houses. In addition, the bishop on b3 cannot have freedom, or a counter-sacrifice in f7 making him remember that I also have a king. } 20. Bd4 { As brancas precisam lutarpela grande diagonal, ou 20...Bb5 deixaria a dama e o rei brancos em grandesapuros. } 20... Qa3+ 21. Kd2 Ne4+ 22. Ke2 Bxd4 23. Qxd4 e5 { White is intimidated by these things. Alternative variation: 23... Bxg4 [For the white pieces, with an extra tower and all, they are almost immobilized. The black pieces can take advantage of the situation by playing...e6 and occupying the c-file.] } 24. Qe3 { Fortunately, the...e5 scares! Alternative variation: 24. Nxe5Qd6 25. Nxg6 Nf6+ 26. Kd1 Re4 [White still has compensation after taking the knight on g6, but the position is not clear.] } 24... hxg4 { The black pieces have many ways to counter the white king's attack. But to find all these moves in a tournament game would be difficult. } 25. Ng5 Bb5+ 26. Kd1 Qb2 { The move Rd8 was more flexible to choose later between Qb4 or Qb2, but now the game is not clear. } 27. Nxe4 dxe4 28. Ke1 g3 { I confess that during the game, I was moved by the beauty of my own brilliant move! I forgot about a 'little' detail that would have transformed my glorious attack into a finish where I would have to think about not losing... } 29. Qg5 { Ufa! O peao de g3 era imune devido a ameaca de 29...Qb1 seguidode 30...Qh1 (se 29.Rg3) ou 29...Qc1 e 30...Qd2# (se 29.Qg3). Mas aindahavia uma salvacao para as brancas. Alternative variation: 29. Bxf7+ Kxf730. Qb3+ Qxb3 31. axb3 [E a vida nao e mais um mar de rosas. O materialesta equilibrado mas os meus dois peoes centrais sao meio fracos.] } 29... Qa1+ 30. Kd2 e3+ { Now it's time! The interference in the house e3 will bring an end to the queen or king. } 31. Qxe3 { Alternative variation: 31. Kxe3 Qc3+ 32. Ke4 Bc6+ 33.Bd5 Bxd5+ 34. Kxd5 Qd4# } 31... Rd8+ 32. Qd3 { E agora a dama ativa decide a partidacontra o rei exposto e as torrespassivas. } 32... Rxd3+ 33. cxd3 Qd4 34. h5 Qxd3+ 35. Kc1 Qc3+ 36. Kd1 Bc6 0-1

[Event "56th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.07.23"] [Round "-"] [White "stars51"] [Black "leorissetti"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1461"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1327"] 1. e4 { My first anotated game } 1... e6 { I like playing the french a lot, i havevery good results with it. } 2. d4 d5 3. e5 { The advanced variation. Againstthis particular variation i like playing against, i think that black hasvery good play by putting pressure in the center with c5, Nc3, Ne7-f5,Qb6, and so on, having an equilibriated game and a very good initiative. } 3... c5 { The typical french pawn structure } 4. Nf3 { The literature recommendshere to play c3, defending directly d4 with a pawn, making a more solidstructure. } 4... Nc6 { Adding some more pressure to d4 } 5. Be3 { ?! Inaccuracy.I think c3 was better. Be3 doesn ́t defend d4 well. } 5... Nge7 { With the intentionof playing Nf4 adding more pressure on d4 and threatening Nxe3 } 6. Nc3 { ?! Again, c3 was better. His center is going to fall soon. } 6... Nf5 7. Nb5 { ?? I can ́t figure out what was the plan of the guy at that moment. Thatmove is bad because the knight has to go back after a6. He had to develophis pieces instead. } 7... a6 8. Nd6+ { ?? } 8... Bxd6 { Solving the check } 9. exd6 Qxd6 { The guy lost a pawn but i don ́t know why. Maybe because he was tryingto relieve the pressure on the center, and then equalizing by 10. dxc5,thinking that i couldn ́t take the pawn because it was protected by thebishop. But instead he will be punished. } 10. dxc5 Nxe3 { Removing the defender. } 11. fxe3 { Another line is 11. cxd6 Nxd1 12. Rxd1 Kd7, the black pawn structureis pretty stable and the white passed pawn is hopeless. } 11... Qxc5 { Winningthe pawn } 12. Qd2 { With the intention of castle long } 12... e5 { Controlling thecenter, and preparing the white squared bishop to enter the action. } 13. Be2 { Developing. Here i was doubting if he was castling short or long. } 13... O-O { Safeguarding the King } 14. O-O-O { ? I Think castling short was a betteroption, because of the potential threats Bf5, Rc8 and Nb4 pressuring c2 } 14... Bf5 { Bringing the bishop into combat. There it controls the h7-b1 diagonaland pinning the pawn, looking for a further combination. } 15. a3 { ? Badplan. He maybe wanted to control the b4 square preventing the knight jumpand later to do b5 to expel the queen. Be he wasn ́t paying attention tothe multiple threats coming. } 15... Rac8 { Putting more pressure on the columnand preparing Na6-b3 with a double check } 16. g4 Na5 { Threatening the doublecheck Nb3+ that would be unstoppable because of the double pin on thepawn, losing the queen } 17. Qc3 { ? I think this is bad. I don ́t know whathe was thinking. If he wanted an exchange of queens, White King will betotally exposed after the exchange, and will lose another pawn. But herei saw something else. I thought for a very long time. I saw a combinationbut i wasn ́t pretty sure about what was going to happen. Finally i decidedto do it... } 17... Qxe3+ { ! the next combination is forced. } 18. Qxe3 { Forced.If 18. Kb1 Rxc3 } 18... Rxc2+ 19. Kb1 { Only legal move } 19... Rxe2+ { And here i recoverthe queen. } 20. Qd3 { I had a problem of calculation here, i was expecting20.gxf5 Rxe3 with 3 pawns of advantage and threatening the Knight. Insteadi will have only 2 pawns of advantage, but it ́s also pretty good. } 20... Bxd3+ 21. Rxd3 e4 { Fork! Here i accepted the trade of Knights because i was goingto have a very strong passed pawn in exchange. } 22. Rxd5 exf3 23. Rxa5 Rfe8 24. Rc1 f2 25. Rf5 g6 26. Rf3 R8e3 { And he resigned here, becausethe pawn is almost unstoppable. } 0-1

[Event "The most beautifull stonewall won against good challenger !"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.06.03"] [Round "-"] [White "31415"] [Black "elibar"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1667"] [TimeControl "Blitz 5mn"] [WhiteElo "1346"] { this is a textbook case ! I hope modestly that those who like to knowabout ths will be interesting for this stonewall attack. } 1. d4 { so i willprepare my stonewall easily... } 1... Nf6 2. e3 e6 3. Bd3 d5 { for the moment,nothing special whith blacks, they develop, so so i do ! } 4. f4 Nc6 { atthis moment, ihave a risk:if i go on developping the g knight to f3, theycan attack my d3 bishop whith the knight. This is very embarasting forstonewall because the bishop is very important in this attack. i takethe risk to keep speed development, so instead of moving c3 to stop anyblack knight in b4, i just go on developing the g knight } 5. Nf3 Nb4 { sohere we are ! bloody knight whant to kill my plans. I have the idea tomove first my bishop to b5, so he will have2 options : moving c7 and blockthe knight, or move back his knight! } 6. Bb5+ c6 { blocking the kniht, iwill kick it ! } 7. Be2 { loosing some tempo anyway, but my bishop is stillactive there } 7... a5 { for nothing } 8. c3 { finishing my stonewall attack } 8... Na6 { now i can double his paw on a colon exchanging bishop whith knight, buti have better to do whith my bishop } 9. O-O h6 { passive move, has no interest } 10. Qe1 { preraring the attack... } 10... Bd7 { maybe he waspreparing to castlein queen side ? } 11. Nbd2 { now i can attack ... } 11... b5 12. a3 { first anticipateb4 } 12... Nc7 13. Ne5 { here we are ! } 13... Bd6 14. Qg3 { threath on g7, he will surecastle ! } 14... O-O { now his king is mine ! } 15. Bd3 { going back to his attackposition } 15... Be8 { to late black sir ! } 16. Qh3 Be7 { for nothing... } 17. g4 { here i am !!! } 17... Nh7 { no enought } 18. g5 { so what whould you do now ? anyidea? } 18... g6 { certainely no this ! loosing move } 19. Qxh6 { i will bring myrook in 2 moves } 19... f6 { ho ! but this is better for me, mate in some 4 or5 moves } 20. Nxg6 Bxg6 21. Qxg6+ { so ? did you appreciate this game ? } 1-0

[Event "OTB tourney "] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "???"] [Black "teardrop34"] [Result "0-1"] [TimeControl "G/120"] { I am annotating this game at the request of a friend, teardrop34, whoplayed this in an over-the-board game. } 1. e4 { So white starts conventionally. } 1... e5 { Jeremy replies in kind. } 2. d4 { White play the Centre game (C21). Itis not meant to give white any advantage, as it opens up the game too early. } 2... exd4 { So Jeremy takes. } 3. c3 { White offers a pawn sacrifice. } 3... d5 { Blackcounters in the centre. This is the recommended reply. } 4. e5 { White advances. } 4... dxc3 { Black now takes the offered pawn. } 5. Nxc3 { White recaptures andattacks the pawn on d5. } 5... d4 { So black advances and counter-attacks theknight. } 6. Nb5 { And now the pawn on d4 is attacked twice, by queen andknight, but only protected once. } 6... a6 { Black gives the pawn back, as a rathernasty check is in the air. } 7. Nxd4 { White takes the pawn back. } 7... Bb4+ { Butthis check comes in. If white blocks with the bishop, the knight on d4falls, so white is forced to play a very unnatural move. } 8. Ke2 { Whitecannot castle now. } 8... Qe7 { The pawn on e5 is now threatened. Ne7 is morecommonly played here. We are now out of the Gameknot databases. } 9. Ngf3 { The logical way to protect e5 } 9... Bg4 { By pinning the knight, black threatense5 again. } 10. Qb3 { Not sure what this achieves. I was expecting Bf4 toprotect e5 } 10... Nd7 { Black could have just taken on e5 with the queen. } 11. h3 { White tries to relieve the pressure. } 11... Qxe5+ { Black finally takes thepawn with check. } 12. Qe3 { This presumably was the point of Qb3. } 12... Bxf3+ { Black takes. } 13. Nxf3 { Recapturing this way attacks the queen again. } 13... Qxe3+ { So the queens come off. } 14. Bxe3 { and white gets a piece into play.With these exchanges, white makes it less likely that his king will bemated in the centre. } 14... Ngf6 { Black develops the other knight. } 15. a3 { Thebishop is attacked. } 15... Bc5 { Black offers an exchange of bishops. } 16. Bxc5 { and white takes. } 16... Nxc5 { Takes back. } 17. Rc1 { White hits the knight. } 17... Ne6 { This is the onyl retreat which protects c7 in the process. } 18. Ne5 { White advances the knight - I would be more concerned with developingthe Bf1. } 18... Nd4+ { This seems a weak move. White wants to move his king toget it out of the way of the Bishop on f1. This just helps white achievethe development. 0-0 seems better. } 19. Ke3 { This also attack the knight. } 19... O-O-O { This move protects the pawn on c7 with the king, and the knighton d4 with the rook, but leaves the pawn on f7 hanging. Presumably if whitetakes, black will save the exchange with Rh8-e8+. but it still seems likegiving back a pawn... } 20. Bc4 { White finally develops the bishop. } 20... Rhe8 { Black pins the knight. } 21. f4 { White protects it. Nd7 for black now looksinteresting to me... } 21... Nf5+ { Black checks white. White now resigned. I tendto agree with Jeremy that these is still a lot of play in this position.I think after the king moves, the knight on f5 drops back to d6 and whitecan't really capture on f7, for instance 22. Kf3 Nd6 23. Nxf7 is met byNxc4 and Rd3+. Many thanks for reading, please leave a comment or twoand rate it on the star system. } 0-1

[Event "WtWJtR Tournament I: Ordre Mixte."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "24 March 2013"] [Round "-"] [White "ionadowman"] [Black "theanalogkid"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1641"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "2084"] { This is another from the oreientation Mini-Tournament for 'Mentor GroupI' in the 'Learning to Run' Club. Beginning with a Tchigorin Defence,Black begins to go astray at moves 6 and 7, landing up a pawn behind, andwith isolated tripled pawns on the f-file. White, too, gets left witha pair of doubled pawns, but, linked as they are by a 5th pawn, the effectis to give White an imposing centre. Against the scattering of Black'spawns, White's dominating pawn mass has the look of a French Brigade Columnin Ordre Mixte, advancing ponderously to break the line. Despite the disadvantagesof his position Black fights back stoutly, combining defence with attack. In the face of this White has to proceed slowly, and with caution... } 1. Nf3 { Having begun other games with e4, b4 and d4, I thought I'd trythis one. It can lead to a King's Indian Attack, or a Reti, or transposeinto something else altogether. } 1... d5 2. d4 { ...such as a Queen's Pawn opening... } 2... Nc6 { Tchigorin defence. The placement of the Knight in front of the c-pawnstrikes me as counter-intuitive, but if one of the world's earliest experimentersof openings thought this viable, I'm not going to argue. I don't reckonit is an easy line, but several master games even up to the present dayhave gone this route. } 3. g3 { I could have mede it a line of Queen's Gambitby 3.c4, or played for a Colle System by 3.e3 or 3.c3 - any number of possibilities. This looked as though it might be interesting. } 3... Nf6 4. Bg2 Bf5 { Sooneror later Black will want to play ...e6. He wants his bishop outside thepawn chain, where it would be more immediately active. } 5. O-O e6 6. c4 { Transforming the game into a type of hybrid Queen's Gambit - Catalan System. This doesn't necessarily gambit a pawn ... } 6... b6 { (?!) The first indicationthat Black is unsure how to proceed. To be honest, I don't know much aboutthis sort of position either, but could see that this loosening of Black'sposition did not augur well for his future. Instead of the text, 6...dxc4would have been fine. If White wanted he could have got the pawn backat once by 7.Qa4. Also good for Black would have been 6...Be7. My immediatethought was how to 'get in' Qa4 and Ne5 to win the Knight. As it doesn'twork, I carried on more 'normally'. } 7. Nc3 { Straightforward development,inviting Black again to take the c-pawn. } 7... Bd6 { (?) Now, you might askyourself, what on earth could be wrong with this move? It develops a piece- on an active square, too. It does explain, also, the purpose behindBlack's previous move: to inhibit c4-c5, which would dislodge the bishopfrom this posting. The beginnings of the answer lie in White's reply,played without the slightest hesitation. } 8. Bg5 { (!) Now that is a veryannoying pin, though Black probably didn't think so. But White is alreadythreatening 9.cxd5! (exd5 10.Nxd5). Probably Black's best option is todrop the bishop back to e7, accepting the loss of a tempo. Understandablyhe didn't want to do this. But I was surprised by his next move. } 8... Ne7 { (?!) Was this to break the pin at f6 or free the c-pawn? White couldhave taken the knight at once, but a sudden evil thought crossed my mind... } 9. Nh4 { (!) 'Knights on the rim are dim.' Not this spectre grim: justlook at him advancing with vim! } 9... Qd7 { Clearing the back rank for castlinglong, and also breaking the pin outright. But now comes the series ofexchanges that leaves Black's pawn structure shattered. } 10. Nxf5 { (!)How should Black retake? } 10... exf5 { The alternative was 10...Nxf5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.cxd5 and if 12...exd5 13.Nxd5, threatening to pick up the f-pawn, orunmask a battery along the long light diagonal. Even without 12...exd5,Black's centre would have come under enormous pressure. } 11. Bxf6 { Whocan resist saddling his opponent with tripled pawns? } 11... gxf6 { Apart fromthis being a fairly rare sight, tripled pawns usually are as dire as theysound. When they do occur they will very likely be isolated and thereforevulnerable and hard to defend. But it is not all down side. For a start,Black has two open files to play with, which is two more than White hasright now. The other is that those pawns control a heck of a lot of squaresupon those adjacent files. Far more significant is the fact that Blackloses his d-pawn and remains a pawn behind. } 12. cxd5 { Also possible was12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.cxd5. But I wanted to keep the Knights on. } 12... h5 { (!) Verygood move! Black seeks salvation in the more immediately available g-fileand an attack upon White's castled position. No other plan really suggestsitself here. } 13. Qd3 { 13.e3 was an alternative, but I had it in mind topush the pawn 2 squares when I pushed it at all. I also had some vagueideas concerning the b5 and a6-squares. } 13... f4 { (!?) A spirited try that Ididn't quite expect, though I saw it as a possibility. Black has no planto exchange pawns (14.gxf4 Bxf4) on account of 15.d6! His idea is to prizeopen the g-file for his rooks, and, you never know, the Queen's over-watchupon the h3-square might come in useful as well. But maybe the continuedadvance of the h-pawn would have had better results. } 14. Ne4 { Threateninga fork by Nxf6ch. } 14... Rh6 { (!) The only good defence. If 14...Nxd5?? 15.Nxf6chNxf6 16.Bxa8 would have won the exchange. } 15. Nxd6+ { Yep: White is afterthe leading f-pawn... } 15... cxd6 { (?) Understandably, Black didn't want to subjecther Queen to carrying out blockading duties. But 15...Qxd6 was the rightmove, even though White could still play 16.gxf4 and win the second pawn:15...Qxd6 16.fxg4 Qxf4?? 17.d6. } 16. gxf4 O-O-O { Another reason for White'searlier Q-move to d3: a6 beckons... } 17. e4 { Building up the central phalanx. This will be the game winner. Speaking of pawns, J.R. Capablanca usedto speak of pawn groupings, especially in the endgame, as islands. Thefewer the 'islands' the more secure the structure. Here Black has themaximum - 4 pawn islands; White one fewer with 3. Dominating them allis the central White mass thrown forward, both White's flanks refused andhard for Black to come at. But we haven't reached the endgame quite yet... } 17... f5 { Wow! Does this mean that White will also get 4 pawn islands? Andtripled pawns as well?? } 18. f3 { Not in this life! In the sequel, Whitetakes as his first priority to preserve the integrity of his central pawnmass. That the flanks of the mass comprise doubled pawns is all to thegood: the whole exerts a powerful control of the immediate surroundings. It is reminiscent of the tactical attacking formation of NapoleonicFrench Brigade columns: Ordre Mixte. } 18... Rg8 { Just about his best chance:operate directly against the White King. But the invasion route is verynarrow and localised. } 19. Kh1 { At once breaking the pin. It is clearthat Black will want to advance his h-pawn, the only lever he has sincethe f-pawns are held up. White wants his bishop to be free to move, sohe plans to blockade with it at h3. } 19... Kb7 { (!?) Crossing any idea Whitemight have had in bringing the Queen to a6, and also taking the King offthe h3-c8 diagonal and the c-file as well. Insofar as Black saw Bh3 coming,good thinking, but better might have been ...Kb8. A White Queen at a6would not have been able to achieve much, and until it could, the Queenwasn't going there. } 20. Rac1 { Black committed to the K-side, White hasin mind the c-file as the invasion route, and already has the c6-squareearmarked for the bridgehead. } 20... h4 { Yes, well, that has to be stopped, rightnow. } 21. Bh3 { Halting the pawn's progress. That the file is left openis of little help to Black as he has nowhere he can establish a footholdin White's position. Having said that, though, White has to keep an eyeon the possibility of the enemy knight coming in via g6 to f4 and forkingQ and B. Speaking of Bishops and Knights, the canny reader will have notedthat this is a Bishop vs Knight game. In close games such as this, theKnight is usually a match and even more for the Bishop. Here I regardthe pieces as more or less a balance for each other, and both are aboutthe handiest pieces available to either side. Maybe the Knight is slightlythe superior minor piece at that. White's advantages lie altogether elsewhere,in particular the stranglehold he has on the centre, but also the quickeraccess he has to the Q-side. } 21... Rh5 { (!) For the moment, ...Ng6 was notplayable, so Black prepares the way. } 22. Rf2 { (!?) I could I supposehave challenged Black on the g-file by Rg1. But the plan here was to vacatethe f1-square for the Bishop whilst preparing to double rooks on the c-file. Whilst combining defence and attack, attack was the foremost consideration. } 22... Ng6 { Per spec: Black threatens to bust the game open with 23...Nxf4. } 23. Qe3 { (!) Played after a long, long think. All sorts of attackingmoves crossed my mind here (Bf1, Qa3, Qc4, Rc6, Rfc2), but none of themseemed to lead anywhere decisive - and even suggested White might end upforgoing some of his edge. This defensive move stopped Black's counter-attackin its tracks - where to from here? - and maintained White's pressure downthe c-file, with the possibility of Q and B reinforcements being thrownin in due time. } 23... Re8 { (?) Abandoning the g-file. The move looks OK, asit rules 24.Bxf5?? out of court. Possibly Black ought to have challengedWhite's tenure of the c-file, because that is about to become absolute. The Gameknot engine suggests 23...Ne7, which would at least reopen theg-file, and thown some obstacles along the c-file. But who could contemplatesuch an abject abandonment of his hopes? } 24. Rfc2 { Now Black has no wayto drive White off the file. The invasion can not be far off. } 24... Ne7 { TheKnight has to break off his journey after all. But at least Black canmake White fight to establish his foothold in Black's position! The 'Battleof c6' begins. } 25. Qa3 { Eyeing a6 and d6. The latent pin on the e-fileis broken at the same time. } 25... Rc8 { The battle for the c6-square escalates! But White was threatening to come in a c6 anyway, as the Knight was unableto defend c6 even with royal assistance: 26.Rc6 Nxc6?? 27.dxc6ch winningthe Queen. } 26. Rxc8 Nxc8 27. Rc6 { The Battle of c6 ends in a victory forWhite. Now that a bridgehead has been established, White will look forways of extending it. At the moment, d6 is under attack, as is f5. Theoutnumbered Black pawns are too scattered to provide an effective defence. } 27... Qd8 28. Bf1 { Probably 28.Bf5 was just as good, but I wasn't really preparedto offer any chances based upon ...Ne7(!). Throughout this game, I hadgone to considerable pains to deny Black counterplay. He wasn't makingthat task easy! The threat is, of course, 29.Ba6ch, winning the Knight. } 28... Ne7 29. Ba6+ { A good alternative was 29.Rxd6 at once. But I had made upmy mind now to exchange down to a winning endgame. } 29... Kb8 30. Qxd6+ Qxd6 31. Rxd6 fxe4 { Otherwise White would have played 32.e5, and closed thegame out with his central pawn pair. } 32. fxe4 { Now there are just remnantsof Black's army left to face this newly mobile pawn phalanx. } 32... f5 { (?) Aslip, but really, what else could Black sensibly do? I considered 33.e5here, but the win of the enemy knight was too much to pass up. } 33. Re6 { The knight is a goner, having no sensible moves available to itself (33...Nc8 34.Re8 or d6); and the only other move (33...Rh7) leads to 34.d6 whereatthe knight is lost anyway. So, after a valiant defence against long odds,Black at last waved the white flag. 1-0 } 1-0

[Event "Fast Ladder"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.03.17"] [Round "-"] [White "wrytry"] [Black "joveyboy1"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "972"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<3d"] [WhiteElo "1191"] { (The ratings of the two players are their ratings when this game was started)This was quite an enjoyable game that I think deserves be annotated. Ihope you enjoy it and feel free to rate and comment about it. } 1. e4 { Whitestarts things off with the most popular opening, the King's Pawn Opening. } 1... e5 { Black responds with the King's Pawn Game. } 2. Nf3 { White continueswith the King's knight opening, which I expected, for I use it all thetime. } 2... Nc6 { I continue the King's Pawn Game. } 3. d4 { White brings out theScotch Opening. } 3... exd4 { I respond with the Scotch Relfsson Gambit, whichI usually play in the Scotch. } 4. Nxd4 { As expected, white responds withthe Scotch game. } 4... Nxd4 { Black goes ahead with the Scotch Ghulam Kassimvariation. } 5. Qxd4 { As I expected, the Scotch continues. } 5... d6 { Black continuesthe Scotch. } 6. Nc3 { The Scotch ends. So with the traditional game openingsover with, anything can happen at this point. } 6... c5 { White attacks the queen. } 7. Qa4+ { Not what I totally expected, but this can easily be countered. } 7... Bd7 8. Qb3 f6 { Based on computer analysis: Mistake. Best: Bc6. I can seewhy. The b7 the pawn was completely unprotected, so white could gain aslight advantage here both in points and in position. } 9. Bb5 { Fortunatelyfor black, white instead responds with Bb5. The computer analysis seesthis as a mistake of course. } 9... Bxb5 { I decide to except a swap, althoughthis will put me in check again. } 10. Qxb5+ { I still wish to castle... } 10... Qd7 { ...so I use my queen to protect me. This will keep me from castlingthough if white accepts a fair trade. } 11. Qd3 { Fortunately for black,white wants to keep his queen. } 11... O-O-O { With black's queen out of the way,black decides to castle queen-side. } 12. Be3 { A bit surprised white didn'tcastle king-side here. He did now have the option to castle queen-sidehimself though. } 12... g5 13. O-O-O { White does castle queen-side. } 13... Kb8 { Thecomputer analysis views this move as a mistake, but I see nothing wrongwith this move, although it is right that instead I should of played Ne7or Nh6 instead of moving my king, for it was in no immediate danger. } 14. Bxc5 { Good move by white. If I played xc5, then 15. Qxd7; Rxd7 16. Rxd7would of occured, leaving white with a major disadvantage (-5). } 14... Be7 { Isaw this though, and accepted losing the pawn. } 15. g3 b6 { Now to makewhite's bishop fall back. } 16. Bxb6 { ??? Why did white make this move?There was no need for this, for it takes away a somewhat strong piece fromwhite, and only a measly pawn for black. The computer analysis, of course,views this as a mistake. Along with that, the computer analysis said thatblack had a advantage, until now of course. } 16... axb6 { I take as expected. } 17. Qa6 { Not the best move, but not the worse either. Computer analysissees this as an inaccuracy. If white's plan was to somehow enforce checkmatenow, or try to take the b6 pawn, it wouldn't work. } 17... Qb7 { I offer a fairtrade again with the queens. } 18. Qd3 { White moves his queen back to d3,where he started. } 18... Nh6 { No way white would attack d6, so black brings hisother knight out. } 19. f3 { White knows that by playing this move that myknight could not move to g4, which I was originally planning. } 19... Nf7 { I decidef7 instead, hoping to provoke the queen by playing my knight on e5 nextmove. } 20. f4 { Again white doesn't accept it, but I'm willing to tradepawns. } 20... gxf4 21. Qd5 { ? Not gxf4? Not what I expected. On top of that,now white wants to trade queens it seems like. The computer analysis viewsthis as a mistake, and of course, that gxf4 would of been better. } 21... Nh6 { I saw my queen in danger, but my knight as well. I decided to let whitedecide the fate of our queens. I was gonna go for Ng4. The computer analysisviews this as an inaccuracy, and that Qxd5 would of been better. } 22. gxf4 { Now white plays gxf4. } 22... f5 { Not sure what I was thinking here. If whiteplays exf5, I can't play Nxf5 next because then White would play Qxf5,leaving me with a disadvantage, but for some reason, I didn't see thatin the actual game. } 23. Rd4 { Guess white did not either. Computer analysissees this as a mistake and that Qe6 would of been better, which is true. } 23... fxe4 { I decide to go ahead with taking the e4 pawn. Computer analysisviews this as a mistake, saying Bf6 was better. Definitely true. } 24. Nxe4 { I expected that to happen. Computer analysis again views this as a mistake,again saying Qe6 was better. } 24... Nf7 { Why did I do that????? I moved thatknight earlier to protect it from the queen. I moved it right back in harmsway here. This was a bad move by white. In computer analysis, to me, inaccuracyis minor mistake, mistake is mild mistake, and blunder is big mistake.Of course this is a blunder! } 25. Qxf7 { And this time, white saw the opportunity,to black's dismay. } 25... Rdf8 { I attempt to drive back the queen and take thef4 pawn. } 26. Qc4 Rxf4 { The plan goes perfectly. } 27. Rhd1 { Rooks linedup like that are never good for the opponent. } 27... Rd8 { I give the d6 pawnextra protection. } 28. Nxd6 { White enforces his plan, which puts both myqueen and f4 rook in danger, yet computer analysis views this as a blunder,saying Qe2 was better. I don't think this move was a blunder, but it wasn'tthe best move for sure. } 28... Rxd4 { I decide for complex fair trade. Surprisinglyno complaints from the computer analysis. } 29. Rxd4 { Again white is unwillingto do trade with the queens. Computer analysis says this was a mistakeand that Qxd4 was better than Rxd4. } 29... Bxd6 { I take the knight, giving meback a slight advantage, which was actually bigger than it looks. Computeranalysis views this as a mistake and that Bg5+ was a better move. If thecomputer only knew... } 30. Qd3 { Computer analysis views this move as abig blunder for white. White does have a disadvantage. } 30... Qc7 { Blunder byblack. The computer views that Qh1+ was better. Checkmate still wasn'timmediately imminent, even with that move. } 31. Ra4 { Again, another viewby the computer analysis that is a big blunder. This move indicates thatwhite might be trying to attack my king from the A section. Computer analysisviews h4 as a better move. } 31... Bxh2 { I take the h2 pawn. The computer seesthis as a blunder, and says Bf4+ was the best move, and for good reason.If I played that, white's queen was gone. 31. Bf4+, and then either 32.Rxf4 Rxd3, or 32. Kb1 Rxd3. Either way, white's queen would of been lostand checkmate would of been right around the corner. I missed an opportunity,but the next one was right around the corner. } 32. Qa6 { White protectshis queen and prepares for checkmate, but unfortunately for white, hisfate was sealed. There's a good reason why the computer analysis says BlunderMate(3). I can always see oppurtunity for checkmate, and I certainly sawit now. } 32... Bf4+ { With the d8 rook positioned where it is, white's fate wassealed. Checkmate was unavoidable in three moves. White's options were1: 33. Rxf4 Qxf4+ 34. Kb1 Rd1#. White could also play 33. Kb1 Rd1#, causingcheckmate in two moves instead. Either way, black won this game, and whiteknew it. wrytry resigns and this wonderful game was over. I hoped you enjoyedthis annotation and feel free to rate and comment about it. } 0-1

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.10.20"] [Round "-"] [White "richard1234567"] [Black "zal667"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1423"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1515"] 1. e4 { In this game it will be my first time playing against the caro kannand black will be playing a dynamic but dubious line. } 1... c6 2. d4 d5 { Sothis stuff is pretty normal. I could play the advance variation with e5,Nd2 Nc3 or f3. } 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 { Pretty standard stuff. Main line isBc4 then Ng3, Bg6 h4, h6 , h5 Bh7 , Nf3 , Nd7 and Bd3 } 4... Nf6 { This move isdubious. I will inflict doubled pawns but blacks position could be solidif he captures the knight with a e pawn. Blacks base would be hard to crackopen. Better here was the super solid Nd7. } 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 { THis is theBronstein- Larsen variation. Although rather dubious black tries to attackdown the g- file. } 6. Bc4 Nd7 { Bc4 pressurises the weak f7 square. } 7. Qh5 { This adds more pressure and e6 is forced. Now f6 could be a target. } 7... e6 8. Nf3 Nb6 9. Bb3 Bd6 10. c3 Rg8 { Castling kingside is dangerous hereespecially with the rook on the g file. } 11. g3 { Protecting the pawn onthe g file while not making a rook move. } 11... Nd5 { Centralising the knight. } 12. Qxh7 { A free pawn. If the next move was to be Rf8 then Bh6 wins theexchange. } 12... Ke7 { This was forced. If Kd7 then the f7 pawn drops. } 13. c4 { Attacks the knight. } 13... Nb4 14. a3 Na6 15. Be3 b5 { Attempts to soften upthe strong pawns. } 16. c5 { Advancing move which will confine black in thefirst 3 ranks. } 16... Bc7 17. Nh4 { A plan was to play Nf5 which looks like afree piece but afther Exf5 then Qxf7 is game over. Blacks most importantpiece here is probably the pawn on e6 which is preventing mate. } 17... e5 { Hereblack makes a fatal mistake. Blacks pawn on e6 was doing the most on blacksentire side. The rook on a8 is doing nothing, the bishops on c8 and c7are doing nothing. The knight on a6 is doing nothing, the queen is useless,the rook is also useless. Although the other pieces had the most potentialthe pawn was more helpful than the entire army combined! } 18. Qxf7# 1-0

[Event "Gambito #325"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "June 2007"] [Round "-"] [White "bakerbaker"] [Black "Orlowski"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1678"] [TimeControl "G/40"] [WhiteElo "2247"] 1. e4 { Playing White is my friend Baker, be sure to check out his othermagnificent attacking games in bakerbaker's profile } 1... e5 { I personally don'tlike the symmetrical reply, since now Black doesn't have any imbalancedadvantages, when White has the tempo. } 2. f4 { Baker is an incredibly strongattacker, so he often plays gambit openings like this and crushes his opponentquickly. } 2... Nf6 { Black should just take the pawn and try to hold it, sincethe best way to refute a gambit is to accept it. Even though White is muchhigher rated than Black, Black still should just take the pawn, since decliningit is like giving White a free f4-boost. } 3. Nc3 { White's other choicewas fxe5 Nxe4 Nf3, but this continuation has transposed into the ViennaGambit (e4 e5 Nc3 Nf6 f4!?) } 3... d6 { Black still won't take the pawn, and hasplanted it in the centre. White still offered the pawn for a few more moves,but Black refuses to accept the gambit. } 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. O-O Be7 7. d3 { Both sides have almost completed development, but Black has notcastled yet, which is what led to his loss. I think h3 is better than d3here, since Black cannot play Bh5 due to g4 Bg6 f5 trapping the bishop.Black would have to lose a tempo or take the knight, which leaves Whitewith the bishop pair. } 7... Nh5 { This move is a blunder, and immediately losesmaterial. It was much better for Black to simply castle, or play Qd7 andcastle queenside if Black is concerned about White starting a kingsidepawnstorm. } 8. fxe5 { Black's blunder would've only cost him a pawn, butBlack wasn't prepared for Baker's attack since he simply assumes that f3is pinned. If Black plays dxe5, then Bxf7 Kxf7 Nxe5 and White wins thepiece back with extra pawns. } 8... Nxe5 { Black simply assumes that White's knightis pinned and cannot take, so he probably didn't even consider it. If hehad, then perhaps he would've seen the devestating effects of Baker's attack,and not have blundered Nh5 in the first place. } 9. Nxe5 Bxd1 10. Bxf7+ { White is down a lot of material, but the results of the attack could bedisastrous } 10... Kf8 11. Bxh5+ { Nd7 was another idea, because Qxd7 Be6 winsback the queen, but after the smoke clears, material is even and Whitehardly has an advantage. } 11... Bf6 { If Kg8, then Bxf7 Kf8 Nd7 with the samequeen winning idea as before, except this time, White has an extra piece. } 12. Rxf6+ { This magnificent sacrifice is the only way to keep the fuelburning and continue the attack. Here, Black's best resource is Kg8, andit's hard for White to continue the attack, but three pieces is alreadymore than enough to compensate for the queen. } 12... gxf6 { If Qxf6, then Nd7 wins back the queen with extra material, this move actually lets Whitehave forced checkmate } 13. Bh6+ { White can bring in another attacker withtempo to finish the attack, now Black's uncastled king is helpless } 13... Ke7 { If Kg8, then Bf7# is mate } 14. Nd5+ { White brings the last minor pieceinto the attack, drawing the king further from its defenders. White hardlyused his major pieces in this game, he just sacrificed them to increasethe power of his minor pieces } 14... Ke6 15. Bf7+ Kxe5 16. c3 { With this quietmove, White seals Black's fate and now Black has no defense to the comingBf4# checkmate. } 16... c6 17. Bf4# 1-0

[Event "Mastering against the Dutch Defence!!!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.08.11"] [Round "-"] [White "mariodag"] [Black "sidsidsid"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1644"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1756"] { This is my second annotated game against that player, this time me playingwith white. The game is from a mini tournament, me having a current score6/6. } 1. d4 { So d4 is a typical opening move for me. Few years ago i usede4 as my main opening, with no great success. } 1... f5 { f5... The Dutch Defence,never face it on Gameknot before that game. I know some really good playersthat use it permanently against d4, with great success. } 2. g3 { So my firstthought is to go on with c4, but then i decided to fianchetto on my king'sside, be more safe. } 2... e6 { I think g6 is more common here, at least fromwhat i saw from my blitz games. Maybe e6 is one of the main lines too,i don't know. } 3. Bg2 { Bg2 controlling the nice diagonal h1-a8. } 3... Nf6 { Nf6seems fine, developing a piece. } 4. Nf3 { Nf3 protecting the d4 pawn andalso the e5 square. } 4... d5 { d5!? I think that's not a really good move, asthe e6 pawn is now hanging around! Also seems wortheless from the timethat my opponent chose f5 for his first move. g6 and then Bg7 is a classicalset up for the Dutch i think. } 5. O-O { Finished with my King's protectionand now time to organize the rest of my pieces. } 5... c5 { c5 is nice, at leasti like it. But black should first be aware of his defence and then playc5. } 6. c4 { And c4. Taking on c5 doesnt help me. This pawn set up remindsme the Symmetrical (Austrian) Defence and the Tarrasch Defence from theQGD. } 6... cxd4 { He took the pawn. } 7. cxd5 { And i took the pawn on d5 } 7... Nxd5 { He took it back with his knight. } 8. Nxd4 { And the same goes for me. } 8... Bc5 { Now black is developing his DS Bishop opening also space for 0-0.But after a while i noticed that black losses a pawn with that move. } 9. Nxf5 { Nxf5 and the pawn is gone. Now i am a pawn up and my set up is trulybetter. Finished with my King's defence and organizing an attack. If exf5the knight on d5 is both threatened by my bishop and my Queen. } 9... O-O { 0-0is an option here but i said before few lines his e6 pawn is a problemon his set up. } 10. Ne3 { My knight goes back, a logical option i guess. } 10... Nxe3 { He took it opening the d file at the same time. } 11. Qxd8 { So exchangingour Queen is not a bad idea, keeping in mind i have a better position andi'm a pawn up. } 11... Rxd8 { Logical. } 12. Bxe3 { So i took the knight after theQueen's exchange. } 12... Bxe3 { And now it's time for a bishop exchange. } 13. fxe3 { I took it and open the f file an important one. Now i have doubledpawns but i that didn't stop my plans. Both we are with a knight and bishop. } 13... Nc6 { Knight development. } 14. Nc3 { Same goes for me. } 14... a6 { a6 in orderto avoid moves like Nb5 and for a future b5 pushing the pawns. } 15. Rad1 { Now i am challenging the d file. Time for our rooks to work! } 15... Rd7 { Badmove, blocking his bishop. Exchanging would be better for him i think. } 16. Na4 { Now there's a hole in c5 and b6, two strong squares for my knight. } 16... Rb8 { Rb8 is forced here to avoid a possible Nb6 even though he can playRxd1 anytime. } 17. Nc5 { So the other square is a good one too. Now there'sa threat on the rook and the e6 pawn. } 17... Rc7 { Rc7 is not giving him muchi think. Rxd1 would be better cause now both of his rook have no view whileboth mind control the two open files, f and d. Also there's a ''trap''here. He wiil lose his knight or be checkmated. } 18. Bxc6 { The good move!Taking the knight with power, no time to hesitate it. Now he's -4 behindbut he can still fall in the ''trap''. } 18... Rxc6 { And he did it. He was notcareful at all with that. } 19. Rd8# { A pure checkmate is coming after that.Great coordination of my rooks and a fine and fast game as well. Checkmateon move 19. So that was my game against the Dutch Defence, hope you likedmy annotation and my game too, Free feel for any comments and ideas andplease rate the game! Wish you all good games! } 1-0

[Event "Challenge from dutch47"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.12.04"] [Round "-"] [White "dutch47"] [Black "andreabax"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1990"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1845"] 1. Nc3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 c6 6. Bd2 Nbd7 { I try tocomplete the development of my pieces, even if the Bishop capture in f5could bring me some problem. } 7. Bxf5 exf5 8. O-O Bd6 9. Nh4 g6 { Well,I must defend the pawn in f5 even if to do it i must move the pawn aheadthe castle. } 10. Nf3 O-O 11. a3 a5 { This move is a try to push forwardthe Queen-side pawns. } 12. Qb1 Re8 { I prepare the conquest of 'e' column. } 13. Qa2 a4 14. Ne2 Nb6 { Now, both two Black Knights are ready to invadethe White field. } 15. Rfd1 Ne4 16. b3 Qe7 { I try to threat the pawn ina3, after the exchage in b3. } 17. Qb2 Ra6 18. Bc1 Rea8 19. b4 Nc4 { Theattack on a3 pawn forced White to push forward b3 pawn, and allow me toput the second Knight in the middle of chessboard, attacking White pieces. } 20. Qa2 Qf8 { Next stop for Black Queen will be h6, and threat the attackon h2. } 21. Rd3 Qh6 22. Rb1 b5 { Now the Queen-side pawns are all right.White can start the attack against the White King. } 23. Ng3 Re8 24. Bb2 f6 { Prevents the coming of White Knight in e5. } 25. Re1 Ra7 26. Rdd1 Rae7 27. c3 Ng5 28. Nxg5 fxg5 29. Nf1 f4 30. Bc1 g4 31. Qb1 Qh5 { Black needto take its Queen off the diagonal c1-h6 threatened by the White Bishop } 32. Qa2 f3 { And now White can't push g2-g3 because Qh3 threats a mate whichWhite can't avoid. } 33. Qc2 Re4 { Black must absolutely prevent e3-e4,because this move could block both two Black Rocks. } 34. Kh1 Qh4 { I thoughtthat g4-g3 would have been the definitive move, after Qh4, but.... } 35. Kg1 g5 { Now I must bring the Re8 on the 'h' column threating the mate inh2. } 36. Ng3 R8e6 37. h3 fxg2 { The last attack has started! } 38. Qe2 Qxh3 39. f4 gxf3 { Another pawn thrown in the first line. } 40. Qxf3 Rg4 { Shouldthe capture of the g3 Knight end the game? } 41. Qxg2 Rxg3 { The Knighthas fallen and the White Queen pinned on its King made me sure that theend was near. } 42. Re2 { The last desperate try to save the game, but... } 42... Rh6 { And the threat of the attack in h1 make Black to remis: 0-1 } 0-1

[Event "Challenge from knightrider62"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.01.15"] [Round "-"] [White "duncanford"] [Black "knightrider62"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "977"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1007"] { This was an unusual an interesting game between Sue and Duncan. And,after the way that I've mentored her, as well as, the annotations withit, Sue asked me to annotate this game. Both sides made mistakes, in theopening. And, after getting a disadvantage, knightrider62 could've savedthe position but overlooked one move that lost. So, how did this gameunfold? } 1. e4 { The conventional opening. And, Sue will abide, as I anticipate. } 1... e5 2. Qf3 { The problem here is that Duncan decides to bring his Queen outnow. The first thing that should be done is develop the minor pieces,with the Queen coming out, last. } 2... Nf6 { So, Sue waists no time and bringsher pieces out. This makes me proud because she's remembering what I taughther, up to here. BTW, it's important to know that she was able to defeatme. And, I see her becoming good enough to coach and mentor players becauseI started off in a similar way. Not sure what to do or how to improvebut then had some good teachers, with me defeating the main one (Jack Stockel)on a few occasions. Shortly afterwards, I was able to teach chess. } 3. d3 { Adding protection to his e4. } 3... Nc6 { Lacking in it, Sue continueswith her development. } 4. Nc3 { So, does Dun. } 4... Bc5 { Now, this reminds ofa Berlin wall, but in reverse. It's not or even similar, but I find itcomparable and would apply it, as if it were with this move, as well. The Berlin Wall starts off with 1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Bb5, Nf6 We don'thave that because white's Queen, as opposed to, Knight is on f3. And,Black's Bishop is out. } 5. Be3 { Preparing to exchange bishops. The ideabeing that if Sue should take, Dun would recapture with his Queen and geta stronger position. } 5... d6 { But, Sues stops it. } 6. g3 { Fianchettoing. The idea is to get a nice long flank for his Bf1. } 6... O-O { Bringing her monarchto safety. } 7. Bh3 { Completing his development. However, it's known, thatin this position, 7.Bg2 was stronger. The problem is that Sue can exchangebishops. If that's to happen, castling would become unsafe for Duncan. With that being said, This is where I transition out of terms or chessquotes and try to see the big picture. In the opening, it's standard,but now's the time to start figuring what the board is saying. With thatbeing said, we start here with what I noted as I'm basing on my recentgame behind against bhidragon, before I went wrong. He said that witha bishop remaining on the home square, you should not attempt to exchangebishops for the reason provided. } 7... Nb4 { Threatening a nasty fork, whichwould win a pawn and rook. Sue has good intentions. But, I would exchangedwith 7...Bxh3, for the reason outlined above. Nonetheless, however, Duncanis not going to castle short, though. And, it's worth noting that thisalso would've protected the Rook. But, he protects, in a different form. } 8. Rc1 Nxa2 { ?? The first blunder. I know why you played this, Sue. Itappears that you've won a pawn. When I first started playing, I made thiskind of error, as well. So, I know what you're thinking. The problemis that Duncan can and will win a piece, in return. Therefore, it's importantto calculate accurately and see what would happen after you take. Betterwas still 8...Bxh3. } 9. Nxa2 Be6 { Threatening to win back the Knight. } 10. Nc3 { Which Duncan defends. } 10... Bb4 { ?! Pinning the Knight. However, Duncanwill get a semi open file, in return, which is something you don't want. That, right there, is dangerous. In fact, while it doesn't appear so,that's something that the board shows, later on, as I saw with some TA'sblitz Q sacs. Better was 10...a6, Sue. } 11. Ra1 Qd7 { ? The is to mobilizeher Queen, but in doing so, white is going to win a pawn, Sue. Betterwas still 11...a6. BTW, this is one of the problems affiliated with enablingthe opponent to maintain an open file. So, this is also where the boardtells a story. } 12. Bxa7 c6 { Her plan is c6-d5, and if an exchange is tooccur, black's pawn will be well connected. } 13. g4 { Stopping the Bishopexchange. } 13... Rfe8 { Bringing the Rook to the center, which is, generally,a good idea. } 14. Qg3 { Enabling him to get a good outpost for his Ng1,because he can now bring it to f3. } 14... d5 { Going for a pawn exchange. } 15. g5 { Which Dun stops by going after her Nf6. } 15... Nh5 { So, sue keeps her positionsafe, for now by reattacking. } 16. Qf3 { Likewise, Dun needed to defendhis position. So, he reattacks. } 16... d4 { Sue has similar ideas, though. } 17. Qxh5 { So, Dun takes. } 17... Qd6 { ?? Instead of recapturing, black moved her Queen. I don't know why, but the problem is that this loses another piece, Sue. Best was 17...dxc3, and white dare not recapture with 18.bxc3, becauseyou'd win a Rook for Bishop, after 18...Bxc3+! } 18. Bg4 { After white'snext move, I'm not sure why Dun played this. I would've taken with 18.Bxe6,as the idea is exchanging pieces while ahead. } 18... b5 { I believe that Sue'slong term goal is to get a passed pawn. The idea would be to exchange Knight for Bishop and advance the b pawn, until it get to the second rank,where it would become a passer. Better, was, like before, 18...dxc3 forthe reasons outlined earlier. } 19. Bf5 { ?? But, Dun brings his Bishop. Instead, I would've exchanged with 19.Bxf5 However, it is a blunder becauseblack can win back a piece. Can you figure out how, Sue? } 19... Bc5 { ? Bestwas 19...Bxf5 and if 20.exf5, you can answer with 20...dxc3, as now, theQueen and Bf5 are forked. This would, at the very least, win back a piecefor a pawn. When in doubt, just remember our third mentoring session,Sue, where you won a piece for pawn, early. By playing this, however,Dun will pick up another pawn. But, now when it does happen, black willnot get a Rook, in return, as we'll see later on. } 20. Bxh7+ Kf8 21. g6 { Trying to exchange pawns. After which, black's rook would come underfire, and when she protects, things would, I believe, get dangerous forSue. } 21... Qe7 { But, black prevents that. However, I would take on c3. Infact, there are several moves, including now, where white can prevent that. His best move would be Ne2. } 22. Nf3 { Bringing the Knight to a good spotand preparing to do some damage. However, Sue will now take. } 22... dxc3 23. bxc3 { As bad as it might seem, on top of winning back a piece for pawn,Sue will recompensate another piece for pawn. My first instinct was thatwhite could've refuted that with 23.Bxc3, but then, Sue would wind up withthe initiative, after 23...Rxa1+ } 23... Bxa7 24. Nxe5 Qd6 { ? Trying to winanother piece and even things out. But, this is a mistake, as Dun willwin back another pawn. Better was 24...Qf6, as it does the same thing,but this time, we have another defender, to where Dun is going to capture. } 25. Nxf7 Bxf7 26. gxf7 Red8 { Protecting her Rook. } 27. Rg1 { Dun, however,comes up with a nasty plan. Black must now be careful. If Sue does notfind the right response, she'll wind up in trouble. So, how should blackproceed, Sue. } 27... Qc5 { ?? This is a blunder. Best was 27...g6, and with theQueen in it's original spot, white would not be able to take. However,this is even worse then that, as white now has a better response. Howshould Dun proceed, Sue? } 28. Rxg7 { ?? If you did not bring your Queento c5, Sue, this would've been the killer. The problem here is that youhave a chance to pull a swindle. Therefore, best was 28.Qg6!!, believeit or not. That would be followed with 28...Qxc3+, 29.Ke2, Qxa1 and, althoughit looks like you'd get an edge, black would be lost shortly after that. 30.Qxg7+, Ke7 31.f8=Q+, Ke6 32.Qfe7# But, how can black get her advantageback? } 28... Qxf2+ { ?? This looks good, but the solution was 28...Qxh5, gettingthe Queen. Not only would you have compensated, but black would've foundherself ahead with an edge. By playing this, however, white now has awin that he can exploit. Therefore, taking the Queen was the only wayto save the position, believe it or not, as we'll find out later on. } 29. Kd1 { I do understand the point behind the checks, as you do get a Rook,though. But, the problem is the Queen, Rook, Bishop, and passed pawn rightnear the King. That's what will prove to be overwhelming. } 29... Qf1+ 30. Kd2 Qxa1 31. Rg8+ { As now, white has the upper hand of hand. As bhidragonwould say, 'Happy Birthday! A surprise gift.' The idea being is that henow has an overwhelming advantage. } 31... Ke7 32. Qg5+ Kd6 { The only other optionwas 32...Kd7 While not as quick, Sue would still lose both her Rooks,after 33.Bf5+, Kc7 34.Qe7+ } 33. Rxd8+ Kc7 34. Rxa8 { It appears that Sueis trying to put pressure on the c file. I used to think along a similarline a lost position, like this. In fact, it once happened to Jack Stockel,when I had a mating sequence. How minds think, in my opinion, become interesting,in these kinds of situations. } 34... Qa3 35. e5 { The idea is to promote. Dunis, presumably, remembering that passed pawns must be pushed. But, thisis one of the times, where I don't care about those terms. Instead, whitecan win even quicker with 35.f8=Q, with the idea being 35...Qxf8, 36.Rxf8 I had a similar position with angellis, before reaching a 1000 rating. She was stronger, but I promoted right away, and got a piece, by doingthis. } 35... Kb6 { Trying to last, as long as, she can. The idea is to bringthe monarch closer to the center. Once again, I abandon the term affiliatedwith it since, despite the delays, since black will not last much longer,to put it that way. } 36. e6 { The idea is to promote two pawns. In general,however, as with this position, you don't need two promotions to win. Better is actually to promote one, or not promote. I'd say in this case,do one, but then, use what you have to win. } 36... b4 { Now, I figured it out. Black is also trying to promote. But, with a pawn closer to a promotionsquare and an advantage like this, Sue, that attempt does not work. Ionce tried the same thing in a, somewhat similar position. He promotedfirst, and won. } 37. e7 { No matter how long he delayed, white is goingto promote soon. } 37... Qxc3+ { But, Sue delays it even more by placing Dun incheck. In this case, you might as well deliver checks because it's stillabout doing what one can to stay in longer. I also used to be this waywhen first playing the game. Come to think of it now, before meeting JackStockel (and thus) even hearing about this website, one of my first trainerswas Rose. And, we did similar things. I was lost, yet, delivered checks,like this. That delayed her win. } 38. Kd1 Qa1+ { And, the idea is stillthe same that I mentioned earlier. } 39. Ke2 Qb2 { Pinning c2 to preventit's advancement. But... } 40. e8=Q { Dun promotes, at once. } 40... Qxc2+ { Well,they have an extra Queen, with nothing better, you might as well take apawn. That's something that Jack told me when mating him. And, it's alsosomething I saw in the most difficult Homework, with Susan's win againstKarpov. } 41. Qd2 { I think Dun was worried about a draw by repetition, whichis why offered to exchange Queens. I wouldn't have done that. My nextmove would've been 41.Kf3, and white would still keep his winning advantage. } 41... Qc5 { ?? But, Sue decides not to liquidate. The idea being that you don'twant to do it, while behind. However, refusing to do that, in this position,enables white to win even quicker. Better was to accept it and exchangeQ's. } 42. Be4 { To protect d3. But, what Dun forgot is that it is protectedby his Queen. I would've played 42.Qd7 here, with the idea of 43.Qxa7+,Kb5 (forced) 44.Qa6# } 42... b3 { Sue also wants to promote. } 43. d4 { But, Dunputs a stop to that. } 43... Qb5+ { Like before, Sue's doing what she can to stayin longer. } 44. Kf3 Qa4 { I think that Sue was worried about the b pawn. But, Dun is going to promote again. I think, I would've been able tomate already since Qd7 would've been played earlier with the same variationsthat I noted. } 45. f8=Q Kb5 { Unlike before, I won't take time to analyzethis move. That's because, one way or another Dun has a mate which hewill execute, this time around. } 46. Qxc6# { The moral of this story iswhat Sue told mentioned right when asking me to annotate the game. And,I, absolutely, agree with her assessment. Passed pawns are very dangerousand need to be stopped. By failing to do that, white was able to promoteand force a win. However, there was also a chance to stop it by takingthe Q on move 28. Had she played 28...Qxh5!, as opposed to, 28...Qxf2.those passers would've stopped, as well. So, another moral is to lookat the entire board, and take advantage while the opportunity exists. If you can remember these moral's, Sue, you'll improve even quicker. } 1-0

[Event "2019 WA Class Championship Round 4"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2019"] [Round "-"] [White "Thiruvasagam"] [Black "Freeman"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1551"] [TimeControl "40/120 mins. 30 mins SD d:10s"] [WhiteElo "1532"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nc6 5. Bb5 a6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. c3 e6 8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nbd2 Nf6 10. O-O { Time remaining: 1hr 43 mins } 10... O-O { Time:1hr 43min } 11. Ne5 Bb7 { And here I errored. I gave myself the French Bishop } 12. Re1 c5 13. Nb3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 { It was here I noted that White has avery strong force. Even, Nxf7...RxNf7; Nxe6 with the initiative. } 14... Rc8 15. Qb3 Ba8 16. Bg5 Nd7 { ?! Ne4 can be played.... } 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Re3 Rfe8 20. Qd1 { time: 1hr 10 min } 20... Qd7 { Here was poor choice...time: 59 mins } 21. Qg4 { Now Qg4 prevents Pawn-e5. f5 is now playable... } 21... Bb7 22. Rae1 Rcd8 { Pawn-f5 is still playable. } 23. f4 Bc8 { ?? } 24. f5 { Itwas here I thought I could still defend.... } 24... exf5 { losing. } 25. Nxf5 g6 26. Qd4 f6 27. Qxf6 { Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "Challenge from efc8"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.07.18"] [Round "-"] [White "efc8"] [Black "stealth-invader"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1428"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1395"] 1. e4 c5 { E4 my favorite opening move. c5 attacks d4 & Nf3 protects } 2. Nf3 Nc6 { Nc6 adding more pressure to d4. Not too worried about thatat this time so I will develop Bc4 aiming at f7 } 3. Bc4 e6 { e6 opens diagonalsfor the Q & B. I think it's best to castle now. } 4. O-O Bd6 { Bd6 aims ath2 protected by K & N. It is time to get back to protect d4 with c3 keepingthe N at bay } 5. c3 h6 { Not too sure why h6 and not developing the N preparingfor castling } 6. d4 { With 3 pieces covering d4 against 2 pieces it is agood time to play d4 opening the c1 h6 diagonal } 6... Nf6 7. d5 { Nf6 attackse4, but d5 pushes the N backwards. ed is met with ed and opens the e file } 7... exd5 8. exd5 Ne7 9. Nbd2 { With black reversing his N I develop mine Nd2 } 9... a6 { a6 preparing to drive the B away. Not in any danger, I move Re1 tocontrols the e file. } 10. Re1 O-O 11. Ne4 { Black castles and Ne4 attacksthe B & N. Not wanting to lose the Bishop or N x N opening the King's defense,Black's N x N and R takes N } 11... Nxe4 12. Rxe4 b5 { b5 attacks the B whichreverses to b3 } 13. Bb3 c4 { c4 joins the attack and Bishop settles on c2 } 14. Bc2 Ng6 { Ng6 clears the file for a fight so I strengthen the rear withRe1 } 15. Re1 Ne5 { Ne5 is a mistake, it loses a piece to White and maybethe game also. N xN } 16. Nxe5 Qc7 { Qc7 doubles the attack on h2 hence Nretreats to f3 to protect h2 } 17. Nf3 Bb7 18. Be4 { Bb7 eyes the p at d5so the Bishop protects at e4 } 18... f5 19. Bc2 { f5 forces the Bishop to c2 } 19... Rf6 20. Be3 { Not too sure of black's plan with the Rf6, I finally develop theBishop at e3 } 20... f4 { The f4 attack on the Bishop could be another mistake,it blocks the double attack on h2. the Bishop then attacks the R at f6by going to d4. } 21. Bd4 Rf7 { The R retreats leaving Pawn at d5 unprotectedand having control of e5 decided to trade Bishops } 22. Be5 Bxe5 23. Rxe5 { B x B R x B instead of N x B keeping P fixed at f4 } 23... Qc5 { Qc5 focus onf2 could have driven the Q with d6 but have to protect Nf3 so B is addedto defend d5 } 24. Be4 Raf8 25. d6 { With Rooks doubled protecting f4 I decidedto attack Q with R and B with B pushing p d6 } 25... Qc8 26. Bxb7 Qxb7 { Q retreatsto c8 B X B got rid of the attacker of Nf3 } 27. Qe2 Qb8 { Qe2 makes roomfor rear R move & supports Re5 } 28. Rd1 { Qb8 attacks d6 & Rd1 protects } 28... Rf6 29. Red5 { Rf6 double attack d6 & Re5 to d5 secures d6 } 29... Re8 30. Qc2 { Re8 attacks Q and is moved to control b1-h7 diagonal on c2 } 30... Rfe6 31. h3 { Rf6-e6 doubles on the e file preparing to attack Q. It seems I needan escape for the K with h3 } 31... Re2 32. R1d2 { Re2 is met with Rd1- d2 } 32... R2e4 { R retreats e4 supporting pf4 } 33. Qd1 { R blocks diagonal Q is on so Qd1guardsNf3 & falls behind the Rook pair } 33... R8e6 { Not sure what Re8 - e6 can do butwith a piece up it seems a good time to begin trading pieces - Rd4 } 34. R5d4 { Not sure } 34... Qb7 { Qb2 double protect e4 but as I said it's tradingtime R x R Q x R } 35. Rxe4 Qxe4 36. Rd4 { Rd4 attacks Q } 36... Qb7 { Q retreatsto b7 } 37. Rxf4 { R x f4 } 37... Rg6 { Rg6 is met with Rg4 for the trade. } 38. Rg4 Re6 39. Qd4 { Re6 avoids the trade & Qd4 threatens checkmate } 39... g5 40. h4 { g5 blocks checkmate & h4 is played to weaken g5 } 40... Rg6 { Rg6 is played tosupport g5 but is driven away with h5 } 41. h5 Re6 { Re6 is met with Nh4 } 42. Nh4 Qc8 43. Ng6 Qe8 { With the pawn pinned Q e8 doubles for attackon K. Ng6 is brought forward in the attack } 44. Ne7+ { Ne7 + Kh7 Qd5 preparescheck K with Qf5 } 44... Kh7 45. Qd5 Qf7 { Qf7 can be met with Qf5 forcing theQ exchange but prefer pinning Rook with Re4 } 46. Re4 Qf6 { Qf6 R x R continuesthe exchange } 47. Rxe6 { If Q x R Q x Q and pd7 head for promotion. } 47... dxe6 48. Qb7 { If de Qb7 } 48... Qf7 { Qf7 trying to defend the K Qe4+ } 49. Qe4+ { The K has two squares to go now. If Kg7 then Qg6+ Q x Q N x Q } 49... Kg7 50. Qg6+ Qxg6 51. Nxg6 *

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "07-Feb-07"] [Round "-"] [White "fauxfisher"] [Black "almageccom"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1489"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1523"] { Trying the Sicilian Defense. } 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 Nc6 { I am trying the SicilianDefense here. Let's see how it works out. } 3. Nc3 g6 4. d3 Bg7 5. Nge2 d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. Bg5 O-O 8. O-O a6 9. a4 Na5 { Now I have done soemthingthat is not the routine move and he will have to think harder. } 10. Bd5 { Seems like a wasted move as I will just drive him back with the Pawn } 10... e6 11. Ba2 Qc7 12. d4 Rd8 13. d5 exd5 { This was the wrong move. I realizedit afterward when I looked at his Knight. } 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bxd8 Qxd8 16. Bxd5 Bxb2 17. Rb1 Be5 18. Qd2 Bd7 19. Bxb7 Nxb7 20. Rxb7 Bxa4 21. Qd5 Qe8 22. f4 Bc6 { Aha! I caught a break finally. } 23. Qxf7+ Qxf7 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. fxe5+ Ke6 26. exd6 Bxe4 27. c3 Bd3 { At this point I thought Iwas lost. He could move his Knight to f4 winning the Bishop. I saw thatafter I hastily moved. } 28. Re1 { But, he decided to lose a Pawn instead. } 28... Kxd6 29. Nf4 Bb5 30. Re6+ Kd7 31. Rb6 Bc6 32. g4 a5 33. Nd3 Kd6 34. Kf2 a4 35. Nc1 a3 { I think I have counted the moves and foudn a win, but wewill see what he comes up with. } 36. Rb1 a2 37. Ra1 Bd5 38. Ke3 Bc4 39. Kd2 Kd5 40. Ke3 Ke5 41. Kf3 Ra3 42. Kg2 Rxc3 43. Nxa2 Rc2+ *

[Event "Analyzed Games"] [Site "ChessDoctor.com"] [Date "?.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "W14"] [Black "B14"] [Result "?"] [ECO "?"] {00014.4.21 Analyzed by National Master John Graves} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 {This check only helps white.} 5... dxc3 6. bxc3 {0-0 may also be possible.} 6... Bc5 {6...Ba5 is better since it avoids losing a pawn by force.} 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qd5+ Ke8 9. Qh5+ g6 10. Qxc5 d6 11. Qe3 Bg4 12. O-O Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Ne5 14. Qe2 Qf6 15. f4 Nc6 16. e5 {a good breakthrough.} 16... dxe5 17. fxe5 Qe6 18. Re1 {Nd2 is far superior.} 18... Nge7 19. Nd2 Kd7 20. Nf3 Raf8 21. Ng5 Qf5 22. e6+ Kc8 23. Nf7 Rhg8 24. Nh6 Qc5+ 25. Be3 Qxc3 26. Nxg8 Nxg8 27. Rac1 Qf6 28. Rxc6 bxc6 29. Qa6+ Kd8 30. Rd1+ {Oops! Qd3! wins at once. 30...Ke7 or e8 Qd7 mate.30...Kc8 31.Qd7 Kb7 32.Rb1 Ka6 32.Qc6 Ka5 33.Qb5 mate.} 30... Ke7 31. Bc5+ Kxe6 32. Qc4+ Kf5 33. Rf1+ Kg5 34. Be3+ Kh5 35. Rxf6 Nxf6 36. Qe2+ Ng4 37. h3 g5 38. Qxg4+ Kg6 39. Qxg5+ Kf7 40. Qf5+ Ke8 41. Qe6+ 1-0

[Event "fatcat2 vs Computers: Game 1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "fatcat2"] [Black "Star Chess"] [Result "1-0"] { I have always been fascinated with the principles of how computers orPC programs can be made to play chess. I have decided to do a sort of 'GrandTour' playing against as many chess programs as I can find, annotatingthe games and posting them on GameKnot. fatcat2 vs Computers! Who willwin overall? } 1. d4 { Deciding to 'start off slowly' my first game againstthe Computers was against a battered old handheld chess device, called'Star Chess', which is still going strong after 28 years. I had decidedto play ALL the chess computers/programs I could find, and I could certainlyfind this one, albeit at the back of an old cupboard covered in dust. Let'ssee how our veteran handheld chess computer fares. Will it prove a worthyrepresentative of the Computers? } 1... Nf6 { Star Chess plays the line whichcould go into many main line Queen Pawn openings, such as the Nimzo-Indian,the Gruenfeld or the King's Indian, or even transposing back into ClassicalQueen's Gambit Declined. } 2. c4 { I choose the most common move in thissituation. } 2... g6 { This could go into either King's Indian Defence or GruenfeldDefence. Anyway, White's main line third move is the same for both. } 3. Nc3 Bg7 { Ah! Star Chess has opted for the King's Indian Defence! I am inexperiencedwith the lines of the King's Indian but I know how to play it in principle... } 4. e4 O-O 5. f4 { I choose the Four Pawns Attack (I wonder how it got thatname...). My c- d- e- and f-pawns have amazing control over the centre,backed up by the knight on c3. I hope to develop more pieces quickly tokeep hold on my excellent pawn structure. } 5... Nc6 6. d5 { Developing piecescan wait. As usual, I am anxious to push central pawns unchallenged intomy opponent's territory. } 6... Nb4 7. e5 { I am controlling more and more space,while Black is being pushed back and strangled out of space. Look at thatimmensely powerful pawn centre! Plus, I have excellent scope for shovingBlack's queenside knight around. } 7... Nh5 8. g4 { A blunder by Star Chess...Ithink. His kingside knight is now trapped. } 8... d6 { Well, my brilliant pawnformation wasn't going to last forever. But I have already fulfilled thegoal of getting a positional advantage - to convert it into a materialadvantage. } 9. gxh5 dxe5 10. hxg6 fxg6 11. Nge2 { The best way I could seeof defending my isolated f-pawn from my opponent's e-pawn and his rampagingrook on the half-open f-file. But I have some consolation for my now fragmentedpawn structure. My opponent's e-pawns are doubled AND isolated. Maybe theycan be picked off in the future... } 11... Bf5 { Sneaky! Star Chess has createda tactical threat! ...Nc2 wins rook for knight, and the only defence Ican see is: } 12. Kf2 { This. Not an ideal occurrence, having to lose castlingrights AND bring my king forward into the danger, but it would have beenpointless castling on the exposed kingside anyway and I could only havecastled on my queenside when the annoying enemy knight and enemy light-squaredbishop had been beaten off. } 12... Bc2 13. Qd2 { Nasty! If 13.Qe1, then 13...Nd3 forking my king and rook. } 13... Nd3+ { Star Chess goes ahead with Nd3 anyway. } 14. Kf3 Nb4 15. a3 { Aha! This should put a spoke in my opponent's wheel!How does Star Chess save both the bishop and the knight? A red light onthe side of Star Chess started blinking madly. } 15... e4+ 16. Ke3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 { In-between-moves, or zwischenzugn. Perhaps my silicon opponent thinksI will forget about my own threat in the space of two moves. Not likely. } 17... Nxd5+ 18. cxd5 Bd3 19. Qd4 { Saving the d-pawn, which like so much of mypawn-structure has become isolated. But am ahead by knight and bishop totwo pawns so this does not matter much to me. } 19... Qd6 20. b4 a5 21. Bb2 { Acheckmating threat, just to liven the game up. My queen and bishop drivean attack line deep into Black's king's position. The red light went intooverdrive again. } 21... Qf6 22. Qxf6 exf6 { OK then. An exchange suits me fine,being ahead on material. } 23. Ng3 { Now for an unknown reason my opponentgoes into exchange-mania. } 23... axb4 24. axb4 Rxa1 25. Bxa1 Bxf1 26. Rxf1 { StarChess played these exchanges really quickly, so quickly that I startedworrying. 'Have my opponent's crafty little silicon chips found a forcedcheckmate?' I wondered to myself, 'Well, I haven't, so I'll just recaptureand hope for the best,' I resolved. } 26... f5 27. Be5 Rd8 28. Kd4 Rd7 29. Ra1 b6 { It's time to win an unequal endgame biased in White's favour. } 30. Kc4 { I had my eye on Ra7, but after 30.Ra7? c5 wins my rook, so I hadto move my king first. } 30... e3 { Nothing to worry about. I can always sacrificemy knight if need be. The great thing about having a substantial materialadvantage in the endgame is that you can always sacrifice it without becomingbehind. } 31. Ra7 b5+ 32. Kxb5 Rxd5+ 33. Kc6 Rd2 34. Kxc7 Rxh2 { I pausedto think, and calculated that if he took the time to take my knight withhis rook, I would win the pawn race by miles. } 35. b5 e2 36. Nxe2 Rxe2 37. b6 Rd2 38. b7 Rc2+ { Playing for time. } 39. Kd7 Rd2+ 40. Ke7 Rd7+ { StarChess' little silicon chips had obviously gone into 'make the game lastas long as possible mode. } 41. Kxd7 Kf7 { The beauty of this position isthat my bishop traps Black's king on his kingside, allowing a forced checkmate.I don't even need to chase Black's king around the board with a queen androok first. } 42. b8=Q h6 43. Kd6# { Checkmate with a king - or at leasta king move. Can you get more stylish than that? Star Chess emitted a tinybeep that could have been the equivalent of a sigh as the little red lighton the side switched off. The silicon chips went to sleep...for today. So, the score is 1 to fatcat2, 0 to the Computers. The next round willbe coming soon! } 1-0

[Event "Chess game in between..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "11-sep-18"] [Round "-"] [White "fiercequeen"] [Black "elxcstm"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "UR"] [TimeControl "3+10 blitz"] [WhiteElo "2059"] 1. e4 d5 { never understood this... } 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 { see, whatI mean? } 4. d4 e6 5. Nf3 Bb4 { angry Bishop... } 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 { right:new issues... } 7... e5 8. Be2 e4 { this cat is really going somewhere... } 9. Ne5 Nd7 { Nc6 is not possible... } 10. O-O Nxe5 11. dxe5 { not impressed... } 11... Qxd1 12. Rfxd1 Be6 13. f4 { we see targets... } 13... Nh6 14. h3 { no Ng4... } 14... O-O 15. g4 { enforcing f4-f5... } 15... g6 16. Rf1 b6 17. f5 { still... } 17... gxf5 18. gxf5 Nxf5 19. Kh2 { a very brisk Black King... } 19... f6 20. Rg1+ Kf7 { dangerous... } 21. exf6 Ne3 { you tell me... } 22. Bh5# { out of the blue: I didn't evenknow, it was mate... } 1-0

[Event "League division D1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "29-Dec-07"] [Round "-"] [White "emtogsdia"] [Black "geronimo57"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1622"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1445"] 1. e4 { This is a league game I played with Geronimo. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 { All pretty much Standard Sicilian. } 3... e6 { I'm not sure about this move.It's seems fine. Maybe a preventative move for the Bishop coming out tof4? } 4. Nc3 { Still allow the trade on d4. } 4... a6 { I think this was anothermove keeping the bishop off this diagonal. } 5. d5 { I had no intention ofgoing to the b5 square. } 5... exd5 6. exd5 Nce7 7. Ne4 b6 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. c4 { Whitehas better center control and is more developed. But has missed mate in1 for two moves!! Quite the oversight!! } 9... d6 10. O-O Ng6 { Black has nowmoved his Knight 3 times in the first 10 moves. } 11. Re1 Be7 12. Bg5 f6 { I think black should have traded bishops here. Yes it would have beena discovered check for white, but black could simply bring out his otherKnight. Allowing black to castle whenever he wants. } 13. Bh4 Qc7 14. Qa4+ { With an idea of pushing out the black King. } 14... Kf7 15. Ng3 { White looksmuch better here. } 15... Ne5 16. Nxe5+ dxe5 { Gaining some ground in the center.Good move. Also getting rid of another Knight that white had on a prettygood square. } 17. Nf5 Bf8 18. Rad1 g6 19. d6 { This was probably a bad movefor white. } 19... Qd8 20. Ng3 { Now I have left that pawn hanging. As well asblocking in my own Bishop. That was OK with me though. } 20... g5 21. Bxg5 fxg5 22. Rxe5 { I'm only down a pawn. This was more of a positional sacrifice. } 22... h6 { Black still didn't take the pawn on d6? } 23. d7 Nf6 24. Rf5 Bg7 25. Be4 Qc7 26. Qb3 { The Queen is not doing a thing on this side of the board. } 26... Rhd8 27. Qf3 { White's pieces are much more active here. } 27... Rab8 { Black notwanting to trade Bishops because of the Knight recapture on e4. } 28. Nh5 Bxe4 { Now black feels safe taking the bishop. } 29. Rxf6+ { And now it'salready too late for black. } 29... Kg8 { If black takes with his black Bishopthen Qf6 followed by mate. } 30. Qxe4 { It is still OK to give up the Rookhere. } 30... Bxf6 { Black not seeing the g4 square for the Queen. } 31. Qg6+ { Itwas forced mate from here. My opponent saw this and resigned. GOOD GAME } 1-0

[Event "Challenge from aleks1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.01.28"] [Round "-"] [White "aleks1"] [Black "jongy10"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1590"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1534"] 1. d4 d5 { I don't play a lot of queen's openings, so here's a chance forme to learn them. } 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 { Oh, pinning my knight. } 4... Be7 5. Nf3 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 Nc6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bb5 { Oh, I see, pinningmy other knight. } 9... O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. Nxd5 { Oops. I'd left that pawn forfree. Can't say I had any grand plan in mind for that. } 11... a6 12. Bc4 Na5 { If I can dislodge the bishop then his knight is undefended } 13. b3 Bg4 { Move my own white bishop out of the way so my queen has a good look athis d5 knight. } 14. h3 Nxc4 15. bxc4 Be6 16. Qb3 b5 17. Nxf6+ { I'm actuallypleased he played this move, as it brings my queen around to the king sidewhile his queen is playing amongst the pawns. } 17... Qxf6 18. d5 Bxh3 { His g2pawn is busy defending his knight } 19. gxh3 Qxf3 20. Kh2 Rfe8 { With theg column opened up time to bring my rooks into the game. } 21. Qc2 Re4 { I'mplanning Rh4 then Qh3... } 22. Rg1 { He sees it and can get his rook in theway. } 22... Rxc4 { freebie } 23. Qb2 { Attack on my g7 pawn } 23... g6 24. Rg3 Qf5 { Liningup to put my rook on c2. I wonder if he see it? } 25. Rag1 Rc2 26. Qb3 { I thought about just charging in with my queen here, but ultimately itworks out badly for my rook on c2. Need more troopers. } 26... Rd8 27. d6 { Hehas 2 rooks lining up my g6 pawn, and my f7 pawn is pinned onto the king.Thankfully, when I take his pawn my rook is backing up that g6 square. } 27... Rxd6 28. R1g2 Rxf2 { I feel like +3 is a good enough position to start tradingthings out. } 29. Rxf2 Qxf2+ 30. Rg2 Qf5 31. Qc3 c5 32. Rg4 b4 { go away } 33. Qb2 Re6 34. Rf4 Qe5 { Rook is pinned and I'm lining up another freepawn. } 35. Qxe5 { He had to take it really. } 35... Rxe5 36. e4 c4 37. Kg3 c3 { Endgame, running for the finish line. } 0-1

[Event "A Tactical Melee"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.04.08"] [Round "-"] [White "nynaeve95"] [Black "hrle"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1597"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1658"] 1. e4 { This is my first annotation. It's a very fast and furious game;I'm reading Vladimir Vukovic's The Art of Attack, which was a huge influenceon my play around focal points in this game. } 1... c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 { TheSicilian Grandprix. } 3... Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5+ { The logic behind this moveis explained in Lev Alburt's 'Chess Openings for White, Explained'. } 5... Bd7 6. Bc4 { This might look like a waste of a move, but black's bishopis better placed on c8, because now d5 is harder to get in due to the blockageof the black queen. Therefore, black's move is worse than a waste of amove! } 6... Bg7 7. O-O a6 { Ineffective. } 8. a4 { Gives me more room on the queensideand stops the b5 advance. } 8... Bc6 { Forces me to make a good move. } 9. e5 { Thispawn thrust is key to the Grandprix strategy. f7 becomes even more ofa target square than before, since I will be able to open the f-file shortly. This leads to some crazy tactics later! } 9... dxe5 10. fxe5 Nd5 11. Ng5 { Takesaim at the two focal points on f7 and h7. } 11... O-O 12. Qg4 { Sacrificing apawn! What justifies this? Pressure against h7 and f7. Since next movemy opponent will be forced to defend against my mating threat, f7 willbecome even more vulnerable. } 12... Bxe5 { Takes the bait. } 13. Qh3 { Basic threat. Easily countered, right? } 13... h5 14. Rxf7 { !!! How is it justified? } 14... Rxf7 15. Qe6 { I will maintain intense pressure on f7 until I not only regainall of my lost material, but gain more than I had before I started sacking. The knight on g5 ensures the threat is great enough to stop him simplygiving me back the material and equalizing. } 15... Bd4+ { Looking for somethingthat's not there. My king won't be in danger of mate unless the rook onf7 is free to move, which it never will be. } 16. Kh1 Qf8 17. Nxd5 { Workingtowards giving my c4 bishop access to the deadly a2-f7 file. } 17... Kg7 { Forcesmy next move. } 18. Nxf7 { My payoff is fully visible now. } 18... Bd7 { If instead18...Qxf7, then 19.Qxf7+ Kxf7 20.Nc7+, gaining a rook and securing thegame. } 19. Ng5 { A cute little tactic. } 19... Bxe6 20. Nxe6+ Kg8 21. Nxf8 Kxf8 22. Nc7 { Setting up a hopeful mate on h6; I can win if he doesn't fallfor it, but it would be pleasing aesthetically. } 22... Ra7 23. d3 Kg7 { Nope. :) } 24. Ne6+ Kh7 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26. Bg5 Nc6 27. Rf1 b6 28. Rf7+ Kh8 29. h4 { With the last chance for a back rank mate for black gone, my opponentresigns. } 1-0

[Event "patzereli's Gruenfeld mini-tournament I"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.03.29"] [Round "-"] [White "superpom"] [Black "ybrevo"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2067"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "2026"] 1. d4 { Here are some analysis from two games in a recent Gruenfeld mini-tournament(the other game was against 'yulio'), where we follow a main line withthe big question: How strong will Whites advanced d-pawn be? The answerseems to be: VERY strong - but take a look at both games. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 { Nothing much in this. Ithas been played thousands of times, but here White may consider a linewith Bc4. Karpov preferred it in quite a few games against Kasparov - thoughwith little success. } 7. Nf3 c5 { The classical attack of the White center. } 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. d5 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qd2 e6 { The second attackon the center, but White has a good counter. } 13. f4 { Where should Be5go to? Over the years there has been a dispute of wether Bg7 or Bc7 isbest. I find Bg7 a bit too passive, but at least it protects the King.I tried the latter instead. } 13... Bc7 14. O-O exd5 15. exd5 { So finally, hereis the d-pawn only three moves from the queening square. Nothing criticalyet, but in this position I would prefer the White pieces: Better development,control over the half open b-file, and the pawn ... } 15... Ba5 16. d6 Rb8 { ?A waste of time. According to later computer analysis, this was my onlyinaccuracy, but from now on Black is positionally more or less out of thegame. 16. - b6 was better, but still Ba5 looks like a problem child. } 17. Ba3 Bf5 18. Rbd1 Rc8 19. g4 Bd7 20. Bf3 { White has put his pieces on perfectsquares, so my only hope was some kind of a swindle on the K-side. } 20... Qh4 21. f5 gxf5 22. gxf5 b6 { Hadn ́t it been for the pawn on d6, I would stillhave some optimism, but my opponent finds all the right moves. } 23. Kh1 Bxf5 24. Qd5 Bg6 25. d7 { What a pawn! } 25... Rcd8 26. Bb2 { Almost game over,but what if my Bishop had been on g7 instead of getting astray on c7 anda5? } 26... Qf6 { Looks like suicide, but I could not find anything better. MyQueen is in the firing line from Rf1 and soon also from Bb2. } 27. Bg4 Qg7 28. Rf3 b5 29. Rd2 Kh8 30. c4 f6 31. Rdf2 { Black just got blown off theboard, mostly because of bad piece coordination and that insisting pawnon d7. I will loose a lot of material (starting on f6), so in respect ofmy good opponent I chose to resign. At least I learned something - justtake a look at my other game from the same tournament! } 1-0

[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.03.16"] [Round "-"] [White "mbnaj"] [Black "fous"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Qe7 3. Nf3 d6 4. h3 Be6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. c3 Nf6 7. d3 g6 8. Bg5 Bg7 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Nc4 b5 11. Na3 h6 12. Bh4 Qd7 { a free pawn !! } 13. Nxb5 d5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. Bxd5 Qxd5 { and i will get a rock } 16. Nxc7 Qd8 17. Nxa8 Qxa8 18. O-O e4 { and i will get another pawn, let's see } 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. dxe4 { here is. } 20... Qb8 21. b3 { if he got my pawn at c3 by usinghis bishop, i will get his knight or bishop by my rock at Rc1 } 21... Qe8 22. Rc1 Qxe4 23. Nh2 Qe6 24. Re1 Be5 { now i have a chance to get his bishop;) } 25. f4 Bd4+ { useless } 26. cxd4 Qd5 27. Ng4 Nb4 28. Nf6+ { He reassigned!!! } 1-0

[Event "elwoos's French Defence mini-tournament Black and White"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.02.18"] [Round "-"] [White "elwoos"] [Black "ambrosio"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1429"] [TimeControl "9d+4d<15d"] [WhiteElo "1488"] 1. e4 { Another game from my French Defence mini tournament. I decided toannotate this one as I felt I played a lot better than I have in many gamesrecently, I'd be interested to see if others agree or not with some ofmy move choices. Analysis is available - http://gameknot.com/analyze-board.pl?bd=19076547&rnd=0.6846651595551521 In this game the white bishops proved to be a powerful force to be reckonedwith. Interestingly, so far in the tournament I have won more games aswhite than black } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 { Starting position } 3. Nd2 { Tarrasch, thisis a rare move for me as generally I would go for Nc3 but I thought I wouldgive it a try } 3... Nf6 4. Bb5+ c6 5. Bd3 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Be7 { This takes us outof the Gameknot database where the moves were Nbd7 and Qxd4 } 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bf4 { Black looks a little cramped here to me } 8... O-O 9. O-O b5 { Computerthinks this is an innacuracy prefering ... Nxe4 10. Bxe4 Qb6 11. Rb1 Nf6 } 10. Nfg5 { Looking to provoke h3 to weaken the pawns around the black king } 10... g6 { I think this may be inaccurate as now black can only push my knightout by further weakening the pawns around the king } 11. Qf3 { threateningQh3 } 11... Nh5 12. Be3 { I have no intention of swapping out my bishop and thisalso gives my queen more access to squares around the black king } 12... f5 { Iwould say this is a blunder as it loses material as we will see. Computercalls it a mistake and prefers Nb6 13. g4 f5 followed by a flurry of exchanges } 13. Nxe6 Qa5 { computer says this is a mistake preferring Ne5 14. dxe5Bxe6 15. Nc5 Bd5 16. Qh3 Qa5 } 14. Nxf8 Nxf8 { I would prefer Bxf8 here asblack as the text allows me to play Bh6 later hemming the king in. Computercalls this a mistake preferring fxe4 15. Qxe4 Bxf8 16. Qxc6 Nb6 } 15. Nc3 { threatens Bxb5 as the c6 pawn is pinned to the rook } 15... Bb7 16. Bh6 { My plannow was to try to get my lsb on the a2-g8 diagonal, with hindsight I shouldprobably have played a4 but for some reason I can't recall I didn't. Computersays this is whites first mistake and it prefers Bxb5 Qc7 17. Bc4+ Kh818. d5 Bf6 } 16... b4 { I'm happy with this as it lets my plan easier to execute } 17. Nb5 { The pawn is still pinned but now to the black lsb. Computer callsthis a mistake } 17... Qb6 { traps the knight } 18. Qe3 { My queen can now get tothe a1 - h8 diagonal to complete my plan and if black takes my knight onb5 I can take his dsb which weakens black on the dark squares } 18... cxb5 19. Qxe7 Ne6 20. Rfe1 Bd5 21. Re5 { Planning to sacrifice the rook with somethinglike Rxf5, gxf5 Bxf5 which exposes the black king even further and threatensQxh7# } 21... Qd8 { I'm not certain this is a blunder but it does lose some material } 22. Rxe6 Bxe6 23. Qxe6+ Kh8 24. Qe5+ Qf6 25. Bxb5 { As I'm up in materialI am happy to exchange queens, this move was to protect the queening squarefrom the white rook after queens are exchanged } 25... Qxe5 26. dxe5 Ng7 { I canbring my rook in to support my passed pawn but first I need to neutralisethe black knight, I didn't want to exchange as it allowed the black kingto get out easier } 27. Bg5 { threatening to pin the knight Computer prefers. Rd1 Rg8 28. Rd7 Nh5 29. Rxa7 Rd8 } 27... Rb8 28. Bc4 { better is surely Ba4 } 28... a5 29. Bf6 a4 { Computer calls this a blunder preferring h5 and we willsee why } 30. e6 a3 { This was completely unexpected as I was expecting b3 } 31. b3 Rb6 { This proved to be a pretty fatal move for black as we willsee not that he has a lot of options. Computer gives mate in 9 here Rb632. Rd1 h5 33. Rd7 Kh7 34. Bxg7 g5 35. Be5+ Kg6 36. e7 f4 37. e8=Q+ Kf538. f3 Rd6 39. Rxd6 g4 40. Qxh5# and prefers Rf8 } 32. Rd1 { I dont needthe rook on the e file as the bishops can protect the pawn, with the rookhere I have the threat of Rd8+, when my pawn gets to e7 this will allowmy rook to protect the pawn from blacks rook } 32... h5 { forced } 33. e7 { ObviouslyI hadn't seen the mate that the computer had and so this is described asa blunder } 33... Rb8 { too late but black had little choice } 34. Rd8+ { Blackis going to lose more material and if the king goes to h7 I have have Bg5 Computer gives mate in 6 here } 34... Rxd8 35. exd8=Q+ Kh7 { I completely missedthe mate in two here with Qg8 +, Kh6, Qh8# } 36. Bg5 { Threatens Qg8# whichironically is mate in 3 } 36... Ne6 { nice fork but it fails however black wasout of options } 37. Bxe6 { Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed the game.Please comment } 1-0

[Event "An Expert Lesson in Piece Overload"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "16-Oct-08"] [Round "-"] [White "jstevens1"] [Black "marinvukusic"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2125"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1723"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 { 4. ....... a6 - this is the KanVariation of the Sicilian Defense and it is very similar to the Naidjorf- black will try and put pressure on white down the c file by putting heavypieces on it, starting with 5. ......... Qc7. } 5. Bd3 Qc7 6. O-O Nf6 7. Qe2 d6 8. c4 { 8. c4 - after developing my kingside pieces quickly I decidedto take the database option which suggests countering in the centre andcontrolling the squares d5 and b5. } 8... Be7 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. f4 b6 11. Bd2 { 12.Bd2 - natural, but one must be careful, two bishops lined up on one filecould lead to skewer combos later on. } 11... O-O 12. Rae1 Bb7 13. Kh1 { 13. Kh1- avoids pin on g1 - a7 diagonal but unfortunately walks into a pin fromthe lsb on b7. } 13... Qc5 14. Nf3 Rac8 { 14. ........... Rac8 - with this move,Marin takes me out of the database. Here is where I get stumped - wheredo I go from here? I look back at some of the illustrative games in theWorld Database and find that the move e5 was played to exchange the centralpawns - white drew that game so I thought it was a reasonable plan here. Maybe a better idea would have been to have played either Bc2 or b3 here,at least the former would have avoided what is to come. I now have a tipfor all beginners and intermediate players here - when you come to theend of the database do check to see what is covering what and then decideon what piece to move in order to improve your position, especially foroverloads like this one, otherwise you will worsen it. } 15. e5 dxe5 16. Nxe5 { 16. Nxe5? - This was the losing move. Marin stated in a pm in responseto my resignation note that I should have taken with the f pawn. I didconsider it but it would have left the f pawn an isolani so I thought thatit was better to keep my pawn structure together. Unfortunately, afterMarin's next move, the irony is, that pawn is to fall anyway together witha whole lot more. } 16... Rfd8 17. b3 { 17. b3 - to back up the c4 pawn, but afew moves too late, alas. } 17... Qd6 { 17. ............ Qd6!! - the killer move,I will drop at least a pawn here. On my next move (18. Rd1) I go for theline which loses the pawn, any other plausible replies such as Nxd7 loseone of the bishops to the pile up on the d file - this is a skewer. Donote that Glenda is defending both e5 and Frere Leblanc Frere Lenoir,Glenda the Defender is extremely put upon here! Another plausible tryis Ne4 attacking the Wicked Witch of the West but Bxe4 ensures that a piecedrops on d3. } 18. Rd1 Nxe5 19. fxe5 { Here I wave the white flag becauseI will initially lose a pawn and then a piece with the following analysis:- 19. fxe5 Qxd3 20. Qxd3 Rxd3 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Nb1 Rcd8 23. Rf2Bg5 24. h3 e5 (this pawn will eventually gobble up Frere Lenoir). Henrycannot come over to help defend Frere Lenoir because the enemy dsb willpin my rook to Henry). With the rating differential I felt that resignationon the grounds of ruinous loss of material was justified here. } 0-1

[Event "fiercequeen, having a new boyfriend (part 1)..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "31-aug-18"] [Round "-"] [White "harduf2"] [Black "fiercequeen"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2059"] [TimeControl "3+10 blitz"] [WhiteElo "1940"] { for a woman like me, it is hard to find a mate: this one tickled my fanny... } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Bf5 3. Nc3 e6 { standard skirmishes in the Queens Gambit... } 4. Nf3 Bb4 { stolen from Nimzovich... } 5. e3 { not wise: Bc1 is getting cramped... } 5... Nf6 6. Bd3 Bg6 7. Bxg6 hxg6 { standard: open up, the h-file... } 8. Qc2 Bxc3+ { this Bishop has outlived its existence.. . } 9. bxc3 Ne4 { of course... } 10. cxd5 exd5 11. O-O f5 12. Ne5 Qf6 { covering pawn g6: just, in a days'work... } 13. Qb3 b6 14. Qxd5 c6 { that was a hard pawn to swallow... } 15. Qc4 b5 16. Qd3 O-O { no sweat, in the Black camp... } 17. a4 Rd8 18. axb5 c5 { not afraid, for losing pawns... } 19. Qc4+ Kh7 { the King is safe here... } 20. f3 Nd6 21. Qxc5 Nd7 22. Nxd7 Rxd7 { setting the White Queen up for trouble... } 23. Qb4 Rc8 24. Bb2 Nc4 { too soon for Rc4... } 25. Rfe1 Rdc7 { the boardis set: now, for the aftermath... } 26. Ra6 Qf7 27. e4 Nxb2 28. Qxb2 Rxc3 { the first casualty... } 29. e5 Qc4 { not playing around... } 30. Rxa7 Rc2 31. Qa1 Qxb5 { from here, Black is winning... } 32. e6 Qb6 33. Rb1 { a bitstupid: but what can u say? } 33... Qxe6 34. d5 Qe3+ 35. Kf1 { it is of no matteranymore: White will be mated... } 35... Qf2# 0-1

[Event "Knights and Bishops in a Closed Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.06.02"] [Round "-"] [White "leapingtrout"] [Black "bwaa"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "??"] [TimeControl "Blitz"] [WhiteElo "??"] { Blitz game in an unfamiliar opening for me. Lots of positional play eventuallyculminates in some violent tactics as time starts to run out. } 1. b3 { Larsen'sOpening. I don't have much experience with it. } 1... e5 { This is the ModernVariation, the only line I have any familiarity with in this opening. Blackaims to limit the scope of White's DSB and occupy the center directly. } 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. Nf3 { This is the first deviation fromthe main line, which would continue with 5. f4 before playing Nf3. } 5... Qe7 { Defending the e-pawn and looking at a3. I think 5...f6 might be betterhere. } 6. d4 { ? This seems like a mistake to me. White has spent a lotof time building pressure on e5 and trying to open the lane for his Bishop,and now he allows me to shut it down almost entirely. This is the advantageof 5. f4; it leaves the a1-h8 diagonal gloriously free. } 6... e4 { This seemslike the most logical move. After the Knight retreats, I need to be readyto try to prevent c4, which White will play as soon as he can to reopenthe position. At this point, I'm planning to drive White's Bishop awayand then get a pawn on b5 to restrict c4. } 7. Nfd2 { Basically forced; theKnight is more useful supporting c4 than spending two tempi moving Ng1-e2. } 7... Bd7 { I need to prevent White from pulling my b-pawn off its file, or Iwon't be able to stop him from playing c4. } 8. a4 { This introduces possiblecomplications after ...a6 and ...b5, but frankly I'm not sure what thepoint of this move is at the time. White will clarify his idea shortly. } 8... a6 { Asking the question. } 9. Bxc6 { White decides to trade a Bishop fora Knight, given the closed position. The LSB wouldn't have many prospectson e2 either, but perhaps he could swing a kingside attack that way. } 9... Bxc6 10. Ba3 { Black reveals the point of 8. a4: he wants to get his stuffedBishop into action. Evidently he's not as sure as I am that playing c4will solve his troubles relatively efficiently. } 10... b5 { White can *still*play c4 here, but at least now I can remove one defender without movingthe d-pawn. 10...b5 also gives me the option of getting my Bishop to b7(or a8 if the a-file opens up and Rooks are exchanged), allowing ...c6.At this point, though, I'm starting to think an open center wouldn't besuch a bad thing--I need to make use of my Bishops. } 11. Bxd6 { Make that'Bishop', singular. } 11... Qxd6 { As White now has no Bishops left, I absolutelyneed to open up the game, or his Knights may be able to run circles aroundme. } 12. Nc3 Nf6 { With the threat of the a-file opening up, I decide it'shigh time to finish developing minor pieces and prepare to connect my rooks.This does lose a pawn for me, but I'm hoping my extra space and mobilitywill make up for it. } 13. axb5 axb5 { I'm not too happy about putting myBishop on a8, but I think I can open up the game and I'd rather have BNvs NN than N vs N. Besides, I don't actually have a choice (13. ...Bxb5??14. Nxb5 and I can't retake without losing both Rooks). } 14. Rxa8+ Bxa8 15. Nxb5 Qb6 { I need to keep c7 defended, and I'd like to chase this Knightfar away with 16. Nc3 Qb4 17. Na2 Qa5. } 16. Qa1 { White preemptively defendsc3 for his Knight's retreat. } 16... O-O { If 16...Qxb5??, White has 17. Qxa8+followed by Qxh8. My late castling has seriously limited my options. } 17. Nc3 { Now White retreats. A stronger play, I think, was 17. c4!, which Blackcannot answer effectively with 17...c6 18. c5 and White's passed pawnsare a huge threat. } 17... Qb4 18. Na4 { The Knight searches desperately for auseful home where it doesn't tie the WQ to passive defense. 18. Ne2 mighthave been better. } 18... Bc6 { I attempt to continue to lock the WQ into a passiverole (19. Nb2 Qc3). White can play 19. c3 here instead, breaking the pinon his d2 Knight. } 19. Qd1 { White feels like he can give back the pawn,and I agree with him. He clearly wants to castle, so he chooses to defendthe Nd2 in preparation for that. 19. c3 would accomplish much the samething, but of course the BQ can simply retreat to b5 and prevent castlinganyway. } 19... Bb5 { White is telegraphing his desperation--if he's willing togive up a pawn for the opportunity to castle, I'm certainly not going togive him that opportunity if I can help it. } 20. f3 { White decides to tryto break my pawn center while preparing to castle artificially throughf2. } 20... Re8 { There's still no reason for me to trade off my Bishop for White'smiserable Knight on a4, and White can't force the issue, so I turn my sightsto the kingside. 20. f3 left White's e-pawn very weak, so I bring up anotherheavy piece to drill it as soon as the center opens. } 21. Nc5 { White triesto get his Knight into play, ineffectually attacking e4 and little else.I think 21. Kf2 was better here, getting out of both pins (the direct onefrom b4-e1 and the indirect one from e8-e1). } 21... exf3 { It's go time. Whiteloses at least a pawn now. } 22. Qxf3 Qxd4 { I finally let up the pin onthe Ne2, but it has nowhere to go. The WK still can't castle out of hispredicament, and now I'm threatening both ...Qxe3+ and ...Qxc5. White can'tdefend adequately. } 23. Kf2 { ?? White was under time pressure here, butthis move loses a lot more than the Knight. } 23... Qxd2+ 24. Qe2 { ? Overlookingthe Bishop, but it doesn't matter. The WQ is actually done for anyway after24. Kg3 Rxe3 (or 24. Kg1 Qe1+ 25. Qf1 Qxf1#). } 24... Qxe2+ { And White resigns,as mate is inevitable. Thanks for a fun game, leapingtrout, and thank you,dear reader, for reading. Comments on the analysis or on the game itselfare greatly appreciated. Until next time! } 0-1

[Event "Challenge from jamesxc"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "26-Mar-07"] [Round "-"] [White "jamesxc"] [Black "kundaliniknight"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1433"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1399"] 1. d4 { The opening is the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is a well-studiedopening, although I have not read much of the theory, so this was a goodgame for practice. } 1... d5 2. c4 Nf6 { This is one of the more common linesof the QGD. In this situation, it leads to some enormously sharp and explosivepositions, which is a little uncommon. } 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 h6 { A bit of mysteriousmove. Doesn't really accomplish much, and wastes precious tempo that couldhave been used to develop pieces. } 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bd3 Be7 7. b3 a6 8. Bb2 O-O { After 0-0, I decided that I wanted to set up a pawn storm on his KingSide. This necessitated 0-0-0 for me in order to not compromise my kingsafety with the attack. } 9. Qe2 Bd6 10. O-O-O Re8 { Preparing the e-pawnpush, trying to blow apart the center and regain control from White's superiorposition there. } 11. h3 { Even the greatest attacks must begin with a singlemove. The pawn storm begins... } 11... e5 { The capture is forced because of thefork on e4, which even if avoided, limits White's bishop considerably. } 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Rdg1 { Again, preparing the pawn storm. } 13... Nc6 14. g4 d4 { A good move, forcing the night back to protect the suddenly weak pawnon e3. } 15. Nd1 Bc5 16. g5 { The pawn has reached it's ideal square. Ifblack captures, white has an extremely active rook in an open area of theboard, if not, then black faces being two pawns down and a very shaky defenseon the king side. } 16... hxg5 17. Rxg5 Qd6 { Simultaneously protecting the bishopand activating the queen for possible counterplay. } 18. Rhg1 { Note theBishop on d3 is also involved in the attack, although from a fair distance. Also, if the bishop is moved, black can cause problems by pushing thepawn further up the board. } 18... g6 19. Nh4 { Preparing a night sacrifice inorder to get at the king. } 19... Kf8 { Getting away from the discovered checksand giving black a much needed back door to e7. } 20. Qf3 { This was a movethat I spent a lot of time looking at. I couldn't find a mate after sacrificingeither the night, bishop or rook on f6 because Black's knight always seemedto be able to mount a last-ditch defense. Thus, I tried to get a littleextra force into the attack. However, this almost proved to be disastrous. } 20... dxe3 { Recapturing is dangerous because it allows the e8 rook back intoactivity, which could lead to dangerous counterattacks from black. } 21. Bxg6 e2 { This move was unexpected, and nearly finished me off. There wereno easy defenses, which made this position almost unsalvagable, but luckily... } 22. Rd5 { ...the attacking rook was able to be utilized at the perfect timefor defense of White's slightly overexposed king. } 22... Qh2 { ? This move doesn'treally accomplish much. It threatens to win the g1 rook, but at the expenseof checkmate. The queen could have been better placed at a defensive square. } 23. Qxf6 { The beginning of the end, threatening checkmate on f7. } 23... Be6 { Alast ditch defense, though ultimately useless. } 24. Nf5 Qxg1 25. Qg7# { Twoextremely potent attacks, but white was able to get there first. I hopethat you enjoyed this annotation. Feel free to PM me if you find a wayto improve it or if you see something I missed. } 1-0

[Event "How I escaped a King-side attack"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.04.18"] [Round "-"] [White "ydebilloez"] [Black "freeman8201"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1664"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<7d"] [WhiteElo "1839"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 { QGD: Harrwitz attack. Whitewants to retain the dark squared bishop instead of trading it through theBg5 lines. } 5... O-O 6. e3 c6 7. Rc1 Nbd7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 a6 12. Re1 b5 13. Bb3 Nb6 14. Nxb5 { desperado move } 14... axb5 { best? } 15. Bc7 { bishop fork } 15... Qd7 16. Bxb6 Bb7 17. Ne5 Qe8 18. Nxf7 { And here beginsthe King-side attack } 18... Kxf7 { !!!!! Yes folks I didn't want to play Rookor Queen takes as it leads to a skewer. My King can waltz over to h6 safely!!!:) } 19. Bxe6+ Kg6 20. Qd3+ Be4 21. Rxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4+ Kh6 23. d5 Ra4 24. Be3+ g5 25. Qe5 Rc4 { To prevent the major piece on moving in. Please commentif you see better moves } 26. Rxc4 bxc4 27. h4 Qh5 28. d6 Qd1+ 29. Kh2 Bxd6 30. Bxg5+ Kg6 31. h5+ Qxh5+ { White resigns. } 0-1

[Event "Playing against weird openings"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Me"] [Black "Opponent"] [Result "*"] { Heres a game I recently played OTB. I don't have too much time, but Ishould say the lesson of this game is that the opening is by far the leastimportant part of chess, and that study of the openings should be the sameway. Even studying no openings, you should be able to survive any reasonableopening to the middlegame without getting absolutely crushed. If you havethe adequete playing strength, openings don't really matter. This was acase where I did not know the opening from move 2. My opponent is around1700uscf, but his performance rating was more like in the 18-1900s forthe overall event. } 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d6 { Its a weird looking move. I don'tknow this line. We should just perform the opening tasks. } 3. Nf3 Nd7 4. Be2 Be7 5. c4 { Since black is not making the most active moves, this c4move is certainly justified, since we are at greater activity than theopponent. } 5... h6 6. Nc3 a6 { Although the opening for black seems totallyridiculous, it is easy to understand his idea. Black wants to play on theflanks, and hold against any counters in the center. Thats why he set upe6 and d6. When the position is closed, then his lack of development meanslittle. So it is clear white needs to blast the center and start attackingthere. } 7. O-O g5 8. Ne1 { The move activates the Be2 and prepares to openup more lines near the center. Here black should be consistent with hisidea, and play 8...e5 8.Be3. Now if black wants to force white to take,he will have to play ...c5. But then white still has a nice edge, sinceblack has been forced to play in the center, and it has gotton opened upa bit. So black's strategy is incorrect, but if you don't understand it,then you will not be able to counter it. } 8... c6 9. f4 e5 { This move is ratherpoor in my opinion. It invites white to blast open the center and the ffile. } 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. Be3 { We should keep the tension here. } 11... Bf6 { Thismove is not so great, since the bishop is blocking the other pieces. } 12. d5 { To neutralize the bishop and get passed pawn. Now it is clear white'sstrategy has prevailed. The center is clearly the place of action, andflank attack with g5 has failed. } 12... Ne7 13. d6 Ng6 14. Bg4 { Preventing Nf4,but black does it anways. } 14... Nf4 15. g3 Ng6 16. Qf3 { Now white is simplyhaving a winning posiiton. You see that when we follow the correct strategicideas, the winning position comes automatically. } 16... Nf4 { A good tricky ideato sacrifice the knight for play. It took a very long time to find thebest response, but in the end I came up with something that would guaranteea clean advantage. } 17. gxf4 exf4 18. Bxd7+ { Getting rid of the knight.Now black should take back with the queen. } 18... Bxd7 19. Bc5 Qa5 { This is apoor move, since white now has a decisive way to end black's counterplay. } 20. b4 Qa3 21. Nd5 { Had the queen retreated, it simply would have beena waste of time. This tactic will end things immediately. } 21... Bd4+ 22. Kh1 Qb2 23. Nd3 { There were many ways to win here. } 23... cxd5 24. Nxb2 Bxb2 25. exd5 { White is still making sure he plays the best moves, to end the gamequickly. } 25... O-O-O 26. Rae1 { After a few more moves, black resigned. } *

[Event "tinker101's mini-tournament I"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.07.23"] [Round "-"] [White "mcmf1212"] [Black "tinker101"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1502"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1635"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 e6 { This is where this mini-tournament started.I'm not sure what this opening is called. } 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Qa4 { Attackingearly on } 5... O-O { Making myself able to play d5, fighting for the center. } 6. e3 { Opening an opportunity for the LSB to help attack blacks king-side. } 6... b6 { Opening the a8-h1 diagonal for my LSB but I think this may be an inaccuracybecause it allows an attack by white on my king-side. Maybe d5 is betterenabling black to fight for the center and giving white's LSB less roomto maneuver. I completely missed white's responding tactic. } 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qh4 Be7 9. Bd3 { Now white is applying some pressure to my king-sideand I need to play careful to avoid getting crushed. } 9... g6 { Only move I couldfind that prevents immediate mate. } 10. O-O Ba6 { Trying to trade my badbishop for his active one. } 11. Rd1 d6 { I didn't trade because I saw acombination for white that I can't currently find. I thought that the rookwould be active and would cause me trouble but I think I should've andsaved d6 or d5 for later. d6 prevents Ne5 and allows black to add anotherdefender to the knight on f6. Also possible is a future Nc5 attacking thebishop but that never happens. } 12. Be4 d5 { Forced. } 13. Ne5 { I thoughtfor quite a long time on this move and I ended up playing... } 13... Nbd7 { Nbd7.A move making me lose a piece. I'm not sure what I should've done instead.My pieces are all either stuck doing nothing or defending. Any suggestions?I'm not sure if Nbd7 was a blunder in the end because it freed up my king-sideand allowed my pieces to be freer but it made me down 2 points in material.Was it? What should I have done instead? } 14. Nxd7 Nxe4 { I didn't knowwhat to do but decided on taking the bishop. Am I missing a tactic? } 15. Bxe7 Qxd7 16. Bxf8 Rxf8 17. f3 Nd6 { Planning next move to be Nc4 or Nf5. } 18. b3 Nf5 19. Qf4 { I thought long and hard for a move better then Qd6with a queen trade and for awhile couldn't find one but then saw... } 19... Qb5 { The interesting Qb5. Qe2 being my next move. 20. c4 dc 21. bc Qb2 22.Nd2 and the position is okay for white. 20. c4 dc 21. Qxc4 Nxe3 22. Qxb5also seems okay for white or 21... Qxc4 22. bc Bxe4 which also seems okayfor white. } 20. e4 Qe2 21. Nd2 { Qd7 would've been better. } 21... Ne3 22. Qg3 { Stopping Qxg7# but allowing Nxd8 } 22... Nxd1 { And white resigns. A good gamewith blunders by both sides. Please comment and rate! } 0-1

[Event "WHSCA Ind. Championship: (U1300) sec. rd. 1/5"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "January 29, 2010"] [Round "-"] [White "Lee Carter"] [Black "Travis Olson"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "878"] [TimeControl "90 min game w/5 sec. dly."] [WhiteElo "unr."] { This is the first game in a series of five detailing my performance inthe 2010 high-school individual state championship. I was the only onefrom my school to make it this year, but I was ready to give it my all,regardless of how I placed. Last year I missed the first two rounds toa jazz competition at CWU, and I landed in 27th place with two half-point-byes.Luckily I quit jazz band, and was able to play all five rounds of the Swisstournament. } 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 { This was my usual response to 2. Bc4,to prevent complications with my f pawn. } 3. Qf3 { It looked like my opponentwas planning an aggressive attack on my king-side, although it was tooearly and poorly executed. } 3... Nc6 4. Nh3 Nd4 { Threatening both the queenand a fork at c2. } 5. Qd3 a6 { I was preparing to trap the bishop... } 6. c3 { ...but of course, he kicked me away, also giving his bishop a potentialpocket at c2. } 6... Nc6 7. Qf3 { With the threat of the knight gone, my opponentsought to continue where he left off. } 7... b5 { Not wanting to trade my knightfor his bishop, I instead kicked it to put my own bishop on b7. } 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Qf4 d6 10. Ng5 { He threatened mate and a fork on f7, but he didn'tsee that it was easily met. } 10... Nf6 11. d4 cxd4 12. e5 { White thought he couldsupport a pawn push to e5 with a move like 11. d4, with the idea of chasingaway my knight and winning the game. Moreover, White thought that 'strikingwhile the iron was hot' (with 12. e5) was better than first recapturing(12. cxd5). But in the process he forgot that e5 was defended twice bymy knight and pawn. } 12... dxe5 13. Qf3 Qc7 14. cxd4 Nxd4 { I threatened his queen,his bishop, and a fork on c2. White couldn't stop all three threats, asyou will see. } 15. Qc3 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Nc2+ { Of the three threats my opponentchose the best option, the fork. } 17. Kf1 Nxa1 18. Bb2 Rd8 { That knightwas a goner, since after 18...Nc2, Bd3. I instead developed without losingtempo. } 19. Bxa1 Be7 20. f3 Nd5 21. h4 Bc5 { With this move I prepared myknight to make a series of jumps, which would continually put my opponentin check. } 22. Ne4 Bb6 23. Nd6+ { Just a cheap blunder from my opponent.He probably thought the knight was protected. } 23... Rxd6 24. c4 { White failedto meet the threat. } 24... Ne3+ 25. Ke1 Nxg2+ 26. Kf1 Ne3+ 27. Ke1 Nc2+ 28. Kf1 Nxa1 { By this point my opponent was greatly annoyed by my knight gobblingup his pieces while giving him repeated check. } 29. Kg2 Nc2 30. Bd1 { Whiteneglected to notice the fork point at e3 and the fact that his bishop wasonly defended once. } 30... Ne3+ 31. Kf2 Nxd1+ 32. Kf1 Nf2 33. Rg1 Bxf3 { Finally,my pieces go after his king. } 34. Rg3 { This was my opponent's final blunder(Nc3 was the only good move). } 34... Rd1# { And with that, I won the first roundof the tournament. I was now more confident in my abilities from this pointforward. On to round two! } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2015.02.13"] [Round "-"] [White "leprechaun007"] [Black "42shadow42"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1386"] [WhiteElo "1376"] 1. e4 { Before we get started, I'd like to note I find myself to be horrendousat early games, so my goal usually involves getting to mid game withoutgiving up to much ground. } 1... c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nd4 { I go for early aggressionhoping for some early trades. } 4. d3 f6 5. Be3 e5 6. Nd5 { White matchesmy aggression. } 6... Ne7 7. c3 Nxd5 { After rejecting Nxf3 because of lost tempo.I decide to trade 7... Nxd5 in hopes of 8. cxd4 nxe3 9. fxe3 cxd4 afterwhich I'm up a pawn unless 10. exd4 ... after which I have an opening forqueen side attack through Qa5+ } 8. exd5 Qa5 { I still don't want to tradeNxf3 because it leaves him with much more development. Instead I pin thepawn with Qa5. } 9. b4 { To my delight white decides to threaten my queenwith b4! } 9... Nxf3+ { This gives me an opportunity for a strong attack on thequeen side. I utilize my ability to force trade on f3 by checking the king,forcing him to either pull away the queen, or destroy his king side pawnstructure, and then continue my attack with cxb4. } 10. Qxf3 cxb4 11. c4 { Presumably noticing the assault after 11. cxb4 fxb4+ that would deny thecastle. My opponent made another mistake! } 11... b3+ { I advance the pawn underthe protection of a discovered check. } 12. Bd2 b2 { I ignore my attack onmy queen, because I can replace it with my promoted pawn after 13. bxa5 bxa1=Q+, winning the rook and providing an excellent continued attackon the king. } 13. Bxa5 bxa1=Q+ 14. Ke2 { Presumably white chooses not tobring his queen to defense knowing I'd accept the trade and likely winwith my advantage. } 14... Qxa2+ 15. Bd2 Bb4 16. Ke3 { My opponent makes anothermistake, needlessly surrendering his bishop to my attack. } 16... Qxd2+ 17. Ke4 O-O { Unsure of what to do to capitalize my lead I opt to castle allowingmy rook to join the fray. } 18. h4 { A deadly mistake. } 18... f5+ { I proceed toforce mate with 18. ... f5+ I can easily force checkmate after (1) 19.Kxe5 Re8+ 20. Kxf5 d6# or (2) 19. Kxe5 Re8+ 20. Kd4 Qc3#, or the extendedmate after 19. Qxf5 Rxf5! I threaten checkmate with 20 ... Qf4#. He has3 defenses. (3) 21. g3 Rf4+ 22. gxf4 Qxf4#, (4) 21. d4 Rf4+ 22. Kxe5 d6#and (5) 21. d6 Qf5+ 22. Kd5 Qd4# } 19. Kxe5 Re8+ 20. Kxf5 d6# 0-1

[Event "Challenge from puttonen"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "14-Jan-09"] [Round "-"] [White "puttonen"] [Black "espeni"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1287"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1395"] 1. e4 { e4 alotus, ainoa paras. } 1... c5 { Sisialainen puolustus, t�t� k�yttiitse Gasparov yleens�. } 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 { sotilasvaihto } 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Bb5+ Nbd7 7. Nf5 { He took his queen and moved it to d6:st. } 7... g6 { She didn't want to play chess with him, as she found his moves too weak. } 8. Nxd6+ Bxd6 9. Qxd6 Qe7 { He walked to the store, changing directions multiple times while walking in the crowded street. } 10. Qxe7+ { daami vaihto. } 10... Kxe7 { The king is not allowed to move, he must stay in the same place. } 11. Bg5 { valkea sitoo mustan hevosen. } 11... Nb6 { mustayritt�� kai saada l�hettins� peliin. } 12. O-O-O { Valkonen tornittaa jasaa samalla tornille avoimen linjan. } 12... Be6 13. Rhe1 a6 14. Be2 Rhd8 15. b3 { A player is making a move on the chessboard, aiming for a checkmate. } 15... Rac8 16. Rxd8 { The white knight moves to the center of the board. } 16... Rxd8 17. f4 { White to move (e5xf4) If - e5, then 5! } 17... h6 { musta yritt��purkaa tilannetta. } 18. Bxh6 Rh8 19. Bg5 { The game continues, moving pieces around the board until one side wins or it is a draw. } 19... Nd7 20. h3 Rc8 21. Nd5+ Bxd5 22. exd5 Kd6 { He must have been a great king to have such a powerful army. } 23. fxe5+ Kc7 { If Kxe5, then Bb5, so that the horse moves each time. } 24. exf6 Kb8 25. Bg4 { The knight moved to the third rank, if there is a favorable position - Rd8, then Re7 and the situation is finished. He must win. } 1-0

[Event "A Little Shock and Awe"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.03.20"] [Round "-"] [White "blake84120"] [Black "jivko"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1643"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1772"] 1. e4 { Team Match, I am playing white and go with the Open Game. } 1... e6 2. d4 { The French Defense, to which white plays the standard response. } 2... d5 3. Nc3 { Main Line. Apparently, this is played in over 40% of all gamesinvolving the French Defense. } 3... Bb4 4. e5 { 3. ... Bb4 is the Winawer Variation,4. e5 is the main line response, saving the threatened pawn on e5. } 4... Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 { Main line says to play 4. ... c5 before 5. ... Bxc3+. } 5... Ne7 6. Qg4 c5 7. Qxg7 { The move order was rearranged a bit, but black eventuallyfound his way back to the normal first 6 moves of the Winawer Variationwith 6. ... c5?, but with one critical difference. By jumping the gun on4. ... Bxc3 without waiting for white's standard 4. a3, white has had achance to play 6. Qg4 one move earlier than the main line (where this moveis normally white's 7th move). Result: black's pawn on g7 is undefendedand thanks to white's gain in tempo, black doesn't have time for 7. ...0-0 to defend it. } 7... Rg8 8. Qxh7 { Two free pawns. } 8... Nbc6 9. Nf3 { Not 9. dxc5?leaving white with isolated and doubled pawns on the c-file. } 9... Bd7 10. Bh6 { I had a sneaky plan (well, not very sneaky, really) to play 11. Ng5 threateningthe black pawn on f7. I couldn't reverse the move order and play 10. Ng5and 11. Ba6 because the knight on g5 would block the bishop from reachinga6. However, black's next move invalidates white's 10th move entirely andforces a waste of tempo. } 10... Qa5 11. Bd2 { Back we go, sneaky plan unfulfilled. } 11... O-O-O 12. Qd3 { I struggled with the idea of 12. Qxf7. It's not defended,and a material advantage of three pawns with two passed pawns is much moreappealing than an advantage of two pawns with only one passed pawn. ButI feared the white queen would be too exposed to attacks by black's rooks,and even if she escaped, black would have even more attacking lanes atwhite's kingside. So I opted to retreat the queen back for defense. I'mstill not sure if this was white's best move here (it felt cowardly whenI played it). } 12... c4 13. Qe2 { More retreating, and now white has blocked inhis kingside bishop. But 13. Qe3 would block in the queenside bishop instead,and the DSB has more range in this position, so it made more sense to trapthe least mobile of the two bishops. } 13... Nf5 14. g3 Rdf8 15. Bg2 { Gettingsome room for the LSB, and preparing to castle. Black has two half-openfiles aimed at white's castle, but black's LSB is no help and his queenis far from white's kingside (even Qd8 doesn't help black much since f6,g5, and h4 are well covered by white's pawns and knight). So the castlelooks reasonably safe, and it connects whites rooks and allows for whiteto get a rook on the half-open b-file. } 15... f6 16. O-O { Upon further consideration,16. exf6 may have been wiser. It allows black to double his rooks, perhapson the h-file, but with his pawn removed from f7, he could do that anyway.But not capturing on f6 allows black to play fxe5 forcing white to recapture(before or after exchanging knights) with dxe5, isolating the doubled whitepawns on the c-file). So, positionally, I think 16. exf6 might have beena better move. } 16... Qd8 17. Rab1 { Well, that was nice of black, taking thepressure off the whtie queenside pawns and allowing white to play Rab1instead of Rfb1, saving the kingside rook for better things, like supporton the e-file if needed. } 17... fxe5 18. Nxe5 Qf6 19. Rxb7 { 18. ... Qf6? is abit of a blunder for black (do you see it without reading ahead?), allowingwhite to gain material and a strong queenside attack against the blackking. I believe his intent was for his queen to support, 19. ... Nxe5 whichwill do a lot of damage to white's pawn structure. As for 19. Rxb7?!, Idon't know how to score this move, so I think I'll give it the old 'strangemove' notation. White could have played 19. Nxd7 forking black's queenand rook and forcing black to recapture with 19. ... Kxd7 after which 20.Rxb7+ wins a pawn and gets white a rook on the 7th rank. Then I realizedI could reverse the order and win a rook, bishop, and pawn for a rook andknight. As played, it exchanges more material, which is good when whiteis ahead by two, soon to be three, pawns. But it loses the advantage ofa rook on the 7th rank. Still, it felt more fun, more 'shock and awe',which I needed after my earlier cowardly queen retreat. } 19... Nxe5 20. dxe5 { Black scared me with 19. Nxe5 which, frankly, I had not considered. Atfirst I thought I had blown it since without the knight, there is no Nxe7to fork the queen and rook, and I will lose my rook for just a pawn, orretreat the rook and lose the knight for nothing. Then I realized that20. dxe5 threatens black's queen and gives white's rook a chance to escape. } 20... Qg6 21. Rxa7 { So, up four pawns instead of three. All white needs to donow is weather the upcoming black storm on white's castle. } 21... Kd8 22. Rb1 { Thinking about getting one or two rooks on the 8th rank and exchangingwith the black rooks. } 22... Ke7 23. Bc1 { Headed for a3 skewing the black kingto his rook on f8. } 23... Rd8 24. Rb6 { I was tempted to play 24. Rb1b7, but theblack bishop is fairly safe. White cannot drive black's king farther awaythan e8 which still defends the black bishop, and allows for black to playRg7 defending the bishop even more. So 24. Rb1b7 wouldn't get me what Iwant. What I need is to get the LSB from g2 all the way over to where itcan attack the black bishop. If only the black pawn on d5 would go away...Then I realized I could just hunt the d5 pawn instead; make it go awayrather than just wish it would. } 24... Nh4 25. Ba3+ { Black does a little huntingof his own. Not 25. gxh4??? allowing 25. ... Qxg2#. However, 25. Ba3+ servesvery little purpose and just wastes time, but it doesn't hurt, either,and it adds an extra piece to white's mounting attack against the blackking. } 25... Kf7 26. Bxd5 { The black pawn at e6 is pinned: 26. ... exd5? allows27. Rxg6 and white gains a queen and pawn for a bishop and rook. But ifblack doesn't capture, the pressure with white's bishop and rook attackingthe pawn on e6 is difficult to defend against, and white always has Qxc4and Bc6. Faced with multiple threats and an overwhelming material deficit,black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "MM-matš, ?"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.05.11"] [Round "-"] [White "Topalov, V."] [Black "Anand, V."] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2787"] [TimeControl "7200"] [WhiteElo "2805"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Be2 Nxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd7 13. O-O b6 14. Bd3 c5 15. Be4 Rb8 16. Qc2 Nf6 { See käik on praktikas väga väheesinenud ning pani ka Topalovi mõtlema. } 17. dxc5 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 bxc5 19. Qc2 { Siin mängiti 2008.a. partiis Külaots-Grabarczyk 19. b3 (mäng lõppesviigiga). Topalovi käik on uus. } 19... Bb7 20. Nd2 Rfd8 21. f3 Ba6 22. Rf2 Rd7 23. g3 { The strongest chess move is the knight's move. However, it is not always the best move to capture the opponent's pieces. } 23... Rbd8 24. Kg2 Bd3 25. Qc1 Ba6 { Viigiettepanek? } 26. Ra3 Bb7 27. Nb3 Rc7 28. Na5 Ba8 29. Nc4 e5 30. e4 f5 { Attack the king! White pieces bring great joy to the player. } 31. exf5 { Topalov is making a sacrifice. He has just moved his rook to the third rank, and now he is capturing a pawn with his knight. This is a very aggressive move, and it looks like he is trying to gain the advantage. } 31... e4 32. fxe4 { See also: Topalov's recent games have been full of surprises. } 32... Qxe4+ 33. Kh3 Rd4 34. Ne3 Qe8 { Jäi seekäik kahe silma vahele? } 35. g4 { 35. Rg2 Lh5+ 36. Rh4 Lg4 matt! } 35... h5 36. Kh4 g5+ { Või 36... Ld8+ 37. f6 Vf7 } 37. fxg6 Qxg6 38. Qf1 { Ei kõlba 38.h3 hxg4 39. hxg4 Vh7+ 40. Kg3 Ld6+ } 38... Rxg4+ 39. Kh3 Re7 { White must capture the pawn, so he plays 39...Vf7. Black responds with 40.Vxf7 and White captures the pawn with 41.Vf2. After 41...Oe4, Black has no way to stop White from winning the game. Anand is known for his skillful and calculated moves. } 40. Rf8+ { He took the pawn, and then captured the knight's move with the rook. 41. Rf5 Lxf5+ 42. Vxf5 Vxd1. Education is the key to success. } 40... Kg7 { 40... Kh7 41. Vh8+ Kxh8 42. Lf8+ Lg843. Lh6+ (43. Lxe7 Lc8!) 43... Vh7 44. Lf6+ Vhg7, kuid Anand valib taaslihtsama tee. Partii ajal paistis kommentaatoritele, et käik on viga...ometi nägi Anand ilmselt kaugemale, kui pealtvaatajate arvutid võisid näidata. } 41. Nf5+ Kh7 42. Rg3 { 42. Rxe7 Vh4+ 43. Kxh4 Lg4# } 42... Rxg3+ 43. hxg3 Qg4+ 44. Kh2 Re2+ 45. Kg1 Rg2+ 46. Qxg2 Bxg2 47. Kxg2 { Valge võinuks võtta liputagasi 47. Vf7+ Kg6 48. Vg7+ Kxf5 49. Vxg4 hxg4! 50. Kxg2 Ke4 51. Kf2 Kd3,kuid etturilõppmäng on valgele lootusetu. Seda varianti ei näinudki osadkommentaatorid. } 47... Qe2+ 48. Kh3 c4 49. a4 a5 50. Rf6 Kg8 { Must mängibvalge käigupuudusele! } 51. Nh6+ Kg7 52. Rb6 Qe4 53. Kh2 Kh7 54. Rd6 Qe5 55. Nf7 Qxb2+ 56. Kh3 Qg7 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "17-Nov-08"] [Round "-"] [White "x-t-o"] [Black "matpalm"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1356"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1451"] { a reasonably balanced game until i miscalculated the amount of firepowerbeing directed to one piece } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 { interested in a king sidefianchetto so dont mind blocking black rook in } 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 c5 7. Bb5+ Nbd7 { perhaps Bd7 would be better here sincei've just locked the b in } 8. Nf3 a6 9. Bc4 { uncomfortable pressure onf7 after white Ng5 } 9... Bg7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 { ready for a push of e5? } 11... Ne5 { lock e5 down, that Ns got not a lot of other places to go, maybe backto b6? } 12. Nxe5 dxe5 { whites pawn structure more stable } 13. Qd2 { is thisgetting ready to stack Rd1? or maybe Qg5? the diagonal c1 h6 is backedupby ws black B } 13... b5 { push queen side, king is safe and sound and pawns areall over anyways } 14. Be2 Bb7 { Be2 removes a defender of f4, Bb7 puts Bon a better diagonal and puts a bit of pressure on e4 } 15. Bf3 { backupe4, very guarded now } 15... Qd7 { not a lot on the diagonal but getting readyfor a Rd8 } 16. Qxd7 Nxd7 17. Bg5 f6 { unsure now about this. work done forfianchetto but now blocked in. 17... Bf6 18. Bxf6 Nxf6 or 17... Nf6 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 and more mobile bishop } 18. Be3 Rad8 19. Rad1 f5 20. Bg5 Bf6 21. Bxf6 Rxf6 22. Rd3 Bc6 { backup N on d7 since Rd1 is coming } 23. Red1 b4 { perhaps c4 was better here? pawn up after 23. Red1 b4 24. Ne2 fxe425. Bxe4 Bxe4 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27. Rxd7 Bxc2 or 23. Red1 b4 24. Nd5 Bxd525. Rxd5 fxe4 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27. Rxd7 exf3 win a piece with 23. Red1 b424. Nd5 Bxd5 25. exd5 e4 } 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 { expected since 25. exd4e4 wins a piece for black } 25... Rf7 { 25... fxe4? loses a piece after Bg4. afterRf7 expect 26. Rxe5 or c5 winning a pawn after 26... Nxe5 27. Rxd8 Rf8 } 26. Be2 Kf8 { bring king towards d7. not a5 since 27. Bb5 and the king can'tbe another defender } 27. Bxa6 fxe4 { reclaim the pawn since after 28. Bb5Ke8 king is close enough } 28. Bb5 Ke8 29. a3 Ra8 { blunder, there was enoughfirepower to defend N on d7 } 30. Bxd7+ Rxd7 31. Rxd7 bxa3 32. Rxh7 Ra6 { can't play axb2 since lose rook after 33. Rh8 K? 34. Rxa8 } 33. bxa3 Rb6 { 33... Rxa3 loses, 34. Rb1 Ra8 35. Rh8 wins the rook 33... Rf6 34. Rb1Rf7 35. Rb7 forces trade of rooks 33... Rb6, lets hope he goes crazy with35. Rd3 } 34. a4 Rb2 35. Ra1 Kd8 36. c4 Kc8 37. a5 Rb7 38. Rxb7 Kxb7 39. a6+ *

[Event "JDK - EA Game 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "13-Sep-06"] [Round "-"] [White "emperoratahualpa"] [Black "paycek"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1433"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 { This is a very commonmove for white. } 6... Bd7 { a5 would have been a better move here. } 7. b4 c4 { Locking out the pawns. Until someone makes a breakthrough, the centrewill be static. } 8. Be2 a5 9. bxa5 Rxa5 { At this point, taking with therook I think is the best idea. The idea being to tuck the a8 rook in behindonce development is complete. } 10. O-O { A good move. Castling is a goodidea for white. } 10... h6 11. Re1 Nge7 12. Bf1 Nf5 13. Re2 { This is a very goodmove. The rook can attack on the b file or protect on the a file shortly. } 13... Be7 { Continuing development. Blacks white-squared bishop is the weakestminor piece as it is not really doing much at the moment. } 14. Rb2 { whitegoes for the attack. } 14... Qa6 15. Rba2 Na7 { 7Sep06 - Have been checking thisposition for quite a while now. a3 is protected by no less than 4 pieces.The idea behind Na7 is to relocate it to b5 where it is attacking the pawnson a3 and c3. However, before that I should prevent the pawn from reachinga4 by Ba4, attacking the queen in the process. } 16. Ne1 Ba4 17. Nc2 { Thebishop on a4 is proving handy for black. If it was not there then therewould be Nb4 pretty soon.. Attacking the black queen and making inroadsinto blacks position via b4->c6 (eventually). However if Nb4 then Bxd1. } 17... Nb5 { Attacking the pawns on c3 and a3. Note Bb2 will have a responseof Bb3 claiming the rook on a2 because it has blocked its escape routes. } 18. Qd2 Bb3 19. Rb2 Kd7 { 01Nov06 - Freeing up the rook to come to a8 ifneeded. Whites queenside is looking very cluttered. Possibly the criticalposition. White has some possibilities, his queen is quite free. Thereare no attacks on his king. Blacks knight on f5 does not really have manyescape options and the f7 pawn could become weak later. For now it is anall out attack of whites pieces! } 20. g3 h5 21. Bh3 g6 { Further protectionto the knight. } 22. Qf4 { The tide is turning and white is now making useof the extra space on the kingside. Even so white cannot move too muchmaterial the kingside just yet. } 22... f6 23. exf6 Bxf6 24. Bxf5 gxf5 25. Nb4 Qb6 26. Qe3 h4 27. Nd2 { In freeing the knight to attack the bishop andalso with the possibility of moving to f3, applying pressure on the h4pawn, it leaves its guard of the a3 pawn. } 27... Nxa3 { Black duly accepts theoffer of the pawn, knowing that it may be a short term thing. } 28. Nxb3 { ? That white squared bishop was not doing much. Black is compelled totake the knight. } 28... cxb3 { 20Nov06 - if white takes then b3 pawn then 29.... Nc4 attacking the queen and also allowing Rxa1 possibilities. If 29.c4 then 29. ... Nxc4 forking the rook and the queen. Maybe the best possibilityfor white is 29. Nxd5? White is now thinking for time over this move. 20Nov06 - Update - White resigns. } 0-1

[Event "A David vs Goliath situation ( 1800 elo vs unranked )"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "8/02/2015"] [Round "-"] [White "Roger Van Decraen"] [Black "Jeremy Goris"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "Unranked"] [TimeControl "International chess"] [WhiteElo "1780"] { Before you start reading the annotations, I'd like to point out that I'mplaying as Black in this side. I had prepared my opening for the whiteside, but as always my chess club turns a loophole at me and makes me playwith the opposite color. My opponent was also many times stronger thenmyself, I didn't know this at the time, but it became apparent trough outthe game. I analysed it without the help of engines or stronger players,so if things aren't correct then I apologise in advance. } 1. Nf3 { Oh joyan opening I wasn't familiar with. I kept calm and thought it trough. Eitherhe's gonna play d4 or fianchetto. In both cases I want to play d5. Eitherto go into some strange queen pawn opening, the opening I'm most familiarwith ( d4 d5 is my openingrepertoire as white ), or I make his white Bishopa tiny bit less powerful, by blocking that diagonal. } 1... d5 { Please for thelove of .... just play d4 so I can actually go into theory lines I'm familiarwith. } 2. g3 { Guess we're leaping in the unknown, oh joy. Well Bishop g2will follow, that much I'm sure of. } 2... Nf6 3. Bg2 Nc6 { Perhaps I should havewaited with bringing my knight out. Maybe Bishop f5 and then Knight fromb8 to d7 would have been better. No point in thinking about it now, myopponent is over 1750 elo, it'd surprise me if he didn't know the theorybehind both knight moves. } 4. O-O Bf5 5. d3 { Preparing to bring his bishopout and planning e4. } 5... e6 { I was told afterwards by my opponent that thismove might already be a tiny error. e5 is more aggressive and takes morecentral control, I'll soon notice why e5 was better. } 6. Nbd2 { His positionis something I'd expect to see from black, not something from white. Thee4 square is being targeted once again and he's preparing to eventuallybring his knight to b3 I suppose. } 6... Bc5 { If I had played e5 then theorysuggests d6 would have been a better square. Well I'm not following themain lines anyway. I figured I'd prevent a shove of the f2 pawn in thefuture. This might be a mistake since Knight b3 might follow, costing mea tempo, but I figured he'd lost the tempo when playing knight d2 anyway. } 7. c3 { And here the fun starts, oh jeebus christ. d4 is obvious, but it'dmake my bishop a rather funny looking piece. I didn't feel like my bishopwould do well on d6 so I decide to play it differently. } 7... e5 { And for thisreason I should have played e5 immediately. So this kind of BS isn't inhis plans to begin with. } 8. Nxe5 { I'll be painfully honest here, I didn'tsee this combination when I played e5. What looks like losing a knight,is actually opening the centre. } 8... Nxe5 9. d4 { Now there're 3 options. OptionA, take the pawn with my bishop and win back the material, option B, movemy knight to d7 or option C: move my bishop to d6, he takes, i take back.I didn't really consider option B and option C didn't feel right. I can'treally tell you why, it just felt wrong. Perhaps because I valued my Knightso much. I know bishops are usually better in an endgame, but I felt likeI needed the knight to prevent losing the centre. } 9... Bxd4 10. cxd4 Nc6 11. Nf3 { This move surprised me, I was expecting Knight b3. Maybe because hewants to make his knight an attacking piece when I castle. } 11... O-O 12. a3 { ??? I didn't understand this move. I guess he wants to do a minority attackon the queen side, but with 2 pawns and no minor pieces? Maybe he wantedto prevent Knight b4 followed by Knight c2, I guess that must be it. Sincethen I'd get a nasty attack going after he moves his Rook. I wonder ifhe could have prevented that combination if he didn't immediately playa3. } 12... Re8 { Taking control of the semi-open file. } 13. Bg5 { He hopes I'mnot going to take action and tie my queen to my knight. Sorry friend, I'veignored bishops like these a tad too often in the past, I know how it'dend. } 13... h6 14. Bf4 { He's provoking me to play g5. I thought about it, butit weakens my king's safety too much. His bishop is eyeing down on c7. } 14... Qe7 { Putting pressure on e2. I'll deal with the threat of Bxc7 later. } 15. Re1 { Subtle, but it works. } 15... Nh5 { Getting that bishop to the other sideof the board. } 16. Bd2 { Here I felt for the first time that I was ahead,Maybe I should have played Nf6 in the hope he'd play Bishop f5 once moreand then go for a draw by repetition. But there's no fun in that, if you'reup versus a titan then escaping with your life is good, but imagine ifyou actually kill said titan. BAM you're a local hero. ( Not really, butyou get my point. We got this far, might as well continue it. ) } 16... Be4 { Iwant to prevent e4 and potentially in the future take his Bishop on g2.This move meets both requirements. } 17. Bc3 { The pawn on d4 hangs if Iwere to take the knight on f3. I had no intention on doing so, but I understandwhy he played it for sure. One pawn means the world to players of our level.Not only does it crush the opponents moral, but it also makes a statement.I'm going for your head mate, be prepared. } 17... Nf6 { My knight was lookingsilly and I had the feeling Ne5 would be coming. Later it turned out thatmy opponent never calculated Ke5 at all, didn't even consider it. Me preparingfor Ne5 is probably what cost me the game. It all goes downhill from here. } 18. Rc1 Nd7 { Preparing for Ne5. Getting my knight away from the king sidewill soon prove lethal. } 19. Bh3 { He wants to regain some space, he's alsotempting me to take his knight, but I didn't feel like giving him the bishoppair. } 19... Nb6 { I wanted to get my knight on c4. Not sure why, probably becauseit looked amazing, but looking back at it now, yes a knight on c4 is cooland all, but it doesn't really accomplish much. } 20. Nd2 { Well shait. } 20... Qf6 { I question myself why I didn't just move my bishop to a square likeg6 or h7. Soon I'll find out that that was probably better. } 21. Nxe4 { Itsuddenly occurred to me that taking dxe4 is followed by d5. Looking backat it now, I would have had the defence of Ne5 if that had followed. Ididn't consider it back then since it'd pin my knight to my queen. } 21... Rxe4 22. Bg2 Re6 { This move is a mistake. It may not seem like it, but Re7 wasmiles better. The reason being e4. He doesn't miss this beauty of a move. } 23. e4 { Now I'm bound to lose material if he gets his e4 pawn on d5. Iopted to play for trickery. Maybe not the brightest choice versus someoneof his caliber. Another option would have been Re7, he takes, I recapture.And the material is once again dead even, however enabling the d4 pawnwill get quite a bit easier. He'd play something like Qb3, force my knightback to b6, start pushing his pawns on the d line and eventually he'llget of an attack with his bishop on my queen. That's far too complex toplay against a superior opponent. } 23... Rae8 { Now he can't take my pawn, Iknew e5 would follow, but I figured it'd be alright. At this point I realizedI had to play for a draw rather then a win. } 24. e5 Qe7 { One of the onlysquares that saves my queen some potential in the future, or so I thought... } 25. f4 { If the Fide ever releases a dictionary then this move is the pictureyou'd see when you search for unpleasant and cramped position. I misplayed1-2 moves rather drastically and this is the result. Guess we're bunkingup boys! } 25... f5 { The only move that prevents f5, which is a game over. Himtaking en passant doesn't help and is actually beneficial to me. I offeredhim a draw offer here. He respectfully declined stating that there wasstill a lot of chess to play here. I figured maybe he'd take the draw sincehe didn't realise how to break through this structure. It'll take him about10 more moves to figure it out, but eventually he will. } 26. Qc2 { Attackingmy f5 pawn. } 26... Rf8 { As long as my Rook on e6 stays there it'll be alright.His bishop on c3 is also still immobile. } 27. Qb3 { attacking more stuff.Moving my Queen would have been best, but I wanted to try and get to arepetition. } 27... Rd8 28. Re2 g5 { I doubt if this was the best move, but he'dstart a similar plan soon. I'd rather try and take the initiative. } 29. Rf2 g4 { Here I thought I had the draw. He could force his h pawn, but thatdoesn't leave much room for his pieces to get trough. Especially if I putmy king on he 7th or 6th rank. Or so I thought... } 30. Bf1 Kg7 31. Qc2 Kg6 32. Bd3 Qf7 33. h3 { And here the pain begins. You can probably guesshow it continues. } 33... h5 { Please just push that h-pawn. } 34. hxg4 { No suchluck eh? my position is in fact miles worse then I imagined at this point.You'll see why. } 34... hxg4 35. Rh2 Rde8 36. Bxf5+ Qxf5 37. Rh6+ { And I resignedhere. Black gets a minor piece and a rook for his queen and pawn, but thewhite queen is in the middle of my structure and I don't see black defendingthreats like e6 and f5 anytime soon. The game had already lasted for nearly4 hours and I'd rather spend dinner with my family then trying to win ahopeless battle. } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "19-Jun-08"] [Round "-"] [White "delta38"] [Black "liptak"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1933"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1502"] 1. f4 { Bird's Opening. } 1... Nf6 { Usually d5 to attempt to establish pawn centerfollowed by this move. } 2. e3 { Supports f4 and continues Bird's Opening. } 2... d5 { Helps to counter f4 and applies pressure in center especially on e4. } 3. d3 { Eases pressure on e4 and prevents option of a knight outpost one4 later in game. } 3... Nc6 { Helps to control center. Although I have seen c5then this move afterwards. } 4. Nf3 { Helps apply pressure to the dark centralsquares which is an objective for the Bird's Opening. } 4... Bg4 { Pins the knightand temporarily lessens its central threat. } 5. Be2 { Unleashes the pinand makes way to castle. } 5... e6 { Supports d5 and gives the f8 bishop someoptions. } 6. O-O { A safe guard before attacking the queenside. } 6... Bd6 { Developsthe bishop while adding support to e5. } 7. a3 { Starts queenside attack. } 7... O-O { Ideal. } 8. b4 { Continues queenside attack, prevents black bishop toc5, and allows Bb2 for white which gives white more control over the darkcentral squares. } 8... a6 { Prevents b5. } 9. Nbd2 { Hoping for c4 next move andif black takes back, I take with my knight and have a temporary outposton c4. } 9... b5 { An effective move that halts my plans for the queenside fornow. } 10. Bb2 { Fianchettoes the bishop and attacks the dark center squares.Also allows rook c1 which can help support pawn c4 afterwards. } 10... a5 { Hopingto control b4. } 11. Nd4 { Attacks the pawn on b5, knight on c6, and bishopon g4. } 11... Bxe2 { Naturally. } 12. Qxe2 { An obvious move that allows me to connectmy rooks. } 12... Nxd4 { Somewhat forced, I think. } 13. Bxd4 { Best way to recapture. } 13... axb4 { Wanting to simplify the queenside while winning a pawn. } 14. axb4 { I oblige. } 14... Bxb4 { There goes my queenside attack. } 15. Nb3 { Prevents c5for now. } 15... Be7 { Guards the knight so the black queen can move without worryingabout my bishop taking on g6 and forcing him to disrupt his castled positionto retake and doubling his pawns. } 16. Rxa8 { Forcing the queen to retakeso I can play rook a1 and have control of the a file and some initiativeattacking his queen. } 16... Qxa8 { Forced. } 17. Ra1 { Attacks queen and gains controlof the a-file. } 17... Qb7 { With the possibility of rook a8 challenging my controlon the a-file. } 18. Na5 { Continuing to attack the black queen. } 18... Qa6 { Probablythe best among other options. } 19. c4 { What I call 'randomness'. Was unsureof what to do. } 19... c6 { It seems my opponent was too. } 20. cxb5 { Why not? } 20... Qxb5 { I guess my opponent didn't want an isolated b-pawn. } 21. Qc2 { Attacksthe c-pawn and allows my knight to retreat to b3 if need be. } 21... Rc8 { Defendsc-pawn and threatens c5 next move. } 22. Nb3 { Another defender for the c5square along with the possibility 22...c5 23.Ra5 which wins the c5 pawnafter the queen moves. } 22... Nd7 { Preparing for the inevitable c5. } 23. Ra5 { Hoping to force a queen trade with 23...Qb4 24. Qc3 Qxc3 25. Bxc5 Ifqueen b7, then rook a7 wins a piece. } 23... Qb4 { As I hoped. } 24. Qc3 { Offeringqueen trade. } 24... Qxc3 { My opponent accepts. } 25. Bxc3 { Obvious. } 25... c5 { It wasonly a matter of time. } 26. Ra7 { Thinking I won a piece, but soon saw Rd8. } 26... Rd8 { Alas, no free piece. } 27. Na5 { With the intention of Nc6. } 27... Bf8 { Apreventive measure. } 28. Nc6 { I go there anyways. } 28... Rc8 { Offers knight trade. } 29. Rxd7 { I accept. } 29... Rxc6 { Obvious. } 30. f5 { Trying to be disruptive. Ifexf5, then Rxd5. } 30... c4 { Aggressive. } 31. dxc4 { Forced, in my opinion. } 31... Rxc4 { Attacks my bishop. } 32. Bd4 { Locks in my bishop and really obstructs hiscenter pawns. } 32... Rc6 { A puzzling move. } 33. Rd8 { Pins the bishop and givesme an edge. } 33... Rd6 { A blunder in my opinion. } 34. Rc8 { Whatever black does,I respond with Bc5 winning the bishop on f8 and more or less the game. } 1-0

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.09.10"] [Round "-"] [White "alena7"] [Black "gsvc"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1981"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1877"] { This was one of my team games. I did not pay very much attention to theopening and I was losing a piece. I was lucky, because my opponent didnot see it. I had to give my queen for a rook, a bishop and a pawn, withgood play, due to my control over the dark squares and over the c-file.Finally, my opponent allowed a mating attack. } 1. c4 { Starting with theEnglish Opening } 1... Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 { Now, we are transposingto a King's Indian Defence } 5... O-O 6. Be2 c5 { e5 is the main line } 7. O-O { d5 is the alternative } 7... Nc6 { This is the Velimirovic attack, black forcesd5 and his knight will go to b7 (Na5,b6,Nb7) and protect the Q-side. Itis not popular because black wastes many tempos in this. } 8. d5 { 8 Be3is harmless due to Ng4 } 8... Na5 9. h3 { 9 Rb1 e5 10 a3 b6 (white was threateningb4 trapping the knight) 11 b4 Nb7. This is the critical position, blackhas lost tempo with his knight, but it is well placed on b7. If white playsbxc5, black will play Nxc5, that is the idea of the knight's 'dance'. Theproblem is that black needs a lot of tempo for launching an attack on thekingside } 9... e5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bd2 Ne8 12. a3 { Threatening b4 ... } 12... f5 { AndI played this move automatically } 13. b4 { How big was my surprise whenI saw I have not played b6! } 13... fxe4 { I had to do something } 14. Nxe4 { Nh2!was the move and I am losing the piece } 14... Bf5 { Now, I have some chances } 15. Nc3 e4 16. Ne1 cxb4 17. axb4 Nxc4 18. Bxc4 Rc8 19. Qb3 Qc7 20. Be2 Bxc3 21. Rc1 Bxd2 22. Rxc7 Rxc7 { This is an imporatant position of thegame, the material is aprox balanced (R+B+P vs Q), I think black is notworse, his dark squared bishop is powerful and dominates the c-file, whilewhite pieces are discoordinated } 23. Qb2 { This move only helps black.Whitemust play Nc2, and improve the knight } 23... Bc3 24. Qa3 Bd4 { Defending a7, avoidingNc2 and starting an attack against the f2-pawn } 25. g4 { Too optimistic,white must not weak his king } 25... Bd7 { Bc8!? was interesting } 26. Ng2 { A badmove, losing immediately } 26... Rc2 { The bishop cannot run.In the game, Whiteplayed Bd1 and suffered a powerful attact } 27. Bd1 Rcxf2 28. Rxf2 Rxf2 29. Kh2 { 29 Ne3 Rd2 and black wins material } 29... Bb5 { Threatening Bf1. Anotherway was 29 ... Rf1 } 30. Kg3 g5 { The king can not escape } 31. Ne3 Rd2 { Thethreat of Be5++ is unavoidable } 32. Bc2 Be5# 0-1

[Event "87th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.04.02"] [Round "-"] [White "kaspanatola"] [Black "gagarin"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2218"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2084"] { I forgot some important strategic principals and having allowed a centralpawn majority and an extra pawn for black which eventually became an extrapawn for me, yet I could not generate sufficient counter-play to diminishblack's central pawn majority influence, o I resigned. } 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 { Closed Sicilian, I don't play it very frequent but find it a solid choice } 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bb5 e5 5. O-O Nf6 { transposed to a 4 knights } 6. d3 Be7 7. Nd5 O-O 8. c3 { unambitious maybe better was Nxe7 } 8... a6 9. Bc4 { againavoiding exchanges why? } 9... Na5 10. Nxf6+ { exchanging with tempo, the ideais to play Bd5 next avoiding the disturbance of my pawn structure } 10... Bxf6 11. Bd5 Nc6 12. Be3 Be6 13. Bxe6 { and now is black that will have his pawnstructure disturbed - Although necessarily not a bad thing as we will seein the end of the game as he does has a central majority, that he willbe able to exploit latter on } 13... fxe6 14. h3 { the idea is to get my knightto h2 then g4, but what was achieved by this? maybe here Qd2 } 14... Qe7 15. a3 { again with nothing to do push the a and h pawns... no plan what so ever } 15... a5 16. Rc1 { to prepare the central pawn break } 16... b6 17. d4 { and trying todo a central pawn break... } 17... exd4 18. cxd4 Rad8 19. Qb3 { ? allowing blackto keep an extra pawn } 19... Nxd4 20. Bxd4 cxd4 21. Rc6 { leaving black with onepawn up and central pawn majority I never knew what was coming... } 21... Qf7 22. Re1 { trying to defend my last hope the e4 pawn } 22... h6 { some escape squarefor his king } 23. Rxb6 e5 { and now I started to think I can draw this game... } 24. Qb5 Rd7 25. Rc1 { to passive why not Qxa5 to get some counter-play } 25... d5 { black is closing in } 26. Rb8 Rdd8 27. Rb7 Qg6 28. exd5 { and a finalmistake... the following moves are just played in disbelieve... how couldthis just had gone so wrong... } 28... e4 29. Nd2 e3 30. fxe3 Bg5 31. Nf1 dxe3 32. Rcc7 Bf6 33. d6 Bd4 34. Kh1 { a last try } 34... Kh8 0-1

[Event "Oxford & District League: Didcot 1 v Oxford Uni 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2008/11/17"] [Round "-"] [White "Bob Jacobs"] [Black "Chris Moses"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1520"] [TimeControl "All moves in 90 minutes"] [WhiteElo "1592"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 { Hoping for the Winawer, which always gives aninteresting game, though I usually lose :-( } 3... Nf6 4. e5 { I've had very boringgames after 4. B g5 } 4... Nfd7 5. f4 { Classic Nimzowitsch strategy: strengthenthe strongpoint. } 5... c5 { and the classic French tactic for undermining thestrong centre } 6. Nce2 { preparing to strengthen the chain with P-c3 } 6... Nc6 7. c3 Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Ng3 { I have to allow my WB out quickly so I cancastle, so a third move with this N in a relatively blocked position maybe forgiven, I think. } 9... f6 { Typical French attack on the centre, beforeI have got my K to safety. I start analysing some lines were everythingon the f file disappears, except his R, and don't like them... } 10. Be2 { I considered this less risky than 10. Bd3, when the WB interferes withthe Q's defence of d4, though at the moment I have enough defending d4anyway. One of the advantages of Nimzowitsch's theory of over-protectionis that it provides mobility to each of the defenders: they can move withoutleaving their charge defenceless. So, given the choice, I prefer not tointerfere with the d pawn's defence. Also, the Be2 protects the Nf3 inthe event the f-pawns come off. } 10... fxe5 11. dxe5 { Played more or less spurof moment but critical to the shape of the game. I always like to unbalancethe pawns. Also, I have had painful experience in the French of losingthe d pawn and the whole position collapsing as a result ( though in somelines such as the Milner-Barry Gambit in the Advance, White offers thed-pawn deliberately). I spend most of the rest of this game consideringmoves and exchanges on d4 and their ramifications, eventually gaining halfan hour on the clock and winning material as a result. } 11... b6 { Mysteriousat the time but the B on b7 exercises a baleful influence in many variationshereafter. } 12. O-O Bb7 13. Be3 g6 { Even more mysterious. I think it'spartly a waiting move, partly making way for a R to come to g7, partlydiscouraging W from playing f5 but it looks odd when Black doesn't havea B that can easily cover g7 or h6. } 14. Qd2 { To help complete my developmentby connecting rooks, support the B on e3 and not over-commit myself withspeculative moves with my minor pieces. } 14... Qc7 15. Rac1 { I always like tooppose the Q with the R but there were other more detailed considerations... } 15... Rf7 16. Bd3 { Partly to provoke Black's next move, partly to create a holefor the Ng3 in the event it is attacked, partly to threaten f5. } 16... c4 { creatinga nice hole for my pieces on d4, from which to attack Black's position } 17. Be2 { After a long think, I decide defence of f3 is more important thanattack along the b1-h7 diagonal. } 17... Raf8 18. Nd4 Nxd4 { After long thinkson both our parts, this move was played instantaneously but Black was already20 minutes behind on the clock. } 19. Bxd4 { ... and I played this a littletoo quickly too but it turns out fine. What I don't like about the moveis that it condemns the B to a pawn's role for much of the game, its mainduty being to blockade the potential monster on d5 and prevent discoveredattacks by Black's Bb7. What I like about the move s that is puts theB on the long black diagonal, pointing at the squares around Black's K,if I can free my e pawn by getting rid of Black's e pawn. } 19... Nc5 { I don'twant to take this because Black's B will occupy c5 with check, allowingthe d pawn to advance and Black's Bishops will dominate the game. } 20. Kh1 { So I play a waiting move. I decided that, despite my worries aboutthe long white diagonal, I had it locked up, so the K would be safer onh1 than on g1. } 20... h5 { Threatening to attack my Ng3, which has nowhere tomove! So either I create a hole for it or lose some material. } 21. Bxh5 { !? I rather liked this solution, giving up the otherwise fairly redundantbishop for his two pawns and allowing the N to defend f4 from h5, in anapparently threatening manner. The question then arises whether I canexploit his exposed King position before he uses the half-open files tobatter my King's position with his Rooks and Q. I think it's an innovativemove in a difficult position but probably not very sound! } 21... gxh5 22. Nxh5 Nd3 { I'd expected ...Ne4, now that my N had been lured away from coveringthat square. I now pondered whether to ignore the attack on my R and gofor a quick attack but common sense prevailed. } 23. Rc2 { It took a whileto spot the simple elegance of this move, after I'd wasted several minuteson either giving up the Rook (23. Nf6 ?, 23. Qe3?, 23. Rf3?) or wastingits power with 23. Rb1 } 23... Rh7 24. Qe2 Rf5 25. g4 { !? my heart in my mouthbecause of the potential exposure of my King but it brings immediate reward. } 25... Nxf4 { ? I think 25.... Rff7 would have been better } 26. Nxf4 Rg5 { ?? } 27. Nxe6 { ! Obvious but strong } 27... Qd7 28. Nxg5 Bxg5 29. Qf3 Qg7 30. Rcf2 Be7 31. e6 { !! I love this move } 31... Qh6 32. g5 { ! Distraction from f8 } 32... Qg6 33. Qf8+ { ! Everyone likes a Q sac, even when it's obviously leading to Mate. I thought very carefully about this first, just to make sure I wasn'tblundering. } 33... Bxf8 34. Rxf8# { Very satisfying. } 1-0

[Event "1..d5!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "15-Nov-08"] [Round "-"] [White "tenfingers"] [Black "fredmcgriff"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1539"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1628"] 1. d4 { Hi, my name is Fred McGriff and I am a retired professional baseballplayer. } 1... d5 { Typically when my opponent opens with the queen's pawn I panic,yank the plug from my computer, and rock back and forth huddled in thecorner of my closet. But since this is tenfingers, my nemesis, I dig deepand answer three days later with a well-thought-out d5. I'm pretty sureit's a force from here but he chooses to play on: } 2. c4 { queen's gambit.... } 2... e6 { DECLINED!! after my 1..d5! the rest is style points, and denying thegambit that he begged me for, whilst merciless, feels awfully good. I'm4-7-1 lifetime against tenfingers and am currently frothing at the mouthas 5-7-1 is but one move closer. } 3. Nc3 { He moves a sulky donkey to c3in a weak attempt to regain compusure after such an embarrassing rejection } 3... Bb4 { well, sulky donkey, now you're stuck. } 4. Nf3 { TWO sulky donkeys. } 4... Bxc3+ { With this move I shred my opponent's hopes of having any semblanceof a pawn structure. I must be playing downwind because supple fumes ofvictory waft my way } 5. bxc3 { I'm scratching my head here wondering whyhe hasn't yet issued his resignation. is it not insulting to play on withdoubled pawns? } 5... Nf6 { I threaten to castle kingside, and rest assured thisis no empty threat. } 6. Bg5 { Wow, nice move tenfingers, what are you likea five time dean's lister at the Fred McGriff School of Chess all the sudden? Where have I seen this move before? } 6... Nc6 { Well this is how I answer. I'm just going to develop and ignore. } 7. e3 O-O { I castle and ignore. An inkling of h6 crossed my mind but I feel there is no need to forceany spilt blood on f6 just yet. My queen munches on an apple and watcheswith disinterest. } 8. cxd5 { attacking d5 is wise here. my queen dropsher apple and now has two things to think about. } 8... exd5 9. Qb3 { things areheating up at d5 as well as f6... } 9... Na5 { I weaken my donkey here just toput some pressure on that white Q, maybe I can knock her around and developsome pieces at the same time } 10. Qb5 c6 { develop, protect the donkey andthreaten the Q } 11. Bxf6 { but I am doomed to doubled pawns... and waitwhere did his go? the tables are turning and I don't like it. I'm suddenlyovercome by a strong whiff of dead donkey. } 11... gxf6 12. Qb4 Bg4 { the plannow is to be aggressive and try to plug up the hole I've made on the gfile } 13. Be2 Re8 { some breathing room for my king } 14. h3 { I definitelydo not want to exchange pieces here, I want to draw out his pawns and weakenhis pawn protection for the potential O-O } 14... Bf5 15. g4 Be4 { In the rarestturn of events, things have actually gone as planned, and I've accomplishedtwo things: though I still feel exposed on the g file like an undone flyon a brisk autumn day, I've drawn his pawns out enough to limit threatover there, especially from his white bishop. Also, a kingside castleon his part just seems a bit shakier now. } 16. O-O { Good. This is whatI wanted. Now it's time to go to work and exploit. } 16... Nc4 { With a singleglorious leap, my donkey glides through the air twenty or thirty feet abovethe white queen, his silky black mane shimmering in the sun, his uncoiledhaunches stretched out majestically as he cuts knifelike through high-altitudewind; below, a confused queen witnesses but a shadow streak across thebattlefield, quiet, black, and ninjalike. } 17. Kg2 { Having witnessed sucha ridiculous display of power, the king panics and makes a premature runfor it. } 17... Bxf3+ { Check! I love how check is always in yellow with an exclamationpoint. It's almost as damaging to the psyche as a conditional move. } 18. Bxf3 Nd2 { I'm totally willing to trade a (superpowered) donkey for a bishophere and flush that king out some more } 19. Rfd1 Nxf3 20. Kxf3 b5 { I wantto make a little pawn canopy for his queen because I think that it wouldlook pretty neat if he nestled his queen all up in the canopy. } 21. Qc5 { and it does indeed look pretty neat. } 21... Qc7 { Starving for aciton, my queenhas her eye on those pawns over by his king. She's gonna go get herselfa piece. } 22. h4 Qh2 23. Qxc6 { The pawn canopy is no longer totally sweetlooking :( } 23... Qh3+ { Rather than Qxh4, I can likely force his king to e2 andtake out both pawns } 24. Ke2 { done } 24... Qxg4+ { and done } 25. Ke1 Qxh4 { whilenot originally planned, I now see that I have the threat of Rxe3 whichcould be devastating } 26. Qxd5 { he evens the score but neglects the businessI'm about to take care of. } 26... Rxe3+ { My rook powerslides imposingly andno doubt startles my opponent. } 27. Kd2 { Flustered, tenfingers choosesinstant death with Kd2. one wonders the outcome had he chosen kf1. } 27... Qxf2+ { I move to 5-7-1 against tenfingers and execute a flawless seriesof backflips. Clearly he did not play to his potential in this game andnever fully recovered from 1..d5! but I take what I can get and will tryto enjoy myself until the next challenge... } 0-1

[Event "Kind of a puzzle real game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.05.05"] [Round "-"] [White "BobbyFischer119"] [Black "damafi"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1461"] [TimeControl "5|5"] [WhiteElo "1500"] { This short blitz I won by a suprising, tactic puzzle like position, inwhich all seemed lost, but suddenly... } 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 { This is a rare subline. Themes will be the same as in the original,but sometimes slight differences make a game. } 4... Bc5 { Inviting d4, in orderto play Bg4, and press c3 with Ne4, etc. The 'usual, smooth, nice black plan'. } 5. Nf3 Qe7 { A step ahead. Now Qe2 gives black just a painful defence. } 6. d4 { The fish bite the worm... I hope. But first, I have to take advantagefrom what I was playing for.. } 6... exd5+ { With check. } 7. Be2 { Keeping theQ for future action. } 7... Bb4 { With several threats, most of them well metby... (dxf can currently be played, BxN+, bxc3, Ne4, annoying...) } 8. O-O { I have to take urgent care of the e column, and be aware of the very dangerousNg5 by white. So I can't just go on normally, castling, Re1, and the Qhas no good square to go to. } 8... Bxc3 9. bxc3 Ne4 { A thret is a threat. } 10. Qc2 { Now, Bf4 seems good, but in fact black gets very few compensationif ever Ng3 is allowed (NxRf1). On the other side, cxd5 would leave myN without a pawn's support. White will try to move Nf3 in order to be ableto kick it with f3, so my Royalties must be guarded soon. I can't counton Be6 if g5 is not protected by a pawn. } 10... c6 { Keep the central pawn. Anywhite's incursion on g5 is now parried with f6. } 11. Re1 { Of course. Ican castle, but then Bd3 and my N will be pinned against the Q and... centraldisaster for me. } 11... O-O { I hope this was the exact one here. } 12. cxd5 cxd5 { White can attack with c4, to which I plan to play Qc7, pinning thepawn on the Q. } 13. Bd3 { I can go for a drastic Re8, and white will havehad a lot of ways to go on with the attack. On the other side, this movewould have left my R undefended on e8, and my Q must be free to go. I havea serious developement problem, but I have to find the way to survive. } 13... f5 { This leaves complete entry to g5, but I think that Qc7, again, compensatesit, while minor white pieces, alone, can do no harm... (maybe!). On theother side, the obvious danger now is white moves the N so to be able topay f3. } 14. a4 { White chooses another way: Ba3. Not the stronges move,as for... } 14... Qc7 { With a threat on c3. I know I'm 'lost' but it's up to myopponent to show it. For the time going, I know that no one of my defenceswill work, but white has to be very accurate. } 15. Ba3 Rd8 { Re8 self-pinnedmy N. } 16. c4 { That's the move... but it also gives me tempo to come,just in time... } 16... Be6 { White should have attacked me on the b column, Ithink, Re-c1, Qb2, Rab1. Or go for the f3 plan. } 17. cxd5 { Thanks, white,this allows me to almost equalize. } 17... Qxc2 18. Bxc2 Bxd5 { My N is solidand not pinned anymore, and I am ready to complete developement. Whitehas the B pair, so it can be a good plan to try to exchange at least oneof them. } 19. Bb2 { Maybe white wants to control Nc3, but this is not athreat. I think this move was a mistake. } 19... Nc6 { Finally! Now it's a game,not a struggling fight for survival! :-) } 20. Ne5 { f3 is set. The e columnis just to be taken. If I exchange, I'll have his B aiming to g2. I haveto play actively and keep white distracted. Let's go on with my NxB plan. } 20... Nb4 { Ne5 is well placed, as is mine, but none is doing anything reallyuseful! :-) } 21. Rac1 { B pair exchange assured. } 21... Nd2 { ? Knowing that theN will be soon kicked, I moved it myself before it was a danger. } 22. Bc3 Nxc2 23. Rxc2 Ne4 { Threatening the other B, which leaves him no time forf3. Not a big deal, he can save the B. } 24. Bb2 { Now, my weakness is c7,and his is the back rank mate. It seems so far, isn't it? } 24... Rac8 { A coupleof R on the 7th rank would be too much. } 25. Rec1 { Diverted the e columnpenetration after f3. I can say a target was hit. } 25... Rxc2 26. Rxc2 { A singleR is more handful. But the game was deadly even, and I wanted to createsome play. So I decided to allow the Rc7 penetration. } 26... Bb3 { The idea isto simplify pawns and leet columns for my R to threat something. As forthe defence, I had a risky plan. } 27. Rc7 Nd6 { Now the move that I fearedwas not played at all! And this means the back rank mate is still 'on'. } 28. Nd3 { White's strategy is Nc5 and then Ne6. This gives me some time. } 28... Bxa4 29. Nc5 Bc6 { 'Oh, my dear Damalfi, you are too naive! Don't yousee that he will uncover a deadly threat on g7 by threatening your B withd5?' } 30. d5 { 'Yes, master, I did. Black seems lost, and this seems exactlythe kind of positions I train on Tactic Trainer (I don't intend to do anypublicity). But I also saw a kind of brilliant move to solve all black'sproblems and to give him the victory'. 'Oh, did you? Well done! Now showit to me.' } 30... Ne8 { ...and white resigned. Almost. } 31. Nxb7 Rxd5 { Whitehas to spend a move saving his K, and he can't do it with his R. } 32. h3 Nxc7 { ...but, in addition, now the N is also lost without hope! I swearwhite though he was winning most of the game... } 0-1

[Event "Just an interesting game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "22 Nov 2007"] [Round "-"] [White "Beginner78"] [Black "unknown"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "???"] [TimeControl "60 min. per game"] [WhiteElo "???"] { This is the game I played today online. Nothing special, but it was interestingfor me to reflect on how I played in this game. You won't see lot of variationshere, more about what it felt like... } 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Nf6 { King's Gambit Declined. I usually prefer 4.Nc3 to 4.c3. } 5. d3 { I was in a mood for experiments. Usually I would get my bishop to c4 orb5, but this time decided to do something different. } 5... d6 6. Na4 { Standardmanouver in this type of positions, to exchange the annoying bishop. } 6... Bb6 7. Nxb6 axb6 8. Be2 O-O { Already here, I thought that leaving the bishopbehind the pawn chain was not a good idea. Black has at least equality,natural positions for the pieces. The rook goes to e8, bishop to g4, d7or e6, the other rook can join the game through a5... } 9. O-O exf4 { Thankyou. At least I can get the bishop out without losing a tempo. } 10. Bxf4 d5 { Wow. I never expected this. Which made me feel bad for a moment, sinceunexpected moves are a sign of a bad form or poor thinking process. Butthen I thought, wait a moment, it shouldn't be so good. He just gave extraspace to my bishop on f4, allowed e4-e5 with subsequent d3-d4. Doesn'tsmell right. Ah, e5 will be met by Nh5, but I'll play Bg5, so I am Ok.If f6, I'll just exchange the pawns. } 11. e5 Nd7 12. d4 { Naturally. Ialready started thinking about putting the bishop to d3, looking at theh7 pawn. } 12... f6 { Damn. I did not even think what I was going to do if heplayed f6 now. Now I can capture, the knight will go back to f6 and black'sposition is Ok. The pawn looks bad on f6, I should be able to exploit itsomehow. What if e5-e6? Strange, but here for some reason I thought thatblack knight is trapped. I did not even see it could go to b8!!! } 13. e6 Ndb8 { One pawn down. Need to think about damage control now. What is myadvantage? Developed pieces. Let's continue developing the pieces. As Bronsteinused to say: 'I'll give him a pawn, he will use a tempo to take it, I willmake a useful move...'. } 14. Qd2 Bxe6 15. a3 { Useful move. Limits theknight on c6, but also, the pawn on a2 may need protection. Strange thought?Not at all. Think of c2-c4 thrust and if black captures, I play d4-d5.But I need a rook on d1 for that. Take the rook from a1 and the a2 pawnwill be defenceless. But also, I don't know at this stage where would bethe best position for the rook - d1 or e1. So it is also a waiting move.Let's see what black has in mind. } 15... Ne7 { Interesting plan. Rather strange.The second knight is coming to c6 I guess. Two black pieces on e file.Time to move the rook. } 16. Rae1 Ng6 17. Bg3 Bf5 { Oooh. This just invitesmy next move. } 18. h4 Nc6 19. h5 Nge7 20. Nh4 { White seems to have a seriouspressure on the kingside. Wanna test it? Flip the board, look at the positionwith black's eyes. It feels uncomfortable. But black plays a good move! } 20... Be4 { Suddenly I felt not so optimistic. f6-f5 is coming. I need to thinkdefence. Primary goal? Exchanging black's most active piece - Bishop e4! } 21. Bd3 { !? Complications! Now N:d4 22.B:e4 de 23.R:e4 loses the queenafter 23...N:f3 . I don't have time for c2-c3. } 21... Nxd4 { As expected. } 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Qf4 { ! Yes. Not only delaying the capture on e4, but alsogiving up the pawn on c2. Good move, White's concentration of pieces onthe kingside starts to look intimidating. } 23... Nec6 { I would have preferredf6-f5. Now that another piece moved away from the kingside, my chancesseem pretty good. } 24. Rxe4 Nxc2 25. Nf5 { Closing in on the black king.I looked into different options with h5-h6 and capture on c7, looked atthe possibility of throwing the rook on the 7th line (no idea how to getit done at this stage...) and decided to bring the knight closer to action.Tal liked to play moves like this - he called it 'throw in'. The knightbecomes potentially very dangerous. You never know what it can do - sacrificeon g7 or h6, go to e7 to enable the rook finally get to the seventh line,or cover the d4 square. Very useful move. } 25... Ra5 { Well played. Black bringsthe sleeping rook into the game. Little bit late I must say. } 26. Qg4 { Simple, but efficient. Now g7 can't be protected by the rook, becauseNh6 wins exchange. The black queen also can't step on d7 because of thesame Nh6. So... } 26... Rxf5 27. Qxf5 Qd3 { An attempt to coordinate pieces thatare all over the board. Black also attacks the bishop on g3. } 28. Qe6+ { First, let's get out of the pin. } 28... Kh8 29. Bxc7 { A move for a reason.Now here, a move like Ncd4, would be punished by 30.Qf7! threatening aback rank mate. Even if black plays something else that leave the d-fileopen, the queen can't come for help, since the d8 square is under controlby the 'escapee' bishop. But black preferred to lose differently. } 29... Ne5 { Losing move. But follow the next few moves! } 30. Rxe5 Qxf1+ { Wow! Unexpectedagain. I quickly checked 31.K:f1 fe and realised that a natural lookingKe2 loses to Nd4 check! Nice. } 31. Kxf1 fxe5+ 32. Kg1 Ne3 33. Bxe5 { Exactly!Another trap was there for Q:e5 - 33...Rf1 34.Kh2 and Ng4 winning thequeen and the game! } 33... Nf5 34. h6 { Simple. Finishes the game. } 34... b5 35. hxg7+ Nxg7 36. Qe7 { Black is cornered. No chance. 1-0 } 1-0

[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.07.23"] [Round "-"] [White "coolistdude"] [Black "yulia74"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] { This Blitz game is interesting because it starts with a seemingly strongattack by white. It does not turn into a win though. I'd really love commentsand suggestions since it seems like a few wins and losses were missed.Thanks! } 1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 { The previous game againsta different opponent, I hung a minor piece by pure Tom foolery. I didn'twant to make that mistake. } 5. Qd1 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Ne2 { ? This losesa pawn without just compensation } 7... Nxe4 8. O-O { I decided to castle andlive without the pawn. Alas. His sacrifice will hopefully help the game. } 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 { !? Nxc3 is expected but does not gain a tempo like this movedoes. White does disrupt his pawn structure though. } 9... Be7 { Bc5 was alsoworth considering. Ba5 is a mistake due to 10. Ba3. } 10. f4 { !? White opensup the king side, hoping to attack black's soon to be castled position. } 10... d5 { Gaining tempo. } 11. Bd3 O-O 12. Ng3 a6 { This may have been a waitingmove but it does not seem to do much. White must be wary of the Qb6+ } 13. f5 e5 { This begins an odd, non forced, combination aimed at black's king. } 14. Nh5 f6 { The idea is if 14. ... e4 15. Qg4 g6 and the position is unclear.White would not have lost a piece at that point and would have weakenedblack's kingside. } 15. Qg4 g6 16. Qg3 { Necessary as fxg6 is a mistake dueto Bxg4 } 16... g5 { fxg6 e.p. is not possible now. This is the point that I reallyscratched my head looking for a way to continue the attack. } 17. h4 { Seemsto be the only way. } 17... Kh8 { I was hoping for Qb6+ . This would have removedthe black queen from the kingside. My opponent knew better though. } 18. hxg5 e4 { Finally, it is time to block the white bishop. This bishop hangsfor 7 moves, before it moves away! } 19. g6 { ! This pawn must be addressed.If 19. ... exd3 20. g7+ Kg8 21. gxf8=Q++ Kxf8 22. Bh6+ Kf7 23. Qg7+ Ke824. Qg8+ Kd7 (not 24. ... Bf8 25. Qxf8+) 25. Qe6+ Kc7 26. Bf4+ Bd6 27.Qf7+ Qe7 28. Qxe7+ Nxe7 29. Bxd6+ Kxd6 30. cxd3 and black can only defendthe f6 pawn with Ng8, which ties up the knight, or Ke7 followed by Ne5to interpose white's Rae1+. This should leave black passive and down theexchange. I didn't compute this far in the Blitz game. Just now I did thisin my head since I didn't have a board handy so...take the proposed linethoughtfully, and look for better moves. } 19... hxg6 20. Qxg6 { Qg7# is the threat.As is Bh6 } 20... Rf7 { ! The only move } 21. Rf4 { ?? I completely missed that therook was hanging and looked for a checkmate! Arg! Taking the rook resultsin a winning position! I guess I was so focused on the king that I missedthis. Black cannot even take the bishop after his rook is taken since Qg7#is threatened. } 21... Rh7 22. Rg4 { This isn't exactly winning. Funny that mybishop is still hanging though. I was really considering following up with23. Bh6 to finally crash through with 24. Bg7+. Note, 23. ... Bf8 failsto Qg8#. However, the following move caught me by surprise. } 22... Ne5 { ! Thisdoes not look so good for white. } 23. Qxh7+ { Qg8+ was also an option, butI felt like this had better chances, especially since the black king isstill trapped without cover. } 23... Kxh7 24. Rg7+ Kh8 25. Be2 { Now I was reallyexpecting Qb6+. We were both running short on time (especially me). } 25... Bxf5 26. Bh6 Bf8 { I lose a minor piece if I retreat the rook. I decided to keepthe game complicated. } 27. Rf1 { If 27. ... Bxg7 28. Bxg7+ Kh7 29. Rxf5. } 27... Bh7 28. Rxf6 { At this point, I decided I was lost and it was time to makethe game as intimidating as possible. Black has a win here with 28. ...Qxf6! 29. Nxf6 Bxg7 and black should win. } 28... Bxg7 { This is not as good. } 29. Bxg7+ Kg8 30. Re6 { I am pretty much reduced to a paper tiger with mostlyempty threats at this point. However, this is a blitz game and the bestjudgement is not always used. } 30... Nf7 { ! This solidifies black's position. } 31. Bg4 Qe8 { ?? I am unsure if this was a miss click or if black reallywanted to get rid of my rook and simplify. } 32. Rxe8+ Rxe8 33. Nf6+ { Theonly way to equalize. } 33... Kxg7 34. Nxe8+ Kf8 { I think white is slightly betterat this point due to the black bishop being slightly bad and the blackpawns being defenseless. However, white's separated pawns are a big weakness. } 35. Nc7 Ke7 36. Nxd5+ Kd6 37. Nf6 Bg6 38. Kf2 Ne5 39. Be2 Kc5 40. Ke3 { ?!This opens white up to a check, but gains a second black pawn. } 40... Nc4+ 41. Bxc4 Kxc4 42. Nxe4 b5 { If I can get black to trade his bishop, I may havea win here. } 43. g4 { a3 is worth considering here. } 43... a5 44. g5 b4 45. cxb4 axb4 46. Nd2+ { ? This doesn't win. I think a win is lurking here forwhite, but I clearly missed it. } 46... Kc3 47. Nb3 Kxc2 48. Kd4 Kb2 49. Kc4 Kxa2 50. Kxb4 { And the position is drawn. I tried to see if my opponent wouldblunder but it became clear the game was a draw. The next moves are notparticularly important. } 50... Kb2 51. Nd4 Kc1 52. Kc5 Kd2 53. Kd5 Ke3 54. Ke5 Bh5 55. Nf5+ Kf3 56. Nh6 { This delays the king from attacking the pawn. } 56... Bg6 57. Kf6 Bh7 58. Kg7 Bc2 59. Kf6 Bh7 60. Ke5 Kg3 61. Kf6 Kh4 62. Nf7 Kh5 63. Ne5 Bb1 64. g6 Bxg6 65. Nxg6 { 1/2 - 1/2 } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dealing with Internal Distractions"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.04.21"] [Round "-"] [White "onib"] [Black "jkarp"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1087"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1110"] { This was an interesting but shocking league game between onib and I. In this particular game, I won his queen, with a 3 way fork. However,I got distracted later in the game, and this led to a shocking loss. } 1. c4 { I am not used to this opening. I am only accustomed to 1.d4 (whenit involves the Queen's Gambit) or 1.e4. } 1... e5 { Therefore, I decide to playthis move. Note: I am thinking about the Sicilian Defense but in reverse. This defense starts with 1.e4, c5. } 2. d4 { I am not used to this variation. It appears that he is attempting a gambit, but it is not the Morra Gambit. The Morra Gambit only involves the Sicilian Defense, unless gambits alsotranspose. I am saying this because I know that openings transpose, butI do not know if this happens with gambits. } 2... exd4 { I decide to accept thisgambit, but it is not a true gambit. Why? After this move, he will winthe pawn back, after 3.Qxd4. } 3. Qxd4 Nc6 { If you bring your Queen outearly, I will shoe it away. At one point, I was obsessed with attackingpieces, and this game took place, before my game against kabika. } 4. Qe3+ { ?! He decides to place me in check, but this is a mere nuisance. I caneasily get out of this, with my Knight, Queen, or DSB. } 4... Nge7 5. Nf3 { Heprobably moved his knight for development. } 5... g6 { In this position, I amtrying to Fianchetto my DSB. I cannot develop with 6...Bh6. Note: If6...Bh6, 7.Qxh6 (loosing my bishop). } 6. Nc3 { !? He wants to continue hisdevelopment. However, this move is dangerous because it crams his DSB. If he decides to play Bd2, he won't have any more options with his bishop,due to his c3 knight. Therefore, 6.Bd2 was better. } 6... Nb4 { !! In the meantime,I decide to take advantage, with this choice. At this point, he has tobe careful, or I will play a 3 way fork against him. What pieces willI fork? That will be explained momentarily. } 7. h4 { ?? This turns outto be a very serious mistake. Now, I will play a 3 way fork between hisRook, Queen, and King. What is the consequence of this fork? I am nowgoing to win his queen, for my knight. BTW, this is the fourth or fifthtime that I have been able to play a 3 way fork, against an opponent. In addition, I will take away his chance to castle and expose his king. By now, you would think that the game is lost for white, but this is notthe case. That will be explained later in the game, as it will resultin a huge turning point. } 7... Nc2+ 8. Kd1 Nxe3+ 9. fxe3 Nf5 { At this point,I was not thinking because I am trying to win his e3 pawn. However, Idid not see his DSB, so taking it would loose a piece for his pawn. Atthis point, I am beginning to get distracted, and it will go downhill,throughout the rest of this game. } 10. Ng5 { ? I do not know why he playedthis move. } 10... Ng3 { I advanced my knight to fork his LSB and Rook, and I amclearly trying to win his rook. However, he is going to protect it. } 11. Rg1 Bc5 { ?! Now, I am a little distracted. I decided to advance my DSB,in my attempt to win his rook. However, I overlooked his DSB and e3 pawn. } 12. a3 { I do not what he is trying to accomplish. However, I am goingto exchange his LSB, for my knight, after 12...Nxf1, 13.Rxf1. Note: Iam still ahead, so I do not mind even exchanges. } 12... Nxf1 13. Rxf1 b6 { ? Atthis point, I am very distracted. In this position, the goal is to developmy LSB, but this is bad timing. Instead, I should have played 13...f6to protect my f7 pawn. Now, he is going to win a free pawn and fork myqueen and rook, after 14.Nxf7. Therefore, he will win my rook, after hetakes my pawn as I will be forced to protect my queen. } 14. Nxf7 Qe7 15. Nxh8 Bxe3 { ? I respond by taking his pawn. This is a mistake that I willsoon regret. This is, btw, the disadvantage of having doubled pawns, accordingto Jack Stockel. However, cdeburca told me that there is more to chessthen doubled pawns. That will be proven throughout the game. At thispoint, I am more distracted now, then I was earlier. 15...d6 was best,and that will be explained shortly. } 16. Nd5 { That is because he decidesto fork my DSB, so he will win my bishop as I will be forced to protectmy queen. } 16... Qd6 17. Bxe3 Qg3 { ?? At this point, I am trying to win his f1rook, so I decide to start by attacking his g2 pawn. However, this ismy loosing blunder. I will explain the reason momentarily. In the meantime,I am now as distracted, as you can get. } 18. Bh6 { At this point, he isfinding a way to mate me, and that is why 17...Qg3 was my loosing blunder. BTW, I am caught off guard by his mating plan. How is he planning tomate me, and what is my only move to prevent mate? That will be answeredshortly. } 18... Kd8 { I do not what I was thinking, but the game is now lost forblack. Sacrificing my queen was the only way to prevent him from matingme. At this point, he now has an inevitable mating move and will matein one, after 19.Rf8#. } 19. Rf8# { Everyone has internal distractions, fromtime to time. This, however, can be very harmful in a chess game. Whenyou are distracted, it is a good idea to take a break, until the distractiongoes away. Sometimes, it can take hours to get rid of the distraction. However, getting distracted is another way to loose a chess game. Thatwas illustrated in this game, and it is also the moral of this story. } 1-0

[Event "Opus Revenge"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "21-Jun-07"] [Round "-"] [White "opus692"] [Black "daverap"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1327"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1130"] { This game could have gone either way with either player making one ortwo mistakes along the way } 1. e4 e5 { No Surprise here! } 2. d3 d5 { Blackpresses forward claiming real estate } 3. Nc3 { I decide to play defensivelyand create an opportunity for an exchange that will leave us Queenless } 3... d4 { Instead, Black presses the land advantage ahead. } 4. Nd5 { Knightscan turn the table on real estate acquisition quite quickly } 4... Be6 { I don'tmind exchanging a Bishop for Knight..just a preference I have. } 5. c4 { And so I make my stand. Black controls 4 squares in my territory, I control6 in his..early advantage me. } 5... c6 { A Blunder in the offing. I can runaway, or stay and fight.. .I choose } 6. Nf3 { Stay and fight. In my peanutbrain, a Knight for a Pawn...what a nut. } 6... Bg4 { Dave kindly offers me away out - he was feeling sorry for me I guess, but in my state if mentalcollapse. } 7. h3 { I offer to exchange his Bishop for my Knight - a pointfor point exchange I suppose, although now as I review the game, I thinkthat the prudent move would have been to remove my Knight from danger. } 7... Be6 { As Black does - well played Dave. } 8. g3 { Me, I decide to capturesome of my own territory by sacrificing a Knight } 8... cxd5 { Thus..I am threepoints down and in MUCH worse position than just one move ago. } 9. cxd5 { With a brave face, I try to 'even the score', failing miserably. } 9... Bd7 { With the long reach of the Bishop, teh board structure is still in Dave'sfavor, although in some ways, he is a bit more exposed than I am with thepresent board. } 10. Nxe5 { Again, I push ahead, trying to assert my selfon the game. (The best form of defense is attack - at least by doing thatI can distract others from my obvious blunder. ) } 10... Bb4+ { Being just a pointbehind after the exchange, I am not surprised by the full frontal assault. } 11. Bd2 { a natural defense. } 11... a5 { Dave bolsters the Bishop with a flankattack and I push a pawn... } 12. a3 { This leaves Dave two options - option1 - RUN AWAY and option 2 - ATTACK } 12... Bxd2+ { Dave chooses to attack my King- how dare he! } 13. Qxd2 { The Queen puts paid to that idea. and altersthe board for the moment in whites favor. } 13... f6 { Black tries to bring balanceback to the board by attacking the Knight. } 14. Nc4 { this time, I runaway to fight another day! } 14... Bb5 { Dave is determined to capture my Knight. } 15. b4 { I take an interesting position. This move might just prove tobe important later on. } 15... Ne7 { Black starts to develop the rear guard. } 16. bxa5 { I see an opportunity to even the score and take myself a pawn } 16... f5 { Dave looks to make up points by capturing the two pawns in the middleof the board. } 17. Bg2 { A bit of rear guard action for myself. } 17... Bxc4 { Dave decides to exchange the Bishop for a Knight - I think that this movemight just have been the killer move of the game for Dave. This exchangeun-doubles my d rank pawns and eliminates a late threat in the game. } 18. dxc4 { and it balances the board for me. Also, counting squares, I control10 squares on his side of the boar5d and he only controls 4 on my sideof the board...advantage me. } 18... Rxa5 { His rook capture of my pawn evensthings up a bit in that regard. but I can close the door on any pendingassault by his rook just by .... } 19. O-O { Castling! I also have his Rookin my sights, and I am still dominating the board and I have a pawn inmy sights as well. } 19... O-O { Rather than defend his central pawn, Dave Castlestoo. } 20. Qxd4 { So I think him and take the poor bugger. canon fodderfor sure. This move also places my queen in direct contact with his castletoo. } 20... Nd7 { The Knight starts to make its way over to the battle } 21. Rfb1 { Leaving another pawn exposed to my wrath. } 21... b6 { But a good move to defendboth the Rook and the pawn. If I can get a pawn down to the 6th row inH, I will be just fine. } 22. e5 { So to set a trap, I attack from the centerof the board. } 22... Nc5 { With this move, Dave exposes his Queen to the impendingbattle. } 23. d6 { But I press on and put his Knight in danger (I am alsoon the 6th row!) } 23... Rf7 { Bow this is an interesting move. Dave brings uphis Rook to defend against an attack on either the Knight or the pawn inG } 24. Bd5 { But in so doing, exposes himself to a Bishop attack. } 24... Nxd5 { Instead of being passive, Dave attacks my Bishop and surrenders his Knight= an acceptable exchange, except for the position it leaves me is onceconcluded. } 25. Qxd5 { SO now I have pinned his rook with my Queen - atleast for now. } 25... Nb3 { Black has an advantage here. My queen or my Castle...mychoice. A good move. } 26. c5 { I choose my Castle...naturally } 26... Rxc5 { butin an effort to get too much, Dave chooses the pawn. and I choose his Knight...soI come out ahead in an exchange where I had my nuts in a sling. } 27. Qxb3 { Thus! } 27... Rxe5 { The Castle does his work and reduces the deficit. } 28. Qxb6 { but I even up the score on that exchange and stay two points ahead andoffer my queen to boot. } 28... Qd7 { Dave declines, and the game is moving intoa new phase now...I still think I have the advantage on board positionat this stage. I control about 12 or 13 squares on his side of the boardto his 5 or 6 } 29. Rd1 { It looks like the next flash point is the advancedpawn on d6...so I move to shore up an advanced position. } 29... Re6 { Dave agreesand moves to make the battle decisive in his favor. } 30. a4 { When attackedin the imiddle, counter on the flanks...so here goes. } 30... h5 { Dave does similarly } 31. h4 { I move to defend the flank } 31... Rff6 { Dave moves to attack the middle. } 32. Qb8+ { Outnumbered, I force him to defend his King. } 32... Kh7 { Easy.. } 33. Rdc1 { I abandon the pawn, and decide to execute an end around attack. } 33... Rxd6 { The pawn dies immediately } 34. Rc8 { This move creates an exchangethat leads to the end game position with my one point advantage playinga huge role. } 34... Rd1+ { The Castle exchange is first } 35. Rxd1 Qxd1+ { I hidein my King in my Castle } 36. Kg2 { and Dave is forced to find anotherroute to attack } 36... f4 { I place him in Check } 37. Rh8+ Kg6 { He moves predictably } 38. Qe8+ { I place him in check } 38... Rf7 { He moves to block the maneuver again } 39. Qe5 { I see a mate brewing } 39... fxg3 { but so does Dave! } 40. Qxg3+ { I forcecheck again and stay one point ahead. } 40... Qg4 { Dave forces teh Queen exchangeand the game looks like it will end in a draw at this point. } 41. Qxg4+ hxg4 { Except for that one little thing... my pawn over on the A4 square. } 42. Ra8 { SO I defend it. } 42... Kh5 { The black King starts to force me intoa corner. } 43. a5 { I press ahead. } 43... Kxh4 { SO now it is an even game withthat capture, but I still feel like I am ahead. } 44. a6 { So I march on...trying to force a Queen exchange. } 44... Rf3 { This move allows me to getreal close ...all the way to the seventh rank } 45. a7 { I can capture hisRook if I force the game along } 45... Ra3 { Black sees that and plays along } 46. Rh8+ { Check } 46... Kg5 { The King moves to tis only spot and I get my Queen } 47. a8=Q { forcing the Castle to } 47... Rxa8 { surrender for the queen } 48. Rxa8 { my one point advantage has turned to a 4 point advantage } 48... g6 { now I haveto create the channel for the mate } 49. Rf8 { so I block the Kings escape } 49... Kh4 { forcing him to the H rank } 50. f4 { I block the retreat along G rankwith my pawn advance } 50... Kh5 { Seeing the danger, the King trys to escape } 51. Kg3 { I make an extra move...an unnecessary move because Rook to H8is mate in this situation too; } 51... Kh6 { BUt the King retreats - I almostlet him escape... } 52. Rf7 { but I block his retreat } 52... Kh5 { reluctantly hemoves down the board. } 53. Rh7# { and its game over.... } 1-0

[Event "Match 1866, 5th game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Adolf Anderssen"] [Black "Wilhelm Steinitz"] [Result "*"] { The match played by Adolf Anderssen and Wilhelm Steinitz in 1866 is consideredas unofficial match for the world championship. It is unofficial becauseofficially the title of World Chess Champion was founded 20 years later,1n 1886. But it was truly the champions match, because Anderssen was consideredas the strongest chess master at this time, and young and ambitious WilhelmSteinitz challenged the leadership. The match was unprecedentedly bloody.14 games were played, and not a single game ended with a draw. The finalresult remained unclear until the last game, in which Steinitz succeededto win. The final score was 8 : 6. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 { Evans gambit was the most popular opening in thismatch. It was played in 6 games, in all games, except one, in which Anderssenplayed with white. } 6... exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 { Standard position of Evansgambit, the tabiya of 19th century. } 9. d5 { This move is not consideredas good now, because white pawn pair loses its flexibility. But it wasthe favourite Anderssen's continuation, and he played a lot of good gameswith it. } 9... Na5 { According to the modern theory of Evans Gambit, after 9.... Ne5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Ba3 Bd4 12. Nd2 Bxa1 13.Qxa1 white has strongattack. So 9. ... Na5 is preferable. } 10. Bb2 { White don't bother to defendthe bishop: 10. ... Nxc4 11. Bxg7 } 10... Ne7 11. Bd3 O-O 12. Nc3 c6 { The bestplan for black know at this time was suggested several years before thismatch by Louis Paulsen. He played 12. ... c5, then Bc7, a6 and b5, advancingpawns of the Queen's side. But Steinitz had its own idea. The 1st gameof this match was played in the similar way and was won by Anderssen. Butafter this game Steinitz had to revise his approach. } 13. Qd2 f5 { Thisis the point of Steinitz's plan: black pawns c and f are a weapons by whichhe destroys white's pawn center, which leads to sharp play, where blackhopes to get advantage. This plan was first used in the 1st game of thematch, and Steinitz had reasons to be satisfied by opening results. Sohe uses it again in the 5th game. But this time Anderssen was prepared... } 14. Rae1 fxe4 15. Nxe4 { ! This is the Anderssen's idea. He sacrificesthe second pawn (d5), but develops dangerous attack on black's kingside.If he played 15. Bxe4, retaining the pawn, after 15. ... Nc4 16. Qe2 Nxb217. Qxb2 Bf5 white could forget about attack, and black retains gambitpawn. } 15... Nxd5 16. Neg5 h6 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 Qd7 { ? This is an error,after which white gets big advantage. In case of 18. ... Nf4 black couldget more defendable position. For example: 19. Rxd6 Qxd6 20. Bh7+ Kxh721. Qxd6 with the same material as in the game, but having more secureking's position. } 19. Rg6 Nf4 20. Rxg7+ Qxg7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 { It looks thatblack could resign here. White has material advantage, black king is opento any attack, and look at these black pieces which, like frightened animals,hide in their holes. I think that Anderssen decided at this moment, thatthe game is done. But there was a person who did not agreed with that,and this person was Steinitz. } 22. Nh4 Nxd3 23. Qxd3 Rf6 24. Nf5+ Kf8 25. Qh3 Re8 26. Qg4 Ree6 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. g4 d5 29. Kg2 Nc4 30. Qxb7 Re2 { Itlooks that white took not the best plan, underestimating black's abilitiesto consolidate its pieces. White's achievements are very small - they wona miserable pawn b7, but still unable to really threaten black king. Butblack pieces are all ready to start threaten white king. } 31. Qg7 Rfe6 32. h4 d4 33. Qg8+ Kd7 34. Qf7+ Kc8 35. Ng7 Ne3+ 36. Kg1 Re4 { White stilldoes not have any ideawhat to do, but black pieces use any opportunityto get closer to white king. } 37. f3 { ?? This is good move, isn't it?White defends its pawn g4 and attacks black rook, which has to retreat...NO, this is mistake! The rook ain't going to retreat! } 37... d3 { The rook issacrificed! And look - the pawn d gets one step closer to its final goal. } 38. fxe4 Nxg4+ 39. Rf2 { This is forcedly, because otherwise 39. Kh1 Rh2# } 39... Bxf2+ 40. Kh1 Re1+ 41. Kg2 Rg1+ 42. Kf3 Ne5+ 43. Kxf2 Nxf7 44. Kxg1 d2 { Black regain the sacrificed rook, then returned back the queen for therook and bishop, retaining the only advantage - the gambit pawn, but thispawn is unstoppable. Unfortunately this great combination is not perfect- if white played 40. Kg2 instead of 40. Kh1, black had only a draw: 40...Be1+ 41. Kg1 Bf2+ etc. } *

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "14-Aug-07"] [Round "-"] [White "ridderhenk"] [Black "jatayu"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1534"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1542"] 1. d4 { This entire game was on conditional moves after his opponent madehis opening move. } 1... Nf6 { jatayu used the Budapest Gambit } 2. c4 e5 { Allof these moves by jatayu are now in conditional moves. } 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Nc6 { jatayu is now just kicking back and watching in amazement. } 5. Bf4 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 { Now jatayu is stunned that this is working. } 7. a3 Ngxe5 8. axb4 Nd3# { jatayu just got the message Game Won Congratulations. } 0-1

[Event "2nd Official Great Lakes minitournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "30-Jan-07"] [Round "-"] [White "ettwidget"] [Black "alng"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1431"] [TimeControl "3d+2d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1175"] 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. Nc3 g6 6. Nb5 e5 { Black looksto open his black bishop and break the tension. } 7. Nxe5 Nxe5 8. dxe5 Ne4 { Ne4? Nh5! } 9. f3 Nc5 10. Qe2 Bg7 11. O-O-O O-O 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Qb5 Na4 { Na4 avoids 13. ...Qxb5? 14. Nxb5 ... 15. Nxc7 forking Black's rook andqueen pawn gaining a pawn. } 14. e6 Bxe6 { Who says there's no such thingas a free pawn for lunch? } 15. Nxe6 Qxb5 { Qxb5 is better now that Black'sbishop's diagonal is clear. } 16. Bxb5 Nxb2 17. Rxd5 fxe6 18. Rd7 c6 { protectsBlack's queen bishop pawn and attacks White's light bishop. } 19. Be2 Rf7 { protects b7 and prepares rooks for doubling later } 20. Rxf7 Kxf7 21. c3 Bxc3 { Still eating at the 'All the free pawns you can eat' seafood buffet. } 22. Kc2 Na4 { Com'on! Chase me! } 23. Kb3 b5 24. Rd1 Ba5 25. Rd7+ Kg8 26. Bd6 c5 { Black hangs his queen's knight pawn. } 27. Bxb5 Nb6 28. Bc6 c4+ 29. Kc2 Nxd7 30. Bxa8 Nb6 31. Bc7 h5 32. Be4 Kf7 { protects Black's king'sknight pawn and effectively hides from both White's bishops. } 33. h4 { Thebeginning of the end. Using the Point Count, White has a point for thebishop pair and another for the off-side majority ( 2 p.c.). Black hasa point for the passed pawn, another because it is advanced and anotherfor better king position ( 3 p.c.). This is just the static picture, however,as h4 causes White's king's knight pawn to become backward with... } 33... Be1 34. Bd8 Nd5 { Bxd5 trades even material and connects two of Black's isolani. } 35. g4 Nxe3+ 36. Kb1 hxg4 37. fxg4 Nxg4 { In just four moves, Black hasgained two pawns ( 6 p.c.) by checking the king before re-capturing. } 38. Bf3 Ne3 39. Bc7 { hangs White's pawn at h4. } 39... Bxh4 40. Be2 c3 41. Bd6 c2+ 42. Kc1 Bg5 43. Kd2 Nc4+ 44. Kxc2 Nxd6 45. a4 Bd8 46. Kb3 Bb6 { Black hasa won game. White's sole pawn is backward (-1 p.c.) and Black's bishopand pawn on the a-file are invincible since neither White's king nor lightbishop can touch them. Black is up 5 pawns ( 15 p.c.) putting Black morethan 16 points in the lead. } 47. Kc3 e5 48. Kd3 Kf6 49. Bd1 Kf5 50. Ke2 Kf4 51. Kf1 g5 52. Kg2 g4 0-1

[Event "Golden rules of Rook endings"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.05.16"] [Round "-"] [White "elyhim"] [Black "stalhandske"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2116"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "2352"] { I have been leading the charge of mentoring our club the in-and-outs ofthe Modern Benoni. In this game everything develops normally until aboutmove 10 where black introduces a new idea. I leave it up to you dear readerif black's idea has any merit. Also this game has an instructive Rook+pawnendgame. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 { Believeit or not most top level GM's have ditched f4 for Nf3. This is becauseof black's recent successes against the f4 lines. Still the f4 lines remaincommon in amateur play because most black players have not kept up withmodern theory. } 6... g6 7. e4 { At this juncture white does not have to playe4 but instead can play 7.g3 with very interesting play for both sides.The advantage of 7. g3 is that white steers the game into more positionalstyle of play. However, the meekness of 7. g3 should not be underestimated!AS it is notorious for it's complex middle game } 7... Bg7 8. Bf4 { More commonare 8.h3; 8.Bd3 and 8.Be2. The idea is to test Stalhandske's knowledgeof the Modern Benoni. If he is abreast this move should be no problem,Matter of fact black can get some very good chances out of it. } 8... O-O { Alternativevariation: 8... a6 9. Qa4+ Bd7 10. Qb3 b5 11. Bxd6 b4 [!?] 12. Na4 Nxe413. Qe3 Bxa4 } 9. Nd2 { a normal manouever for white in the modern benoniBf4 lines. White wants to place a knight on c4 where it can attack d6 anddefend e4 from a more active outpost. } 9... Ng4 { This move and ...Ne8 areblack's latest attempt to refute white's Bf4 ideas. } 10. Be2 Qf6 { ?!The whole point of 9...Ng4 is to try and prevent white from playing Nc4easily. 10...Qf6 actually hinders black's development and makes the Queenand knight targets. Alternative variation: 10... Ne5 [=] 11. O-O f5 12.h3 fxe4 13. Bg3 (13. Be3 Re8 14. Ndxe4 Nf7)13... Bf5 } 11. Bg3 h5 { !? } 12. O-O h4 { Forces that exchange but it does little to clear the air. Afterthe exchange the position is quite complex. } 13. Bxd6 Nxf2 14. Bxf8 Nxd1 15. Rxf6 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bxf6 { After a series of forced exchanges the dusthas settled somewhat. Leaving white with a potentially dangerous majorityin the center. But black has better piece mobility and a slightly superiorpawn structure but his position is quite passive. The result is semi-equalitywith better attacking chances for white. } 17. Bxc5 Bxc3 18. Rd1 Nd7 19. Bf2 Nf6 { !? A risky gamble. Black gives up a pawn in order for the opportunityto destroy white's pawn structure. Alternative variation: [possibly betteris ] 19... h3 20. Nf3 Nf6 21. e5 Ne4 [⩲] } 20. Bxh4 Bd7 21. Bd3 Re8 22. Rb1 Kg7 23. Be1 { attacking c3 and forcing black's next few moves. Alternativevariation: 23. Rxb7 [?] 23... Bc8 24. Bxf6+ Kxf6 25. e5+ Kg7 26. Rc7 Bxe5[=] } 23... b5 24. Nf3 b4 25. Bxc3 bxc3 { White has managed to hold onto his powerfulcenter. Meanwhile, black has converted the b-pawn into a highly dangerouspast c-pawn. Black needs to get his rook behind the c-pawn in order tosimplify into a slightly inferior rook endgame. } 26. Rb7 Nxe4 27. Bxe4 Rxe4 28. Rxd7 Rc4 29. Ne1 c2 30. Nxc2 Rxc2 31. Rxa7 Rd2 { Black is downby two pawns and is in danger of losing. However, black can force thegame to a peaceful end if he adheres to the golden rules of rook endgames.#1 Centralize your king #2 control the center. #3 Keep your rook activeand cut off the opponent king from meeting up with a pawn. #3 You needat least two pawn advantage to win. } 32. Ra5 { My winning chances arehinged on keeping my 2 pawn advantage. } 32... g5 { ? Bad, Black needs to adherethe the three golden rules. #1 centralize your king. #2 Active rook #3control the centre Alternative variation: 32... Kf6 [!] 33. a4 Ke5 34.h4 Rd3 35. Kf2 Ra3 36. g3 Ra2+ 37. Kf3 Ra3+ 38. Kg2 Ra2+ 39. Kf3 Ra3+ [=][andthat is how it is done folks!] } 33. a4 { !? } 33... Kf6 34. Rb5 { ! } 34... Ra2 { Alternativevariation: 34... g4 [?!] 35. Rb4 g3 36. hxg3 Rxd5 37. Kf2 Rd2+ 38. Kf3Kg5 39. g4 [!] } 35. a5 g4 36. d6 Ke6 37. Rd5 { ! For the win. Black canno longer capture either pawn and therefore loses. This highlights theimportance of adhering to the Golden rules of rook endings. } 37... Kd7 38. Kf1 { Black resigns. Both of his pieces are unable to move and are in zugwig } 1-0

[Event "Nimzo-Indian Defense mini-tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.12.29"] [Round "-"] [White "last_archimedean"] [Black "rob44nyc"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1268"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1341"] { A themed mini-tournament. I love themed minis, and this is about the 40thor so I've created, with just about that number of different openings. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 { All the games start from this position, with White to move.I had never done a Nimzo-Indian theme before this tournament, but knowit's a very popular defense. } 9. O-O Bb4 10. e4 { Now that I've castled,I can initiate complications. } 10... O-O { My opponent, likewise, castles beforeplunging towards the middle game. } 11. e5 { A Knight on KB3, according toFine and Znosko-Borovsky, is the best single piece available to protecta King that has castled King-side. So naturally, I drive it away whileI have the opportunity. } 11... Ne8 { The best available square. N-R4 would leaveit exposed and vulnerable. } 12. Be3 { Naturally, development must be completed! } 12... f6 { An attempt to negate my central wedge. } 13. Qc2 { I double along thediagonal. } 13... Ba5 { A move seemingly without a purpose. According to Fine,it is better to have a bad plan than not to have a plan at all. Every moveshould have some purpose. } 14. Bxh7+ { I naturally take the free Pawn, amove that also exposes Black's King somewhat. } 14... Kh8 { K-B2 would leave theKing closer to his allies, although I'm not sure it would have made a hugedifference. } 15. Qg6 { Naturally, I press forward with the Q. My Knightis also ready to join, and the Black King is momentarily denuded of defensivehelp. } 15... fxe5 { An attempt to reduce the pressure. } 16. Ng5 { Bringing forwardanother attacking piece. } 16... Qf6 { Black's previous move cleared this square.Needless to say, I have no intention of exchanging Queens! } 17. Qh5 { Threateninga deadly discovered check. } 17... e4 { The correct move was 17... Q-R3, interruptingthe potential discovery. Now I have a mate. } 18. Bg6+ { Black has but onemove... } 18... Kg8 { ...and this is it. } 19. Qh7# { Fin. } 1-0

[Event "Oswestry A v Newport A"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "07/11/2019"] [Round "-"] [White "Charles L Higgie"] [Black "Nathanael Paul"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1962"] [TimeControl "1h25m + 10 secs per move"] [WhiteElo "1947"] 1. e4 { We were playing on board 2 } 1... c6 { He plays the Caro Kann as usual. } 2. d4 { Main line } 2... d5 { Also the usual move. } 3. e5 { The advanced variation } 3... Bf5 { Bishop comes out. } 4. h4 { With a threat of 5. g4 } 4... h5 { So he stopsthat. } 5. c4 { The usual move. } 5... e6 { He prepares to develop his Bf8 } 6. Nc3 { Standard development. } 6... Nd7 { This threw me a little. I was hoping to followRameshbabu Praggnanandhaa vs Teja S Ravi Isle of Man Masters (2018), Douglas- 1.e4 c62. d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Nge2 dxc4 8.Ng3Bg6 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Bxc4 Qxb2 11.Nce4 Nf5 12.O-0 Nxg3 13.Rb1 Qa3 14.fxg3 Bxe415.Rxf7 Qxg3 16.Rf2 b5 17.Qe1 Bf5 18.Bxe6 Qxf2+ 19.Qxf2 Bxe6 20.d5 cxd521.Qc2 Be7 22.Bxe7 Kxe7 23.Qc7+ Bd7 24.e6 Rc8 25.Qb7 Kxe6 26.Qxa8 Nc6 27.Qb7b4 28.Qa6 Kd6 29.Rxb4 Rd8 30.Rb1 d4 31.Rc1 Kc7 32.Qxa7+1-0, but now I hadto start thinking for myself. } 7. Bg5 { As played in the above game, althoughthen on move 9 rather than 7. } 7... f6 { This was a surprise, I wasn't reallyexpecting this move. It looks a little loosening on the black king position,although I found out later that it had been played before. } 8. exf6 { soI took, leaving his pawn on e6 backward. } 8... gxf6 { This was also a surpriseto me, although I later found out it is the usual move in this position. } 9. Be3 { And my bishop drops back, protecting d4 } 9... Bd6 { As in Bryzgalin,Kirill (2446) vs. Driamin, Dmitrij (2323) } 10. Be2 { Attacking h5 } 10... Bg6 { Protectingh5 } 11. Nh3 { Planning Nf4 attacking h5 again. All this happened in Bryzgalin,Kirill (2446) vs. Driamin, Dmitrij (2323). That game continued dxc4 12.Bxc4Bf7 13.Qb3Qb6 14.Bxe6Qxb3 15.Bxb3Bxb3 16.axb3Ne7 17.Bf4 andwhite has won a pawn although black went on to win. } 11... Qb8 { But instead Nathanaelprevents my knight going to f4 } 12. g3 { So I threaten it again. } 12... Ne7 { hedevelops. } 13. cxd5 { I exchange. } 13... cxd5 { He takes back } 14. Nf4 { And I finallyplay this! } 14... Bxf4 { He takes } 15. Bxf4 { I take back } 15... e5 { Considered bestby Fritz } 16. dxe5 { Fritz prefers Be3. } 16... fxe5 { He takes back. } 17. Bg5 { withsome thoughts of exchanging on e7 } 17... d4 { Black advances again. } 18. Bxe7 { Fritz also likes Nb5 } 18... Kxe7 { He takes back. } 19. Nd5+ { I throw in a check. } 19... Kf8 { Best according to Fritz. } 20. O-O { Compare the pawn cover of the respectivekings! } 20... Qd6 { Fritz likes this move. } 21. Bc4 { Fritz prefers 21. Bf3. Ithought that was unplayable because of e5-e4, but white then has 22. Qxd4attacking the rook on h8 } 21... b5 { Fritz prefers Kg7 } 22. Bb3 { the natural retreatbut Fritz prefers f4 immediately } 22... Nc5 { Fritz is still preferring Kg7, althoughthis looks strong. } 23. f4 { Threat 24. f4xe5+ winning the queen. } 23... Kg7 { Hefinally plays it! } 24. f5 { This is the first move considered by Fritz,but Fritz later goes for fxe5 or Rc1 } 24... Nxb3 { He takes. } 25. axb3 { Fritzprefers taking back with the queen. } 25... Qxd5 { He takes. } 26. fxg6 { I take. } 26... a5 { Played to stop Ra6+. Fritz prefers e4 or Rh6 } 27. Rc1 { I, playing white,offered a draw here, which was declined. } 27... e4 { Fritz prefers Ra7 } 28. Rc7+ { Fritz prefers 28. Rf7+ Kxg6 29. Rf-c7 with a large advantage to white. } 28... Kxg6 { This seems to be a mistake. Kg8 is safer. } 29. Qc1 { White now hasa massive advantage according to Fritz. } 29... e3 { To stop my queen coming inon g5. 29....Rf8 was needed according to Fritz. White now has several wins.The quickest is 30. Qc2+ d3 31. Qc3 with unstoppable mate threats on f6and g7. 30. Rc6+ or Rc5 both win too. Howver unfirtunately I chickenedout with } 30. Qc6+ Qxc6 31. Rxc6+ Kg7 32. Rc7+ Kg6 33. Rc6+ { Draw agreed.Many thanks for reading. Please rate my annotation with the star systemand leave a comment or two. Until next time dear reader! } 1/2-1/2

[Event "A Rising Tide"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.07.26"] [Round "-"] [White "rafferty"] [Black "tonnerre"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1345"] 1. e4 c6 { I've been playing the Caro-Kann more often these days. It's notuncommon to derive claustrophobic positions from this opening but I enjoyits solidity. } 2. f4 { 2. f4 ?! Quite honestly, this was a twist for me.I am reminded of horrible experiences against the Grand Prix Attack inthe Sicilian. I was also somewhat relieved when I remembered the difficultiesWhite had in playing the King's Gambit. } 2... d5 { With nothing to fear, Idecide to carry out my original plan to occupy the centre and mobilizepieces. } 3. e5 Nh6 { I figured the Knight on the flank bolsters supportagainst an early pawn storm while not impeding the dark-squared Bishopalong the a3-f8 diagonal. } 4. Nf3 { Finally White decides to develop. Theloss of tempi may hurt him. } 4... Bg4 5. d4 e6 6. Be2 c5 { At this point, itseems that my opponent has done nothing substantial to slow my development. } 7. O-O Nc6 8. Bb5 Nf5 9. Qd3 Bxf3 { This capture crumbles White's centre.My true target is the d4-pawn and the a6-g1 line. } 10. gxf3 Nxd4 { Downgoes the pawn. The bonus prize here included the doubled pawns on the f-filewhich are easily stopped and an open g-file to the King. The pawns on f4and e5 will be useful in restricting White's dark-squared Bishop's mobility. } 11. Ba4 Be7 { A pin becomes useless if there is nothing behind the pinnedpiece. Therefore it is wise to move my King away. } 12. c3 { Prepares a repositioningof the light-squared Bishop and counterplay against O-O along c2-h7 andthe g-file. } 12... Nf5 { Unfortunately, the loss of tempi has indeed hurt White. } 13. Bxc6+ { Perhaps a move made in frustration or an attempt to repaythe favour of doubling his pawns, my opponent chooses to double mine. } 13... bxc6 14. Qa6 O-O { White no longer has any minor pieces developed or significantpresence in the middle. There are multiple lines toward White's King whichcan be exploited over time. I do not mind giving up the c6 pawn to theQueen. } 15. Qe2 { Seeing no advantage in sacking the pawn, the Queen repositions.My line to his King is also his line to mine. At this point, I expectedsome attempt at removing my Knight (Nb3-c2-e3 or the like) and activationof the Bishop and Rook against my King. I was unclear of how to press againsthis King now. } 15... c4 { I choose to open up the b6-g1 diagonal. I still haveoptions along d8-h4 and the beautifully brutish 'ram pawns right down themiddle 'til he chokes and promote' idea. } 16. Kh1 { White makes his plansclear now. } 16... Bc5 17. Qg2 Qh4 { I use BOTH diagonals. The Queen adds pressureto the King while adding additional defense against mate on g7 if somehowboth my Knight and Bishop were incapacitated. } 18. Bd2 { Here begins anattempt at stepwise removal of my offending pieces and development of thea-Rook. } 18... Qh6 19. Be1 { Leaves the f4-pawn en prise for development tempo.But... } 19... Ne3 { The fork does not allow that luxury. } 20. Qe2 Nxf1 21. Qxf1 Qxf4 22. Na3 Qxe5 23. Bf2 Bxf2 24. Qxf2 { All my minor pieces have beenremoved. White has gained considerable luft now that there is no directattack possible at the moment. However, he is down a Rook and all 8 ofmy pawns remain. } 24... Rfb8 { I grab the semi-open file, placing pressure onthe b-file, a1 and c3. The g7-pawn remains untouchable. } 25. Rg1 { A mantraI was taught years ago (and apparently also learnt by my opponent): Betterto play with a bad plan than none at all. } 25... Rb6 { Prevents capture of a7and allows doubling the Rooks on the b-file. } 26. Qg2 Rab8 27. Nb1 { Whiterealizes the tide has risen along the Queenside and he will soon be covered. } 27... g6 { Protects the King and allows my Queen to get off a1-h8 if necessary. } 28. h3 Rxb2 { I entertained the idea of forming Alekhine's Gun but it wasbest to threaten mate immediately. } 29. Nd2 Qxc3 30. Rd1 Qc2 { They can'tall be saved now. } 31. Qe2 c3 { White resigns. } 0-1

[Event "Double sacrifice turns game around for Black"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.05.06"] [Round "-"] [White "tag1153"] [Black "jasonakay"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1642"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1732"] { This is a game that I played while reading 'Kasparov's winning chess tactics:how he thinks, how he chooses' by Bruce Pandolfini, which started me thinkingabout the unexpected moves and complex combinations employed by Kasparovand trying to find a way to do similar things (albeit at my much more limitedskill level). In this game, a pair of sacrifices turned what looked tobe a slow, drawn out loss for Black into a win. } 1. d4 { White starts withthe Queen's Pawn Opening. } 1... Nf6 { Black responds with the Queen's Pawn Game. } 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6 { Here, I deviated from established opening moves inorder to protect against White's dark bishop pinning my kingside knightas well as having his knight move to g5. } 4. Nc3 Bb4 { White moves out hisqueenside knight and I pin it with my dark bishop. } 5. Bd2 { White unpinshis knight. } 5... O-O { I am often guilty of not castling early enough in thegame. Not so here. ;-) } 6. e3 Nc6 7. a3 { White forces Black's dark bishopto capture the c3 knight or retreat. } 7... Bxc3 { Capture it is! } 8. Bxc3 d6 { Trying to make some room for Black's light bishop. } 9. Bd3 { White appearsready to castle short. } 9... Bd7 { Trying to clear the back rank. } 10. Rc1 b6 11. Bb1 { White retreats his bishop to clear the d column or to align hisqueen in front of it... } 11... Ne7 { Moving the queenside knight kingside to bolsterthe defense. } 12. Qc2 { Queen and bishop are aligned! All White has todo is remove the knight at f6 and he has an easy win. } 12... g6 { Moving the gpawn forward reduces Black's dependency on the f6 knight... } 13. h4 { ...untilWhite's kingside pawns start advancing! } 13... d5 { Challenging White's c pawnand, if declined, creating the opportunity to move the f6 knight to e4(to block the b1-h7 diagonal.) } 14. c5 { Declined. } 14... a5 15. h5 { Uh-oh! Black doesn't dare capture the h5 pawn with 15. ... gxh5 as 16. Rxh5 thenthreatens the h6 pawn! The rook on h5 would then be inviolable as 17.... Nxh5 would result in 18. Qh7#. } 15... Kg7 { Adding the king's protection tothe g and h pawns and making room for either the kingside rook or the knightsto move behind the king as needed. } 16. hxg6 { Cutting into Black's defenses! } 16... fxg6 { Black's g pawn is now protected by only the king and one knight. Black's h pawn has only the king guarding it. This isn't looking so good,especially considering that White can add a knight and a couple more kingsidepawns to the attack! } 17. Ne5 { Adding pressure to Black's g pawn. } 17... Be8 { Adding additional protection to Black's g pawn. } 18. f3 { Although Blackis holding it together, that can only last until White's remaining kingsidepawns advance. } 18... c6 { Giving Black's queen a little breathing room and preventingthe advance of White's c pawn which would make life in the Black kingdomexceedingly awkward! } 19. Ke2 { White decides not to castle, but insteadmakes room for the queenside rook to assist the attack from the kingsideor for his dark-squared bishop to pass through e1 on its way to join theattack. } 19... b5 { Making a little more room and removing the Black queen's responsibilityto guard the b pawn. Also hoping to drive back White's dark bishop (morefor something to do than because it would really change anything) and maybeeven open a column for a much needed counterattack! } 20. b4 { No drivingback the bishop now. At this point I finally saw a possibility for a Blackcounter attack, requiring a sacrifice and leveraging the White king's slightlyforward position. I spent a lot of time contemplating the various continuations,most of which looked favourable but, in the end, I didn't have any betterideas so I decided to go for it. } 20... axb4 { First, try to open the a column... } 21. axb4 { ... a column opened. } 21... Ra3 { Advance the rook and hope White doesthe predictable... } 22. Bb2 { Yes, he does. } 22... Rxe3+ { Surprise! An unexpectedattack, but so what? } 23. Kxe3 { White takes the gift rook, probably wonderingwhere the threat lies... } 23... Nf5+ { Check! But even this doesn't look allthat dangerous... } 24. Kd2 { ... just move the king back a bit... } 24... Ne4+ { Check!! Sacrifice #2!!! Surely Black will run out of pieces before thisaccomplishes anything? } 25. fxe4 { White gobbles up the knight and now hasa seven point material advantage. He has also blocked the b1-h7 diagonal. } 25... Ng3 { Attacking the h1 rook, threatening check with Nxe4+ and clearing thef column. What will White do about the threat of Rf2+ which could winhis queen? (Ng4 would be met with h5, forcing the knight to retreat orbe captured; Nd3 would be followed by Nxe4+ which prevents the king fromescaping to c3 but slows Black's attack nonetheless; Nf3 would block thef column and prevent Black's queen from checking on g5, but would be metwith dxe4, again forcing the knight to move or be captured.) } 26. Qb3 { Whiteopts to move his queen instead, attacking the unprotected knight and transferringprotection of the e4 pawn to the light bishop, meaning that checking theKing with the knight again will result in an exchange. } 26... Qg5+ { Check! Lotsof continuations here: if White moves his king to his back rank, the Blackknight will capture the unprotected rook on h1; if the White king goesto c2, then Black's knight takes the unprotected e4 pawn, threatening matesoon thereafter with the rook and queen; should White choose c3 for theking, Black can follow up with checks from his queen and knight which wouldcost White his queen, and if the White king moves to d3, then dxe4+ willforce him to move again, to either c2 or c3. There remains one other option... } 27. Qe3 { Up by seven? Let's try to force a queen exchange! Seems reasonableexcept for what follows... } 27... Rf2+ { There is no way to capture the rook andno opportunity to block. White must move his king to the only square thatcontinues to lend protection to his queen. } 28. Kd3 { If Black hesitates,there will certainly be an exchange of queens! } 28... dxe4+ { At this point, Whiteresigned, having very limited options: moving the king out of check losesthe queen; capturing the checking pawn with the queen results in checkmate(29. ... Qd2#). } 0-1

[Event "Interlude - How to beat the Computers"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "3/5/97"] [Round "-"] [White "Garry Kasparov"] [Black "Deep Blue"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "?"] 1. Nf3 { A little interlude to the Grand Tour match of fatcat2 vs Computers.Having played 4 games so far against various computers, I am beginningto feel that I'm missing something. What I need is a good example of howto beat my silicon opponents - and what better one to look at than the1st game of the 1997 match of Garry Kasparov vs the updated Deep Blue? We start with the Reti Opening. Quite a recent one, and a flexible openingas it offers opportunities to transpose into King Pawn, Queen Pawn or Englishsetups. } 1... d5 2. g3 { White is going for a Barcza kingside formation. } 2... Bg4 { The Keres Variation. } 3. b3 Nd7 4. Bb2 e6 5. Bg2 Ngf6 6. O-O { White hasa solid, although possibly slightly cramped position. Notice the excellentcontrol that his fianchettoed bishops have of the centre. } 6... c6 7. d3 Bd6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Bh5 10. e3 { White is slowly, solidly gaining more spaceand advancing his pawns and pieces. The game has so far been very positional;I have seen no tactics coming into it, which is unlike Kasparov but I supposea good policy against a computer. } 10... h6 11. Qe1 Qa5 12. a3 Bc7 13. Nh4 g5 14. Nhf3 e5 15. e4 { Now White is becoming more dynamic, with a strike atthe centre and opening up his position. } 15... Rfe8 16. Nh2 Qb6 17. Qc1 a5 18. Re1 Bd6 19. Ndf1 { White appears to be retreating! He has formed a solidbut cramped kingside. Have I missed something? } 19... dxe4 20. dxe4 Bc5 21. Ne3 Rad8 22. Nhf1 g4 23. hxg4 Nxg4 24. f3 { If I did not yet know the resultof the game I would say White is in a lot of trouble. Deep Blue is playingto the traditional strengths of a computer - tactical attacks - whileWhite seems to be forced into passivity. } 24... Nxe3 25. Nxe3 Be7 26. Kh1 Bg5 27. Re2 a4 28. b4 { Keeping the queenside files blocked. } 28... f5 29. exf5 e4 30. f4 { White is bypassing all of White's pawns, rather than capturingthem, and thus maintaining the positional equilibrium and not allowingBlack any open lines to attack down. } 30... Bxe2 31. fxg5 Ne5 32. g6 Bf3 33. Bc3 Qb5 34. Qf1 { Suddenly it is Black who appears to be on the ropes! Hiskingside has been cracked open like an egg, and White's kingside pawnsare menacing his position... } 34... Qxf1+ 35. Rxf1 h5 36. Kg1 Kf8 37. Bh3 b5 38. Kf2 Kg7 39. g4 { White is maintaining his strong position on the kingside. } 39... Kh6 40. Rg1 hxg4 41. Bxg4 Bxg4 42. Nxg4+ Nxg4+ 43. Rxg4 { Such mass exchangescan only help White, who is down by an exchange but has an easily won pawnformation. } 43... Rd5 44. f6 Rd1 45. g7 { Deep Blue resigns. The final resultof the match, incidentally, was 3.5-2.5 to Deep Blue...this was the onlygame Kasparov won. But I am going to study it further and I hope to pickup some tips... } 1-0

[Event "Crushing and crashing... "] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.01.20"] [Round "-"] [White "damafi"] [Black "morrisette's"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1275"] [TimeControl "5|5"] [WhiteElo "1408"] { A short game in which I just crushed my opponent. Now I'll see if it wasa sound game or not. } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c6 3. c3 { Don't forget this move(or c4), or b2 and the black squares will suffer. } 3... e6 { Closing in hislsb without need. Openiing the way for his dark squared pieces, too. I'dplayed Bf5. } 4. Nf3 f5 { Black goes for a 'reversed stonewall'. I'm justinventing the term. The issue here is that the f7 pawn was moved, and thewhite diagonal going from h5 to e8 can be attacked. } 5. e3 Nf6 { This moveprevents my Q's entry into g4 or h5. Black needs it. } 6. Ne5 { Opening theway for my Q all the same, and provoking. } 6... Bd6 { ...and this doesn't botherme at all. } 7. Be2 { Now, Nf6 can't go on g4 or h5, and I am 'threatening'Bh5+, and if g6, Nxg6, hxN, Bxg6+. Not a winner right now, but black mustbe aware of it. } 7... O-O { This is an awful movement, and it is a clear demonstrationof the fact that castling has to be done ONLY when appropriate... and notcertainly into the enemy's fire! } 8. g4 { Shot one. Nxg4 will lose a pawnand will bring my pieces out. Black has to play very carefully, here, sincethe g column is a strong attack point for me. He should have played Ne7,so to provoke Nc6, bxN, BxB, Rf7 and try to survive this position, or BxN,dxB, Ne4. } 8... g6 { ? A typical novice error, like castling. The issue blackshould have taken care of was the g column opening. There was no need todefend f5, since gxf5, exf5 was not bad for black (except for the openg column). This move accomplishes nothing. Bd7 (heading for Be8) was 'something',and if white goes NxB, be welcomed! Now: how to take care of this mistake?Which is the best move to finish black? } 9. Bh6 { No, it was not exactlythis. But this move is not bad either... } 9... Re8 { Rf7 lost the exchange...but made black's live easier. Or BxN, dxB, Nxg4, BxR, QxB, and if BxNg4,fxB and white can't retake because f is protected by the Qf8. I'm not usingthe analyze board, so all this can be flawed. I'll review it later. Anyway:you don't see the move still? } 10. Nxg6 { Of course. But on real timed games,you always think you can be wrong, just lose a piece and... nothing more.Maybe this was premature. Maybe it was wiser 10. g5, closing in the dsb,but forcing Ng4 (and the subsequent BxN, Qxg4...), or 10... Nf6-d7 (butthen black would have been completely underdeveloped) or 10... Ne4, f3,winning the N for a pawn (Qh4+ is not possible due to the g5 pawn). Then,a4, a5 will break black. So: was this sac necessary? Was it sound? } 10... hxg6 11. gxf5 { Giving away the idea of g5 forever. Still not sure it was theright choice. But the closing-in of the dsb can't be played lightly. } 11... exf5 12. Rg1 { A 'must'. } 12... Kh7 { Yes, I knew. No problem. } 13. Bg5 { Bf4?? BxB forfree. Now, his N is pinned, and this will be the losing piece for him.But he was a novice, he didn't play the best. I'm also inviting Bxh2, whichwill mean he will end losing it for two pawns (Bxh2, Rh1, Qc7, Bf4, Ng4,BxN... but white can't just play f4 because of Rxe3, be aware...) } 13... Re6 { Not the proper position for the proper piece. The R belongs to g8 or h8,the Q to f7, and the other N to d7. So this was the square for Bc8. Learnhow to get your pieces coordinated, in its best squares. It's not alwayseasy to see where they are, but this is an 'ugly-looking' move, and forgood reasons! Who knows which was the idea behind it! } 14. Bh5 { When attacking,be quick. I'm no Capablanca, I'm not able to 'slowly build'... nor thisis the right position to do that. I'll go this way. NxB is impossible,and if gxh, I'm sure the action on the g column will give me enough compenbsation.It was 'hope chess'... :-) } 14... Qg8 { I still think black could have taken theB, but this move has its point, since my Rg1 is not defended, and I can'tcastle. I looked to Kd2 (but Ne4+), or Ke2 (self-blocking my Q... doubtful!).I don't want to take back my lsb, if possible. I can pin the g pawn bymoving my dsb, but if Bh4 I just give black a tempo, threatening Bxg6,but he can just play Ne4, defending it with the R (was it not all thatbad? :-) } 15. Bxf6 { So, very sadly, I went for this move. } 15... Rxf6 16. Qf3 { This was the idea behind not conceding a single tempo to black (takingthe N). Now my threat is Qh3. A weak plan, since black here has e.g. g5.So the soundness of both my sacs is heavily questioned! I didn't want toplay the f pawn, for sure, and the simple Nd2 (developement without a plan)is just a losing option. } 16... Nd7 { Black has to develop, true, but he hasto unpin g6 all the same! Qf8 will do. Qh6 can shield black's K if Qh3. } 17. Qh3 Nf8 { ?? Worser than worse. But why? What is white threatening?What's the only defence against... a double check? Not this: this willonly cover g6, but against... } 18. Bxg6+ { You see: if Bf3+, Kg7 and that'sall! I like this position; is not usual. } 18... Kg7 { Be aware: white can stillthrow the game. Which is next's best move? Be8? } 19. Bh7+ { If Be8, Ng6and white's attack is stopped. I'm not heading for mate, but for 'overwhelmingmaterial advantage'. But it will come sure. Please note: I didn't defendRg1, and now it can't be taken. Now my opponent resigned. Kf7, BxQg8+,Ke7... } 1-0

[Event "Massive cuasi-zugswang :-)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.02.05"] [Round "-"] [White "nathaniel57"] [Black "damalfi"] [Result "0-1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 { Let's try the Budapest that way. In theory, it willwork all the same :-) } 3. Nf3 { He doesn't fall for it, and I had to think. } 3... e4 { Let's try this one. His horse will jump a little while I am developing. } 4. Ng5 d5 { Nice counter-center, isn't it? } 5. e3 { I don't like to blockmy own bishop that way, even if I know that it's playable. } 5... h6 6. Nh3 { Ok, now I can make two pawns isolated on the h column, but... is that'intelligent'? Is that 'nice'? or 'fun'? } 6... a6 { The knight is not blocked,but he will jump to a very weak position on f4, regardless of the pressurethat he will make over d4. } 7. Nf4 c6 { This move is possible because thewhite's dsb is trapped. } 8. g3 { But MINE isn't! } 8... Bg4 { Probably this wasnot the proper way to take advantage of the white squares' white weakness. } 9. Be2 { ...because of this. } 9... h5 { Well: try to act as if everything waspart of a plan. } 10. Bxg4 { He falls for it (h3 would have been better:I had to exchange, and after that he is more developed that me (even ifwhite's position is not particularly good). } 10... hxg4 { Nxg5, h3 and my knighthas to retreat. This way, I condemn my knight 'forever' to guard g4, butit blocks white's developement if not handled properly. } 11. O-O { Castlinginto the danger. But, on the other side, I am very tangled and my queencannot reach h8 - otherwise, Rxh2 was in sight. } 11... g5 12. Ng2 { This knighthad a lot of moves, and it is not in a good square - given the e6 squareis occupied by a pawn. } 12... Bd6 { Making sure white cannot even think aboutf3. } 13. Kh1 Kd7 { Now, I know that I am blocking my own knight's developementsquare, but I 'had' to make more pressure, and the king in e2 preventedthe queen to reach f6, if needed. It was a wrong line, because black' queenstrenght will be felt from c7. } 14. h4 { Thank you white. } 14... gxh3 { thisblocks the column for my rook, but I sweared I could make the most of aBxg2 sac. I was wrong. } 15. Ne1 { Note white pieces are horribly tangled,unable to move. } 15... Qc7 { Now, looking at Bxg3, after Qxg3, I have no straightwin!!! What will I do? Was it wise to push the pawn to h2? On the otherhand, my knights cannot join the fry to give some unbalancing move. } 16. Kh2 { Oh, well... } 16... Nh5 { Nxg3 now 'must' work. I was wrong again! } 17. Ne2 { Ok. White is inmovilized. But there is no zugzwang in sight (the queensideis still mobile). And what can I do more for attack? } 17... f5 18. c3 { I'm notworried, still. } 18... a5 { This is to free the knigh and allow the other rookto support the attack. Of course not g4 - Kxh3 and I will win easily withNxg3+. } 19. a3 Na6 20. Rb1 { White is planning a queenside attack, butI'm not worried, still. } 20... Nxg3 { ?? I intended to play f4, and break thepawn's barrier with the other rook at one move. But I don't know why, Iplayed this sacrifice, that throws the game for black (yes, me...) } 21. fxg3 f4 { Too late. But let's play as if it was a plan. } 22. gxf4 gxf4 23. Nxf4 { My counter is: whatever piece retaked there, is pinned. Now, it'sthe other rook's turn. } 23... Rag8 { Here! If in f8 (I must not take the piecein f4, for any reason!), Qg4+! } 24. Bd2 { Untangling himself, but far awayfrom it. } 24... Qd8 { The queen can penetrate in g3. Maybe. } 25. Qe2 { Ok, notso easy. } 25... Bxf4+ { ?? No, the bishop (and NOT THE QUEEN) should go to g3.I don't know why I played this, really! } 26. Rxf4 Qg5 { At least some pressure...Rf7+ is not a problem. } 27. Qf2 { After Rf7+, Kc8... what? } 27... Nc7 { Now Ineed all my pieces, because despite the pawn I cannot see the way to win. } 28. Rf7+ Kc8 { Mistake. Kd8 would have avoided... } 29. Qf5+ { Ouch! Exchangingqueens and then slowly death. } 29... Qxf5 30. Rxf5 Ne6 31. b4 { Ok, I have tomake something of my pawn, so... } 31... Ng5 32. bxa5 Nf3+ { The defending knightof e1 is dead (unless RxN). Otherwise, Rg1#. } 33. Nxf3 Rg2+ { Not allowinghim to take the pawn. I liked to have seen it. } 34. Kh1 exf3 { Now, it'sthe pawn or the bishop. } 35. Be1 { Of course the pawn. Now... } 35... h2 { Naivemate threat, but... the bishop is lost. I could have pursued the a pawn,(or e, or c) but being under as I was, the pawns are not worrying me...When I am trapped in such a way (and I do), I'm normally very annoyed.I felt sorry for white. I didn't calculated it (I wish I could have doneit in a blitz). It came 'alone'. With a little help from my side. } 36. Bf2 { Now, with Bh4, if I go RxB, white's rook take their revenge on b7. } 36... Rxf2 37. Rf7 { They want to do it anyway. It's a tempo thing, now. } 37... Rg8 { If he taked in b7, his rook will become vulnerable. } 38. Rfxb7 Rg1+ 39. Rxg1 Kxb7 { Why lose a pawn? ;-) } 40. Rb1+ Ka6 { I can imagine how this willend: a rook agains a lot of joined pawns. This is not won at all. Of course,probably Kc7 would have beeb wiser. } 41. Rb6+ Kxa5 42. Rxc6 Re2 { My pawnmust pass. He will have to lose his rook to stopping me from queening. } 43. Rc5+ Ka4 44. Rxd5 f2 45. Rf5 Re1+ 46. Kxh2 f1=Q 47. Rxf1 Rxf1 { Wasthis the best? The point is the 'residual advantage' I have: the whiteking is unable to reach his pawns - otherwise I'm fried. } 48. Kg2 Rf8 49. c4 { Now, my king has to do all the hard work. But he can. } 49... Kxa3 50. c5 Kb4 51. c6 Kc4 { Normally, this is lost for black, but with a rook... } 52. c7 Kd5 { The story is another. White timed out, but the position washopeless. Thank you for reading. } 0-1

[Event "N2, France"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.12.13"] [Round "-"] [White "Anic, Darko"] [Black "Franca, Ricardo Bedin"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2296"] [WhiteElo "2444"] 1. Nf3 { Observando as partidas do meu adversario, vi que ele sempre joga1.Cf3, desenvolve um bispo por g2 e transpoe para a Inglesa, as variantes'fianchetto' da India do Rei ou formacoes 'porco-espinho'. Tambem vi que,contra 1...d5 seguido rapidamente de ...c6, ele tende a jogar esquemasao estilo do ataque indio do rei. } 1... d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d3 Bf5 { Jogar a sistema de Londres não é a decisão mais corajosa da minha vida, mas as minhas derrotas para outros dois GM neste torneio me ensinaram que eu tenho que pensar em sair inteiro da abertura, antes de qualquer ambiciosa coisa. Além disso, um empate estaria otimo, então resolvi engolir o orgulho e jogar algo pouco ambicioso, mas simples e solido. } 5. Nbd2 e6 6. O-O h6 7. b3 a5 8. a3 Be7 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Qe1 Bh7 { I also need to mention that I started the game with 22 minutes less on the clock, since my team arrived late for the match. Another great advantage of the London system: at no point I was concerned about being in time deficit, since most of the moves are played almost alone! } 11. e4 c5 { Another advantage: if it is necessary to lose a little bit of time to make the position of pieces more interesting, it does not change much... now the whites must decide between trying to prevent...a4 or...b5, or playing Ne5 to try to inhibit...Nc6. } 12. Qe2 { He didn't prevent any of them. On the contrary, I decided to develop a trap, since I thought he could completely stop my countergame on the queen's side or in the center. } 12... Nc6 13. a4 Qc7 { Alternative variation: 13... Qb8[Para tentar a ruptura em b5.] } 14. c3 Rfd8 15. Ne1 Qb6 { White has spent too much time to place the horse again in the game after it was castled, so I decided to put the queen on a6 and prepare another type of rupture in the queenside pawns, while slowing down the advance in the kingside. } 16. Ba3 Qa6 17. e5 { Resolvendo o problema da cravada sobre o peao de d3, mas agora o Bh7 ganhainfluencia. } 17... Nd7 18. f4 Nb6 { A more aggressive decision. I decided to sacrifice a pawn in c4 to create confusion in the queen's wing, but perhaps I could have played more calmly with...b5. } 19. Rf2 c4 20. dxc4 Bxa3 21. Rxa3 dxc4 { Esquecendo-me de um detalhe no meio do calculo, que tiraria muitoda compensacao que eu julgava ter. Alternative variation: 21... Ne7 22.Qf3 [ Sem este lance, eu recuperaria o peao na coluna c sem perder nada.]22... dxc4 23. Qxb7 Qxb7 24. Bxb7 Rab8 25. Bf3 cxb3 $11 } 22. Nxc4 { Alternative variation: [Ele could have played] 22. bxc4 [E the white knights are contained by the white pawns, although doubled and isolated.] 22...Qa7 $1 $14 ([When I sacrificed the pawn, I had calculated] 22... Rxd2$4 23. Qxd2 Nxc4 [E I had forgotten] 24. Bf1 [which maintains the quality of the position even more.Fortunately, my opponent was not very precise in his analysis...])(22... Ne7 23. c5 $1) } 22... Nxc4 23. bxc4 Qb6 { E entramos na posicao que euimaginava. Creio que as pretas tem boa compensacao pelo peao, ja que dominamas duas colunas abertas e as brancas carecem de harmonia nas pecas e nospeoes. } 24. Bf3 Qb1 { My opponent and I were tied in points, but at that stage of the match, my team had won by one point. He decided to continue the game. } 25. Kg2 Rd7 26. Qe3 Rad8 27. Raa2 Qb3 28. c5 Qc4 29. g4 { I understand that he wanted to do something, but definitely not this time, which invites my horse to settle in d5 and threaten me with an infinite number of blows. } 29... Ne7 30. Kg3 { White knights must not be broken up into small pieces. The only fault is useful. But the position is ungrateful: the white knight is strong, the white king is exposed, and any final would also be difficult. } 30... Nd5 31. Qd4 Qxc3 32. Qxc3 Nxc3 33. Ra3 { With problems on position and time, the whites simplify a bit my task, since now I can enter a final where my bishop dominates the white horse. Alternative variation: 33. Rab2 Be4 [Also would be sad for the whites, but still there is a chance for a checkmate to happen.] } 33... Ne4+ 34. Bxe4 Bxe4 { I believe that the black pieces have sufficient advantage to win the final. All the pieces are dominant and the weaknesses of the black pieces can be defended with much more ease. } 35. Re2 Rd4 36. Nf3 Rb4 37. Rd2 Rxd2 38. Nxd2 Bd5 { The position is desperate for the whites: the pieces on a4 and c5 are condemned. The whites are still trying to occupy space and activate the knight to create threats, but they will lose many pieces along the way. } 39. f5 Rd4 40. Nf3 Rc4 41. h4 Rxc5 42. Nd4 Rc4 43. Nb5 Re4 44. Nd6 Rxe5 45. Kf4 Re2 46. Rc3 Bc6 47. Rc5 exf5 48. gxf5 Rd2 49. Nc8 Rd4+ 50. Ke5 Rxa4 51. Ne7+ Kh7 52. Nxc6 bxc6 53. Kd6 Rxh4 54. Rxa5 Re4 0-1

[Event "Keep it Complicated"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.14"] [Round "-"] [White "pmcmurphy"] [Black "blake84120"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1913"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<7d"] [WhiteElo "1771"] 1. c4 e5 { A mini-tournament game, I'm playing black and my opponent goesEnglish, so I go Sicilian. Or more accurately, the Sicilian Variation ofthe English Opening, a.k.a. King's English. Note: this game seems to bewell-played by both sides all the way through. I welcome any commentaryby anyone who sees a winning line for either player, for I'm at a lossto find one. } 2. Nc3 Bb4 { Well, I'm already off the reservation. My littlebit of resources suggests 2. ... Nf6, 2. ... Nc6, or 2. ... d6 in thatorder, but the GK DB seemed to show this move, 2. ... Bb4 as more successful,so I went with it. } 3. Nd5 Be7 { Even though it seems weird to charge outthere then run right back home. Or nearly home. } 4. d4 d6 5. e4 Nc6 { I'mnot a big fan of white's pawn center. I'm beginning to think the Sicilianmight be better left to black to play, and not so good to drag white intoa reversed Sicilian. Although, it could just be my awkward handling ofit. } 6. Nxe7 Ngxe7 { At least black is out in front in the development race,to compensate that white center. } 7. d5 Nd4 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Ne2 Nxe2 10. Qxe2 f5 { Development is equalizing, so let's challenge the center. } 11. f3 c5 12. O-O fxe4 13. fxe4 Rxf1+ 14. Qxf1 Ng6 { I don't know what I hopedto gain by trading for no good reason. In the end, it may have been black'sundoing. Black may have fared better by keeping the pieces on the board,complicating the position, and looking for openings. Instead, these tradesand many that follow just simplify the position without gaining an advantage.Probably not a wise course of action. } 15. g3 Bd7 16. Bd2 b5 { I'm reallyquite at a loss here how to proceed. I am hoping to draw white into creatingopportunities, but so far he's been reluctant to give me much. } 17. cxb5 Qb6 18. Be3 Rf8 19. Qg2 Bxb5 20. Bxb5 Qxb5 { More trades, but not to anyone'sadvantage. } 21. Qc2 Rf7 22. b3 Nf8 23. Rc1 Nd7 { Just centralizing. I thinkby this point I was already expecting an unfortunate ending to this game. } 24. Qc4 Qxc4 25. Rxc4 Rf3 26. Bg5 h6 27. Bd8 Rf7 { 27. Bd8! was really quiteclever. Instead of rampaging my rook through my opponent's backfield, I'mrequired to bring him home to save my own backfield. } 28. Bc7 Nb6 29. Bxb6 axb6 { Well, at least the black pawns feel stronger than the white pawns,though it won't do black much good. } 30. Kg2 b5 { And now we just wastesome time... } 31. Rc3 g5 32. Rc2 b4 33. Re2 Kg7 34. Rc2 g4 35. Rf2 Rxf2+ { Final position. I had been hoping white would do something strange ordesperate and give black an opening. But it was evident he was of no suchinclination. Pouncing on his rook essentially nailed the last nail in thedraw coffin, so I did so and offered the draw. White accepted. This gamewas very well played by my opponent. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "2012 Pan American Intercollegiate Chess , Princeton"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.12.30"] [Round "-"] [White "Zhu, Joshua"] [Black "Osbourn, Josh"] [Result "0-1"] { B47: Sicilian: Taimanov: 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 f4, 6 g3 and 6 Be2 } 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 { last book move } 6. Nb3 Nf6 7. Be2 { Alternative variation: 7. Nb5 Qb8 $14 } 7... Bb4 8. Qd3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Bd2 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 { Alternative variation: [Weaker is]12. bxc3 O-O $15 } 12... O-O 13. O-O-O b6 { Consolidates a5+c5 } 14. Bf3 Bb7 15. Kb1 Rac8 16. Rd2 Qe7 17. a3 Na5 { Discovered attack } 18. Qd3 { Alternativevariation: 18. Nxa5 Rxc3 } 18... Nc4 19. Rdd1 Ne5 20. Qe3 Nxf3 21. gxf3 Qf6 22. Rd3 Rfd8 23. Rhd1 Rxd3 24. Rxd3 Rd8 25. Rc3 h6 26. f4 Rd1+ 27. Ka2 Qd8 28. Qe5 Rd6 29. Rg3 g6 30. h4 Ba6 { Alternative variation: 30... Rd5 31.Qe3 Rh5 $17 } 31. h5 Rd5 32. Qe4 g5 { Alternative variation: 32... Rxh533. Rxg6+ [Demolishes the pawn shield] fxg6 34. Qxg6+ Kf8 35. Qxh5 $14 } 33. fxg5 Rxg5 34. Qh4 Qd5 35. Rc3 Kg7 { Alternative variation: 35... Rxh536. Qg3+ Kh7 37. Qb8 $11 } 36. f4 Rg1 37. Qf2 { Alternative variation: 37.f5 exf5 (37... Qxf5 38. Qd4+ Kh7 39. Qxg1 $18) 38. Qd4+ Qxd4 39. Nxd4 Rg5$15 } 37... Qd1 { Alternative variation: 37... Rg2 38. Qd4+ Qxd4 39. Nxd4 } 38. Nd4 { White plans f5 } 38... Qg4 { Alternative variation: 38... Bb7 39. Kb3 Bd5+40. Kb4 $15 } 39. f5 { Alternative variation: 39. Rc7 Kg8 40. Qe3 (40. Rxa7$4 [ taking the pawn will cause White grave problems] Bc4+ 41. b3 Qd1 42.Qxg1+ Qxg1 $19) } 39... exf5 { Alternative variation: 39... e5 40. Nf3 Rg2 41.f6+ Kh7 $17 } 40. Nxf5+ { Alternative variation: 40. Qe3 $5 Rg2 41. Qe5+Kh7 42. Rc7 (42. Nxf5 $6 Qxh5 43. Qf6 Qg6 44. Qxg6+ fxg6 ( 44... Kxg6 $445. Nh4+ Kg5 46. Nxg2 $18) (44... Rxg6 $6 45. Rc7 $11) 45. Rc7+ Kh8 46.Nxh6 Be2 $11) (42. Qxf5+ $6 [is clearly weaker] Qxf5 43. Nxf5 Be2 $11)42... Qxh5 43. Ne6 $18 (43. Nxf5 [ White again will not be able to digestthe pawn] Rg5 $19) } 40... Kh7 41. Rc6 { Alternative variation: 41. Ne3 Qe6+ 42.b3 $16 } 41... Bc4+ 42. b3 Qd1 { Alternative variation: 42... Be6 43. Ne3 Qg7$17 } 43. Rxh6+ { Alternative variation: 43. bxc4 [leads to mate in 1] Qb1#Alternative variation: 43. Rxc4 [ simply mating in 1] Qb1# } 43... Kg8 44. Ne7+ { Alternative variation: 44. bxc4 [fails to mate in 1] Qb1# } 44... Kf8 45. Ng6+ { ignoring the path to victory Alternative variation: 45. Rh8+ [ is thebest chance] Kxe7 46. Qh4+ (46. bxc4 $4 [leads to instant demise in 1]Qb1#) 46... f6 47. Qe4+ (47. bxc4 [mating in 1] Qxc2#) (47. Qxc4 $4 [ isnot to be advocated because of the following mate in 1] Qa1#) 47... Be648. Rh7+ Kd8 49. Qa8+ (49. Qxe6 $4 [ is impossible because of the followingmate in 1] Qxc2#) 49... Bc8 50. Rh8+ Ke7 51. Qe4+ (51. Qxc8 $4 [will allowthe opponent to give mate in 1] Qa1#) (51. Rxc8 $4 [leads to mate in 1]Qa1#) 51... Be6 52. Rh7+ Kd8 53. Qa8+ (53. Qxe6 [ is followed by mate in1] Qxc2#) 53... Bc8 54. Rh8+ Ke7 55. Qe4+ (55. Qxc8 [ mating quickly in1] Qa1#) (55. Rxc8 [ is not directly advisable because of the followingmate in 1] Qa1#) 55... Be6 $11 } 45... Kg7 46. bxc4 { Alternative variation: 46.Qxg1 [praying for a miracle] Qxg1 47. Rh8 $19 } 46... Kxh6 { Alternative variation:46... Qb1# } 47. Qf5 { Alternative variation: 47. Kb3 [otherwise it's curtainsat once] fxg6 48. hxg6 Kxg6 49. Qf4 $19 } 0-1

[Event "Boden-Kierseritsky Gambit 5...f6 M37"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.05.27"] [Round "-"] [White "ChessKnave"] [Black "Computer - FA045"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 { This game is a trial by fire of the alternative move (5...f6). Ihad to find out if this move can refute the gambit. I present the followinggame with my strategic ideas for your enjoyment. } 1... e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nxe4 4. Nc3 Nxc3 5. dxc3 { This completes the moves needed to produce theBKG. } 5... f6 { Here is seen the (5...f6) alternative move. The computer typicallylikes to play ...Nc6, but I make it play the text move so I can have somefun with this variation of the Boden-Kierseritsky Gambit. } 6. O-O { Activatesthe rook. White has 5 active pieces vs black who has almost 2 active pieces. } 6... c6 { !? An interesting move with the idea of ...d5 to follow. This createsa strong center, or is it? Pawns chains are only as strong as their weakestlink. Note the expansive pawn structure that follows. } 7. b4 { !? Sure,you are thinking what kind of a dumb move is that? It does nothing to challenge...d5? I made this move based on intuition and because it can be used tobreak the pawn chain later by b4-b5, and it prevents ...Bc5, denying thebishop a centralized position. } 7... d5 { Expected. } 8. Bb3 { The text movemaintains the bishop on its best attacking line and allows for a laterc4, which if follows ...0-0, becomes a very useful move. } 8... Be7 { ...0-0is expected. } 9. Nh4 { !? Opens a queen line, pushes the knight towardsan expected castle, and can possibly entice a bad move like ...g5 creatingan ever increasing amount of luft around the king. Threatens Qh5+ whereif ...g6 then Nxg6 wins a pawn. } 9... O-O { Blissfully unaware. } 10. f4 { !Breaking the chain. Its not obvious how good this move really is untilit is taken in context of the following moves. } 10... exf4 { ?! Not forced, seemsbetter to leave the tension. } 11. c4 { ! Breaking the chain on the otherflank, the central pawns are demolished. The threat of check is hanging. } 11... Bxb4 { Gains material but misses the threat. } 12. cxd5 Bc5+ { A simpletoncheck. } 13. Kh1 Kh8 { ?! Trying to avoid the bishop check, but steppinginto tactics. } 14. Ng6+ { ! A kicker of a move breaks down the castle walls. } 14... hxg6 { Losing the rook may have been preferable. } 15. Rxf4 { Not justgain material, but threatening Rh4+ } 15... f5 { !? A nice move that stops theimmediate threat of Rh4+, but it has one disadvantage in that it blocksa bishop line. } 16. Qd3 { ! With the threat of Qh3+ to be coupled withthe move d5-d6 to open the bishop line to g8. } 16... cxd5 { ?! Not accomplishinganything. } 17. Bxd5 { Takes g8. } 17... Be3 { Desperation. Prevents Qh3+ Qh4;Qxh4#, but only for a short time. } 18. Bxe3 { Black sacrificed the bishopto stay in the game, and now white has to find a good strategy to continuethe attack correctly. } 18... Nc6 { ?? Too slow to attack the bishop. Does notcontribute enough. Better is ..Qe7 with the idea of ...Be6. The move isa blunder because it throws away a crucial tempo. } 19. Bc5 { ! The moveis not just a simple attack on the rook. It is a crucial element in thefollowing attack. } 19... Be6 { Nothing can save black now. } 20. Qh3+ Kg8 21. Bxe6+ Rf7 { Forced. } 22. Rh4 Qxh4 { Forced, else its mate. } 23. Qxh4 Nd8 { And the rest is a matter of technique. } 24. Bb3 { Simplifying was alsopossible, but I really like a pin, and there is also the introduction ofthe rook to e8 for a nice mate to consider. } 24... b6 25. Re1 { ! } 25... Ne6 26. Rxe6 { ! Bxd6 was also possible, but I like the hidden threat of a revealed check- possible from this move. } 26... bxc5 27. Re7 { With obvious threat. } 27... Rf8 { Essential. } 28. Rxa7 { ! Maintains the pin, enables Qe7. } 28... f4 29. Qe7 c4 30. Bxc4 Kh7 { Breaks the pin. } 31. Bxf7 { Now is the right time. } 31... Rxf7 { There was nothing better. } 32. Qxf7 Kh6 33. Qxf4+ g5 34. Qf7 g4 35. Qxg7+ Kh5 36. Ra5+ Kh4 37. Qf6# { So play against the variation (6...f6) seemsviable. The method for attack just has to be changed, slowed down and repositioned.It is a nice variation which introduces more complexities into the position,which are a great challenge, but can have great rewards. This has to beone of the most intense games I have played where all the moves just seemedto work together really well. } 1-0

[Event "Latvian Gambit 10"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.07.10"] [Round "-"] [White "latinoeh"] [Black "bwaa"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1738"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1758"] 1. e4 { Welcome to the next game in my Latvian Gambit series! This one,like several of the others, sees White declining the gambit pawns and takinga more passive route at the beginning. When Black finally sweetens thedeal too much to pass up, White takes too long to reorganize his forcesand quickly succumbs to Black's superior mobility and aggressive potential.This is a quick one--enjoy! } 1... e5 2. Nf3 f5 { ?! The key move of the LatvianGambit. Black gives up a pawn (and frequently much more) in exchange foropen lines on the kingside and a developmental lead. } 3. d3 { I really don'tthink White can safely decline the gambit, at least not with a move aspassive as this one, but I've been seeing a lot of it. Black simply gainstoo much space. I believe 3.d4 is a far superior way to decline (or atleast delay), leading to a very sharp game, and potentially transposingto the Philidor counter-gambit. } 3... Nc6 { This is basically a waiting move;finding a good time to develop this Knight is sometimes difficult and bringingit out right away simplifies things. } 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. a3 Bxc3+ { Black cedes the bishop pair in exchange for doubling White's pawns andmaking queenside castling less attractive--after all, Black intends touse his space on the kingside to start an attack there. } 7. bxc3 O-O 8. exf5 { ?! This is a strange time to take this pawn, right after losing theability to control d5 at all, but perhaps White plans to assail d5 fromc4. } 8... d5 9. g4 { ?! White's castling options are now basically nonexistant,but this may give Black some concerns about how to defend his kingside,if White can mobilize another piece or two. } 9... h6 { g4 is unguarded, so Blackwants to drive off the nasty Bishop, and seize the initiative for himself.In the tactical situation developing kingside, activity and initiativemean everything. } 10. Bh4 g5 { ! In exchange for space and strong development,Black offers White a far-advanced passed pawn right in front of his King,comfortable that with White's LSB undeveloped, there will be no way tomake that pawn dangerous. } 11. fxg6 Bxg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Rg1 { This is theright place for this Rook in the long term, but notice that it's not playedaggressively--this is a purely defensive move, meant only to support theoverextended g-pawn for now. } 13... Qd6 { Black unpins the Knight and connectsthe Rooks while bringing his Queen to a more centralized location. Thethreat of ...e4! is beginning to look serious, with the White King trappedin the center. } 14. Be2 { This is the only feasible way to break the pinon the Nf3, but it doesn't do the WK any favors--he needs to get to thequeenside. } 14... Rae8 15. Rb1 { ? This is the turning point in the game. Whiteapparently underestimates the gravity of his situation, and thinks he hasa move to spare here, but in games this sharp, every tempo is precious.Trying for counterplay is good, but b7 is entirely safe even if Black playsinaccurately with 15...Qxa3 (16.Rxb7? Qxc3+ and White is in trouble). Whitedesperately needed to get his King off the e-file, but now it is too late,and there's no way out without significant material loss. } 15... e4 { ! Whiteis now forced to capture on e4 and open up the e-file to Black's majorpieces. The Knight can't very well run away, as 16.Nd4? is answered by16...exd3 17.cxd3 Nxd4 18.cxd4 Rxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Bxe2 20.Kxe2 Qxa3. The e-filewill now open one way or another, to Black's great benefit. } 16. dxe4 Nxe4 { Threatening ...Nxc3, where the Be2 will fall while the WQ scrambles tosafety. } 17. Qd3 { Insufficient, but I don't see anything better. This losesat least a large exchange. } 17... Bxf3 { ! And suddenly, White is completely lost.Taking the Bishop looks bad because of the combinations resulting downthe open e-file, and more material loss is imminent, but the best lineI see without recapturing is 18.Bg3 Nxg3 19.Rxg3 Rxe2+ 20.Qxe2 Bxe2 21.Kxe2,which looks hopeless. So taking the Bishop is probably the best chanceafter all: 18.Bxf3 Nc5+ 19.Qe2 Rxe2+ 20.Bxe2, and Black will have no trouble. } 18. Qxf3 { ?? Not that it matters very much at this point, but this movegives Black all the combinations he could want. Better was 18.Bxf3 (seeabove). } 18... Rxf3 19. Bxf3 Nxc3+ 20. Kd2 Nxb1+ 21. Rxb1 Qf4+ { 0-1. Faced withthe prospect of Black picking up yet another free piece with check, Whitethrows in the towel. Black's unchallenged center and White's one criticalwasted tempo were all it took to give Black an unassailable initiativeand unlimited attacking potential. Many thanks to latinoeh for the game! Comments on the analysis or the game itself are much appreciated; if youleave a rating please also comment letting me know what you liked or whatI need to improve on. Thanks for reading! } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017.09.01"] [Round "-"] [White "cdevine"] [Black "mmoody95"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1860"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1672"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 { I've been experimenting with this Franco-Benoni setup. Against 3.Nf3, it often turns into a Taimanov Sicilian. Against 3.d5it takes on more of a Benoni character. } 3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Bd3 { White's development is easy. Black's Queensideusually takes some time to untangle. } 8... a6 9. O-O b5 10. Ne2 c4 11. Bxf6 { White has to remove the guard of the e4 square to avoid losing a piece. } 11... Bxf6 12. Be4 Bxb2 13. Rb1 Ba3 { I thought about Bf6 also. Ba3 seems likeit puts the B out of play, but it also prevents a4 and protects d6. } 14. Ng3 { I was expecting Nfd5 here. It would have centralized the f-N andgiven the Be5 an escape square. } 14... f5 { This wins material at the cost ofcompromising King safety a little bit. } 15. Bxf5 Bxf5 16. Nxf5 Rxf5 17. Qd4 Nd7 { Black finally gets the last piece developed to a useful square--onmove 17. However, Black also has a significant material advantage. } 18. Qc3 Bc5 19. Nd4 { I was expecting something like a4 here. While Nd4 ison a good square, it is a loose piece. (It is attacked one time and onlyprotected one time.) Black can pin it and apply more pressure. } 19... Qf6 20. Rbd1 { Ne2 here would drop the d5 pawn, but would protect the Queen. Thismove allows the pressure to build. } 20... Rxd5 { Now the Nd4 has three attackersand only two defenders. } 21. Qe3 Rxd4 22. Rxd4 Bxd4 { White has droppeda second piece. } 23. Qe4 { Quietly threatening the Ra8. } 23... Rf8 24. Qe2 Bc5 { The B finally comes back to a better square. Black can now take timeto consolidate and prepare a winning finish. The material deficit of twominor pieces and a pawn should be too large to overcome unless White hassome kind of direct attack on the King. Once Black secures his King, thewin should be easy. White must have agreed and resigned here. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "10-Sep-06"] [Round "-"] [White "punkusmartyrus"] [Black "roasted_knight"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1645"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1578"] 1. e4 { I'm annotating this short game for it's opening tactics, as theymust be watched out for even in the opening. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 d6 { Philidor'sdefence } 3. Bc4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 Nf6 8. Bg5 { Pinningthe knight. } 8... c6 { 8...c6 to prevent the combination of white's knight fromsitting on d5 threating to win a piece. } 9. b4 { So 9.b4 to undermine thec6 pawn } 9... a6 { logically to prevent 10.b5 } 10. a4 { so 10.a4 to nullify thea6 support pawn } 10... b5 { 10.b5? loses a pawn due to the pin of a6 to the rook. } 11. axb5 cxb5 12. Bxb5+ { 12. Bxb5 ! } 12... Kf8 13. Nd5 { And now, 5 moves later,the white knight is free to sit on it's advanced support square poisedfor attack upon the pinned knight on f6. } 13... h6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Qxf6 { Threating16. Qxh8 forcing a Queen exchange further bolstering white's materialadvantage. } 15... Qxf6 16. Nxf6 Kg7 17. Ne8+ Kf8 18. Nc7 { Declining the freepawn in attempt to further trade off the opponents pieces and black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "Recent OTB game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Me"] [Black "A friend"] [Result "0-1"] { This tricky, short Gruenfeld defence ended with a lovely tactical trick. } 1. d4 Nf6 { My friend chooses not to fight the battle on Classical lines. } 2. c4 g6 { I know what's coming, but cannot avoid it. } 3. Nc3 d5 { The Gruenfeld,sure enough. } 4. cxd5 Nxd5 { I immediately relieve Black of his centralPawn and he recaptures. } 5. e4 Nxc3 { Now I have my 'ideal center', butBlack has exchanged off my supporting Knight. } 6. bxc3 c5 { Pressuring myQP. This Pawn will be the focal point of the battle for a few moves. } 7. Bc4 Bg7 { Seizing the long diagonal. } 8. Ne2 Nc6 { We both add more firepowerto my Q4. } 9. Be3 cxd4 { Black knocks a prop out from Q4 with this exchange. } 10. cxd4 Qa5+ { Black plays aggressively. The Queen is exposed a bit butalso generates potent threats. } 11. Bd2 Qa3 { Now the Q is dangerously exposedand I start thinking how tro win it. Hoowver, my QP is under fire. } 12. Rb1 { If Black greedily plays 12... NxP??? without thinking, 13 B-N4!!!wins the Queen! } 12... O-O { Black castles his K into safety. I should have donethe same thing, but I had a devious plan: 13 P-Q5 and after the Knightmoves, 14 B-N4 winning the Q. } 13. d5 { Here we go.... } 13... Ne5 { ...the Knightmoves... } 14. Bb4 { ...and I seemingly win the Q. } 14... Qf3 { I thought he'd atleast play 14... QxB and get SOMETHING for the Q. But... I } 15. gxf3 { Myonly chance to prolong the game was 15 O-O, but 15... QxKP wouyld leaveme in a difficult position anyway. } 15... Nxf3+ { Forcing my next move. } 16. Kf1 Bh3# { What a lovely finish! Even though I lost I felt it just HAD to beposted. } 0-1

[Event "The Sudden Attack"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.10.13"] [Round "-"] [White "oweneon"] [Black "gray_wolf11"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1397"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1200"] { This is a stunning game i played against my brother. Me - Black.Oweneon - White. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nf3 Ng4 5. O-O Bxf2+ 6. Rxf2 Nxf2 { Before these moves i was feeling really good aboutthe moves i was making, AFTER these moves i noticed my development wasterrible! I was so closed in compared to my opponent. My knight wasthe only developed piece, White had a bishop and two knights. I wasthinking it was a definite loss. } 7. Qf1 d5 8. Bxd5 O-O 9. Qxf2 c6 10. Qh4 Qb6+ 11. Kf1 cxd5 12. Nxe5 Re8 { I started to regain my confidence oncei got my rook into the game, attacking the knight. } 13. Qf4 { Qf4!!! i should'veknown! } 13... Qd4 { I devised a plan to gain material and development. } 14. Ne2 Qxe4 15. Qxe4 dxe4 { Material regained! and now i can attack the knight. } 16. d4 { d4. i was begging to get angry. every time i take out a protectingpiece for that knight he put up a new one! } 16... Nc6 { I move up attacking thedefender and the knight. } 17. Bf4 Nxe5 { Another plan i made, only thistime i get the knight! } 18. g3 { A BLUNDER!!! thank the lord! } 18... Bh3+ { hisblunder accessed my bishop. check. } 19. Kf2 Ng4+ 20. Ke1 { i was runningout of moves i needed yet another plan. } 20... Rac8 21. Rd1 { perfect plan. perfectoutcome. } 21... Rxc2 22. Bg5 h6 23. Bf4 e3 { i moved up my pawn hoping for thebishop at f4 to attack it. } 24. Bxe3 Rxe3 { i was about to use my knightto e3 to attack the rook, but i saw this instead. } 25. d5 { a move hopelesslytrying to promote a pawn } 25... Rexe2# { CHECKMATE! } 0-1

[Event "The King leads the way to victory!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "1886"] [Round "-"] [White "The Hon. R Steel"] [Black "Unkonown"] [Result "1-0"] { I find this game extraordinary! I found it in a book called 'Win at Chess'by William Hartston. What is amazing in this game is that from very earlyon the White king charges up the board. Now I know many games when thishappens, and the king is usually mated. May I refer you to 'The King Hunt'by William Cozens and updated by John Nunn, if you want to see some examples.I also know of a famous game where the king is forced up the board andit ends in perpetual check, and of when the attack peters out and the sidewith the king in the centre of the board suddenly finds itself well placedfor the ending. This is the only game I know of where the king in the centreof the board in the mid-game with queens still on, ends up playing a keyrole in a mating attack. Enjoy - but a word of caution - do not try toplay like this, you are more likely to end up getting mated yourself! } 1. e4 { White starts conventionally. } 1... e5 { Black replies with the same. } 2. Nc3 { This is the Vienna Game http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Game } 2... Nc6 { Black continues to copy. } 3. f4 { This is now the Vienna Gambit, aKing's Gambit, with both sides having their queen's knight developed. } 3... exf4 { Black accepts. In the 19th century, it was considered unsportingnot to accept gambits. } 4. d4 { This is a mistake by White, allowing theblack queen to check on h4. Better is Nf3 or even Bc4, so that if the queenchecks, the white king has f1 to go to. } 4... Qh4+ { So black throws in the check. } 5. Ke2 { And the king starts his march up the board. } 5... d5 { Black gives hisextra pawn back, to open up the game. It is very much in the style of 19thcentury chess. Simply d6 is better. } 6. exd5 { So white takes. } 6... Bg4+ { Blackthrows in a check } 7. Nf3 { White blocks, rather than part with his queen. } 7... O-O-O { Black castles, sacrificing a knight for an attack. } 8. dxc6 { Sowhite takes. } 8... Bc5 { Black concentrates on development. } 9. cxb7+ { Whitetakes again. } 9... Kb8 { The black king decides to shelter behind he pawn, ratherthan take it. Amazingly all this was played again in 1997! http://gameknot.com/analyze-board.pl?bd=x592552&mv=17&rnd=0.6976808656472713In that game white decided to try Qe1 and lost after Qh5 11.Bxf4Re8+12.Be3Bxd4 13.Nd1Nf6 14.Qd2Bxe3 15.Nxe3Bxf3+ 16.gxf3Nd5 17.Re1Nxe3 18.Kf2Ng4+ 19.Kg3Ne5 20.Bg2Re6 21.Qc3Rhe8 22.h4g5 23.Re4f5 24.Ra4gxh4+ 25.Rhxh4Qg5+ 26.Kf2Ng6 27.Rh2Re2+ 28.Kf1Qc1+ } 10. Nb5 { Played to protect d4 } 10... Nf6 { Blcak continues to develop. } 11. c3 { White re-enforces d4 again. } 11... Rhe8+ { Black throws in a check. } 12. Kd3 { The king advances again. } 12... Bf5+ { Another check } 13. Kc4 { King advancesagain. } 13... Be6+ { Check again } 14. Kxc5 { and white accepts another sacrifice,but it is very risky! } 14... a5 { This is a great move by black, stopping thewhite king from retreating. White can now take the black queen as well,but, as Hartston points out, if he does, he is mated by 15..... Ne4 check,16. Kc6 Bd5 mate. } 15. Nxc7 { This is a great move by white, sacrificinga knight, but giving his king the flight square of b5. } 15... Qh5+ { Black throwsin a check. } 16. Ne5 { And white comes up with this brilliant queen sacrifice.As Hartston points out, if black takes the queen on d1, white regains thequeen with 17. Nc6! and if Kxf7 then Bxf4+ or if Kxb7 then Ba6+ and inboth cases the bishop move, as well as giving check, opens the way fora white rook to take the black queen. } 16... Nd7+ { So black throws in anothercheck instead. Of course white can't take this knight with his knight one5 as it is pinned by the Black queen on h5. } 17. Kb5 { So the king moves. } 17... Qxd1 { and now the queen falls. 18. Nc6+ now no longer works, and afterKxb7 the white king on b5 blocks the Bf1 from going to a6 with check. } 18. Bxf4 { White sacrifices again, to get his bishop into the attack! } 18... Qxa1 { So black takes! } 19. Ka6 { As Hartston says 'Suddenly the white king istransformed into an powerful attacking piece. The threat is Nc6 mate and19.... Kxc7 20 Nxd7+ Kxd7 22. Bb5+ would also win for white.' } 19... Nxe5 { Blacktakes. } 20. Nxe8 { White takes. To quote Hartston again 'White threatensBxe5 mate. Black should now play Rd5, but instead makes a plausible error.' } 20... f6 21. dxe5 { White takes the knight, threatening e5xf6 mate. } 21... f5 { So blackkeeps the diagonal closed. } 22. Be3 { Threatening Ba7 mate. } 22... Rxe8 { Thisgives the black king c7 as a flight square. } 23. Bb5 { White brings hislast piece into the attack, sacrificing his other rook. } 23... Qxh1 { Black takesthe rook. } 24. Ba7+ { White throws in a check. } 24... Kc7 { The only way out ofthe check. White now has a draw with 24. Ba6-b6+ Kb8 Bb6-a7+ etc, but hetries for more. } 25. Bc5 { White is now threatening 26. Bd6+ Kd8 b8=queen+!There is an amazing defence in Bc8! when white has nothing better thanto accept the draw with Bb6+ etc again. White again makes a plausible defence. } 25... Rd8 { Black prepares sacrifice his rook, should white check on d6. OK, inthe position, try and find white's next move! } 26. Ka7 { Did you find it?With this move, white threatens Bb6 mate and black resigns. To directlyquote Hartston for one last time 'A Truly remarkable position. There isno satisfactory defence to the threat of Bd6 mate, Despite his extra Queenand Rook, Black is completely helpless, The White King, for so long anobject of attack, finally has the last word,' Many thanks for reading myannotation, please leave a comment, if not more, and rate it on the starsystem.... } 1-0

[Event "05, Moscow ch-stud 1968 "] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Karpopv"] [Black "Gik "] [Result "1-0"] { Anatoly Karpov 12th world champion with out playing a match against theAmerican grand master Bobby Fischer however , Karpov's chess skill showsthat he deserved to be if not the worl champion but one of the greatestever. he ruled the world all most 10 years until the rise of Garry Kasparovin 1985 , which the first match stopped in 1984 in strange reason . thisgame vs the soviet GM Evgany Gik shows how really talented and great Karpovwas , hope you enjoy the game . Daniel . } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Bc4 { This variation is theSicilian Dragon Yugoslav attack , one of the most popular variations ofthe Sicilian Dragon so as the Classic variation (6.Be2), Levenfish attack(6.f4) and 6.f3... } 8... Nc6 9. Qd2 { The idea of 9.Qd2is to exchange the strong blacks DSB on g7 , this is famous idea in the Sicilian dragon . anotheridea is to castle the white king to the queen side and preparing pawnattack on the kings side by g4,h4,h5 in the future ,will blacks game planwill be on the queen side. } 9... Qa5 10. O-O-O { white cant exchang the bishopson g7 right now , becouse of if 10.Bh6?-Bxh6.11.Qxh6-Nxd4 and white losesa knight , white must castele first for the safety of the king and theknight on d4 is protected by the rook on d1 . its not agood idea to exchangeon c6 because it will help black to open hes B file for the black rooks, for example : 10.Nxc6-bxc6.11.0-0-0-Rb8 with minumum equal game . } 10... Bd7 11. h4 { karpov doesnt hurry to try exchanging the bishops , he opensthe H and G filse first to expose blacks king side by playing h5. } 11... Ne5 { good move , black wishes to open C file with tempo by attacking the whiteLSB on c4 this move gives black chances to keep hes DSB by playing 12...Rfc8for example 11...Ne5 .12.Bb3-Rfc8.13.Bh6-Bh8.... } 12. Bb3 Rfc8 13. h5 { intersting, Karpov offer black a free pawn with the idea to expose blacks king side, now if black will ignore that offer by playing 13...Nc4.14.Bxc4-Rxc4.15.hxg-fxg.16.Bh6-Bxh6.17.Qxh6-Rxc3.18.bxc-Qxc3...., if 16...Bh8.17.Qg5with good attack , } 13... Nxh5 14. Bh6 Bxh6 15. Qxh6 Rxc3 { black forced to do it because of white threat 16.g4-Nf6.17.Nd5!with massive mate attack. } 16. bxc3 Qxc3 { its blounder , not because black loses matirial or under mate in 1 move , the reason of that sirious mistake is because blacksqueen on a5 was in best position for making dangerous threats on the whiteking ,now it seems that that move cost to black the game , it was betterto move 16..Rac8,or Nf6. } 17. Ne2 { good move , Karpov prepering a longplan of maneuvering he's knight from the queen side to the king side andjoin to the attack on the black king , but first it runs away the blackqueen from the white king . } 17... Qc5 { it is not good to play 17...Nd3+? becauseof 18.Rxd3-Qa1+.19.Kd2-Qxh1.20.g4 and white with big advantage.... } 18. g4 Nf6 19. g5 Nh5 20. Rxh5 { good move . white must keep agressive gameon the black king , if 20.Ng3?!-Bg4!.21.fxg4-Nxg4.22.Bxf7+-Kxf7.21.Qxh7+Ng7.22.Rhf1-Nf6.23.Qh3and black have the advantange . } 20... gxh5 21. Rh1 Qe3+ 22. Kb1 { good move ,white must play carefully , the move 22.Kb2?could give black minimum drawfor example :22...Nd3+.23.cxd-(23.Kb1-Qxf3! and black won )23...Qxe2.24.Ka1-Qd3+and black can drew this game by internal check . } 22... Qxf3 { the destiny ofthe white knight on e2 doesn't care black ,black is fighting for he'slife now . if 22...Qxe2?.23.Qxh5-e6.24.Qxh7+Kf8.25.Qh8+Ke7.26.Qf6+Ke8.27.Rh8# } 23. Rxh5 e6 { black can not defent h7 any more , if 23....Qxe4.24.g6!-Qxg6.25.Rg5....,intrestingfor black 23..Kg6.24.Qxh7+Kf8.25.Rh6-e6.26.Rxg6-fxg6.27.Qxd7-Qxe2.28.Qxd6+Kg7.29.Qe7+Kh8.30.Qf6+Kh7.31.Qf7+Kh8.32.Qxg6...... } 24. g6 { this move breaks blacks defense , if 24.Qxh7+? Kf8 and black'sking saved , now it imposible 25.Qh8+-Ke7.26.Qxa8-Qxh5 and if .25.Nd4-Qd1+.26.Kb2-Qxd4....,now after 24.g6! black forced to capture it with 24...Ng6 because of :24...hxg.25.Qh8#or24...fxg.25.Qxh7+Kf8.26.Qh8+Ke7.27.Rh7+Kf7.28.Qxa8...... } 24... Nxg6 25. Qxh7+ Kf8 26. Rf5 { very good move 26.Rf5!!take off F file from the black Queenand avoid any kind of check , ofcourse because of the mate threat thereis only one way for black to keep he's king a live . for a while ...... } 26... Qxb3+ 27. axb3 exf5 28. Nf4 { another effective move , capturing the unprotected knight on f4 will lead to losing Rook for example 28...Nxf4.29.Qh8+Ke7.30.Qxa8...... } 28... Rd8 29. Qh6+ Ke8 30. Nxg6 fxg6 31. Qxg6+ Ke7 32. Qg5+ { not 32.exf -Rf8and black can some how stay a live , but after 32.Qg5+! Black is un protectednow . } 32... Ke8 33. exf5 Rc8 34. Qg8+ Ke7 35. Qg7+ { and black resigns , becauseof White's un stoppable F pawn marsh to the crown . thank you ... } 1-0

[Event "Petrov's (Russian) Defence Thematic"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2021.11.24"] [Round "-"] [White "jk1970"] [Black "omnipotent00"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2532"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "2551"] 1. e4 { I am annotating this wonderful win by K Priyanka against a higherrated opponent. In over-the-board chess she is a Women's InternationalMaster. Aged only 20 years old, in this game she grinds out a win in along game, against very strong opposition } 1... e5 { So it starts conventionallyenough, naturally as this was a Petrov Defence tournament, where all thegames had the same opening } 2. Nf3 { The usual move. This move was pre-ordainedby the rules of the tournament of course. } 2... Nf6 { This is The Petrov's Defence,also known as The Russian Defence. Though this symmetrical response hasa long history, it was first popularised by Alexander Petrov, a Russianchess player in the mid-19th century. In recognition of the early investigationsby the Russian masters Petrov and Carl Jaenisch, this opening is calledthe Russian Game in some countries. } 3. Nxe5 { White of course takes, theClassical Variation } 3... d6 { Black should not continue to copy White's movesand try to restore the material balance immediately with 3...Nxe4?!. After4.Qe2 Black cannot play 4...Nf6?? because 5.Nc6+ wins the queen, and after4...d5?! 5.d3 Qe7 6.dxe4 Qxe5 7.exd5 Black loses a pawn. Relatively bestfor Black is 4...Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6, and after for example8.Nc3 (8.Bb5 is also good) 8...Qxe5 9.Qxe5 Nxe5 10.Nb5 (or 10.Bf4) Whitehas a clear advantage. } 4. Nf3 { So the white knight is driven back. } 4... Nxe4 { Now black can take the pawn. } 5. d4 { White follows the main line } 5... d5 { Asdoes black } 6. Bd3 { Priyanka will try to drive Black's advanced knightfrom e4 with moves like c4 and Re1. If White achieves this, then she isup two tempi (Nf6–e4–f6, plus the tempo White starts the game with). } 6... Nc6 { Developing. Black attacks d4, which is currently protected Nf3, but thismove stops white from playing Nf3-e5 } 7. O-O { Priyanka castles, bringingher king to safety, an excellent move. } 7... Bg4 { This move indirectly putspressure on d4 as the white knight on f3 defending d4 is now pinned. Thiswas the starting position for all games in this tournament, as you cansee from this link https://gameknot.com/mt.pl?id=88291 } 8. c4 { Priyankaboldly ignore this and continues with her own play of undermining the blackknight on e4 by attacking the pawn on d5 protecting it. } 8... Be7 { With thecentre potentially opening up, black blocks the e file and prepares tocastle. } 9. cxd5 { Priyanka takes. } 9... Qxd5 { Black takes back. } 10. Nc3 { Attacksthe Qd5 and Ne4, black's reply is forced. } 10... Nxc3 { Forced } 11. bxc3 { Whitetakes back. Due to her very precise opening play, Priyanka has alreadysecured a slight edge, by removing black's aggressively placed knight andavoiding the structural weaknesses that white sometimes has to put up inreturn, such as a doubled c pawn or an isolated d pawn. } 11... Bxf3 { But insteadblack gives Priyanka doubled and isolated king side pawns, at the costof surrendering to white the two bishops. } 12. gxf3 { White normally recaptureswith the queen so that if black wants to give white the weakened pawns,the queens are exchanged and white is not at risk of succumbing to a matingattack. However Priyanka is not afraid of that and bravely recaptures withthe pawn instead. } 12... O-O { Black gets his king to safety. } 13. Rb1 { Attackingb7 } 13... Rab8 { Protecting b7 } 14. Rb5 { Attacking the queen } 14... Qd6 { Retreatingthe queen. } 15. f4 { Boldly advancing a pawn in front of her king. } 15... Bf6 { I am not sure why black played this. } 16. Rh5 { Carrying on with her planstarting on her 13th move, white transfers her rook all the way from a1to the kingside where it has potential for both attack and defence. Suchan amazing talent! White now threatens the h7 pawn. } 16... g6 { Which black defendsagainst. } 17. Rh3 { The attacked rook drops back. } 17... Ne7 { The black knightalso eyes the kingside. } 18. f5 { White carries on with her kingside attack. } 18... Qd7 { Attacking f5 } 19. Kh1 { White bravely just ignores the threat to thepawn on f5 and cleverly tucks her king away and prepares Rf1-g1 } 19... Rbd8 { Blackcentralises a rook rather than grab the pawn. } 20. Rg1 { Priyanka continueswith her plan. } 20... Qd5+ { Faced with two rooks, two bishops and a queen attackingon the kingside, black heads for a queen exchange. } 21. Qf3 { Rf3 wouldkeep the queens on the board, but is clearly inferior. Wise wisely agreesto the queen trade. } 21... Qxf3+ { Black has no hesitation it exchanging. } 22. Rxf3 { White takes back. } 22... Kg7 { Of course, black cannot take on f5 and theg6 pawn is pinned. } 23. fxg6 { and white has achieved another strategicvictory - exchanging off one of her weak doubled and isolated f pawns.Gameknot now puts her 0.69 up. } 23... fxg6 { Black takes back } 24. Rh3 { ThreatBh6+ } 24... Rfe8 { Black is forced to do something about that. } 25. Bh6+ { Checkcomes any way. } 25... Kh8 { King drops back. } 26. Bd2 { Bishop drops back. } 26... Kg7 { In effect black is offering a draw by repetition. } 27. Bh6+ { White repeats. } 27... Kh8 { King back again. } 28. Rf3 { No repetition! Priyanka bravely plays fora win, even though her opponent out-rates her. She correctly calculatesthat she has the advantage (0.8 up, according to Gameknot). } 28... Ng8 { Blackprotects Bf6 } 29. Bf4 { Attacking c7 } 29... c6 { Moving it to safety } 30. h4 { Amazingpawn sacrifice by white. Black can't take it 31. Bxh4 Rh3 is murderous. } 30... Rd5 { Black prevents further advance by the pawn. } 31. Kg2 { Centralisingthe king for the ending, and also getting out of the way of her rooks. } 31... Kg7 { Black tries to do the same. } 32. Re3 { offering a rook exchange. } 32... Rxe3 { Black takes. } 33. fxe3 { Priyanka takes back. } 33... Bxh4 { and now black doestake the pawn. } 34. e4 { But in return for being a pawn down, Priyanka hasa strong, mobile pawn centre. } 34... Rd8 { Rook retreats. } 35. Rh1 { Priyanka attacksthe bishop } 35... Be7 { It drops back. } 36. e5 { Pawn advances again. } 36... c5 { Blacktries to break up the pawn centre. } 37. Be3 { Bishop drops back to protectd4 } 37... cxd4 { Black takes. } 38. cxd4 { White takes back } 38... Bc5 { A clever move.If white takes the bishop, rook takes bishop } 39. Rh4 { But Priyanka iseven cleverer and doesn't fall for tricks like that. } 39... Bb6 { Keeping thepressure on d4 } 40. Bc4 { Moving the bishop to a better diagonal, and preparingfuture advances of the d pawn. } 40... g5 { Of course, if white takes this pawn,d4 falls. } 41. Re4 { And Priyanka is too wise to allow that. } 41... Kg6 { Kingcomes up for the ending. } 42. d5 { The long-awaited advance. } 42... Bxe3 { Blacktakes. } 43. Rxe3 { White takes back. } 43... Ne7 { The knight is centralised, attackingd5 } 44. d6 { and the pawn advances again. } 44... Nc6 { The knight has to move ofcourse. } 45. Bd3+ { Priyanka throws in a check. } 45... Kg7 { The king has to keeph7 protected. } 46. Kh3 { Priyanka mobilises her king. } 46... h6 { Protecting g5 } 47. Bb5 { Threat: taking on c6 then rolling her central pawns forward. Thepressure is too much for black. } 47... Nxe5 { Black sacrifices the knight fortwo pawns. } 48. Rxe5 { Priyanka takes. } 48... Rxd6 { Black takes back. } 49. Re7+ { Priyanka cleverly forks king and pawn. } 49... Kf6 { The king moves. } 50. Rxb7 { and a pawn goes. } 50... a6 { Attacking the bishop. 9 out of 10 players wouldjust move the bishop now. } 51. Rd7 { But Priyanka finds an wonderful alternative,and offers a rook exchange. } 51... Rb6 { Which black wisely refuses. } 52. Bc4 { Bishop drops back. } 52... Ke5 { King comes up. } 53. Kg3 { White king comes across } 53... Rc6 { Attacking the bishop again } 54. Bf7 { preventing the h pawn from advancing } 54... Rd6 { Black now offers the rook exchange. The genius playing the white pieceswas right not to exchange. A quick visit to a 7 piece endgame table showsthat it is drawn after white exchanges. } 55. Re7+ { White checks. } 55... Kf6 { Attackingthe rook } 56. Ra7 { The rook runs away. } 56... Ke5 { King up } 57. Re7+ { Check again. } 57... Kf6 { King drops back. } 58. Rc7 { Priyanka decides that this is a bettersquare than a6 and once again spurns the repetition. } 58... Rd3+ { Black check } 59. Kg4 { King up } 59... Rd1 { Black prepares to check along the back rank. } 60. Bb3 { Bishop drops back } 60... Rg1+ { The expected check } 61. Kf3 { King drops back } 61... h5 { and the pawn advances at last } 62. Rc6+ { At the cost of the a pawn. } 62... Ke5 { King is forced to move. } 63. Re6+ { rook checks. } 63... Kf5 { King moves. } 64. Rxa6 { Now the pawn falls. } 64... h4 { but this pawn advances. } 65. Kf2 { Kinghits the rook } 65... Rc1 { rook runs. } 66. Ra5+ { Rook check } 66... Kf6 { King drops back } 67. Ra4 { Preventing g5-g4 } 67... Kf5 { King comes up again. } 68. Rc4 { Offeringa rook exchange } 68... Rh1 { Not accepted } 69. Rc5+ { Another check } 69... Kf6 { Kingretreats } 70. Rc6+ { another check } 70... Kf5 { Black hopes for continued repetition } 71. Bc2+ { Bishop checks for a change } 71... Ke5 { King moves. } 72. Rc5+ { Checkagain } 72... Kf4 { King up } 73. Kg2 { Attacking the rook } 73... Re1 { Rook moves } 74. Rc4+ { Another check } 74... Ke5 { King retreats } 75. Kf2 { Attacks the rook } 75... Rc1 { Pins the bishop } 76. Bb3 { offering a rook exchange } 76... Rh1 { Declined again } 77. Kg2 { Attacks the rook again } 77... Re1 { Rook flees } 78. Rc8 { Threat Re8+ } 78... Rb1 { Which black avoids. } 79. Rc5+ { Another check } 79... Kf4 { King up } 80. Rc4+ { Another check } 80... Ke5 { King back } 81. Rg4 { Attacking the pawn. } 81... Kf6 { NotKf5? Bc2! wins } 82. Kh2 { Preparing an interesting way of avoiding checks. } 82... Re1 { The rook continues to oscillate } 83. Rg2 { avoiding any checks } 83... Re3 { Rook comes up } 84. Rf2+ { Rook check } 84... Ke5 { King up } 85. Rg2 { Rook back } 85... Kf6 { King back } 86. Bd1 { Preventing the pawn from advancing } 86... Rd3 { Attackingthe rook } 87. Bg4 { Firmly blocking the pawns } 87... Ra3 { But likewise the whitepawn is blocked } 88. Rf2+ { Check again } 88... Ke5 { King moves. Rf5+ leads toa drawn ending. } 89. Re2+ { So this check } 89... Kf6 { Offering yet another repetition } 90. Bd7 { Which is not accepted } 90... Rf3 { Rook comes back } 91. Re6+ { Check } 91... Kg7 { King back } 92. Ra6 { Preparing to advance the a pawn } 92... Rd3 { Hittingthe bishop } 93. Be6 { Protecting the pawn } 93... Rc3 { Marking time } 94. Bb3 { Notsure of the point of this move. I would have been tempted to push the apawn } 94... Rg3 { Rook moves away } 95. Rd6 { Priyanka is hypnotizing me with theway her pieces are swinging back and forth across the board. I am findingit hard to understand what her plan is and why she is not advancing thea pawn (not immediately, obviously, but I think I would have played Rb6and then advanced the pawn). I guess that is the difference between a strongcounty player like myself and a Master. } 95... Re3 { This rook seems to be markingtime. } 96. Kg2 { Slight repositioning of the king. } 96... Rg3+ { A check } 97. Kf2 { Out of check } 97... Rh3 { Presumably staying on the Bb3 to prevent the immediateadvance of the a pawn. } 98. Re6 { Minor adjustment of the rook } 98... Rh1 { Perhapswith the idea of Ra1 if necessary? } 99. Kg2 { Attacking the rook } 99... Rc1 { Rookruns } 100. Rb6 { Maybe she is doing what I suggested a few moves back -protect the rook and then advance the pawn. } 100... Rc3 { Not sure why this rookmove was played. } 101. a4 { Finally the pawn is pushed! } 101... g4 { And black pushedhis passed pawn too. } 102. Rb4 { Threatening to take with check } 102... Rg3+ { Protectingthe pawn. } 103. Kf2 { King moves } 103... Rf3+ { Check again } 104. Ke2 { King movesagain. } 104... Kf6 { King up } 105. Bd1 { And black resigns. I would point out thatGameknot doesn't criticise any of the moves of either player. Gameknot'spost-game computer analysis doesn't highlight any moves as wrong. It isvery rare that happens to me. I presume black must have made a mistakesomewhere, to have lost, but I am not sure where. White, Priyanka, theIndian Master, seems to have played an absolutely flawless game. I am sohonoured that she agreed to let me annotate this game, but I fear I amnot really a good enough player to do justice to the moves of a playerof her strength. } 1-0

[Event "Recent Long Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "Mar-6-15"] [Round "-"] [White "jc0le"] [Black "gnitnaws"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1374*"] [TimeControl "2 days"] [WhiteElo "1480*"] 1. g3 d5 { I guess this is called the Benko opening (g3 that is). I hadstudied a few of gnitnaws games before I joined his game. I saw he favoredqueens pawn games (as white he seemed to prefer a queens gambit game) andas black he favored variations that began with d5. } 2. Bg2 e6 { 1.g3 2.Bg2are very common sequences for me in the beginning. I love opening likethis. It fits my style of play and I'm able to develop into so many differentopenings from here. Black I'm assuming is going for a french defense here. I generally aim for a quick king side castle in most games. } 3. d4 h6 { I played d4 here. Not a bad move but I would probably play Nf3 hereinstead if I were playing this game over. } 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O Nf6 { Simpledevelopment. I honestly don't know what this opening is called at thispoint. At the time I started this game I hadn't been playing g3 openingslong. I've really just begun exploring the king side fianchetto. Now Iprefer to begin with e4 though my general goal is to fianchetto king side.I'm a big fan of the Kings Indian Attack. } 6. Bf4 Bd6 { I moved my bishopto f4 here for two reasons. I wanted some extra protection in case of apawn push to e5 and at this point I was planning to bring my Knight tothat e5 square. I like to open up the c6 square against my opponents. Thatgives me a line at the King. Also, I wanted to put some pressure on thef7 square. } 7. Ne5 g5 { The push... I wasn't expecting g5. } 8. Nxc6 { Iwent ahead and captured. Putting pressure on the queen and doubling pawnson his queen side. } 8... bxc6 9. Bd2 c5 { Here I'm retreating but leaving plentyof space covered. Like I said in the beginning I had studied a few of gnitnawsgames before I joined. c5 was expected and a common patterns in his games.As I said I saw how he favored the queens gambit games. It was at thispoint I noticed if I could get him off of the d5 square I'd have a shotat his rook on a8... } 10. Bc3 O-O { Do you see my plan? Added benefit ofa discovered attack on the knight at f6. He castles king side... } 11. Nd2 a5 { Do you see it yet? I was very happy to see him move to a5. Itgave me hopes he may overlook what I was working towards. } 12. Nc4 dxc4 { YES! These kind of sacrifices are why I love this game. } 13. Bxa8 Ba6 { I got the rook and +2. He moves his bishop to open a line at my bishopwith his queen. } 14. Bg2 a4 { The beauty of the fianchetto is the abilityto retreat and attack at/from opposing corners. It's occasionally overlookedas it was 2 moves prior as well. He continues his pawn push on the queenside. } 15. dxc5 Be7 { I captured a pawn and I expected him to recaptureallowing me to get his knight on f6... he made a great move and retreatedback to e7. } 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 { Traded queens... He now has a well placedrook on the open d file. Unfortunately for black, this position isn't sogreat when you're down a rook and your opponents rooks are connected. } 17. Rad1 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 { White's position just became a lot stronger.No black rooks on the board and my rook is on the open d file. } 18... Ne8 { Atthis point I'm trying to figure out how to trade down and simplify theposition. } 19. Bc6 { Forking the knight and pawn } 19... Nf6 { Retreat to protection... } 20. Bxa4 { Taking the pawn instead. } 20... Bxc5 { Taking back the pawn, but...you just left the knight unprotected. } 21. Bxf6 { Finally got the knight...it was at this point my opponent resigned. All in all it was a fun game.The loss of the rook early on was really the downfall for black. Definitelya confidence booster for me and my new found love of the king side fianchetto. } 1-0

[Event "CPOTW Team Tournament #1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "20-Mar-07"] [Round "-"] [White "eqj2"] [Black "darius_vitrosoo"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1292"] [TimeControl "5d+2d, 7d max"] [WhiteElo "1268"] { i never played epj2 so i didn't know what to expect. watch as he smacksme around. lol } 1. e4 { yah i get to do a silcian } 1... c5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 { my usaul silican set-up } 4. Nc3 a6 { i did not anyone to go to b5 } 5. a4 Qa5 6. d3 { he pins his own knight, and now i can attack his bishop } 6... b5 7. Bb3 { i might be able to attack it again } 7... c4 8. dxc4 bxa4 { now i gothis bishop trapped in a box } 9. Rxa4 { not really but it kinda did not workand i lost a pawn for my efforts } 9... Qc5 { gotta vacat and accept my loss } 10. Be3 { gotta move her again } 10... Qh5 11. h3 Nf6 12. Rh2 Bd6 { i did not noticethat this was a free piece. my bad } 13. Qxd6 Qg6 14. c5 Rb8 15. e5 Ng8 { he pushes my knight bac to square 1 } 16. Nh4 Qh5 17. Qc7 Nge7 18. g3 O-O 19. Ne4 Nd5 20. Bxd5 Rxb2 21. Kd2 Nb4 22. Bb3 Nxc2 23. Bxc2 Bb7 24. Nc3 Bc6 25. Ra2 Rb7 26. Qd6 f6 27. Bd1 Qf7 28. f4 fxe5 29. Qxe5 Rfb8 30. Ke1 Rb4 31. Rhc2 Ba4 32. Nxa4 Rb1 33. Nc3 { i am totally throwing away thisgame, without even trying to } 33... R1b3 34. Bd4 Kf8 35. f5 exf5 36. Nxf5 Re8 { i pinned his queen but i truelly think that this is too little way toolate } 37. Rf2 Rxe5+ 38. Bxe5 Kg8 39. Rxa6 { i cannot stop ra8 which wouldspell mate i resigned here. for after ra8 my queen has to interpose thecehck and he checks with his knight on e7 and i have to unguard my queenthe rook takes(either one) and its mate. } 1-0

[Event "The fianchettoed Bishops"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.04.23"] [Round "-"] [White "mark1973"] [Black "x-machine"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1472"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1456"] { Another game on 'streamer annotation', as I'll call it :) In this one,I revert back to an opening that I have only shown once in one of my previousannotations - my very first one, in fact, when I was 500 points weakerthan I am today. I'm a stronger player now, but let's see how this worksagainst a 1400+ opponent (as opposed to a 1100+ opponent) ['hindsight moves'stop at move 3] [well, the ending wasn't exactly glamorous - you'll seewhy - but the game before that was interestig] } 1. e4 { simple enough... } 1... b6 { Owen's Defence - Black plans a hypermodern approach with a fianchetto } 2. Nf3 Bb7 { fianchetto, and targets the e-pawn } 3. Nc3 { The pawn isdefended easily enough. White follows through with the 'knights beforebishops' idea, though I have to say, I never knew why. There is also thisother saying, about how, when you've worked out the best rook to placeon the open file, you should move the other one. Weird... though this mightbe beginner chess ignorance talking... okay, enough with that rambling,back to the game... } 3... g6 { White goes with 'knights before bishops' - Blackgoes with 'bishops before knights!' Again, playing hypermodernly - thoughperhaps too much so? we'll see... ['hindsight moves' stop here] } 4. Bc4 { White applies a bit of pressure to the f7 square - a traditional targetpoint for White, it seems } 4... Bg7 { now both my bishops are on strong diagonals:) } 5. d3 { interesting.... White would be perfectly safe going for thetraditional centre here, and why he didn't do so is a bit of a mystery... } 5... e6 { ...not that I'm one to talk! :P I am going for a defence idea mentionedby id=nuntar in my very first annotation [These are most likely not thebest lines for Black - but I had planned this from the very beginning,so this is more of an 'experiment game' if you will...] } 6. O-O { natural.... } 6... Ne7 { and logical (Nf3 right now is met by the very annoying e5) } 7. Bb3 { I really can't understand this move... maybe White is cautious ofa future attack on the bishop, but surely he would be better off with anormal developing move? } 7... Nbc6 { I considered d6/Nd7 for awhile, but foundthat way too passive, so I played this move instead... but I'm alreadystarting to notice a few problem areas for Black - namely, the limitedscope of the e7 knight and queen... that could pose a problem for me lateron } 8. Bd2 { luckily for me, White doesn't seem to be playing the mostaggressive lines, which means that Black's hypermodern approach is doingok... now Black delivers the first punch... } 8... d5 { hoping to create somespace for my pieces (namely, the knight and queen) Black has more controlof d5 than White in this position } 9. exd5 exd5 { more space - I got whatI wished for :) } 10. Re1 { rook to open file - that knight could proveto be a problem for Black } 10... Qd6 { Black brings out his queen, and reservescastling options... he also starts to formulate a plan of his own involving- what else? - the two bishops } 11. a3 { I have no idea what White intendswith this move (to stop Nb4, maybe, but why would Black want to do that?) } 11... Nd4 { Phase #1 of my plan - get rid of the knight on f3! } 12. Nxd4 { Whiteplays into my hands - good! If White had played another move, I would haveplayed Nxf3+ } 12... Bxd4 13. Rb1 { Indicates that White is planning to move hisknight [which, by the way, I hope to force anyway ;)]. White makes surethat the b2 pawn is not left hanging. However, I very much prefer Qe2 forWhite, which puts the pressure on Black [I need to be careful - I'm focusedon my attack but my uncastled king makes an easy target - I have to rememberthat] } 13... Be5 { Now Black starts an attack! Right now, the most natural wayto defend the h2 pawn would be... } 14. g3 { this move. However, it opensup the lovely a8-h1 diagonal, and my fianchettoed light-square bishop isconveniently on said diagonal... } 14... d4 { of course! Black doesn't hesitateto open up the diagonal and use his light-square bishop to its full power! } 15. Ne4 { White has to block that diagonal, and he attacks my queen whiledoing so. good thing I was planning to move her anyway... } 15... Qc6 { Now Blackthreatens the knight with capture - 16...f5!, and the knight can't movebecause Black's queen will mate on g2 or h1 } 16. f3 { forced, as far asI can see - but the king's defence isn't that desirable now, is it? NowI don't very much like f5, because after Ng5 I don't like White's pressureon the f7 square (for example, Bf7+, or if 0-0-0, Nf7! forks the rooks) } 16... O-O-O { Black takes the opportunity to castle before White pulls off anysneaky tricks of his own. True, the f7 pawn is hanging, but I want Whiteto take it because Black can get increased pressure on the white positionafter the capture } 17. Bg5 { Well, White does not take the free pawn here,and now Black is beginning to feel the influence of his opponent's bishoppair, bearing down into his position. The first move that popped into myhead here was 17...f5, since the knight could no longer reach the g5 square.What follows would be a spectacular line - should White play along withit; 18.Bxe7 bxe4 19.Bxd8? [here comes the pain...] exf3 20.Kf2 [the diagonalMUST be kept closed!] Re8!, and there's nothing to stop 21...Bxg3+! 22.hxg3Re2+, opening the diagonal once again. However, White ruins this simplybe playing 19.dxe4!, leaving him a pawn up, an even more closed diagonaland two strong bishops! } 17... f6 { The only other alternative was this move,so I played it. True, it does lose a pawn [no it doesn't! I don't knowhow I came to that conclusion!] but I believe that I can make it work tomy advantage if I play it right } 18. Bd2 { The only reasonable place forthe bishop to retreat to (Bc1 is incomprehensible!) } 18... h6 { Black's targetis still (obviously) the weakened kingside, and he starts up a pawn stormto exploit this. Black wants to play f5, but makes sure that the g5 squareis off limits for the knight once he does so } 19. f4 { ....what the hell??This is a very silly decision to me - has White forgotten about the queenand bishop already? Opening the long diagonal can't be good! } 19... Bd6 { I willhave to guess that White wants to get in Be6+, which is a good outpostfor the bishop, but Black has a much bigger advantage from the open h1-a8diagonal. f5 will now be a much more powerful move (the knight is pinned,as Qg2 is mate and Qh1, Kf2, Qh2 also mates (that is, if White tried amove like Re2) It remains to be seen whether White has anything that cansave that knight } 20. Nxf6 { ....oops! White declined a free pawn earlierin the game, but now that he goes for it (though it isn't really 'free'now, is it? :P) he pays a big price! } 20... Qg2# { Like I said, not a glamorous'at each other's throat' or a tense struggle for power, but there's stillsome interest before this. [the most interesting one being the power alongthe long light diagonal] Besides, I'd already started annotation of thisgame :P Until next time! } *

[Event "The best defence is a good offence"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.10.17"] [Round "-"] [White "x-machine"] [Black "taud"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1244"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1182"] { This is my third game against taud - I won one, he won one. In this gamea blunder from White and the fact that Black is taking pawns one by onemeans that White has no chance of winning. What can White do in such asituation? resign? or.... } 1. c4 { I start out with the English opening } 1... c6 { ? an unusual response from Black (or at least, the first time Blackplayed this against me) The most obvious drawback is that knight can'treach the c6 square } 2. g3 { working towards fianchetto-ing that bishop... } 2... d5 { This justifies Black's last move to some extent - by the look of itBlack wasn't too keen on bringing its queen out too early. It also allowsthe dark-square knight to move to d7. } 3. e3 { I defend the pawn with mybishop (maybe 3. d3 would have been better here) } 3... Nf6 { simple developmentfrom Black } 4. Bg2 { ? drops a pawn for White, though it could easily getthe pawn back after dxc4 } 4... g6 { Black either overlooked the pawn captureor chose to ignore it and develop instead. Either way, it opens up a counterattackingoption for White... } 5. Qa4 { ?! White threatens to win at least a pawn.Neither of us noticed in the game, but Black could have stopped losingout on the exchange with Be6 (e.g 5...Be6 6.cxd5 Bxd5 7.Bxd5 Nxd5) Also,b5 seems logical here as well, attacking the queen, but of course losesa pawn (5...b5 6.cxb5 cxb5 7.Qxb5+) } 5... Bg7 { ? Black chooses to ignore thethreat entirely... } 6. cxd5 { And White nabs a pawn. Because the c-pawnis pinned to the king by the queen, both Bxd5 and cxd5 are not an optionhere } 6... O-O { Bd7 would have been the only move to stop another pawn loss,but since Black chose to ignore the threat again... } 7. dxc6 { why not? } 7... bxc6 { Black chooses to exchange, whch isn't a good idea when you're downin points (though each side still has all of its pieces on the board -maybe it isn't so bad in that situation if you can use exchanges to geta better position) but then again, that c-pawn was dangerous there } 8. Bxc6 Nxc6 { a bishop-for-knight exchange } 9. Qxc6 Bd7 { Driving the WhiteQueen away and preventing her from taking the rook } 10. Qa6 { one of threemoves to stop Black from playing Bc6. The other two moves (Qf3 and Qg2)are dangerous because of Qc8 (or Rc8), and White would be forced to dropits bishop to stop Black's bishop from taking the rook (e.g 9.Qe2? Rc8!10.f3 Rxc1+ with a check as the cherry on top of the cake!) } 10... Nd5 { lookingtowards Nb4. } 11. Ne2 { This move gives the rook squares to escape to aswell as opening up castling opportunities... } 11... Bg4 { Which would be a badidea right now! } 12. h3 { ?! I'm not sure about this move anymore... itwould probably have been better to move the knight away. This move forcesBlack to make a choice, and it wouldn't want to waste time retreating... } 12... Nb4 { nice move! Threatens both a queen capture and a Royal Fork with kingand rook } 13. Qc4 { again, this move with the queen is forced - Black hasn'tgiven her the option of retreating to a safe square } 13... Bxe2 { Black now hasto make a decision - either capture the bishop with the king or capturethe knight with the queen (capturing the bishop with the queen isn't anoption because of Nc2+) } 14. Qxb4 { after a bit of thinking, I decided ontaking the knight - I wanted to leave an opportunity for castling } 14... Rb8 { A threat on the queen } 15. Qe4 { I chose this square to leave an escaperoute to White's kingside. The biggest problem here is that White is horriblyundeveloped, and needs to catch up fast! } 15... Bd3 { another threat on the queen... } 16. Qf3 { and the queen escapes (Qg2 was a better square, as here the queenblocks the f-pawn). Black has no more (immediate) threats } 16... Rc8 { threatensthe bishop - White is now forced to move its knight (which is a good thingdevelopment-wise) } 17. Nc3 { The side square has almost always been a badposition for White's knight, so this move came without hesitation (thoughI have noticed that playing the knight to the a-file seems to be good insome 'Annotation Project' games). But then again... } 17... Bxc3 { With White'sbackward development, this would actually be beneficial for Black. It alsostops my plan to exchange queens with Qd5 (I know I just said exchangesmay be good for Black but after the exchange, my knight becomes a bit ofa thorn in Black's side) } 18. bxc3 { so that the b-file could be open forWhite's rook, but this could have been a mistake that was left unpunished,as Black could seize control itself with Rb8 } 18... e5 { I don't know what Black'sintentions were here } 19. Qb7 { ?! White makes a threat that is easily averted- Ba3 would have been better } 19... a5 { I was expecting Ra8 here, but the pawnstill gets sufficient protection from the queen } 20. f4 { a challenge tothe e-pawn, and with the hopes of bringing my rook to the f-file. I amnow completely focused in achieving that goal } 20... Bc4 { Black sees the danger,and protects f7 with his bishop. } 21. Rf1 { (??) damn damn damn! I movedway too quickly... } 21... Bxf1 { and bearing in mind that I had three days tomove...*sighs* } 22. Kxf1 { well, at the very least, the material is even } 22... Qd3+ { that pesky bishop is now replaced by the queen } 23. Ke1 exf4 { exchangingpawns and breaking open my kingside defence } 24. gxf4 { obviously Whitewouldn't want to create a clear file right to his king } 24... Qf5 { let me justtake a little bit of time to say how I -bleep-ing hate it when this -bleep-happens! (pardon my French) Black's now going to slowly mop up White'spawns, one by one, until White's defence is destroyed. Black's pieces arein a much better position than White's, meaning that Black has a winningendgame here. (this has happened a lot in my games - my opponent gets hisrook behind my pawns before I can do anything about it) } 25. Ba3 { 'thebest defence is a good offence' I needed to launch an attack of my ownif I wanted to steal a win from this } 25... Rfe8 { saving Black's rook, keepingit where the black bishop couldn't touch it } 26. Qb6 { bringing my queenback for the attack.. } 26... Qxh3 { and Black takes the pawn, as I expected } 27. Bd6 { I was fully aware of the face that Black was about to take my rook- but what could I do about it? if Ke2 or Kf2 the White queen would simplyplay Qh2+ and since White would not wish to move back to the first rank,it'd have to move to the third rank, which is bad no matter where it moves;27. Kf2 Qh2+ 28.Kf3 Qxd2, forking the two pawns on the c-file. Alternatively;27. Ke2 Qg2+ 28. Kd3 Red8+ 29.Bd6 Qd5+ and Black wins the bishop. The lastalternative would be Bb2, and though I could then move the c3 pawn formy attack, Black would me more likely to make a move that destroys my attack.Though as for the bishop, Bc5 would have ended things quicker, actually...I'll explain later (although if you know what I pan to do, you'd alreadyknow why Bc5 was better) } 27... Qh1+ { I expected this... } 28. Ke2 Qxa1 { and Blacktakes the rook and threatens to steal another pawn } 29. Be5 { I have toattack; I can't afford to defend } 29... Qxa2 { as expected, again... } 30. Qf6 { and now all of a sudden White has a mating threat! If, at move 27, I hadmoved Bc5, it would now be at Bd4, then all Black would have is Kf8, then;31.Qd6+ Kg8 32.Qf6 then Black would have been forced to accept a draw.Here, Black has another option.... } 30... Rxe5 { and although it's a Rook-for-Bishopexchange... } 31. fxe5 { Black still has very real threats on White, andWhite has nothing } 31... Rxc3 { ? Black takes a free pawn - White can't retakebecause the queen pins the d-pawn- but now I have an attack that gets mea draw } 32. Qd8+ { bingo! } 32... Kg7 { forced.. } 33. Qf6+ { check.... } 33... Kg8 { escapes... } 34. Qd8+ { check... } 34... Kg7 { escapes } 35. Qf6+ { check (I offer a drawhere, but it's rejected for...) } 35... Kh6 { Black tries a different escape routebut... } 36. Qh4+ { check! } 36... Kg7 { escapes.... } 37. Qf6+ { I offer another draw,and this time, it's accepted :) } 1/2-1/2

[Event "***HALLOWEEN GAMBIT ***"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2003.06.07"] [Round "-"] [White "keiserpaul"] [Black "xerox"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1483"] [TimeControl "5d+1d<10d"] [WhiteElo "2057"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5 { Four knights (C46), Schultze-Muellergambit a.k.a. Halloween gambit } 4... Nxe4 { Declined! } 5. Qh5 { Interesting moveforcing black to defend. Black should not play Nxe5 or else: 6. Qxe5+ Qe77. Qxe4 Qxe4 8. Nxe4 and white has a decisive advantage } 5... Qf6 6. Qxf7+ Qxf7 7. Nxf7 { This move gives white a pawn advantage if black plays Kxf7 } 7... Kxf7 { Better was Nxf2! which leads to a very unusual game: 7 ...Nxf2! 8. Nxh8Nxh1 9. Nb5 Nb4 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8 Nxc2+ 12. Kd1 Nxa1 13. Nf7+ Ke714. Ng5 Nf2+ 15. Ke1 Ng4 16. Bd3 etc } 8. Bc4+ { It makes sense to developthe bishop first before capturing the knight otherwise black may play d5. } 8... Ke8 9. Nxe4 Nd4 { Threatens a rook fork. } 10. Bd3 { Prevents the fork } 10... d5 { Black tries to gain space and allows his light bishop to move. } 11. Ng3 Bd6 12. c3 { Attacking black's knight. An alternative prospect is b3 tofianchetto the dark bishop, attacking the knight and g7 pawn. } 12... Bxg3 { Anunfavorable trade by black. } 13. hxg3 Bf5 14. Bxf5 Nxf5 15. d4 { White isready to develop his bishop and two rooks. Perhaps g4 would have been betterthough. } 15... Kd7 { Mobilizing the rook pair } 16. Bf4 Rae8+ 17. Kd2 Nd6 { Whitechooses to simplify, exchanging his bishop and rook. } 18. Bxd6 Kxd6 19. Rae1 Rxe1 20. Rxe1 Rf8 21. f4 c6 { Black could do with gaining queensidespace (b5), but he plays it safe instead. } 22. Rh1 h6 23. Rh5 a5 24. Ke3 a4 { storm pawn :P } 25. g4 { white focuses on the kingside. } 25... Re8+ 26. Re5 Ra8 { Not the most productive move. } 27. g5 a3 28. b3 { Simple choice. b4would be better. } 28... hxg5 29. Rxg5 { White's initiative seems stronger afterthis pawn exchange. } 29... Re8+ 30. Re5 { Better is Kd2: white can safely defendhis kingside pawns while his King wins an extra pawn after b4. } 30... Rf8 31. f5 Rf6 { This prevents further a check and further advance. } 32. g4 { Ofcourse white can overpower this rook easily. } 32... Rh6 { Black has the idea ortaking the a2 pawn, which white can't defend. } 33. g5 { Black resigned withoutdecisively losing. With accurate play white would win anyhow, but playmight have continued as such: } 33... Rh3+ 34. Kf4 Rh2 35. Re6+ { Kd7 gives blacka battle in which he can last at least for 37 more moves. Kc7 is slightlymore hopeful in that white's task is more difficult and fatal mistakescan be made. } 35... Kc7 36. Re7+ Kb6 37. Rxg7 Rxa2 { Now it is a race to promotionfor both sides. } 38. Rh7 { White preparing the rook to attack black's a3pawn. } 38... Rg2 { Allowing the pawn space while putting pressure on white's pieces } 39. Rh8 { Ideally getting the rook on the a-file } 39... Ka7 { Black stops thisplan } 40. Rh1 { White finds a better way to stop the pawn } 40... a2 41. g6 b5 { Black has nothing better to do. } 42. Ra1 Kb6 43. Ke5 b4 { Black clearsup space so he can get to white's rook } 44. cxb4 Kb5 45. Kf6 Kxb4 46. g7 Kxb3 47. Kf7 Kb2 { Forced move. } 48. Rxa2+ Kxa2 49. g8=Q Rxg8 { Forced. } 50. Kxg8 c5 { White has won, but this is black's best move, with a possibilityof white blundering. } 51. dxc5 { White's f6 would be a relatively easy win(mate in 21) after eventual simplification to a King/pawn vs King situation.Shown here is dxc5 for speculation, which although is still a mate in 37is much trickier to play. } 51... d4 52. c6 { f6 takes longer to win. } 52... d3 53. c7 d2 54. c8=Q d1=Q 55. Qc4+ Ka1 56. Qc3+ Kb1 57. f6 Qg1+ 58. Kf8 { If theking moves into the h column, a win will take much longer. } 58... Qg5 59. f7 Qd8+ { Black can only try to disrupt the situation. } 60. Kg7 Qg5+ 61. Kh7 Qf5+ { Be aware that I have included the variation of black's play thatkeeps the game alive for the longest, but also that white may make a mistakeand turn the win into a draw. For amateurs, certain parts of this exerciseas white are possible and easy to play less than perfectly. Even if blackdoes not get perpetual check, white can have trouble forcing a win if heis inexperienced. } 62. Kg8 Qd5 63. Qg3 Kc1 64. Qg4 Kb2 65. Kg7 Qb7 66. Qg5 Ka2 67. Qg6 Ka3 68. Qc2 Qe7 { A simple less-than-objective move heresuch as: Qf2, Qh2, Qc4, Qc8, Qb1, Qd1, Kg6, Kg8 will result in a draw dueto perpetual check. It is in conditions such as these that Black has smallhopes. } 69. Qc3+ Ka2 70. Qc4+ Kb2 71. Qc6 Kb3 72. Qd5+ Ka4 73. Qf5 Qc7 74. Qg4+ Ka5 75. Kg8 Qb7 76. f8=Q Qb3+ 77. Kg7 Qc3+ 78. Kf7 Qb3+ 79. Kg6 Qd3+ 80. Qff5+ Qb5 81. Qd4 Qxf5+ 82. Kxf5 { Mate in 5. } 1-0

[Event "Total Attack following a Potato Opening."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.05.12"] [Round "-"] [White "potatosoftware"] [Black "hansdevries"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1634"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1606"] 1. h3 { It's the Potato opening. Of my invention and I play it against thestrong as well. You'll see how it's really amazing : Ok it hands initiativeto blacks but what if I tell you that 98 % of blacks response would benon-ideal reply moves ? That is true and that is the philosophy behindthis opening. Keep the opponent play for some moves, try to see the weaknessin his entry then exploit that. Moreover why take a risky initiative ?Why play with a line that is common to theorists ? } 1... d5 2. a3 e5 { Blackschoices are natural. To my point of view, pushing these pawns will resultin big responsability later. Let's see. } 3. e3 g6 { This is a new replyI see from players who confront the Potato opening. } 4. d4 e4 { Did blackswin something here ? If you are a french-defense theorist then you agreewith my implicit opinion. Let's continue. } 5. c4 c6 6. cxd5 { This moveis obligatory. Bf1 need be released and e2 left for Ng1. } 6... cxd5 { If : 6..Qxd57.Nc3 followed by Bc4 and the queen can not prevent it because Qe6 is repliedwith d5. Thus whites can get the time to achieve kin-side development. } 7. Nc3 { I should have played Bb5+. Now blacks can play a6 which resultsin development problems for whites king-side pieces. The only problem ofPer-correspondance game is that the train of thought can be lost : we forgetthe previous calculation and previous plan in the new moves. } 7... Ne7 { Blacksare missing the strong 7..a6 ! The plan is obvious for blacks : developBg7 then short castle (queen side is bad for castle). } 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Nge2 { Now look at whites king-side : development was completed only remainsthe castle. Whites are even able to do it before blacks in spite of thePotato Opening. } 9... a6 10. Ba4 b5 { Blacks are pushing pawns. It is not evidentif these moves are strategically good. } 11. Bb3 { Now both Bb3 and Nc3 areattacking d5. Blacks are obliged to do something about it at the expenseof building a strong development . } 11... Bc6 { Bc6 is blocking Nc6. } 12. O-O Ra7 { At this moment, I had a some feeling about what was being plannedagainst me : Ra7 looks a strange move, but I found it makes sense if blackswere planning to push f5, prepare pieces formation so to wage an attackon whites king side. ( Be7, Ra=>g7, 0-0,etc). But looking at I noticedthat d5 is really posing a problem to blacks. It's difficult to relocateBc6 or Ne7 without fearing to lose that pawn. Moreover Nf4 was eminent. } 13. f3 { This move does get rid of e4. If blacks pushes f5, and take e4(after the planned fxe4) with the f5 then they will have to suffer froman open f-rank. Otherwise blacks are going to give me a precious open d-rankin case of dxe4. Consequently I was all expecting exf3. } 13... f5 { Blacks choosesf5 but will take with d5. A bad choice in my point if view. } 14. fxe4 dxe4 15. Nf4 { This came after I abandoned d5 judging it as a little early. If: 15.d5 (threat on c6 and threat Qd4 attacks two rooks) Then 15..Rd7. annihilatingdxc and strengthening attack on d5. So Nf4 was there to gather more attackingpieces. } 15... Bd7 16. d5 Bg7 17. Bd2 { A development move that helps provideeven opportunity for future attack. } 17... Qb6 { Note that blacks can not castledue to the d6+d wins the knight. Note also that g5 that would try to obligethe strongly positioned Nf4 to retreat is bad because of Q+ or even Nh5.By Qb6 blacks are hoping for 18. ...Bxc3 19. bxc3 and the c rank is closedwhich reduces my attack possibilities (mainly the rook c1). Note that incase of Bx : blacks respond with Qxe3+. This explains my next move. } 18. Kh1 { Now if blacks would like to take the knight then I will simply playBxc3 which attacks the rook h8 and leaves c-rank open. } 18... Qd6 { Blacks Qb6could be considered as a succeeding maneuverer : By Qd6 d5 is stopped fromfurther advancement. } 19. Rb1 { Why not Rc1 ? Franckly Rc1 does not gainsomething in the near future. I hoped to place the Nc3 at d4 and for thatb2 need be protected from Bg7. } 19... O-O { Thanks to Qb6, Qd6 blacks managedto castle. Now whites must play it nice. Because at this moment blackscan even hope for an attack plan. } 20. Nce2 Kh8 { Defensive move. The realplan behind Nce2 is Nd4 as I previously said. But this moves also makeit possible to threaten Bb4 : the queen has to leave d6 and then d6 winsthe rook if the remains on the direction of the bishop b3. } 21. Bb4 Qf6 22. Bc3 { Here I thought that I won the game : The one who want to understandthe notion of tempo in chess then he must see examine the diffrence between21.Bc3 and 22.Bb4 followed by Bc3. Now the queen has to move. I was planningBxg7+, followed by Qd4+ takes the rook on a7. } 22... Qb6 { Waw ! I still haveto battle. } 23. Nd4 { I gained advancement. } 23... Rc8 24. Qe1 { Here I was ina worry on what move to make with the queen in order to engage the whiterooks. Qd2 followed by Rfd1 etc. Finally I played this in order to allowNe6 by strengthening defense on c3. } 24... a5 { Blacks thought I am threatingwith Ba5. That was not correct. } 25. Nde6 { Blacks response was wise. Hedidn't want to lose the bishop g7 in a position were the king is surroundedby whites attackers. } 25... Rxc3 26. bxc3 Bf6 { Preventing the exchange. } 27. c4 { That was when I saw that I can force blacks to open the b-rank sincethey won't accept to let c4 infiltrate into c5. Opening the rank is goodbecause that way whites can exploit the rook advantage and engage theirsin the battle. Moreover notice that the blacks queen does not have manysquare to go to. Undermining that side of the board can be of a tacticalbenefit. } 27... bxc4 28. Bxc4 Qd6 { Do you see the pieces left for the black queen? only e5 and c7 which are on the same file. That moment I tried to seemy possibilities. The position looked promising and there needed be a wayhow to exploit this before blacks can manage to escape by exchanging pieces. } 29. Qg3 { Exploiting the previous fact about the blacks queen and threateningto takle by the discovered Nxg5 check. } 29... Be8 { Bad move. I was expectingBe5 : 29..Be5 30.Qg5 keeps the pressure. } 30. Nxg6+ { I deplore blacks forthe bad moments since the middle game. But same wise, it really took mea great deal of mental energy to keep the attack possibilities in thisgame. Hope you enjoyed it. } 1-0

[Event "Python Stranglehold"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "NN"] [Black "dmaestro"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1627"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] { Here White slowly gets strangled, starting with the forced loss of a bishopin the opening. } 1. e4 { In this game, white gets into early trouble losinga trapped bishop, and falls further and further into the stranglehold finishingwith a mating net, no more able to escape than prey in the grasp of a python. } 1... d6 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. a4 b6 5. h3 e5 6. Nf3 Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. Qb3 { Qb3?.Premature. } 8... d5 { ...d5! leaves White's bishop trapped. } 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Nxe5 { If Bb5, a3 wins the trapped bishop. White chooses this means to gaintwo pawns for the piece. } 10... dxc4 11. dxc4 Bd6 { Attacks the Knight and clearsthe e-file. } 12. Nf3 Re8+ 13. Kf1 { White prefers not to interposie thebishop, hoping to castle by hand instead. } 13... Nc6 14. Bg5 h6 15. Be3 { Betterwould have been Be3 immediately. Later on, h6 provides a critical tempo. } 15... Na5 { Begins a plan to fixate on the weak c pawn } 16. Qa2 Ba6 { Threatensto win the queen as well as the pawn. } 17. Nbd2 Ne4 { ...Ne5!? . The knightis immune since NxN loses to Bxc4 . } 18. Rc1 { White wants to play b4 butwants to protect c3 first. } 18... Rc8 { More pressure on c4 } 19. b3 Bc5 { Blackwants to open up the center. } 20. Nxe4 Rxe4 21. Bd2 { Bd2?! White wantsto prepare b4 but does not have the time. } 21... Nxc4 { Nxc4! and the Knight isimmune because of the bishop fork recapture winning the queen. } 22. Kg1 { To avoid the discovered check and try and get the king out of the way. } 22... Nxd2 23. Qxd2 Qxd2 24. Nxd2 Re2 { Black has forced some exchanges and nowseizes the rank with threat, empowered by the two bishops raking white'kingside. } 25. Nf3 Rxf2 { Rxf2 is stronger than Bxf2 Black begins to setup a stranglehold on White's king. } 26. Kh2 { To avoid the discovered check. } 26... Bd6+ 27. Kg1 Bg3 { Black used the check to transfer the bishop to g3, boxingin the king. } 28. h4 { Tries to free himself, but... } 28... Rxc3 { Rxc3! is prettyobvious but deadly, the rook can't be taken because of the back rank mateon f8. } 29. Re1 Rcc2 { Black tightens the noose, and there is no escape. } 30. Re8+ { Loses quickly, but the slow death following Rh2 to delay animmediate Rxg2 is not pleasant either. } 30... Kh7 31. Rh3 Rf1# 0-1

[Event "OTB Tournament Game 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "6/21/19"] [Round "-"] [White "Joe"] [Black "Carl"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [TimeControl "50/50"] { Another tournament started last week, where I was up against Tom Walshand won. I told Jack that I wouldn't be there next week. And, we weretrying to figure out what to do since Carl had started a simultaneous withMaster Nathan Resika. But, Tom hadn't arrived yet because he was learninga few things about the computer. Since that happened, it worked out thatTom would later play Nathan, and Carl would stop the match and would playin his first tournament game. There were some twists and turns here. I did have an advantage being a pawn up. But, I made an oversight andwound up a piece for two pawns down. Then, Carl made a mistake and gaveback his piece. I then made a mistake, somewhere in the endgame that allowedhim to promote. But, unlike in previous games, I did not give up and wasable to trick Carl into a draw by repetition, with only 7 minutes leftagainst his 40. Yes, he played too quickly again, but Carl is gettingbetter at this game, as well. And, it's the first time that a tournamentgame in Jack's club ended in a draw by rep. It's happened in other, morecasual games, but in a tournament. } 1. e4 { Not knowing what Carl woulddo, since he often changes his defenses, as well as, openings, I play myusual. As I know how to respond to most defenses with this particularopening, and the same cannot be said for any other openings where I wouldn'tknow to respond. } 1... e6 { And, he opts for the French which I, of course, knowto handle well. } 2. d4 Nc6 { I was prepared for 2...Nf6, in which, I'd defendwith 3.Nc3 defending e4 and developing. So, I, for a short while wasn'tsure of what to do. } 3. Nf3 { But, I decided to play the same move thatI would do in 1.e4 e5 openings. The reason being is to develop K sideand bring me one step closer to castling. } 3... d5 { Carl decided to attack mycenter pawn which isn't a bad way to go. I was trying to figure what todo, where to exchange or not. When thinking about different options, Idid not see a reason to exchange so I decided not to. The only reasonwould've been due to it being possible, but I also know better now thento just exchange pawns readily, as well. } 4. e5 { And, with it, I protectthis way to block both of his pawns. I treat like a different variation,where ...Nf6 is played, and you play this to for the same reason. But,it's also to attack the Nf6 which gains tempo and acheive a solid pawnchain. Well, while there's no attack, the pawn chain, I felt, was criticalsince GM Susan Polgar emphasized in that other variation where you attackthe N. And, I saw a different example in one of TA's games which I annotatedwhere he was teaching that a Q against both R's is a known draw. } 4... h6 { Stopping5.Ng5, but I had no interest in playing, this time around. Instead, myidea was to pin his Nc6, and not just for anyreason. } 5. Bb5 Bd7 { ?! But,rather, this was my anticipation. With pretty much, anyonelse, I don'tknow how they'll answer. Carl, however, is a fast player, so trying touse his time controls against him I planned on him doing this as now, hisBd7 is very limited on mobility and only covers one square. Better wasto be more aggressive and play 5...a6, where I'd be forced back. Had heplayed that, I would've exchanged on c6 to mess up his pawns structures. But, with this move, I'll just leave my B where it is and keep his Bd7limited in mobility, for now. One reason being is that I castle, at once. I was happier then I was to start off since I felt that unfamilar territorybenefited me here for that reason. However, I'm becoming too happy, again,which is making me overly optimistic. As he will go on the offense onceI castle. } 6. O-O a6 7. Be2 { Once that happens, I decide against exchangingsince his B would be better placed. My idea is to put more and more tensionand pressure on his position. In this case, it's by keeping his Bd7 lockedin. And, just like what Ken noted in our game, exchanging would only alleviateit. } 7... f6 { By playing this, I'm forced to exchange pawns. Doesn't botherme now because I felt that exchanging gives me the advantage here sincehis weakest pawn will be removed, and he'll wind up with isolated pawns. I couldn't have asked for anything better since I have now used, I believe10 minutes, whereas, Carl has used, about, 3. } 8. exf6 Nxf6 9. Ne5 { And,with that being said, I opt for an exchange. I wouldn't have done so,but my reason is to gain tempo. In doing so, it becomes very similar tothe variation that I mentioned in the French, previously since the attackwill, likewise, come from my center pawn. } 9... Nxe5 10. dxe5 Ne4 { And, it'sworth noting that this is also what black often plays when the N is attacked,as Carl did here. So, although it's in a different setting, and thus,not a transposition, the same idea still worked. Therefore, I feel thatI now have an advantage because Susan Polgar said that exchanging and attackinglike this give white a slight advantage. I'm just not certain, but instead,75% sure which was more then enough for me. The reason why white wouldhave the advantage wasn't just tempo but a pawn chain which I don't havehere. But, I was, already, back in familar territory and knew where Iwas going. Whereas before, I had no idea and used to have, 'The Fightor Flight' mechanism. And, after figuring out why that happened, I realizedthat this happened whenever I was in unfamilar territory since that didn'tjust happen with bhidragon, in our unrated training games or unbermensch. But, it also occurred in both of my training games. With the Yoga breathes,when I'm in unfamilar territory, I don't hesitate, but as noted in a previousthreat, I use my gut instincts which is also what occurred here. } 11. Bh5+ { And, those instincts were to play this move, as well. As now, I'm treatingas, if he played the Domiano's Defense. I knew he wouldn't to avoid thischeck with my Q where when you black, as he will, then Qxe5+ wins the R. The very first thing that I kept in mind is that when Carl plays 11...g6?to, fianchetto, attack my B, and try to keep his castling rights I'll pickup a pawn and liquidate. That seems overly confident, but given how fasthe plays, I knew that Carl was going to do that. Against anyonelse, I'dbe working my way from there, but I'd play this just knowing that blackcan't castle. } 11... g6 12. Bxg6+ Ke7 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Re1 { And, then I go afteranother pawn which, of course, Carl will defend. Even if this didn't attack,I would've played this to centralize my R. As elyhim told me during, 'Reversion'sOpen Fire' that centralizing your R is a way to control the center in oneof his more recent annotations. } 14... Bc6 15. Qxd8+ { In the meantime, I continueliquidating. And, Carl acted happy that I played this since he'll recapturewith his R. That doesn't bother me because, even though his Ra8 will bein action and centralized, I'll, calmly, continue developing on my nextmove. } 15... Rxd8 16. Nc3 Bg7 { I misjudged here. My thought was that if I don'tdo something, I'm going to lose a pawn. And, I didn't want to allow Carlto equalize. It took me more time to make other moves. But, I'm aboutto play my next move too quickly. } 17. Nxe4 { ?? As I didn't consider orlook at anything else besides the move played. As I thought that not onlydoesn't this protect e4, but it wins another pawn. Much better would'vebeen to defend by completing my development with 17.Bf4 So, timing waskey here, as it gets played, a move later. And, at the very end, whileI didn't completely agree with Jack since he said that I had a win, whichI didn't see. I agree that I made a 2 second move, and this was it. Asnow, not only does Carl equalize, but he wins the equivalent to a pawn,thereto. } 17... Bxe4 18. Bf4 { As I planned to, and almost played 18.Rxe4?? whichwas the conditional move after 17...Bxe4 Then I realized that it's notpossible because without my B he would have back rank mate in 2, startingwith 18...Rd1+ So, this is where I slowed and took 4 or 5 minutes, tryingto figure what to do now. And, I thought that this was the way to go sinceit's what I should've played a move earlier. But, this is an example ofwhere, what's good a move earlier is a mistake a move later. However,I also knew that his next move isn't going to win a pawn because of whatfollows which is where I start doing what I can for counterplay. } 18... Bxc2 19. Rac1 { With that being said, I follow ION's advise by playing the man,as opposed to, the board. } 19... Bf5 20. Rxc7+ { As this is where I play HopeChess. Of course, I knew that if he didn't blunder, I'd win back a pawnand equalize. But, I was hoping that Carl would mistake by moving tooquickly. And, in doing so, I'd wind up a piece for pawn up which is exactlywhat happened. } 20... Ke8 21. Rxg7 Rd7 { Preventing the loss of another pawn,but better was to advance his b7, as know, I won't hesitate to liquidate. } 22. Rxd7 Kxd7 23. Rd1+ { In the aftermath, I throw in a few checks. } 23... Kc8 24. Rc1+ Kb8 25. Bd2 { And, I start looking for a way to free e5. I'm nowthinking on what I can do to make a promotion as I feel that there isn'tenough to mate without something else, even if, it were an underpromotion,of some sort. } 25... h5 { Preventing me from attacking my B, which might be successful,if I were to play f3. But, I have no intention of doing so. My goal wasto aim right at his R. So, I'm going to answer with 26.Bg5. } 26. Bg5 Rg8 27. Bf6 { At the same time, I'm still about my e5 which I shouldn't be. } 27... Bh3 { Carl attacks in a tricky which, and I've overlooked these kinds ofattacks before, since g2 is attacked twice. I used to do something likebring the R behind e5, or things of that kind. That is to try and do somethingwith a pawn, and then, overlooked something like Rxg2+ which would winmaterial, since I could not recapture. Overtime, I learned how to handlea threat like this which I do on my next move. } 28. g3 Bg4 29. Kg2 { Andwith that, I start getting my K into action since this is an endgame. } 29... Bf5 30. Rd1 { And, I prepare to check and liquidate R's which will happen,in a few more moves. } 30... Rc8 31. Rd8 { In fact, I get right to it. } 31... Be4+ { Tryingto stop, but after my next move, I'll go forward with the liquidation. } 32. f3 Bd5 { I also considered sacking my R for B to see if I could stopa promotion. So, I played in between those lines and figured out thatthis wasn't going to work because after 33.Rxd5 exd5 34.e6, Carl couldand likely would answer with 34...Re8 stopping the pawn. Thus, I justwent back to my original plan. } 33. Rxc8+ Kxc8 34. b3 { And, I also thinkabout what else I can do to get a passed pawn. } 34... a5 { Meanwhile, Carl iscoming up with a plan to stop a2. } 35. Kf2 { And, I keep using my K. } 35... b5 { Continuing with his plan. I thought about what to do and had consideredplaying 36.a3? or 36.a4? I might have done so were his B not there, exceptthat he could then answer with ...b4 and block my pawns, which I didn'tthere. As I studied examples with TA, and even did something like thatagainst Carl or Tom, and black often gets the advantage, that way. } 36. g4 { So, I go back on the offense. As after we exchange, I will have apassed pawn, which was my goal. } 36... hxg4 37. fxg4 Kd7 { Like me, Carl getshis K in action for the same reason as me. } 38. g5 { And, I remembered thatpassed pawns must be pushed. } 38... Be4 { Stopping my passed pawn. } 39. Ke3 { Icould've tried even harder to stop this with 39.h4, but Carl probably would'veplayed the same move next. Not only that, but I'm starting to run lowon time with only 20 minutes left on the clock. That's not so bad itself,but I, generally, start seeing a forced win when that happens. And, itisn't the case here. If I'm not careful here, move quickly enough, I will,likely, start losing on time. Having said that, this is where I use moreof the Yoga breathes since this also causes the Fight or Flight syndromewhich is never good in chess. } 39... Bg6 { Blocking my pawn. } 40. Kd4 { So I usemy K and start shifting my focus to his b pawn. Better would've been 40.Kf4which might have given me a win. Although, Carl could answer with 40...Bh5,but if he doesn't do that, 41.h4 would, pretty much, seal blacks fate. } 40... Kc6 { Protecting his pawn. } 41. Kc3 { And, I'm still going after by gettingthe opposition here. } 41... Kc5 { And, Carl protects even further. } 42. a3 { So,I focus on getting a pawn check on Carl which starts on his next move. } 42... b4+ 43. axb4+ axb4+ 44. Kd2 { And, now I try to focus on my h pawn. } 44... Kd4 { And, Carl focuses on b3 which I can't defend anyway. But, I felt thatif he took, I had a win, so I continue with my plan. What I forgot isthat it becomes passed and, eventually, promotes. } 45. Ke2 Kc3 46. Kf3 Kxb3 47. Kg4 { As now, I'm free to advance h4 and not worry about him taking. } 47... Kc4 { Of course, Carl has other ideas since, as noted, the pawn is passed. Normally, I would give up here. But, I don't usually have a B, as well. With this, I thought that even if I couldn't win, I, at least, had a draw. And, I was spot on, this time around. } 48. h4 { With support and protection,I keep pushing, as does Carl on his next move. } 48... b3 49. h5 Bxh5+ { This iswhy I felt that Carl couldn't win. As the B would have to go back, butI'd break through with my pawn. So, he plays this, and I gladly take back. Of course, I know that he'll promote, and I'm prepared for that. In fact,promoting is the equivalent to a conditional move because I have plansfor when he does. I'm thinking harder and harder to with less then 15minutes on the clock. I had, about, 12 minutes here. } 50. Kxh5 b2 51. g6 b1=Q 52. g7 { As now, thinking about what happened against anitam, andthe decisive mistake after throwing away a win that turned a draw intoloss, I go forward with my pawn. If Carl doesn't do something to stopg7, I'll have a win. But, if he does, I'll be able to get a draw since,I know Carl, and he'll continue to throw in perpetual checks until it'sa 3 fold repetition which was my goal due to how little time I have. Asa matter of fact, this is the first time that I've made what Jack calls,'a 2 second move' since 17.Nxe4? However, it has to be like this for therest of the game, as I only had 10 minutes left, at most. The last timesomething like this happened I lost, on time. It was against Mariann anumber of years where I was winning, although we played it out, and I would'velost, anyhow with a blunder. But, this is where I realized that I couldnot win but, at best, could get a draw. And, I was confident that I wouldget one since Carl enjoys perpetual checks. } 52... Qh1+ { It starts right here,and I was happy again for good reason. I keep going back and forth onthe same squares, but he doesn't yet. So, the same position doesn't occurfor several moves. On top of it, my notes or PGN for move order becomessloopy which almost corrupted the position. I think this happened becausemy hand got tired and with such little time left. } 53. Kg6 Qg1+ 54. Kf7 Qa7+ 55. Kxe6 Qb6+ 56. Kf7 Qc7+ 57. Kf8 Qc8+ 58. Kf7 Qd7+ 59. Kf8 Qc8+ 60. Kf7 Qd7+ 61. Kf8 Qc8+ { Had that not happened, this is where I would'veannounced a draw by repetition. I thought had a different move recorded. In fact, the sloppiness, made it look like 61...Qd8+?? which Carl wouldn'thave done and why he keeps going back and forth. } 62. Kf7 Qd7+ 63. Kf8 Qc8+ { But, my writing becomes a little neater since the 60th move, knowingthat I might have missed the opportunity to announce the draw. And, itturns out to have happened, but I wouldn't have done it before my 61st,as that's when, I can say for certain that the position occurred 3 times. This, however, is where I announced it. As I said that this is now adraw by repetition. I'm not sure what Carl said or asked, but I thinkit was how come. But, I definitely said that it was because the same positionhas repeated itself 3 times when he kept placing me in check and I keptgoing back. I then told Jack that this was a draw and asked him what happensnow since it hasn't happened in his tournament before. Well, that's whenI found out that a score like 0-1 black won, 1-0 white won, or 1/2-1/2are actually scores of who gets points during a tournament. I discoveredthis when Jack told me that after a win occurs someone gets the point,and the other is 0. But, when it's a draw, each side gets a half a point. Then he told me, as we were saying goodbye to each other, that he wasstill impressed with my play and that I was still improving. But, I madea 2 second move and had a win that I missed from too fast. I also knowthat Jack isn't always right. And, I can say for certain that Jack iswrong about me having a win. On the other hand, he was correct about memaking a 2 second move because I almost overlooked something that I didnot see right away which was a back rank mate. That was, when I played17.Nxe4 which was the same idea as Flip Coin Chess since I did not thinktwice about it before playing it. As I felt that I could answer with 18.Rxe4+??before seeing that 18...Rd1+ would've won. In fact, Jack stopped analyzingit after our 17th move since he got busy with Nathan Resika in a simultaneousmatch. So, my thought process is what still needs a little more work andpolishing because had I thought about it before hand, I wouldn't have played17.Nxe4, in the first place. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Let's Play Chess.com friendly game."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "cdm75"] [Black "arted"] [Result "*"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 { 4... e5 is a mistake in thisopening. } 5. Nf3 Bg4 { This Bishop is needed to drive pieces away from thehole at d5. 5...Be6 was what the doctor ordered! } 6. Bc4 Qc7 { Queen neededto move here on move 5, in order to prevent the Bishop going to c4. } 7. Bb3 Nf6 { Although this simple developing move prevents the Maroczy Bind,(c4 preventing d5) Black's grip of the d5 square was lost long ago. } 8. Nc3 Be7 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bg5 { White should play a3, incase of Na5, preservinghis Bishop for the a2-g8 diagonal. Removing a potential defender of thed5 square is not a bad idea though. } 10... Nd4 { This highlights the inaccuracyof White's last move. If he was to move his dark squared Bishop, he shouldhave moved it to e3 in anticipation of this move. White has no controlover whether he keeps his King's Bishop. In this position, Black needsto take b3, and then retreat his Bishop to c6 via d7. } 11. h3 { A wasteof time, which forces the issue. Here White should play Bxf6. } 11... Bxf3 { Althoughthis cripples White's Kingside Pawns, after the exchanges, Black will nothave sufficient means to attack the scattered Pawns; this cannot compensatefor the 'chasm' on d5. } 12. gxf3 O-O { Black squanders his last chance topreserve a defender for the crucial d5 square. } 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 { Whitefears the Bishop using f4 or h4 as an outpost and the weakness of the fPawns. } 14... Qd8 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Kg2 Qg5+ 17. Kh2 Qf4+ 18. Kg2 Kh8 { A waitingmove? Is Black intending to play f5? The Black King feels safer on thissquare, but where is the threat from White? Black desperately needed totake the Bishop, which is lucky to still be on the board. In going allout for his stategy of fixing d5 as a weakness, White's development hasbeen slow and inaccurate. Black, on the other hand, despite dreaming ofwinning the f3 Pawn, cannot drive the King away from guard duty at thesame time as threatening the Pawn. Here, Black may have played for a drawby three-fold repitition, with Qg5-f4-g5-f4 etc. } 19. Bd5 { The move we'veall been waiting for; the Bishop goes to its best square at the first opportunity. } 19... Rab8 20. c3 Qg5+ 21. Kh2 Ne6 22. Rg1 Qf4+ 23. Rg3 b6 { Weakening the lightsquares on the Queenside, making the Bishop more powerful than either ofBlack's Rooks. } 24. Bb3 Rbd8 { White forces Black to defend passively,in order to complete his development. } 25. Qe2 h5 26. Qe3 h4 { Playing intoWhite's hands, who, albeit rather slowly, is at least able to transferhis Rooks to the Queenside. } 27. Qxf4 Nxf4 28. Rg4 Ng6 29. Rd1 Kh7 { AnotherKing move? } 30. Rgg1 f5 { Black eyes the f2 Pawn as a target. } 31. Rd2 Nf4 32. Rgd1 fxe4 33. fxe4 Rf6 34. a4 { A multi-purpose move. White intendsto fix Blacks Pawns for the mobility of his own pieces. The d8 Rook isen prise; White can use his Queenside Pawn majority to secure a passedPawn. } 34... g5 { A risky move. White cannot attack the h4 Pawn, so it needs nodefence; Blacks Pawn structure enables the Bishop to have the freedom ofthe whole board! Has there ever been a more powerful Bishop in the Historyof Chess? } 35. Ba2 { Preparing to throw Pwans forward. } 35... Rdf8 { A blunder!Poor Black is targeting f2 again; the Knight has to move and this allowsWhite's King to defend the f2 Pawn. } 36. Rxd6 Ne6 { How often in Chess isa blunder followed by an even bigger one? White will be a piece to twoPawns up. Sacrificing the Knight does not allow Black to get perpetualcheck. } 37. Rxe6 Rxf2+ 38. Kg1 Rxb2 { Committing suicide! Had Black's Rookbeen on f6, his game was still lost. White's scattered Pawns would nothave been difficult to defend with an extra piece. } 39. Rd7+ Kh8 40. Rh6# { Mate would not have been possible if the Bishop wasn't able to own thisdiagonal - it wins the game for White without making a check of its own!!A fine example of the Bishop's latent power, more typically seen in theFianccheto Bishop. } *

[Event "2007 Wa Open Premier Section"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Kerry Xing"] [Black "Brian Opalewski"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1804"] [WhiteElo "1704"] 1. d4 { This was round 4, at which point I had 2 wins and a draw. I feltpretty confident up to this point as I had outplayed my opponents in everygame. I was a little surprised to see 1. d4 as most everyone in the premierwas playing 1. e4. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 { The Nimzo-Indian, seekingto control e4 with pieces is my workhorse against 1. d4. } 4. Qc2 { The Classicalvariation. White's other options are 4. a3, 4. f3, 4. Nf3, 4. e3, 4. Qb3and 4. Bg5. } 4... Nc6 { The most common continuation is 4...d5. This move immediatelyattacks the weakened d-pawn. This variation is known as the Milner-Barryor the Zurich. } 5. Nf3 { The most flexible move. 5. e3 is too passive. } 5... d6 { Preparing to erect a dark-squared center after the exchange on c3. } 6. Bd2 { White wants to recapture with the Bishop as to increase pressureon e5. } 6... O-O 7. e3 { This move is a little suspect. The standard continuationis 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Qe7, when White has his choice of 4 different continuations. 9. g3, 9. e3, 9. e4, or 9. b4. } 7... Qe7 8. Be2 { This is a little passive also. } 8... e5 { No reason to wait. Black should be equal here. } 9. d5 { Gaining space,but closing the center and imprisoning his light-squared bishop. 9. deNxe5 is followed by ...b6 and ...Bb7, with a good game for black. } 9... Nb8 { Preparing to reroute the knight via a6 to c5. I am behind in development,but there is no way for white to open the position quick enough to exploithis lead. } 10. e4 { Looks imposing,, but this just gives me a hook on f5and a target to take aim at. } 10... Na6 { Aiming for c5 and the new target one4. } 11. a3 { Finally provoking the exchange and creating a weakness onb3. With the closed nature of the position my knights should be betterthan White's bishops. } 11... Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Nc5 13. Nd2 { Now the knight takesup a passive defense. After 13 moves, Black has not only equalized, butis better. } 13... a5 { Intending 14...a4, when c5 is under absolute control. } 14. O-O-O { This hyper-aggressive continuation can't be good for White. While it is true that Black's most natural plan is to play ...Ne8 or ...Nh5followed by ...f5 and a kingside attack, White ignores the fact that hismost dynamic play will be on the queenside. Here is trying to drum upkingside play and allows me time to target the weakened queenside. White'sking is more vulnerable on the queenside and my solid defensive formationon the kingside wont be easy to crack. Especially with the two bishopsand the knight placed passively. } 14... Bd7 { Intending ...Ba4; b3 Bd7!; followedby ...a4. If I am allowed to exchange the a-pawn for the b-pawn, the a-filewill open up for my heavy pieces and the White king will be under rapidattack. } 15. Rdg1 { Preparing to launch the kingside pawns and moving therook out of the aforementioned skewer. } 15... Ba4 { Attempting to induce moreweaknesses in the queenside pawn structure. } 16. b3 Bd7 17. g4 a4 18. b4 Nb3+ { Inviting White to capture the knight and a-pawn, when the a- or e-pawndrops and the a-file is opened for my rooks. } 19. Kb1 { Keeping the queensideclosed is White's best chance. } 19... Nd4 { Offering the centralized knight toopen the e-file. Dynamic play in the face of the oncoming attack was amust, but Fritz seems to think that it is a little too risky. There probablyis compensation for the weak pawn on d4 after the exchange, but how muchis a matter of debate. } 20. Qd1 b5 { Again attempting to create a breach. } 21. g5 Ne8 22. h4 { Here 22. Bxd4 ed 23. cb f5 24. gf Nxf6 is questionablefor Black. White does have the extra pawn and seems he might be able tohold on to it. } 22... f5 { A final attempt to open some lines for my pieces. } 23. gxf6 { Accepted at last! } 23... Nxf6 24. Rg5 Nxe2 { I dont want the light-squaredbishop going to d3 and having White play f4. That plan looked like itwould be a little to dangerous for my tastes. } 25. Qxe2 Kh8 { ...Rf7 isstronger. } 26. Rhg1 Rf7 27. h5 Rb8 { Planning to take on c4 and play Bb5if the pawn was recaptured. } 28. Nf3 Rbf8 { Threatening ...Nxe4. } 29. Nh4 { Preventing the loss of the pawn by guarding f5, however, I came up withan interesting idea. Better for White, and missed by both of us was 29.Nxe5! dxe5 30. h6! Rg8 31. Rxe5 Qf8 32. f4 and Black is in trouble! } 29... Ng4 { Forcing the trade of a rook and a pawn for two minors and getting freedomfor my heavy pieces seems like good compensation. } 30. R5xg4 Rxf2 { An importantintermezzo. } 31. Qd1 { Better is Qd3. } 31... Bxg4 32. Qxg4 { The first big blunderby White. He missed 32. Rxg4 Rf1 can be met with 33. Be1, holding thegame together. } 32... R2f4 33. Qg3 Rxh4 34. Bd2 Rxh5 35. Bg5 Rxg5 36. Qxg5 { HereI just had to play 36...Qxg5 37. Rxg5 bc and the win was in the bag. However,I fell into my opponents rhythym of quick play and got a little too trickyfor my own good. } 36... Rf1+ { ????? } 37. Rxf1 { Resigns. I didnt pay enough attentionto my back rank. } 1-0

[Event "Clear and Present Perspective"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.06.28"] [Round "-"] [White "remohgramps"] [Black "globus"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1277"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1152"] 1. d4 { Annotating this game for fun, since the new influx of annotationshas been a bit slow in the last couple days. This is a mini-tournamentgame played by a friend of mine, white, who opens with 1. d4. } 1... d5 2. e3 { With 2. e3 white hints that he's looking to play the Stonewall System. } 2... Bf5 3. Bd3 { The recommended reply by black is 2. Nf6. Black instead optsto develop his bishop, and white confronts that bishop with 3. Bd3, placinghis king's bishop on the square it most favors in the Stonewall. } 3... Bxd3 4. Qxd3 { Black exchanges, inviting the white queen to come out and play. } 4... Nc6 5. Nc3 { And now white deviates from his Stonewall plans (maybe he neverreally intended to play the Stonewall after all). } 5... Nf6 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O { Black has somewhat mirrored white, but he is two moves behind (havingmoved his bishop twice in this opening). } 7... Nb4 8. Qb5+ { Black attacked white'squeen, and white responds with a 3-way fork against black's king, knight,and b7 pawn. } 8... Nc6 9. Ne5 { Black saved his knight and blocked the check,which leaves the b7 pawn hanging. White could simply snatch the pawn, buthe prefers to press his attack, adding pressure to the pinned black knighton c3. There is nothing black can do to avert the loss of material. 9.... Qd6 10. Qxb7 and now black's knight and rook are forked. 9. ... a6meets a better fate, only losing a pawn. } 9... Be7 10. Nxc6 { 9. ... Be7 is anotherchoice for black that loses a pawn, but a pawn was to be lost no matterwhat, so black at least develops a piece. } 10... Qd7 11. Nxe7 { 10. ... Qd7? isa blunder that loses a piece. The right move was 10. ... Bxc6 to only losethe pawn. } 11... Kxe7 12. Qxb7 { And now black is down a bishop and a pawn. } 12... Rab8 13. Qxa7 { 12. ... Rab8? was the right idea, wrong rook, and it loses anotherpawn. } 13... Qc6 14. b3 { Evidently white is feeling guilty about building hismaterial lead and decides to give some of it back with 14. b3?, movinghis knight's only defender. Better was 14. Qc5+! forking black's king andqueen and forcing the exchange of queens. Further, this craeates a 3-1queenside pawn majority (if we discount white's c2 pawn, 4-2 otherwise)which is almost certain to eventually promote a pawn. } 14... Qxc3 15. Ba3+ Kd7 16. Qa4+ Kd8 17. Rfc1 { After a couple checks, white runs out of attacksand defends his pawn at c2. It's worth nothing that while white is stilltwo pawns ahead, his queen and bishop are ineffectively placed on the edgeof the board and his rooks are locked into defensive positions. Further,the white pieces acutally hinder the advance of his pawn majority. Thismight be a good time for black to try to counterattack before white regroups. } 17... Ng4 18. h3 Nf6 19. Bb4 { Black tried to follow my advice, probing with hisknight, but his half-hearted counter attack is repelled. Then white blundersanother piece with 19. Bb4? } 19... Rxb4 20. Qa8+ { Black returns the favor blunderfor blunder. The right recapture was 19. ... Qxb4, leaving black materiallyahead a piece for two pawns. By capturing with 19. ... Rxb4??, black exposeshis king and his rook on h8 to a back-rank attack, and instead of gaininga material advantage, he ends up losing more material than he gains. } 20... Ke7 21. Qxh8 { White is now ahead by the exchange and two pawns, but black stillmight find some good counterattack prospects since all three of his piecesare developed while white's rooks are still locked into defense and hisqueen is far far away from being helpful. However, with so many pawns stillon the board, it's difficult to see where black has any attacking chances. } 21... Qd2 22. Qxg7 Ne4 23. Rf1 { Black gives it a good try, threatening the pawnon f2, but white defends admirably. This leaves the pawn on c2 en prise.Dare black take it? } 23... Qxc2 24. Rac1 { He did dare, but white's inevitablereply puts the danger into clear and present perspective. Black's queenmust move, and in fact, she can capture the a2 pawn if she cares to. Butwhite's reply, 25. Rxc7+ followed by 26. Qxf7 with mate to follow bringsthis game to a sudden and abrupt end. Faced with unstoppable mate, blackresigns. Black can stop the checkmate with 24. ... Qxc1 25. Rxc1 Rb7 26.Qxh7 but that leaves white up by queen + 3 pawns vs. knight and a simpleendgame to win with two passed pawns and a queen to support them. } 1-0

[Event "51st GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.07.04"] [Round "-"] [White "mnboi"] [Black "capa1"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1539"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1332"] 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. a3 e6 5. h4 Qd7 6. b4 h5 7. Nc3 O-O-O 8. Bd2 { This loses a pawn. } 8... Nxd4 9. Bd3 Ne7 10. Bg5 g6 11. Bf6 Rg8 12. Nf3 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Re8 14. Be2 { This loses another pawn. } 14... Bxc2 15. Qe3 Kb8 16. Na2 d4 17. Qd2 Ba4 18. Rb1 Nf5 19. b5 Bxa3 20. Bd3 Qd5 21. f3 Be7 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. Nc1 Qxe5+ 24. Ne2 Ne3 25. Kf2 g5 { Black is trying to openlines for the attack on g2. } 26. g3 gxh4 27. Rxh4 Nf5 28. Rxh5 f6 29. g4 Qe3+ 30. Qxe3 dxe3+ 31. Ke1 Ng7 32. Rh7 { White threatens Rb4. The blackbishop is out of place on a4. The next move is intended to frustrate thisthreat. } 32... Rd7 33. Be4 Rgd8 34. Nc3 { The out of position bishop is threatened. Black aims to prevent loss by posing threats in other areas. } 34... f5 35. Bc6 { A good move. The position looks won for white here. } 35... Rf7 36. Nxa4 bxc6 37. bxc6+ Ka8 38. Nc5 fxg4 39. Nxe6 Nxe6 40. Rxf7 g3 { White has won a exchangebut black has four pawns to two. Two of these pawns are on the sixth rank. } 41. Kf1 Rd2 42. Re7 g2+ 43. Kg1 e2 44. Rxe6 Rd1+ 45. Kxg2 Rxb1 46. Rxe2 a5 { Black emerges witha extra pawn. } 47. Ra2 Rb5 48. f4 Ka7 49. Rc2 { Kg3was better. } 49... a4 50. Kg3 a3 51. Kg4 Rb2 52. Rc1 a2 53. Ra1 Kb6 54. f5 Kxc6 55. Kg5 Kb5 56. f6 Kb4 57. f7 Rf2 58. Kg6 { Rxa2 was the move when the gameends in a rook endgame with an extra pawn to black. This simply loses. } 58... Kb3 59. Kg7 c5 0-1

[Event "1600+ please"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.20"] [Round "-"] [White "quemeraisc"] [Black "bottlenose"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1368"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1648"] 1. e4 c5 { sicilian } 2. c3 { becomes alapin now ! } 2... e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 a6 { 1st mistake :wasting one time. Center needs to be whether reconqueredor attacked, for example d4 transposes to french opening. No need to bescared of Bb5+. } 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bd3 d6 { Now it looks like black only wantto defend. White will sure attack ! Again d4 would be better. } 7. O-O { openposition => fast castling. } 7... h6 { losing one tempo again. White is now alot ahead in development. } 8. Nc3 Qc7 { why this move ? 2 bishops and 1noble haven't moved yet, Knight are completely stuck. } 9. Bf4 { move thatpawn if you dare now. } 9... e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Nd5 { Queen's got nowhere niceto go. } 11... Qa5 12. Nxe5 { white wants the center and gets it. } 12... Nxe5 { necessaryin this case but still an awful move. } 13. Bxe5 Ra7 { ?? I still have noidea why that roque came here !?! } 14. Bc3 { where can that queen go now? } 14... Qd8 15. Re1 { target : the Black King. } 15... Nf6 { only one pawn ahead butthe position is just so comfortable. Exchange the noble and get that e-pawnout of the way is sure to win. } 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. e5 { get that pawn out! } 17... Be6 { This would have been good, just too late. } 18. Qf3 Be7 { good one again. } 19. exf6 Bc5 1-0