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[Event "Black attack 24 move#"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009"] [Round "-"] [White "Anon"] [Black "daveyr18"] [Result ""] [TimeControl "7 days"] 1. e4 { Nothing out of the ordinary for the first few moves.... } 1... c5 { I plumpfor the Sicilian, i find it pretty flexible and is probably my fav to playas black... } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 { Standard stuff... } 3... e6 4. c3 { A very popularmove among top flight players as well as us lowly folk.... } 4... Nf6 { No chanceof Bg4 pinning me to my Queen so i go for the old Nf6 shuffle.... } 5. d3 { I spoke too soon it seems... } 5... h6 { Remedied... } 6. O-O Be7 7. Bf4 d6 8. Bb5 { Seizing the opportunity to pin me... } 8... Qb6 { I want an instant decisionas to the future of that bishop... } 9. Bxc6+ { And that decision is provided,I don't mind this little arrangement. At this point everything is aboutequal developmentally speaking and positionally. No commitments have beenmade as yet... } 9... Qxc6 10. b3 { The old pawn advance heading my way, howeverthis move does hinder the white queen a little and if my opponent isn'tplanning on keeping it there why not move to b4 in 1 foul swoop? } 10... e5 { Soi make room for my Qbishop and also attack his. Notice how i still haven'tcommitted to castling yet on either side, hopefully this serves as a sourceof a little annoyance to my opponent..... } 11. Be3 { Support for the d pushmaybe... } 11... Bg4 { What the hell, it is annoying... } 12. h3 { fair enough... } 12... Bh5 { I decide to try and keep the pin going for as long as i can.... } 13. Nbd2 { And that's the end of that... } 13... b6 { Strengthening my pawn chain alittle, whilst i still have the time.. } 14. Qc2 O-O { With that last pawnmove obviously I had committed to a king-side castle slide.... } 15. Rfe1 Bd8 { I wanted to line up this Bishop with h2, it wasn't doing much whereit was and i felt when the big pawn exchange happens it will be a dangerousdiagonal to own.. } 16. Nh2 { Prep for a little Nf1-Ng3 jig.... } 16... Bc7 { Missioncompleted.... } 17. Ndf1 { I see... } 17... d5 { Now is as good a time as any toopen up the centre, especially with that last knight move... } 18. Ng3 { Carryingon with the original plan, which is what they say you should do, distractionscan cost dearly... } 18... Bg6 { Didn't wanna trade just yet.... } 19. Nhf1 dxe4 { Clearing the way... } 20. dxe4 { Splendid.... } 20... Nxe4 { I figure I may aswelgo the whole hog, I should end up with a dangerous position if nothingelse.... } 21. Nxe4 Bxe4 { This move being the logical ending to that littlesequence of play wins me another pawn and opens a direct line to the whiteking... } 22. Qb2 Bxg2 { Splitting open the kings defence and exposing himto the harsh realities of life.... } 23. c4 { Not the move i would have played.... } 23... Bxh3 { Now i issue multiple terminal threats..... } 24. Ng3 { I was flabbergastedwhen i logged on and saw this move, but i see why. My opponent must haveanticipated Qg6+ totally missing the real threat..... } 24... Qg2# { And thereit is, at the time of playing i was pretty happy with this win, havinggone back through it my opponent made some pretty bad choices along theway but unless i hadn't made the right choices then this game wouldn'thave been such a easy win...So hey ho, i've annotated it now so it's goingout! Cheers. }
[Event "1st Acapulco Chess Tournament "] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "11/10/13"] [Round "-"] [White "Sergio Clemente"] [Black "Arturo Pastor"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1637"] [TimeControl "1 hour"] [WhiteElo "NR"] 1. e4 { Apertura abierta } 1... e6 { Defensa francesa } 2. Nf3 { Lo ideal es moverd4 } 2... d5 { Rompimiento clásico, atacando el poderoso peón de e4 } 3. exd5 { You can make the change, and it is expected a semi-open game where the central squares are controlled remotely, usually by bishops. In the worst case, it can end in a draw following the probabilities of the computer programs in a 50% chance. } 3... exd5 4. d4 { Se elimina al poderosopeón de e4, pero permanece el peón de d4 } 4... Nf6 { Preparando el enroque } 5. Nc3 { Development of pieces normally proceeds with Ad3 to prepare the rook for early play. } 5... Bb4 { Immediately attack this weakness by clobbering the horse and threatening with Ce4, and prepare the short rook lift. } 6. Bd2 { Too passive, it was better to play Ad3. } 6... O-O 7. Be2 { Once again, I missed out on too many opportunities to be more assertive. } 7... c5 { I think this move is too hasty, I think it was better to play either Af5 or Cc6. } 8. dxc5 { I think the best move is a short rook. } 8... d4 { Bad move, too hasty to capture the piece, speculate on supposed gain of material, usually effective but in blitz games.A experienced player in tactics like my rival, was not going to fall so easily.It is better to take in c5 and play positionally. } 9. Ne4 { Excellent move, I was surprised too much, then I realized that I shouldn't be playing with such simple tactics with a player as experienced as Sergio Clemente, an expert in tactics. } 9... Bxd2+ { What I feared was not change, but forced changes, aimed at tables. } 10. Nexd2 { Unica } 10... Nc6 { This was what he should have done instead of c5. } 11. a3 { I think white had the opportunity to take control of the game but he lost it with defensive moves like this which generated weak squares on b3. } 11... a5 { Una idea bastantecomún, se frena el supuesto avance de b4, y se deja al blanco con la casilladébil en b3 } 12. O-O { At the twelfth move, white knighted. This is not bad in some cases, but I believe he postponed it too much, thus losing many times and the opportunity to continue controlling the central pawns. } 12... Bf5 { I still can't get enough of it, because a knight leaves its mark in the air but on the other hand, the central files are open for the white pieces to advance with d4. } 13. Nb3 { A good move, speculating with her exit on d2 and connecting the towers, as well as threatening to take peon d4. However, she played b4 instead, weakening b3 and the cb3 poorly positioned for an a4 of the blacks. } 13... Qd5 { A move that I don't quite agree with, exposes the Queen a bit to the King's pawn...but there is speculation about the transfer of the Queen to the King's side. } 14. Nbxd4 { Finally, it happens. I am behind with two pawns but with the possibility of taking out the powerful tactical pair of knights. } 14... Bg6 { I don't like it completely changing horses to an alfil, especially when it dominates central squares. } 15. Nb3 { Changing the pieces, to simplify the game, which was beneficial to me against this strong tactician. } 15... Rad8 { Sólo falta una pieza negra para activación } 16. Qxd5 Nxd5 { Forzado, pero se amenaza captura en c2 } 17. Bd3 { This is a bad move because it changes a good knight to a weak one, and leaves a weakness on d3. } 17... Bxd3 18. cxd3 Nf4 { Deinmediato se ataca a la debilidad } 19. d4 { Calculado todo, sólo se prosiguiócon una sutil amenaza para desviar el control de casillas centrales } 19... a4 20. Nbd2 { It is time to attack that weakness. } 20... Ne2+ 21. Kh1 Ncxd4 { Estaba bastanteinteresado en cambiar su única pieza que controlaba casillas centrales } 22. Nxd4 Rxd4 23. Nf3 Rc4 { Gently one threatens to capture a pawn, inevitably, by recovering the pawn that one has lost for the last 10 moves. } 24. Rfe1 { Tc2, y se van acabando las esperanzas del blanco } 24... Rc2 25. Rab1 Nf4 { sutil } 26. Kg1 { Mejor era Tc1 } 26... Nd3 { Con la posibilidad de captura y gananciade un peón } 27. Re7 { I admit that this move had not been calculated, and all the variations that followed white acquired a slight advantage, although not overwhelming, but still a slight advantage. } 27... b5 { It cost me a lot to see a seemingly bad move that is actually speculation. The truth is that they were trying to activate the useless knight and move the black king around or hide it in g7. After several minutes of calculation, I realized that it saved the black king and move it to e7, speculating on bringing it to the white alley and capturing a pawn on a3. Furthermore, I also speculate on taking a bishop on b6, and then on ob7. } 28. cxb6 { Era de esperarse } 28... Rb8 { Finally, I have activated it and now I have three capture threats. } 29. b7 { I admit that I had calculated little because it was too complex to know if there was an advantage or a disadvantage, the truth is that the result was the same as if I had thought it in the beginning: b6. } 29... Kf8 30. Rd7 { Forzada, protegeb7 } 30... Nc5 { Se acabaron las amenazas para el rey negro, el cual ha evitadolos mates espantosos en octava fila y captura un peón blanco } 31. Rc7 { They forced him to surrender, but now he has been captured after a series of complicated maneuvers that seemed like acrobatics. } 31... Rxb7 32. Rc8+ Ke7 33. Nd4 { The white horse is speculating on capturing the black horse by its tower, and if Td4, it will follow Cc6+, followed by Ca5 winning a tower for the white horse, but the black also has its own tactical moves. } 33... Rcxb2 { Igual, una tactica bastante bonita, y se forza el cambio de torrede b1 amenazando mate en b1 y sacrificando caballo negro...pero el blancotiene una última carta bajo la manga } 34. Rc7+ { This other move also failed to calculate...very beautiful move, but after leaving the surprise, he decided to calculate more and in fact there was no more equality, the white rescues a lost draw and wins equality. } 34... Rxc7 35. Rxb2 Nb3 { Another sneaky move by black, I now think that nothing would really happen with the blacks, until it would be safer for the whites to change the horse and acquire a slight advantage, then after 35. Cxb3, 36.-ab, and Tb1 or more useful, 36.-....Rf1!, with possibilities of a draw but the detail of chess is not to become distracted or demoralized by moves that seem good, but are not. If the white had taken, it would have been a draw or worse, advantage of the whites. } 36. Ne2 { By luck, my opponent became distracted and made a serious mistake by leaving the d1 square open and the chance to continue leading the game for blacks, as well as a small tactical opportunity. } 36... Rd7 { Eseúltimo error, es aprovechado inmediatamente, se especula con Cc3 para seguirpresionando. } 37. Nc3 { Third error, he should be careful and calculate subsequent moves in such a way that my rival did not know the trap tactic in which he would fall. It was better to play Cg3, despite 37...Td1+, 38.- Cf1, if 38...Cd2, simply Txd2. } 37... Rd3 { Since that moment, the whites have lost the horse (I make a new correction, then Te2+, followed by Te3...very difficult to see but it finally leads to equality). } 38. Rc2 { Another error, which consisted of being carried away by the speed of the moves when he played them carelessly. } 38... Nd4 { Muy bonita jugada } 39. Rc1 { Nosirve Cd5+, por la amenaza Rd6 } 39... Rxc3 { Simple pero sútil } 40. Re1+ { Si 39....Txd3,40.- Ce2+, seguido de Cxd3 quedando con pieza de más y amenazando coronacióndel peón en fila a } 40... Kd6 41. g3 { Último craso error } 41... Nf3+ { The whites had already given up, but they had been morally defeated several moves ago. I thank Sergio for the game. } 0-1
[Event ""] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White ""] [Black ""] [Result ""] { I call this 'The Tiff-tiff Opening', as do all my fellow dweeb friendswho I play chess with. Tiff-tiff is an utter dweeb who has been provento be less manly then all of his dweebish friends, most of which happenedto be girls, so I dubbed him Tiffany, which eventually evolved to Tiff-tiff.Tiff-tiff claimed he could beat anyone at chess in less than five moves,and so, to prove him wrong, and to prove myself a more righteous geek thanhim, I sought out to destroy him; which I thoroughly did. I cannot saythe same for all of those who have played Tiff-tiff. Since then, however,all of the dweebs who know Tiff-tiff love to play this opening on cluelesspeople. (Especially me. xD) =) I'm going to show you how you can make theTiff-tiff opening work; but do take heed, I'm purposely moving Black'spieces in ways that won't effect the Tiff-tiff opening, it is a painfullyeasy opening to counter. } 1. e4 { There are really only two pieces involvedin the Tiff-tiff opening, the bishop and the queen. The first step is toclear the way for both the bishop and the queen. } 1... Na6 { Do-de-doot-doot-dooo... } 2. Bc4 { The second step is to place your bishop so that it is attack theKing-side, on the square diagonal to the king. } 2... b6 3. Qf3 { Can you seewhat's happening? Yeah, hard to miss, easy to block. Uberly easy, actually. } 3... b5 4. Qxf7# { Ta-da! The Tiff-tiff opening! }
[Event "King's Indian: How not to play Saemisch"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "16-Jul-08"] [Round "-"] [White "ydebilloez"] [Black "freeman8201"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1625"] [TimeControl "3d+2d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1719"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 { King's Indian } 5. f3 { This isthe Saemisch variation } 5... O-O 6. Be3 c6 { According to the gameknot database, c6 is called the Byrne variation. Understand I was experimenting with3 moves against the Saemisch 6...e5; 6...c5; 6...c6: I was playing in theKing Indian Defense mini-tournament. This move seems to pack a punch comparedto the orthodox e5. Maybe, I do not know how to to play e5? } 7. Bd3 Qb6 { One of the main points of playing c6 or thee purpose. } 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. Nge2 a5 { A Quiet move } 10. O-O { ?? Is he not suppose to play h5 or bishoph6. Attacking along the h file. } 10... h5 { A waiting move. I still thought e5was unnecessary } 11. f4 { ?? Now we transpose into the four pawns attack? } 11... Ng4 12. Rf3 { ?! } 12... Nxe3 13. Rxe3 { ?? } 13... e5 { !! Now I strike into the center } 14. d5 { ?? His losing move? } 14... exf4 15. Nxf4 Bd4 16. Nd1 Ne5 { The threatis stronger then the execution. It is a rule of thumb that I abide. } 17. Ne2 Bxe3+ 18. Nxe3 Ng4 { White resign } 0-1
[Event "Let's tie it up again! ;)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "03-Feb-09"] [Round "-"] [White "jcrycket"] [Black "4u2nv"] [Result ""] [BlackElo "1429"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1433"] 1. e4 { King's Pawn opening. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ c6 4. Bc4 { Game DB gavethis move high marks. Black should think twice before attacking the Bishopwith d3 as it leaves e5 dangling in front of my Knight. } 4... Be6 { Black offersa trade. } 5. d3 { If Black attacks with his pawn the exchange should favorme. If he trades Bishops, my queen will be uncovered for action. } 5... d5 { Herewe go... } 6. exd5 { 6... cxd5 } 6... cxd5 { So far so good... } 7. Bb5+ Nc6 { Goodresponse, but... } 8. Bxc6+ { I'm feeling aggressive today. } 8... bxc6 { Black'sQueen side is slightly weakened, but all in all, his defences are solidand he has more land than I... I didn't get the advantage I hoped. } 9. Nxe5 { I'd say we're roughly even now, but I need to develop some powerpieces. } 9... d4 10. Nxc6 { Too tempting to resist... } 10... Qd5 { I like the looksof this. Black's Queen side is pretty much demolished, but we are bothunder developed. } 11. Qf3 { Will he trade ladies? } 11... Rc8 { Interesting. Blackoffers me the a7 Pawn... What will it cost me? His Rook will take c2! Then it would be clobbering time! (For him, not me!) And to make it worse,my undeveloped Knight would be trapped! } 12. Qxd5 { So I'll trade Queens... } 12... Bxd5 13. Nxd4 { And save my Knight (With a snack), but... } 13... Bxg2 { with cost. I was thinking to castle King side... } 14. Rg1 { But alas! It is not tobe. } 14... Bh3 { Hmm... Rg3? } 15. Nc3 { No, his Bishop is no immediate threat,and Rg3 should repel him when I desire, so I think I'll develop my Knight. } 15... Bb4 { Expected. } 16. Bd2 { Countered. } 16... Nf6 { ? Is this his second blunder? } 17. Rxg7 { Allowing me to munch on g7? } 17... h5 { Preparing to attack my Rookwith his Rook by moving the Pawn out of harms way? No, Black's Knightdefends both g8 and h7. } 18. O-O-O { If needed, my Rook can retreat to thesafety g1 after I castle. } 18... Ng4 { And Black blocks the e file. My firstreaction when I saw this move was #@%, as his Knight forks both undefendedPawns, but when I saw that 19... Nxh2, 20. Rh1 would cost black his Knightor Bishop, I simply attacked with the f Pawn. } 19. f3 { Like so. } 19... Ne5 { Ithink 4u has lost his focus. I can now retreat my Rook, } 20. Rg3 { attackinghis Bishop, } 20... Bd7 { Then } 21. Re1 { Pin his Knight. Will he move his King,or defend his Knight? } 21... f6 { ? A mistake I think, as } 22. f4 { Black's Knightis surely mine! Wake up nv! } 22... h4 { Nuisance! } 23. Rgg1 Bc5 { Ouch! My bad! The old x-ray attack! } 24. fxe5 { Black's Knight is still mine, but ata cost. Still, I think this could work to my favor... } 24... Bxd4 25. exf6+ { A nice reveled check! } 25... Kf7 { And now for the icing on the cake, } 26. Re7+ { No! I moved the wrong Rook! Rg7 Kxf6, RxB is not going to happen now. Arrogance is a dangerous companion! } 26... Kxf6 { I may still be able to snagBlack's undefended light Bishop, but I must be careful! His dark Bishophas my Rook in his sights! } 27. Nd5+ { Check! Which also defends my e7Rook. } 27... Kf5 28. Rf1+ { Finally free from that #@$% Bishop! } 28... Kg6 29. Rxd7 { Lunch! But not free. I expect 4u to move a Rook to d8, attacking bothRook and Knight. } 29... Be5 { Unexpected! Attacks my undefended Pawn... } 30. Ne7+ { And leaves Black vulnerable to a Knight fork! I think my opponentis distracted... } 30... Kg7 { He is distracted! His Rook is now mine for free... } 31. Nxc8+ { with a reveled check... And Black resigns. (I would have too.) }
[Event "% sMaShEd cRaBs % Mini #13"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.07.02"] [Round "-"] [White "francisbaron08"] [Black "stevegamble"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1110"] [TimeControl "7d+2d<7d"] [WhiteElo "1918"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 { time to break out the books again. } 4. d4 { this old approach appears to be the best. } 4... exd4 5. Nxd4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Qf6 { this attempt to rapidly mobilize all the queenside pieces backfires. Best was that old move 6 ... Nf6. } 7. Be3 O-O-O { Playing with fire, buthaving said 'a' he must say 'b' } 8. Nxc6 { This appeared to be the bestway to attempt to refute black's overaggressive play in the opening. 8Nd5 came into consideration but was dismissed as wanting. } 8... bxc6 9. Ba6+ Kb8 10. Qd2 { White faints at Bg5. The true object is to play Nd5. } 10... Qe5 11. O-O { The computer indicates 11 Nd5 during this and the next move. It's right. I overlooked 11 ... Qxe4 12 c4! with a mating attack. } 11... f5 12. f3 { Here I was prepared to follow with Qf2 but ... } 12... g6 { 12 ... Nf6possibly may have prevented an immediate debacle. } 13. Nd5 { Forcing blackto sacrifice his queen for the knight. Otherwise mate will be forced in5 moves. After 13 ... Ka8 14 Qb4! forces mate at once. 13 ... c5 14 Qa5is the quietus. Perhaps the most elegant line is 13 ... c5 14 Qa5 Ka815 Qxc7 Rb8 16 Qc6+!! Bxc6 17 Nc7mate. } 13... cxd5 14. Qb4+ 1-0
[Event "43rd GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "20-Sep-08"] [Round "-"] [White "goumindong"] [Black "kapeky"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1350"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1455"] 1. d4 { White opens Queens pawn } 1... d5 2. c4 { Queens Gambit, trading controlof the center of the board for momentary positional advantage } 2... dxc4 { Accepted.Rare in these days } 3. e4 { Control of center of the board is complete,the king side bishop is now open to take back the material lost in thegambit } 3... e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bxc4 Ne7 6. Be3 O-O 7. Nf3 { This is a fairly standardopening for white. I don't have much of a clue what black is doing, butas you can see, he is under developed. } 7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 { Black decides totrade bishop for knight. This means we want to pursue an open game. Betterto have fewer pawns on the table hindering our bishops. He will be wantingto close the board. } 8... c6 9. Bd3 Qa5 10. O-O { Moving the queen out was foolishwhen the attack is so easily defended by a castle. I now have a partlyopen board on the left side and a back rank clear of material[with my kingon the outside rather than in. This means i have developed 6 pieces andhave them all in play. He only has a knight, queen and rook in play andneeds to develop them fast lest i can push my material advantage. } 10... Qxc3 11. Ne5 { His queen comes in and I position my knight for an attack. I amgoing to bring it along the other side and trap his queen. } 11... f6 12. Nc4 e5 13. Rc1 Qb4 14. Rb1 Qc3 15. a3 b5 { With a little maneuvering i havehis queen. Its going to cost me a rook and a knight. But he is undevelopedand the queen is worth that much more in an open game. } 16. Rc1 Qxc1 17. Qxc1 bxc4 18. Bxc4+ Kh8 { Check. He pulls his king back instead of blocking.This was a mistake but it is hard to see why right now. He should havebeen pushing for a trade, so that he can negate my double bishop advantage. } 19. d5 cxd5 20. exd5 { Opening up the board more } 20... Nf5 21. Bc5 Rd8 22. Qd2 { Forming a battery to attack and push the pawn through. He really needsto get developed even it costs him material } 22... Nd6 { He wants to trade a knightfor a bishop. Otherwise a good trade, but its going to set up a pin formate } 23. Bxd6 Rxd6 24. Qb4 { Now he has to retreat his rook to d8, playkd7, or advance the h pawn if he wants to keep out of mate. There is oneway to protect the rook, but he loses his knight to do it. [..d8 25. Qd8..Kc626, d5xc6..bf5] } 24... Rb6 { He does not see that line } 25. Qf8# { And his lackof developing his knight, bishop, and queen side rook are what lose himthe game. } 1-0
[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.05.03"] [Round "-"] [White "Player 1600+"] [Black "damalfi"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bb5+ c6 5. dxc6 bxc6 6. Bc4 Nd5 { Theknight cannot be easily kicked, anf if exchanged, the center is solid. } 7. d4 Qb6 { Preventing the dsb's sortie. } 8. O-O Bd6 { Space to castle,very quickly. } 9. c3 O-O 10. Qc2 { Threatening my weak kingside. I haveto play very carefully. } 10... Nd7 { The other knight will help the kingside. } 11. Be3 { NxB will open the f column. } 11... N7f6 12. h3 { Preventing Ng5, butbetter was a quick attack on h2, with Bd3, Ng5... } 12... Rb8 { Threatening b2. } 13. b3 Ba6 { Making use of my useless lsb. } 14. Bxa6 Qxa6 { My queen isnot well placed, though... } 15. Nbd2 Bf4 16. Bxf4 { ? } 16... Nxf4 17. c4 { My kinsideis kind of safe, now. } 17... Rfd8 { A loss of tempo. This rook is doing anythingthere. } 18. Ne4 { Disrupting my king's pawn's barrier? } 18... Nd7 { Never! :-) } 19. Neg5 Ng6 { NO time to to think in attacking, but defending. I was worriedabout h4, though... } 20. Nxe6 { Interesting, but I think it doesn't giveenough compensation. } 20... fxe6 { Horrible pawn's structure, I agree. } 21. Ng5 c5 { My queen is again in the game! } 22. d5 exd5 { Opening the way formy queen. } 23. cxd5 Nf6 { Solid kingside defence, and threatening d4. } 24. Ne6 Rxd5 25. Nc7 { Not good enough, due to... } 25... Qd3 26. Qb2 Rg5 { Nowit's me who is threatening his king... } 27. Rad1 { ? overlooking... } 27... Qxh3 28. f3 Nh4 { Wow, now it's my turn to attack... } 29. Qd2 { R to the secondrank was due. } 29... Rg6 { ? A mistake. Rxg2+ was called for. Still threateningg2, though... } 30. Qe2 { ? } 30... Nxg2 { Can white save this? } 31. Qc4+ Kh8 { Heresigned here. Kf2 was the only move to resist a little longer. } 0-1
[Event "General Idea v/s Templeton"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "01-Sep-06"] [Round "-"] [White "general_idea"] [Black "templedf"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1518"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1595"] 1. d4 { Another queen's pawn opening. These are getting popular. } 1... c5 { Ilike Benoni against queen's pawn for a stronger player. } 2. dxc5 { Whitetakes the gambit. } 2... e6 { I prepare to take the center and threaten the leadwhite c pawn. } 3. Nf3 { No way to protect the c pawn, so white develops. } 3... Bxc5 { This move eliminates the c pawn and is the first step towards attackingthe f2 square. } 4. e4 Nf6 { Attacking the e pawn and lining up to attackf2. } 5. Nc3 { Defending the e pawn. } 5... Ng4 { The only reasonable response tothis is Be3 which loses a pawn. } 6. Be3 Nxe3 { I chose to attack first withthe knight instead of the bishop for two reasons. First, the bishop iseasier to rescue when it eventually gets overwhelmed. Second, with white'sdark bishop gone, my dark bishop becomes more valuable. } 7. fxe3 Bxe3 { Thebeauty of this position is that as long as I can maintain it, white can'tcastle. } 8. Qd3 { Attack the bishop, defend the knight. } 8... Qb6 { Attack theb pawn, defend the bishop. This also opens up Bf2 , robbing white of theability to castle. } 9. g3 { Preparing the fiachetto the bishop. } 9... d6 { Atthis point, I had a problem. I had this great queen-bishop combo linedup, but with nothing to support it. I had to break my other bishop freeand get my knight into the game. My goal was to get my bishop on c6 andmy knight on d7. I strongly considered d5 here, taking the material lossto gain position, but I didn't like the freedom it left the white e/d pawn. d6 does just as much to free my pieces, and doesn't give away materialor position. } 10. Qb5+ { Clearly an attempt to exchange queens. Fine byme. } 10... Nd7 { My first thought was Bd7, protecting the king and challengingthe queen. The problem is that if white is only looking to exchange queens(which is the only thing that makes sense), then Qxb6 begets axb6, leavingme with doubled pawns on the b rank. I next considered Qc6, which has thesame effect, but leaves me with an intact pawn structure. The problemwith this move, though, is that it leaves my queen-side pawns badly underrepresented,and it doesn't do any actual development. Finally I came to Nd6, whichdefends my king and queen but doesn't challenge the white queen. Now theeffect of Qxb6 is Nxb6, leaving me well balanced and better developed. As an added bonus, if white gets cold feet about the trade, I have thefollowing possibility: 11. ... Bf2 12. Ke2 Qe3 13. Kd1 Qe1 At worst,it gives white something more to worry about. } 11. Qxb6 { As expected, whitetrades queens to try to get my bishop out of his hair. } 11... Nxb6 { Because Idefended with my knight instead of my light bishop, I can continue to protectmy dark bishop and broaden the attack with Nc4. His only real chance tocastle is to also trade bishops with Bb5 . } 12. Rd1 { White has now forfeitedhis queen-side castle, which means I only have to hold my bishop to theg1-a7 diagonal. } 12... Bc5 { This is the only sensible way to protect the pawn. I also like it because it lines me up to pin the knight, most likely tradingand doubling white's queen-side pawns. With a one-pawn lead and much betterstructure, if I can push white just a little further over the edge, I expectto win in the end game. } 13. Nd2 { White blocks the knight pin. } 13... Bd7 { Rightnow, I have one goal: development. My knight and dark bishop are wellpositioned to stir up some trouble, but I have nothing to back them up. I need to get the rooks into play. That means castling and getting thewhite bishop off the back rank. Since the only interesting move whitehad was Bc4 , I decided to start with the bishop. } 14. a3 { White preparesfor b4 to try to shake my bishop loose. } 14... Na4 { One of my biggest problemsin chess has always been being impatient. Instead of waiting until I havea clear advantage, I make speculative attacks. This is one of those cases. I didn't want to give white the chance to get his act together, so I attackedbefore I was completely ready. } 15. Nb5 { Because of my impatient move,white is given the chance to hang me on my uncastled king. The dangerhere is two-fold. First, Nc7 forks my rook. Second, Bxb5, Bxb5 winsmy knight. } 15... O-O { The only choice I have that doesn't end up in a loss ofposition or material is to castle short. } 16. Nb3 { White ups the attack,but leaves his e pawn unprotected, sitting right in front of a helplessrook. } 16... Nxb2 { Having already picked a fight, I didn't have much choice butto follow through. At least I get to retain some control. The only sensiblemove for white is Rb1, relieving the stress on my d pawn, and forcing meto retreat or protect the knight. Rd2 looses the rook to Be3, and capturingwith either knight results in a material or positional loss. Alternative:16. Nb3 Bc6, 17. Nxd6 Rf-d8, 18. Nxc5 Nxc5, 19. Bg2, leaving white finallyable to castle and in a generally stronger position. } 17. Rb1 Na4 { By retreating,I defend my dark bishop, and I prepare to further harry the rook. At thispoint, I'm looking for Rd1, Bxb5, Bxb5, Nc3, forking the rook, bishop,and e pawn. } 18. Nxc5 { White trades his knight for my dark bishop, hopingfinally to be able to castle. } 18... Nxc5 { I take with the knight because I likemy d pawn where it is, and because I want to pressure the white e pawn. The natural response is Bd3, defending the pawn, and (hopefully) openingthe path for a king-side castle. } 19. Nxd6 { White instead opts to try torecover the pawn. } 19... Nxe4 { Finally, the white pawn-rook line-up pays off. The most advantageous line for white is probably Nxb7. } 20. Nxe4 Bc6 { Whitehas taken my knight, but now this pin will result in him losing his. Thenet result is that I keep my 2-pawn lead and wipe out the white center. } 21. Bd3 { White decides to dig deeper, meaning this pin will probably triggerthe last big piece exchange of the game. } 21... f5 { To me, the most obvious responseis for white to caste, surrendering the knight. } 22. Nf2 { White opts totrade his rook for my knight and bishop. It's an interesting choice. On the one hand, he trades an inactive rook for my very active bishop andknight. On the other hand, white's center is gone, and he's just strandedhis king in the middle of the board. White has also recovered the pointlost when I took his e pawn, but it's just a point, not a pawn. To myway to figuring, this move was weak. } 22... Bxh1 { When white claims my bishop,I am left defending the b pawn from the rook, and the e pawn from the bishop. } 23. Nxh1 b6 { I make my pawns self-sufficient to free my rook. } 24. Rb5 Rac8 { Putting the rook on the c file prevents the white bishop from pressuringmy e pawn. } 25. Nf2 { White wisely gets his knight out of the corner. } 25... g5 { Unfortunately, I didn't have a clear plan. I decided to just push withmy pawns and see where it got me. } 26. Nd1 { Interrupted by my f pawn, white'sknight takes the back roads. } 26... Kg7 { My king is need to support the pawns. } 27. Ne3 { White's knight is still en route, but he stops to be annoyingalong the way. } 27... Kf6 { Bad move. Kg6 would have been worlds better. Myworry with Kg6 was that it pins my f pawn to my king, which I was certainwould cause problems later. Instead, I opted to cause problems for myselfimmediately by blocking my rook's defense of the f pawn. } 28. a4 { Whitetips his hand. He's looking to take out my a and b pawns. } 28... Rg8 { Anotherbad move. I was trying to prepare for an assault on the knight, but itshould have been obvious that the knight wasn't going to stay put. Rf-d8would have been much more productive. } 29. Nc4 { Now white's plan unfolds. My a and b pawns are toast. My hope is to recoup the loss with white'sg and h pawns. } 29... h5 { I was still grasping for a strategy. My other alternativewas Rg-d8, but seeing as I just put the rook where it was, that seemedwasteful. It was now time to throw some resources behind what I started. Advancing the h pawn just strengthens the upcoming pawn assault. At thispoint, I started doing the math. If I can trade off enough of the remainingpawns, swap rooks, and trade my rook for the knight or bishop, I can geta draw if worse comes to worse. My backup plan is now Rc5 to trade rooks. } 30. a5 { And the hammer finally falls. } 30... f4 { I put my faith in the rooksand my pawn push and surrender my 1-point lead. } 31. axb6 axb6 32. gxf4 { I think white was a little worried about what I was up to. The naturalthing would have been to capture my remaining pawn. Instead, he attackedmy f pawn, which is actually what I wanted, because it opens up a filefor my rook. } 32... gxf4 33. Nxb6 Rb8 { I wasn't paying enough attention, andlined up my rook for a king/rook fork by the knight, leaving me even moresignificantly behind. } 34. Nd7+ Ke7 35. Nxb8 { I don't know whether it wasplanning or luck, but I'm left with absolutely nowhere to move with anyof my pieces. The rest of the game before I resigned is me looking forsomething I can move somewhere. } 35... Kf6 36. Nd7+ Ke7 37. Ne5 Kf6 38. Nf3 Re8 39. Rxh5 1-0
[Event "Sacrifice!!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.05.02"] [Round "-"] [White "pcshark11"] [Black "michas2007"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1486"] [TimeControl "4 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1719"] 1. e4 a6 2. d4 { Might as well take the center if he's going to start thatway... } 2... b5 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. Nc3 { I have complete control!!! } 4... Nf6 { 4...b4 wasthe right move. } 5. e5 Nd5 6. Nxd5 Bxd5 7. Bd3 e6 8. O-O c5 9. a4 { I'mnot going to let him attack the flank without me also attacking the flank. } 9... bxa4 10. Rxa4 Bc6 11. Rc4 Bb5 12. Rc3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd3 14. Bg5 { Hereis the first sacrifice I do. I do this hoping to trap his Queen. } 14... Qxg5 15. Rc8+ Ke7 16. f4 Qg6 17. f5 { Here, I offer up exf5 Qxd3. This lets hisQueen out, but will let me get a vicious attack. } 17... Bxf5 { Instead, he treatsit like I made a mistake. Rather, this was his fatal mistake. } 18. Nc6+ { A final sacrifice seals in my win. } 18... Nxc6 19. Qd6# { I end the game down10 points materialy, but up a whole king. ;) } 1-0
[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "???"] [Black "???"] [Result ""] { A Massive Comback via Chess.com one problem with gameknot is the lackof live chess this is a 15 min game I played on chess.com where blackeventually resigned } 1. d4 { youll see this opening in my other annotatedgame It is NOT pretty, I lose some minors due to carelessness } 1... b6 { fiancetto?ok } 2. e3 Bb7 3. c4 e6 4. Nf3 g6 { DOUBLE FIANCETTO!!?! } 5. Nbd2 Bg7 6. Qe2 h5 { !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? } 7. Ne4 { I admit this was a mistake, I dropa free minor. never do this move. } 7... Bxe4 8. Ne5 Nc6 9. d5 { heres the otherfree minor } 9... Nxe5 10. dxe6 fxe6 { always take with the outer pawn } 11. c5 { I sac'd the poor pawn to unclog the diagnol of nowhere } 11... bxc5 12. Qb5 Rb8 { !?!?!?!? free pawn, anyways } 13. Qxc5 Bf8 { !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????????this person't turn to be careless, i guess. two free pawns in a row. } 14. Qxa7 Nd3+ 15. Bxd3 Bxd3 16. Qd4 { this is a lovely fork, where i redeemmyself. note that I'm exactly a rook's worth of points down at this point } 16... Bb4+ { prolonging the inevitable } 17. Bd2 { should he take? } 17... Bf5 { he made2 mistakes: one is the b bishop and the other is... } 18. Qxh8 { ... this. } 18... Ke7 19. Bxb4+ { i honestly did not see the rook, if this plan wasn't thoughtout as well as it was, this would have worried me } 19... Rxb4 20. Qh7+ Ke8 { mistake#.... i lost count } 21. Qxg8+ Ke7 { i wanted to trade queens, kind of. thebishop scared me a little in a battle of otherwise rooks. } 22. Qg7+ Ke8 { ? } 23. Qc3 Qb8 24. Qh8+ Ke7 { this is where i was most tempted to trade.oh well, should've when you could've (skillet) } 25. Qh7+ Kd6 { vicious cyclebroken } 26. Qg7 { should've moved there in the first place. make a mentalnote if you find yourself in this EXACT spot } 26... Rxb2 { saw this coming, didn'tthink it was a threat. moving on. (now that i see the bishop, i see thepotential danger) } 27. Rd1+ Kc6 28. Qxd7+ Kc5 { can you find the way totake the rook for free? } 29. Qd4+ Kc6 30. Qd7+ { this was unnecessary pleaseignore this for the rook puzzle. } 30... Kc5 31. Qd4+ Kc6 32. Rc1+ { you can almosthear the burn. } 32... Kb7 33. Qxb2+ Kc8 { if I was going to trade, I would havedone it now. but i didn't, instead i got a free queen in 3 moves: watch(can you see it?) } 34. Qh8+ Kd7 { he moved there to prevent the deadly king-queenrook pin, it was a good move. } 35. Rd1+ { another non required move, butjust to drive my point home } 35... Ke7 36. Qxb8 { Resignation. White wins thisgame, an unavoidable attack on c7 would force the king into hiding behindis precious e pawn. I would castle and hit him with the triangle attackof queen rook rook }
[Event "prince26's mini-tournament I"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017.01.31"] [Round "-"] [White "thitho"] [Black "cultjones"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1627"] [TimeControl "5d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1657"] 1. c4 { a game full of surprises } 1... f5 { a new one for me } 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e6 4. Nf3 { i tried to play basic as i don't know this opening } 4... Bb4 5. Bd2 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Bb7 9. Bd3 Qe8 10. h3 Qg6 11. Rg1 { castlingcompromised } 11... Ne4 12. Bb4 { trying to keep both bishops } 12... d6 13. Qe2 Nd7 14. O-O-O { castling anyway } 14... c5 { natural move } 15. Bd2 { i thought about e1,but my rooks wouldn't be linked anymore } 15... cxd4 16. Nxd4 Rfc8 { King in front } 17. Kb1 a6 { obscure... what would my knight would do there? } 18. g4 { Isaw a trap here... } 18... fxg4 19. Rxg4 Qe8 { ... but it was a wrong idea... } 20. Bxe4 Bxe4+ { ... well, of course not 21. Rxe4? as followed by Qg6! } 21. Ka1 Nf6 22. Rg3 Bg6 { good defensive-offensive move } 23. f3 Qa4 { I hadNxe6 possibility, but then Qxc4 was forcing the exchange of Queens, andI was not convinced on my advantage. } 24. Bb4 { pointing a second pawn } 24... a5 25. Bxd6 Qxc4 26. Qxc4 Rxc4 { in my opinion a good position for white.I still have the initiative. } 27. Be5 { not Nxe6 followed by Re8 } 27... Nd5 { maybefirst mistake: i started to be able to plan the finale. } 28. Nxe6 { thistime, i can, as it is followed by many possibilities on g7 } 28... Nxe3 29. Rd7 { i calculated that Nothing serious could come from Rc1+ or Nc2+ } 29... Nc2+ 30. Ka2 Bf7 { totally forgetting my Rg4... } 31. Rxg7+ { and now ... Kh8 followedby 32. Rxf7 and then mate in 3. } 1-0
[Event "The Annotation Project - A Quiet Strangulation"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.06.11"] [Round "-"] [White "untateve"] [Black "yodean"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1605"] [TimeControl "5d+1d<7d"] [WhiteElo "1571"] 1. e4 { This is another game from freddy's tourney. In this game, I amback to my habit of annotating my losses. The action begins at move 8. } 1... c5 2. f4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Qxg4 Nxg4 7. Bxf7+ Kd7 8. Be6+ Kc6 { As White, I prefer when Black plays Kc7 as they lose timehaving to move the K or Q due to the potential fork by the N. } 9. Bxg4 Qe8 10. Ne6 { This is where I where I leave the database. The databaseshowed several past players moving Be6. I have had success with Ne6, buthave only made this move when the King was at c7. My thought when I goto e6 is that I block e7 from moving and slow the B and R from developing. I didn't see the advantage of going Be6 nor the downside of Ne6. Yodeankindly showed me why Be6 is superior to Ne6. Now we get to watch him slowlystrangle my game. } 10... Na6 11. a3 { a3 is to keep Black's N from advancing tob4. } 11... Qg6 { Now the error of Ne6 becomes apparent. The Bishop is en prisebut guards Ne6. If I had moved 10. Be6 and then Black moved 11....Qg6,the Knight is guarded by f4, while it would guard Be6. It would also beattacking e4 and Be6 would have be able to remain well developed (and evenattack the Black Q with Bf7). As it is, I move Bh3, and the Bishop nevermoves again :tears: } 12. Bh3 Nc7 13. f5 { I figure that the N's will beexchanged and I think to keep e7 from moving. } 13... Qf6 14. O-O { Developmentas well as adding protection to f5. I also figured that when the N's areexchanged, I'll have an attack on the Queen. } 14... Nxe6 15. fxe6 Qd4+ 16. Kh1 { Now Black's Q is well centralized, courtesy of my initial Ne6 move. } 16... g6 17. Nc3 { I'm grasping for development...were there better ideas? } 17... Bh6 { d2is looking rather precarious. } 18. b3 { Obviously hoping to fianchetto theB. } 18... Rhf8 { No way can I afford to exchange Rooks. } 19. Rd1 Rf2 20. Rg1 { Isay goodbye to d2. } 20... Bxd2 21. Bxd2 Rxd2 { I didn't see a way out. } 22. Na4 { Na4 deserves a ? I think. I sentence my N to death with that move. } 22... b5 23. c3 Qg7 24. Nxc5 Kxc5 25. b4+ { I'm grasping here. My hope was to moveg2 and perhaps get my B onto g2. } 25... Kb6 26. g3 Qxc3 27. Rgc1 { It's allover now. } 27... Qf3+ 28. Kg1 Qf2+ 29. Kh1 Qxh2# { Very well played by yodean. All thoughts/comments are appreciated. } 0-1
[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "22-Nov-06"] [Round "-"] [White "bunyipboy"] [Black "ecawilson13"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1164"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1472"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. fxe5 dxe5 5. Bc4 Be6 6. Bxe6 fxe6 7. O-O Bc5+ 8. Kh1 Nf6 9. d3 Ng4 { I don't remember why I did this. I had greatposition in the center of the board. Must have been anxious to move intothe midgame. } 10. Bg5 { Should have seen that coming with the previous pawnmove. It wasn't just to protect e4 from my knight. } 10... Qd6 11. Nfd2 { I don'tknow why he did that, but it turned out great for him. That knight iswhat really began my problems. } 11... Ne3 { I thought it was a good move... } 12. Bxe3 { It wasn't } 12... Bxe3 { I suppose I could pretend it was an even trade... } 13. Nc4 { But it wasn't, opened me up to a fork on my queen and the bishop. } 13... Qc5 { I could delay it... } 14. Nc3 { I knew he was going after my queen,she was not properly developed. } 14... O-O-O { Should have moved my bishop atthis point... dunno where though. Probably f4. } 15. Na4 Qb5 { Best moveat the time, if I had seen the whole of the game I would have realizedthat I was not just saving my queen, but threatening an exchange for mybishop. But I wasn't paying enough attention. } 16. b3 { Didn't want tolose his knight quite yet. Good idea. } 16... Nd4 { Again, should have moved mybishop. I was thinking that by moving my knight, I would have more roomfor my queen to flee if need be. } 17. Nxe3 { Good move. } 17... Qc6 { Attackingc2, and moving a little further from the situation, sounded like the bestidea. } 18. Nc4 { I assume that he moved his knight here to take e5, threateningthe queen, or maybe just negating the attack on c2... either way, I gotno options. } 18... a6 19. Nxe5 Qxc2 20. Nf7 Qxd1 21. Raxd1 b5 22. Nc5 Rhe8 { Hadto choose, Rd was 'defended' by my K, if you will, so I decided to offerthat one. } 23. Nxd8 Kxd8 { The N is dead! Ha!... 10 moves and 5 pointslater. } 24. Nxa6 g5 25. Rf7 { Has he gotten a little greedy, or has hemoved into end-game, leaving me in the dust? } 25... h5 26. Rxc7 g4 { 26. Rxc7g4 27. Rh7 Ne2 28. Rxh5 g3 29. hxg3 Nxg3 highly unlikely... ? if his R doesn't come to h, then mine can, threatening mate } 27. Rf1 { ok,so we are in the end-game now... if I had seen that, I wonder if I couldhave prevented it. if I don't protect 8 (f8), that is mate. if R staysat e8, then white R at d7 is mate. moving R-h8 saves me, but I have a onemove cushion. } 27... h4 28. Rff7 Rh8 29. Rfd7+ { not unexpected... but now i seethe fork on N... ! } 29... Ke8 30. Rxd4 { I see nothing, considering resigning...but may as well keep going, hoping for a mistake } 30... g3 31. Rc8+ Kf7 32. Rxh8 { It's too painful to look at every time I log on... I have to resign. I must remember where I messed up. Over and over I thought I had anadditional cushion before I had to retreat. Over and over I was wrong. I needed to be just a little more cautious in about 4 or 5 moves, andI wouldn't have needed to resign. } 1-0
[Event "Kings Island, Mason OH"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.11.16"] [Round "-"] [White "Matthew Webber"] [Black "Tej Rai"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "6600+10"] { Round two from the King's Island Open this past November. The only good thing about losing your first round game is that you're in the lowestpairing group and it usually lights a fire under my butt so I want toplay really well in my next round. } 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 { My opponent wasa little kid and sometimes I will play this instead of Nf3 to see if itthrows them. If I see 2...Nc6, ...d6, or ...e6 then I will play 3. d4/4.Nd4right away, but sometimes odd things happen and then you can play d3/g3/Bg2and play a closed Sicilian if your opponent seems uncomfortable. } 2... a6 { Not sure if my opponent was planning on playing 2...a6 if I had put myknight on f3, when d4 now is not a good move for White, or if he wantedto play a type of Najordf and got confused to my move order. In eithercase I've lost playing d4 before in this position much earlier in my chessplaying career and learned my lesson. } 3. c4 { Not the popular responsein my database (although this positino is not very popular anyway) butrecommened is Nbc3. However I know the lines with c4 and the knight onf3 and planned to transpose back if I could. } 3... e5 { 3...e5 is given asthe only win for Black in my database and I was a bit suprised to seeit. My plan to play d4 and transpose clearly will not work anymore. } 4. Nbc3 Nc6 { The database has 4...Nf6 here and at the time I was suprisedto see that my opponent did not contest d5. I knew it was early but figuredthat this was turning into a bit of an odd game anyway, so why not jumpinto it if I could. } 5. Nd5 d6 6. d3 Nge7 7. Nec3 { I wondered at thispoint if we would end up in a close to symmetric boring (for me) positionwhere we both trade opposite colored Bishops for the knights posted ond4 and d5, but my opponent had different ideas in mind. } 7... Ng6 { Seems myopponent didn't want to play that kind of position either, but I wasn'tquite sure what this was meant to accomplish. } 8. Bd2 { Probably a bitinaccurate, better is Be2 preparing to castle. The DSB isn't sure yetwhat square it wants to go to but it almost certainly isn't d2. } 8... Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. Bg4 { Probably a bit over eager, wanted to trade off theLSBs and try to play on my 'better' DSB but didn't quite think about f5until after I moved. Better castle and then worry about it. } 10... f5 11. Bh3 { Not the best try for White after Alternative variation: 11. exf5 Bxf512. Bxf5 Rxf5 13. Qg4 [Let's White keep developing and not purely respondingto Black's threats.] } 11... fxe4 { But Black goes for a different line Alternativevariation: 11. ... Bg5 12. Bxg5 Qxg5 [Black seems to be the more comfortable] } 12. Bxc8 Rxc8 13. Nxe4 { I felt very comfortable here, I thought thatI had made an inaccuracy with 10. Bg4 (almost certainly true) but Blackmust have misplayed and I had recovered. } 13... Nf4 { A move that suprised me,it seems like offering this trade does not do much for Black but helpsWhite. Now I saw the Qg4 idea and willingly gave up my Bishop. } 14. Bxf4 exf4 15. Qg4 { += I think, White has the attack though and the positionis a bit easier to play for them. } 15... Qa5+ 16. Nec3 { It seems like Qa5+ hasmisplaced the Queen a bit. } 16... Rce8 17. O-O-O { Short castling is better sinceBlack can quickly build up pressure and White's move has immensely helpedBlack's Queen which just a moment ago seemed a bit out of play. Alternativevariation: 17. O-O Qd8 [Needed to protect the Qd7 threat] 18. Nxf4 Nd419. Ne6 Nxe6 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. Ne4 [And White is better instead +-] } 17... Ne5 { ? But my opponent misses it and goes for something a bit too aggressive,not envisioning the Queen diving into Black's camp. Alternative variation:17. ... Bf6 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. Kb1 b5 (19. ... Nd4 20. Rhe1 Ree6 21. Rxe6Rxe6 22. Qxf4 b5 [And White is very uncomfortable -+] ) } 18. Qe6+ { Clearlythe move for White, I'm suprised my opponent overlooked it as any otherreply is very very weak. Perhaps he just misevaluated the resulting positionafter ...Rf7 } 18... Rf7 19. Rhe1 { Very inaccuarate and probably deserves a? as well. Now Black can play ...Qd8 and solves many problems. They willbe cramped but can untangle themselves slowly. Better was to take on e7immediately. Alternative variation: 19. Nxe7+ Rxe7 20. Qxd6 [And whitehas a strong edge.] } 19... f3 { But again my opponent gets too aggressive andmisses the defensive line. Now I correctly take Alternative variation:19. ... Qd8 [Tough to extricate themselves, but many immediate problemsare solved.] } 20. Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. Qxd6 Nc6 22. gxf3 { No need to realeaseBlack yet } 22... Qc7 { And he drops another pawn, but the queen needs to getinvolved in the defense. Alternative variation: 22. ... Rxe1 23. Rxe1h6 24. Re8+ Kh7 25. Qd5 Qc7 26. Qxc5 [And the pawn still eventually falls] } 23. Qxc5 { Now with my c and d pawns (and I'm already envisioning forcinghim to capture on e3 and some point and having an e-pawn as well) I canfeel the win, just need to execute now. } 23... Qf4+ { The perfect opportunityto fix my pawn structure } 24. Re3 Rxe3 25. fxe3 Qxf3 26. Ne4 { Bring myknight into the fight, and help control f2 to eliminate any counterplayideas down the f-file. } 26... Re7 27. Rd2 { Inviting ...Qf1+ but this is notan issue for White, and the second rank is the one I want to control with the knight on e4. } 27... Qf1+ 28. Kc2 Rf7 { Afraid of Rf2, but Re5 gives Blacksome more activity. At this point barring any huge blunder from Whitethough, he should easily win. } 29. a3 { To allow me to pin the Rook againstthe King without walking into a fork on b4. } 29... Qh3 30. Ng5 { I thought thisjust immediately lost for Black, missing his Qf5 resource, but I keepfinding the correct moves to hold the pressure and trade down. } 30... Qf5 31. Qd5 { Pretty much forcing the Queens and the Knights to come off the board,inching White's victory closer. } 31... Qxd5 32. cxd5 Rf5 33. dxc6 Rxg5 34. cxb7 Rb5 35. Rf2 { Alternative variation: 35. d4 [A bit of a faster wayto get to the win, to just push the pawns that my rook is already behind.]Rxb7 36. d5 Kf7 37. Kd3 Rd7 38. e4 Ke7 39. Kd4 Rc7 40. e5 Rc1 41. d6+Ke6 42. Ke3 Rc8 43. Ke4 g5 44. b4 Rf8 45. d7 Rd8 46. a4 [A bit of a fast] } 35... Rxb7 36. d4 Rc7+ 37. Kd3 a5 38. b4 axb4 39. axb4 Rb7 40. Kc3 Rc7+ 41. Kb3 Re7 42. Rf3 g5 43. h3 h6 44. b5 Kg7 45. d5 Kg6 46. Kc4 Rc7+ 47. Kd4 h5 48. e4 g4 49. hxg4 hxg4 50. b6 { A nice inbetween move here } 50... Rb7 51. Rb3 Kf6 52. e5+ Kf5 53. e6 Kf4 54. e7 { The fastest way } 54... Rxe7 55. b7 Re4+ { Obviously he is now objectively completely lost. } 56. Kc5 Re3 57. b8=Q+ Kf3 58. Rxe3+ Kxe3 59. Qg3+ Kd2 60. Kc4 Kc2 { I realize hewon't resign so I try to find the fastest mate. } 61. Qg2+ Kc1 62. Kc3 Kb1 63. Qb2# 1-0
[Event "Tournament game, Paris 1913"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Rodzynski"] [Black "Alekhine"] [Result "0-1"] { The young Alekhine shows the brilliance that would lead him to the World'sChampionship, quickly dispatching Rodzynski. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 { Philidor'sDefense isn't supposed to lead to quick, smashing wins by BLACK. But withthe genius of Alekhine, anything is possible! } 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. c3 { Too slow,and interferes with the development of the QN. Against Alekhine, you can'tmake these kind of small mistakes! } 4... Bg4 { Alekhine was never one to be passive. } 5. Qb3 { Unpinning. } 5... Qe7 6. Ng5 { This attack is easily repulsed, as theQ-side pieces are still undeveloped. } 6... Nh6 7. Bxf7+ Nxf7 8. Nxf7 Qxf7 { White's'attack' is gone. Now Alekhine will prepare a devastating counterstrike. } 9. Qxb7 { Removing the Q from the defense, his only active piece. Whitewould have been better served with a move such as 9 P-Q3, allowing thedevelopment of his Q-side pieces with B-K3 and N-Q2. } 9... Kd7 10. Qxa8 { Atleast he has the consolation of winning some material before being buriedby Black's coming onslaught. } 10... Qc4 { Threatening mate on the move with ...Q-K7!White's undeveloped Q-side is useless. } 11. f3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Nd4 { Renewingthe mate threat. } 13. d3 Qxd3 { Sacrificing the Knight as well. But if mateis in the offing... } 14. cxd4 Be7 { White overlooks the threat. 15 K-B2is the only way to prolong the game. } 15. Qxh8 { Blinded by greed. } 15... Bh4# { Proving that material is less important than skill. Well done by the youngAlekhine. } 0-1
[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "11-Jul-08"] [Round "-"] [White "lighttotheright"] [Black "shajmaty"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2190"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2181"] { Sicilian Dragon } 1. e4 { 1. e4 is considered best by test; but honestly,it is no better than 1. d4 or 1. c4. Each of these moves lead to entirelydifferent types of game. The initial move of e4 usually leads to anopen game that is generally highly tactical in nature. If you are a goodtactician, then this opening should be one of your favorite tools as white. } 1... c5 { Sicilian } 2. Nf3 { Normal response, but not the only one possible. An immediate 2. d4 stakes out the center and is already protected bythe Queen. Another good choice is 2. c3, but that can be a little trickyeven though it is sound. Some people like to try the bishop opening with2. Bc4. The bishop second move is a little less clear of a choice, butcan be effective when used as a surprise weapon against an unprepared opponent. } 2... d6 { 2. ... d6 is one of the most common responses by black. It's primarypurpose is to prevent e5 so that Black's knight can safely move to f6,not necessarily to support the pawn on c5. This is a traditional fightfor control of the center. Generally control of the square d5 is extremelyimportant in the Sicilian. Black must use incremental steps when contestingthis square. He must prepare before venturing. } 3. d4 { This move openslines for the Queen's bishop and immediately creates tension in the center. The question is put to Black as to whether White retains the strong centralpawns. A strong central pawn duo is usually an immediate strategic goalfor White in many openings. Here White does not expect to keep it. Whiteis merely using it for transitional purposes. } 3... cxd4 { 3. ... cxd4 is thesmart exchange. } 4. Nxd4 { 4. Nxd4 maintains material equilibrium whileadvancing the knight for possible further attack later in the game. } 4... Nf6 { This was prepared for earlier by 2. ... d6. } 5. Nc3 { 5. Nc3 is necessaryto protect the pawn on e4. } 5... g6 { This is the signature move for the Dragonvariation. 9 times out of 10, Black's next move will be Bg7 to completethe fianchetto. White's next move is an important decision that willdetermine the flow the game. } 6. Be3 { This helps clear the first rank fora possible queen-side castle, O-O-O. Its draw back is the potential Ng4by Black, attacking the bishop immediately. The bishop is currently safeuntil the presumptive 6. ... Bg7. If 6. ... Ng4, then 7. Bb5 and Blackis in deep serious trouble. Black has only four possible moves: Nc6,Bd7, Nd7, and Qd7. With Qd7, the bishop simply takes. With Nc6, 8. Nxc6bxc6 9. Bxc6 forking the King and Rook. With either Bd7 or Nd7, White'sQueen takes the knight on g4. } 6... Bg7 { This move is almost routine. } 7. f3 { This is the signature move for the Yugoslav Attack against the DragonVariation. It prevents Black from moving his knight to g4, which wouldcause some minor problems for White. It also frees the white knight onc3 from mandatory guard duty. Although it is not the only viable strategy,the Yugoslav Attack is considered White's best answer against the Dragon. The 'motis operandi' is clear. White will castle queen-side and pusheither the f, g, or h pawn - depending upon what Black does. The h pawnsortie is a natural attack upon the King's fianchetto position. Such anattack is usually effective with the proper timing. } 7... Nc6 { This and thenext few moves are normal, but their order can be slightly altered. } 8. Qd2 { This Queen move is another attack upon the fianchetto position. IfBlack wants to castle, he should do it now. } 8... O-O { The position is nearlyripe for an h pawn attack. White should prepare further first. } 9. O-O-O { This was routine for me but was not main line. The sharpest continuationwould have been Bc4 before the castle. Frankly, I've always gotten awaywith this move in the past. It is very playable. In hind sight, thismove is probably not the best. Yet, there is nothing particularly wrongwith it either. I was looking for a win instead of a draw. This movecarries the game in directions other than normal. Normally, the sparksfly in this opening with opposite end attacks upon each others Kings. The hunt for each others King becomes a race. Timing is important. Thetactics can be mind bending! } 9... d5 { 9. ... d5 is somewhat more common thesedays, but would have been considered unusual in the past. Instead of developingother pieces, Black moves the pawn a second time during the opening. Grantedthe opening is almost finished, but the thrust does not appear to be naturalat first glance. Appearances can be deceptive. The move prevents thesharpest Yugoslav continuation of 10. Bc4 (with a slight move order change). The most significant aspect of this move is that the natural responseof 10. exd5 leads to a series of exchanges that White (wanting to win atall costs) would prefer not to occur. I am one of those that used tothink the Dragon Variation was fatally flawed. Not anymore. This 9.... d5 variation is one reason why. } 10. h4 { I thought about 10. Kb1, butquickly dismissed it. I thought about g4, but was uncomfortable with it. I considered playing 10. exd5 again, but could not dismiss my dislikefor settling for a draw against the Dragon after all the resulting exchanges(I guess it was a pride thing). I decided to play thematic. I'm usedto applying my intuition in a given situation. Unfortunately, I was wrongthis time. Since h4 against the Dragon usually works, that's what I played. Perhaps h4 in of itself was not too bad...but I started the themeand continued it until I realized it was wrong. I should have knownbetter. The safe push of the pawn to d5 is often a significant strategicgoal for Black in a number of Sicilian variations. By playing h4 at thisparticular moment, I gave the pawn safe passage. I should have played10. exd5. } 10... dxe4 { I kind of suspected this would happen and was hoping itwould not. Most people who played me in the past would likely initiatethe thematic 10. ... h5 in response - which would have given me wiggleroom to win the game. } 11. h5 { I decided to play with confidence. Thisstrategy probably works better over the board, then it does with correspondence. I thought my opponent would second guess himself and perhaps he did. The problem is that there was enough time for him to recover from any doubtshe might of had. } 11... Nxd4 { At this point, I knew I was losing control overthe center. It was too late to do anything about it. These exchangeswere about to kill my chances and I knew it. } 12. Bxd4 { Forced } 12... e5 { 12. ... e5!! This maintains Black's initiative in an unclear position. Itis especially good because it is sacrificial. } 13. h6 { This game has justturned into 'Poker'. With 13. h6, I added an additional bet into thepot. } 13... exd4 { Black now has good control over the center and the initiative. White is in trouble, but I still thought a draw was possible. } 14. hxg7 { ...maintains a modicum of material equality. } 14... Re8 { Black has a strongattack down the center of the board. Re8 reinforces it. } 15. Nxe4 { Whitemust contest the center, even though this results in several isolated pawns. } 15... Nxe4 { Now I must scramble for trades in material to maintain a draw. Myproblem is Black's King-side pawn formation. My only chance is promotionalong the queen-side. Generally, you don't want to push the pawns on theside that you castled; but it is required here in this position. } 16. fxe4 { Forced. } 16... Qf6 { This maintains connection with the center while evacuatingthe d8 square for an eventual Rad8 move. } 17. Qxd4 { I'm hoping for a queentrade here. It was possible that Black would have been satisfied witha draw; but he didn't take it. } 17... Qf4+ { A queen trade would have given Whitesome control over his destiny. This move allows Black to finish developmentwith initiative. } 18. Kb1 { I was under significant pressure here. I neededsome improvement along the queen-side before allowing additional exchanges. } 18... Bg4 { This seems almost too easy for Black. } 19. Re1 { No matter what I do,White is in trouble. Development of my bishop is imperative, but Blackis not allowing me enough time to do it. } 19... Rad8 { This move was basicallyforced, but it is still good for Black - despite dropping the a7 pawn. } 20. Qxa7 { At this point, I felt pretty good. I thought I had weatheredmost of the storm and had improved my queen-side position. Now I couldafford to trade pieces, right? Wrong. Holding onto the g2 pawn wasvery important. It was going to be difficult doing so, while developingthe bishop at the same time. I'm 'not out of the woods yet'. } 20... Qxe4 { Icannot take the queen...else it is checkmate with Rd1#. } 21. Rc1 { Forced. Black maintains his initiative. My material advantage is no advantageat all. } 21... Ra8 { 21. ... Ra8! I'm being chased into oblivion. } 22. Qc5 { This was the only tactically safe move. } 22... Rec8 { Black continues to placeadditional pressure on my queen-side and King. } 23. Qd6 { There are no goodanswers on this move. After 23. ... Rxc2, things look bad for White. I'm just hoping he doesn't see that move. The alternative of 23. Qb5is really no better with similar results. } 23... Rxc2 { Well, that was no fun! } 24. Rxc2 { I was still thinking that I had hope, but I needed to get ridof Black's b pawn. } 24... Bf5 { Where does this guy come up with his moves!!! Now I've lost the a pawn and/or the g pawn. Although the move was notdifficult to find, I was getting upset. I'm in worse trouble in thisposition than I've ever been in this game so far. } 25. Bd3 { This is forced;but appears to be an excellent move. Yet, it is too little too late. I had a feeling that my opponent was probably thinking the same thing Iwas during his last move...'Where does this guy come up with these moves!!!'LOL. } 25... Qxd3 { This is the only winning move for Black. If anything else,then I could have crushed him. I didn't expect anything else. } 26. Qxd3 { Now we exchange down into a complex endgame. Since White will have toretake on c2 with the King, Black will be able to take the a pawn. Itsucks to be White at this point. It really does! } 26... Bxd3 { The pin forcesa favorable exchange for Black. } 27. Rd1 { I tried to complicate the position. 27. Rc1 leads to ... Rc8 28. b4 Kxg7 29. Kb2 Rxc2 30. Rxc2 Bxc2 31.Kxc2 Kf6. The Black King can support his b pawn and the three pawns onhis King-side can easily force their way through my single g pawn. Blackwould have to play accurately, but it can be done. Perhaps this was thebest choice anyway. Yet, I felt I needed a piece on the board to helpforce my queen-side pawn to promotion. So, I did it this way. } 27... Bxc2+ { Kingtakes and the a pawn is dropped. } 28. Kxc2 { Now White must find a way tocapture Black's b pawn. I won't talk about the King-side. It is in prettybad shape. If I can promote safely, then there is still a chance. } 28... Rxa2 29. Rd7 { I need immediate threats for counter-play. } 29... b6 { The plan was tokeep the pawn moving until it is easily captured. } 30. Rd6 { If I can blockthe Black king away from the action with my rook, then I might be ableto hold the g pawn unless... } 30... Ra5 { Black decides to give up the b pawnto gain position on the g pawn. } 31. Rxb6 { I take because there isn't muchI can do to stop it without jeopardizing my position. Besides, I now havea chance to promote and that is what I wanted. } 31... Rg5 32. b4 Rxg2+ { Thisis becoming a race and I need to gain time for better positioning of myRook. This isn't easy. } 33. Kc3 { My King guards b2 so that Black cannoteasily get behind my b pawn, } 33... h5 { The race is futile unless I can gainsome time. } 34. Rf6 { This move may seem strange, but it allows me timeto get behind my b pawn. The g7 pawn was toast regardless; and, I wantedto slow down the movement of his h pawn through distraction. } 34... Kxg7 { Itworked. } 35. Rf1 { I could not get behind the h pawn because the black Kingwould have prevented it. Even if I could have exchanged my pawn with oneof his, the resulting R vs RPP endgame was winning for Black. } 35... h4 { Therace resumes. } 36. b5 { There is not much I can do but push my pawn. } 36... Re2 { Black realizes just in time that his rook was slightly out of position. } 37. Rb1 { I'm going to push my pawn anyway. It is my only chance. } 37... h3 { Therace resumes again. } 38. b6 g5 { Two pawns against a lone rook is winningfor Black. He knows what he is doing. I thought I might have some advantagein the endgame, but no. } 39. b7 { There is nothing else to do. } 39... Re8 { Noweven if he sacrifices his rook to capture the pawn, he still has enoughto win. } 40. Kd3 { I'm thinking that perhaps I can get my King into playonce that sacrifice occurs. It is a long-shot. } 40... g4 { I was kind of hopingthat he would play 40. ... Rb8 allowing my King to get into position. I was just one small move away!! ...but could not get there from here. P.S. I had a lot of hope in this game. Sometimes a hope and a prayerare simply not enough. } 41. b8=Q { The rook blocked the movement of my King. This sacrifice is the only way to unblock it. } 41... Rxb8 42. Rxb8 { My materialadvantage means nothing. } 42... h2 { I cannot stop the promotion, but... } 43. Rb1 { I can slow it down in an effort to get my King in better position. } 43... g3 { The lone rook against two pawn loses, unless... } 44. Ke3 { I can getmy King involved. } 44... g2 45. Kf2 { Unfortunately, I am one move too short. } 45... h1=Q { I know he expected me to take and then he re promotes on h1. } 46. Rg1 { But I have one last trick up my sleeve!! } 46... Kf6 { That does it. NowI know for sure he knows how to handle a single pawn endgame. He is gettinghis King out front early. } 47. Rxg2 { Perhaps he won't sacrifice the Queen. } 47... Qxg2+ { But he does. } 48. Kxg2 { There is nothing else to do. This isa simple endgame that he knows how to handle. Against a much lower rankedplayer, I would continue. Shajmaty's rating had risen above 2210 sincethe beginning of this game. It was best to resign with some dignity. When you think about it, this really was an incredibly good game. Theend position looks closer than it actually is from the perspective of anuntrained eye. } 0-1
[Event "Me against a master!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "3:33"] [Round "-"] [White "Me"] [Black "Master"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "2500"] [TimeControl "No time"] [WhiteElo "1620"] { My game against an international master. It was a draw, but i don't rememberall the moves. :( } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 { I perfected this move longago. } 3... Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 b5 { A VERY aggresive move. The right move wouldbe is Bf1, and the master did it. } 6. Bf1 Nxd5 7. Bxb5 { The reason forBf1 is so if i took the pawn with the queen, you would defend the g2 pawn. } 7... Bb7 { Would be stuid if i ook the knight. } 8. Qf3 { Nice move! } 8... Qxg5 9. Qxd5 Qf6 10. Nc3 Rd8 { Attacking the queen. } 11. Qf3 { Nt the best move, betterwas Qe4 } 11... Qxf3 12. gxf3 a6 { I jate the pin on my knight. } 13. Ba4 { Stillkeeping the pin in place. } 13... Bb4 14. a3 Bxc3 15. dxc3 Ke7 { Why would i castleif there is an open file there? } 16. f4 { Terrible move! } 16... exf4 17. Bxf4 Nd4 { Now the bishop is attacking the rook on h1. } 18. Rf1 { If Rg1, thenNf3 with a fork. } 18... Nf3+ { Still Nf3. } 19. Ke2 { Forced. } 19... g5 { Here i gave upa pawn for an attack. } 20. Bxc7 Rd2+ 21. Ke3 { King is coming up the board.'Hey white king,' says the black king 'Do yu want a playdate at my place?' } 21... f5 { Nice! } 22. Rad1 f4+ 23. Bxf4 { Forced. } 23... gxf4+ 24. Kxf4 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Rf8+ { And this is all i remember of this game, though the final positonwas black king on e6, white king on c5, and white pawn was on a5. } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Challenge from futuna"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2006.09.24"] [Round "-"] [White "futuna"] [Black "wote"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1443"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1514"] { The Magical Knight , Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 1. e4 { TheMagical Knight , Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 1... c5 { The MagicalKnight , Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 2. g3 { The Magical Knight, Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 2... Nc6 { The Magical Knight , Keepyour Eye on the Queens knight. } 3. Bg2 { The Magical Knight , Keep yourEye on the Queens knight. } 3... e5 { The Magical Knight , Keep your Eye on theQueens knight. } 4. b3 { The Magical Knight , Keep your Eye on the Queensknight. } 4... Nf6 { The Magical Knight , Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 5. d3 { The Magical Knight , Keep your Eye on the Queens knight. } 5... Be7 6. c4 O-O 7. f4 exf4 8. gxf4 d6 9. Nc3 Nd4 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Nd7 13. Nd5 Bh4+ 14. Kf1 Nb6 15. Rg1 Nxd5 16. cxd5 Qf6 17. Rb1 Rfe8 18. b4 b6 19. bxc5 bxc5 20. Bd2 Rab8 21. Bh5 g6 22. Bg4 Red8 23. Be3 h5 24. Bxh5 Rxb1 25. Qxb1 Kh7 26. Bg4 a6 27. Qb7 Nb5 28. Qxa6 Qa1+ 29. Kg2 Qb2+ 30. Kh1 Nd4 31. Qa4 Ne2 32. Rg2 Qb1+ 33. Bg1 Ng3+ 34. Kh2 Qxd3 35. Bf2 Nf1+ 36. Kg1 Bxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Nd2 38. Qa5 Qf1+ 39. Kg3 Nxe4+ 40. Kh2 Qxf4+ 41. Kg1 Qe3+ 42. Kf1 Re8 43. Qe1 Ng3+ 44. Qxg3 Qc1+ 45. Kf2 Qe1+ 46. Kf3 Qe3# 0-1
[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.09.10"] [Round "-"] [White "richard1234567"] [Black "izzylizzy"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1402"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1457"] 1. e4 { I was hoping for a Fried liver. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 { Thisis the Giucco Piano. I could've played many moves such as b4 or the mainline which is c3. } 4. O-O { Instead I choose a safer route. } 4... Nf6 { If d6i would play b4. Captain Evans who invented the Evans Gambit won againstMcConnell when 4. Bc4 d6 5.b4 and he got crushed. } 5. Nc3 O-O 6. d3 d6 7. h3 h6 { He's starting to copy me. } 8. Qe2 Nd4 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 10. Bd2 c6 11. Bb3 a6 12. a3 { Making an escape square for thr bishop } 12... b5 13. Rab1 Bb7 14. Nd1 d5 15. Bc3 c5 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. e5 Re8 18. f4 c4 19. Ba2 a5 20. Qf2 Nh5 21. Qxd4 { Drops a pawn } 21... Ra6 22. dxc4 bxc4 23. g4 Ng3 { g4 hadto be the biggest blunder. The knight has infiltrated and I have made manyweaknesses. } 24. Rf2 { If 24. Rf3 attacking the knight 24. .... Ne2+ forksthe king and queens. IT shouldn't be too hard to defeat me after. } 24... Rg6 25. Rg2 Qh4 26. f5 Nxf5 { I didn't take the knight. Why not? I don't evenknow myself. } 27. Qc3 d4 28. Qxc4 { drops another pawn to launch a discoveredattack on my rook. } 28... Bxg2 29. Qxf7+ { He obviously didn't calculate properly. } 29... Kh7 30. Qxe8 Bxh3 { There was a mate on g8 which he obviously didn't see.This was supposed to be his win as his pieces are more active and all mypieces are on the queenside and I can't really defend my queen. I was luckyto win this. } 31. Qg8# 1-0
[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "04-Dec-07"] [Round "-"] [White "viknw"] [Black "orangutan"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1743"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1701"] 1. e4 { This was a fairly ordinary Sicilian Dragon which developed intoa long but quite interesting endgame win for black, and it is primarilyfor this that I have decided to annotate it. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 { The Dragon, my main defence against 1.e4 if I am allowedto play it. } 6. Be2 { White opts for the classical variation rather thanthe Yugoslav Attack. } 6... Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2 Bd7 { Ng4 would alsohave been possible here, taking advantage of white's previous move andthreatening to win the bishop pair. } 10. f3 { ruling out ...Ng4 and supportinghis centre. This combination of f3 and Be2 has always seemed slightly illogicalto me, though I often come up against it. } 10... Rc8 11. Kh1 d5 { Taking advantageof white's relative lack of activity. There are various ways to deter thismove, but none of them had been played. Part of the object was to exposef3 as a waste of time. } 12. exd5 Nb4 13. Nb3 { The exchanges here workedin my favour, though I wouln't say that I had calculated all the possiblevariations. } 13... Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. cxd3 { This isolated pawn will be themain theme of the early endgame. } 15... Nbxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bg1 { Preservingthe counterweight to the dragon bishop. The duel between the two will bethe other main theme of the endgame. } 17... b6 18. Rac1 Qd6 { I don't mind exchangingrooks, but without conceding the c-file. } 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Rd1 Nb4 21. a3 Nd5 { The knight returns, having provoked a slight weakness, to its centraloutpost. } 22. Rc1 { White decides to exchange the remaining pair of rooks,probably because he has a space disadvantage and is under a little pressure. } 22... Rxc1 23. Qxc1 Qd7 24. d4 { The pawn is apparently well defended, but hasmoved to a bad square. } 24... Qc7 { Happy to transpose into an endgame, givenwhite's weak pawn. } 25. Qxc7 Nxc7 26. Be3 { Both sides try to activate theirkings, and then we will see some king and knight manoeuvres centred onthe d4 pawn. } 26... e6 27. Kg1 Kf8 28. Kf1 Ke7 29. Ke2 Kd7 30. Kd3 Kc6 31. Nd2 { Aiming to redeploy on c3, preventing the black king from staying on d5. } 31... Kd5 { In the meantime, though, that seems a good square. } 32. Nb1 Nb5 { Preemptingwhite's move. The temporary absence of the white knight on its manoeuvresmeans that the pawn is threatened, and white's reply is forced. } 33. Nc3+ Nxc3 34. bxc3 { I have allowed white to un-isolate his d-pawn, but now proceedto fix his pawns on the wrong colour. This initiates the next stage ofthe endgame - the battle of the bishops. } 34... b5 { With a clear advantage, Ithink, despite the material parity. } 35. Bf4 Bf8 { Forcing the white bishopback, into a position where it is in danger of running out of room. } 36. Bc1 Bd6 { Black's strategy is now to probe on the king's side, while keepingthe white bishop tied to the a3-c1 diagonal. } 37. h3 Bg3 { To stop the advanceof white's pawns, depriving white of tempi. Black's aim is to induce Bb2,occupy the c1-h6 diagonal, forcing Ba1. This direct appoach, however, isrebuffed. } 38. Be3 { No longer pinned down to the defence of a3, white keepsthe important diagonal. } 38... Bd6 { ...so we try again. } 39. Bc1 Be7 40. Bb2 a6 { The immediate Bb4 can be blocked by white's kingside pawns. I wantthe bishop back on d6, and this pawn move is primarily to remove the dangerof a threefold repetition. } 41. Bc1 { White's bishop no longer has any moves,and he is virtually forced to make kingside pawn moves. Black plans toinduce the pawns onto black squares, at the same time using up white'sspare tempi. } 41... Bd6 42. f4 h5 { A cramping move to limit white's options. } 43. h4 { Otherwise ...h4 and white is in zugzwang. White's bishop wouldtake too long to get over to the weakened h-pawn. } 43... Be7 44. g3 Bd6 { Thebishop comes back to base, having done its job on the kingside. Now whitemust take the bishop off the c1-h6 diagonal, and in its absence black willbreak the position open to get at the weakened white pawns. } 45. Bb2 f6 46. a4 { An interesting break, but too late; black now has other targets,and can allow the white a-pawn, having served as a target for so long,to exchange itself off. If this move had been played earlier, then recapturingit would have posed a dilemma. } 46... e5 { Black continues with his plan. } 47. axb5 axb5 { Keeping the c-pawn fixed. } 48. Bc1 { This variation ends up losing,but the alternative, exchanging on e5, would bring the black bishop toe5 winning the g-pawn. } 48... exd4 { Securing the outside passed pawn, so thatthe pawn ending would be won. } 49. cxd4 Bb4 { The bishop now has space topenetrate behind white's position. Obviously he is heading for e1, andwhite cannot afford to exchange bishops. } 50. f5 { I thought the alternativelast-ditch sacrifice, g4, looked more interesting, but I had analyzed thattoo as a win. } 50... gxf5 { Black still has the multiple threats of ...Be1 and...Bd6. } 51. Bf4 { A last attempt to defend the g-pawn. } 51... Bd6 { And 0-1. Whitecannot exchange bishops, and any other move would lose the g and h pawns. } 0-1
[Event "Huge Blunder!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.06.23"] [Round "-"] [White "aussiespud"] [Black "chesscrosser"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1234"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1146"] 1. e4 { My opponent plays e4 } 1... c5 { I always play c5 from e4 } 2. Nf3 d6 3. d3 { I thought he would play d4. Very interesting. } 3... g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Bd2 Nf6 { Getting ready to castle. } 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O O-O { Its very good tocastle early in the game. } 8. Bg5 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Qa5 { gettingmy queen out. that's something NOT to do in early game. } 11. Re1 Rfe8 { Rooksare facing each other. } 12. a3 { I think this was to prevent Qb4 } 12... Nd4 { youwant to keep your knight in the center of the board for as long as youcan! } 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 Nxf3+ { getting the b2 pawn. } 15. Qxf3 Bxb2 16. Rab1 h5 { If white takes on b2 then I get his rook on e1. } 17. Red1 Qxa3 { I gain another pawn. } 18. c4 b6 { Pass pawns must be pushed! } 19. Rd2 Bd4 { I will drop a rook. } 20. Nc7 Rec8 21. Nxa8 Rxa8 22. e5 Bxe5 23. Qxa8+ { I drop another rook!!! this is terrible! } 23... Kg7 24. Qxa7 { THIS ISEVEN MORE TERRIBLE, HUGE MISTAKE BY WHITE!! } 24... Qxa7 25. Rdb2 { really badmove here } 25... Bxb2 26. g4 Be5 { trying not to let his king out. } 27. gxh5 gxh5 28. Kg2 Qb7+ 29. f3 h4 30. Re1 Qa8 { this move is so I can check him ona2 and hope fully get checkmate in there somewhere. My opponent resignedhere. } 0-1
[Event "Smith Morra with HorsePower"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.10.18"] [Round "-"] [White "thedeafone"] [Black "warmpancake"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1540"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1537"] { This game features the Smith Morra Gambit with twofold horse-power. I'mright now experimenting with the gambit and right now I feel very comfortablewith it. As long as white seeks to occupy the open files, I think thereis a justifying compensation for the lost Pawn. This was a Team-Match,and it had to be won (since I lost the other match very stupidly...) toavoid losing to the other team. :D } 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 { Offeringthe Smith Morra Gambit } 3... dxc3 4. Nxc3 { Black accepted and as of now, whiteis ahead in development! } 4... Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bf4 { Black seeks to defend theimportant e5 square while White seeks to apply pressure on it. } 6... g6 7. e5 { Black stopped to reinforce e5. It is my duty to take advantage of it! Taking would allow White to screw up blacks King safety } 7... Bg7 8. Bb5 { Blackreinforces and white attacks again by gluing the Knight to c6 } 8... a6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 { Killing a defender and weakening the pawn structure! What else couldyou ask for? } 10. exd6 exd6 { Right now c6 and d6 and f6 are relativelyweak , while Whites b2 f2 and g2 are weak. But White has a devastatingadvantage in development. } 11. O-O { Ensuring King safety and strengtheningthe king-side Attack! } 11... d5 { Weakening e5 and condemning c6 to stay weak. } 12. Ne5 { Taking advantage of the weak e5 square! } 12... Qb6 { ?! Attacking theweak spot b2 and defending c6, however what seems to be a solid move isnot that solid at all. } 13. Re1 { A discovered check that endangers thequeen and defends b2! } 13... Be6 { Securing the King. Perhaps developing the knightwould have been better, because it enables to black King to castle. } 14. b3 { At this point I had to options: b3 or N a4. I decided on b3 for tacticalreasons. If I had chosen black would have had the option to move Qb4, attackingmy Bishop and applying pressure on my knight. 13 Na4 Qb4 14 b3 Qa3 appearedin my head (overlooking 14 ... Qxf4), and I did not want my rook to beglued to the a-file. } 14... Ne7 { Black prepares to castle. } 15. Rc1 { Now allthe (half-)open files are mine. Time to apply more pressure on c6. } 15... O-O 16. Na4 { The only offensive square that does not block a file. Additionallyit leaves black with three squares to protect c6. (Well 16 ... c7 is followedby 17 Nxg6! ) } 16... Qb5 17. Rc5 { Attacking the queen and forcing her to retreator to move to b4 (in which case c6 is no longer defended) } 17... Qb7 18. Qc2 Rac8 19. Rc1 { The siege on c6 continues, however black has a problem... } 19... Bd7 { Black has no other way to defend except to kill one of the attackers.Probably Bxe5 was the rescue... but this way... } 20. Nxd7 { White can tradean attacking piece for an defending piece and ... } 20... Qxd7 21. Nb6 { Magicallya tactical opportunity appears! } 21... Qg4 { Black hopes to get some compensation...however } 22. Nxc8 { White attacks Ne7, so black has to reclaim the Knight.Note that c6 is still under siege! } 22... Nxc8 23. g3 { I decided on securingthe Bishop and getting an escape square for my king in case any heavy piecewould target the first rank. Since there are no light squared bishops anymoreI assumed this to be save. There is another option: 23 Rxc6!? Qxf4 24 Rxc8Rxc8 25 Qxc8+ } 23... Na7 24. Ra5 { Black has no quick option to defend both squares. } 24... Qc8 25. Be3 { ?! I believe that Qc5 would have been stronger, however I'mnot sure. :) Black was lost anyway. } 25... d4 { This move weakens the black dpawn, however it temporary resolves the stress on c6. } 26. Bd2 Re8 27. Qc4 { Using the queen near to her full potential: Attacking a6 c6 d4 andf7! } 27... Qg4 { Leaving a6 undefended for counterplay with the advanced d pawn.Possibly the plane was to get the rook to e2. } 28. Rxa6 { However, I seeno reason to worry, and it would be rude to not accept gifts. (Especiallysince d3 can't yet advance because of 28 ... d3?? 29 Qxg4 } 28... Re2 { Attackingthe only undefended piece: My Bishop. However blacks Knight and blacksQueen are undefended! } 29. Bc3 { This allowed me to play this move. } 29... Qf3 { A mate threat, however a very weak one, since it stops defending d4...another gift. } 30. Bxd4 Nb5 { The final blunder. Black leaves the 8 ranktotally undefended. } 31. Ra8+ Bf8 32. Qc5 { And mate is unavoidable! } 32... h5 33. Qxf8+ Kh7 34. Qg7# { That's it. :) I really enjoyed the knight playand think it was in a way a beautiful game since not that much tactic wasmade and the black moves seamed pretty reasonable. :) Thanks for reading,I hope you enjoyed it and comments are welcome. :) } 1-0
[Event "League division D3"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.12.15"] [Round "-"] [White "benfliza"] [Black "chekof"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1210"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1253"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 { King's pawn game (C44) } 3. Bc4 { King's pawn game (C50) } 3... Qe7 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nd4 { Här lämnar jag King's pawn game (C50). 5...d6hade varit i den linjen, men till liten vits fördel. Nu får han ett stortövertag p g a mitt förhastade utväxlingsdrag. } 6. Be3 Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 { Härhade det varit bättre att gardera mot vits S med c6 istället. Min kommandeöppning för fianchetto är ganska uddlös och ger vit en tempovinst. } 7... b6 8. O-O-O { Nu när vit rockar på damsidan, så framstår mitt föregående dragsom ännu sämre. } 8... Bb7 { En fullständigt verkningslös fianchetto, som iställethämmar min L i dess framtida utveckling. Vit vinner ännu mer tempo. } 9. a3 O-O-O 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. h3 Kb8 13. Qe3 a6 14. f4 { He took his queen to the fourth rank and that only gave his opponent more space for his rook maneuver. It would have been better with either h5 or f5 here, as I wasn't as focused on my half of the board. } 14... exf4 { I described it earlier. } 15. Qf3 Qd6 16. Bxf7 Bg7 { Förbereder min L föratt agera på diagonalen h8-a1. } 17. Bd5 Bxd5 { Lika bra att utväxla ochreducera pjäser. } 18. Nxd5 f5 19. Rhg1 Bd4 20. Rgf1 Rhf8 21. Nxf4 { I have looked more carefully, for white is ahead by a large margin and threatens to checkmate his opponent's D. My first counterattack was best, but I don't see the continuation. } 21... fxe4 { I had a strong advantage, which I unfortunately did not fully exploit for a longer period in the game. } 22. dxe4 Rxf4 { What a mess, but I can't help but look and see how busy D is on f3. headache } 23. Rxd4 { Här är jag blind som en åsna, ochmissar att ta hans D med tornet på f3. } 23... Qf6 24. Qxf4 Qxd4 25. e5 Qxf4+ 26. Rxf4 Re8 27. Rf5 Kb7 28. g4 Kc6 29. Rf6+ Kd5 30. Rxh6 Kxe5 31. h4 d5 32. g5 Kf4 33. Rf6+ Kg4 34. Rh6 a5 35. Rh7 c5 36. g6 Kf5 37. g7 { Here is a busy worker, and hopes for a quick promotion at g8. But when the antagonist chases with the king, and reduces a little on his advantage. } 37... Kg6 { Attack the knight on h8 with the tower, I avoid the temptation to take it. Instead, I go up and check his promoting bishop on g7, I checkmate him. } 38. Rh8 Re1+ { I will think a bit tactically soon. He forgets his promise to his friend soon. } 39. Kd2 Kxg7 { Sköönt !! } 40. Rh5 Rb1 41. b3 d4 42. Kd3 Rd1+ { He planned to checkmate his opponent with a series of chess moves. } 43. Kc4 { Här borde jag istället tänkt på att mitt torn kan nästla sig inhos vits K genom Rd2 och sedan Rc2+ när vit räddar sin bonde. } 43... Kg6 { Nuhar vit tempot och initiativet igen p g a min föreg miss. } 44. Rg5+ Kh6 45. Rd5 { Vi kör sålänge remi är tänkbart. Jagar hans bönder. } 45... Rd2 46. Kb5 Rxc2 47. Kxb6 Rc3 48. Kxa5 d3 { I can make it back to my prom date and sneak up to the prom on c5, if I hurry. } 49. Kb5 Rxb3+ { He probably moves his knight to c5, but when I move my knight to a3 and he moves his to d3, I take his T. Then he moves later with his T to d2. If he moves his knight to a4, I will advance my knight to c4 and protect. } 50. Ka4 c4 { Skönt att han inte slog min c-bonde,för nu blir det jämnare fighting. För tillfället kan vit inte slå någonav mina pjäser utan att förlora material. Bra ! } 51. Rd4 Rb1 { Är han ivrigså tar min d-bonde, men då ryker hans T. } 52. Ka5 c3 { He snatched my horse, so I have to hurry up and catch his T if he snatches it now. } 53. Rxd3 c2 { Interesting position, so if he wants to prevent me from castling on c1, his T will be forced to move. } 54. Rd6+ Kh5 { Nu får han jobba med T om han skahindra mig från att få övertaget. Det ser överlag ut som att åtminstoneremi ska uppstå, för hans tidigare överlägsenhet är försvunnen. } 55. Rc6 { Hans T kommer att ryka. } 55... c1=Q { Tar han min D så ryker hans T. } 56. Rxc1 Rxc1 { Nu handlar det om att förhindra att han får upp någon promobonde,samt att han inte pattar in sig. } 57. Kb5 Kxh4 { If he is safe, the game will continue to a long draw. } 58. a4 Rb1+ { The knight moves over the b-file with chess. If he wants to defend the bishop, he goes to a5, and then he is last seen on a-file. } 59. Kc6 { Vit försöker avleda uppmärksamheten från promobonden. Glöm det! } 59... Ra1 60. Kb5 { Dags att sätta K i arbete. } 60... Kg4 61. a5 Kf4 { Med tunganrätt i mun, så kan remi undvikas. Borde nog ha gått till f5 istället, fördet här leder till remi. Justja, avlägsen opposition hade varit det rättadraget. På f5 så hade våra K stått med tre rutor emellan och är antaletrutor udda, så är det opposition. } 62. a6 Ke5 63. Kb6 Kd6 { Än aning försenadopposition, som antagligen endast kan åstadkomma remi. Fast med tanke påvits stora övertag i mittspelet, så är remi inte så illa pinkat. } 64. a7 { Vi försenar hans promobonde med schack, och det kan även vara en vändpunkttill min fördel. } 64... Rb1+ { Nu måste han sätta sin K i säkerhet, och det skerantagligen på a6. Då kan jag skära av hans väg på c7, och promar han dåså har jag en skåvare med T på a1. } 65. Ka6 Kc7 { Håller hans K avskurenfrån annat än a-filen. } 66. a8=N+ { He surprised me a little. But then I just got up and started playing the game again. } 66... Kc6 67. Ka7 { He had probably chosen T to b4 which would have been faster, but I played R to a1 and now I have more time to think about the position. } 67... Ra1+ { He must force his knight to move to b8. } 68. Kb8 { He avoids repeating the move by giving T to f1. Then, no one can parry the move with S against any of the eight ranks. } 68... Rf1 69. Ka7 { Knaske had T to e1, but I am a bit irritated and go back to a1. } 69... Ra1+ 70. Kb8 { I don't want to repeat some moves, as I said to him at a5. There is no way he can threaten me with S af. } 70... Ra5 { White can only move S, otherwise there is a stalemate with King at c8. This gives me a better chance to plan ahead. } 71. Nc7 Rf5 { White can capture his opponent's King by moving the Knight to a7. } 72. Na6 { Jagar in vits K i hörnet med T tillf8. } 72... Rf8+ { Återigen blir vits drag förutsägbara, vilket underlättar. } 73. Ka7 Rf7+ { Går vit tilbbaka med K till b8, så tar jag opposition med K tillb6. } 74. Kb8 Kb6 { White moves his King's Pawn to a8, so his rook is forced to move after his knight takes the pawn to a7. } 75. Nb4 { He is offering a game of chess, so we thank him and accept. } 75... Rf8# { Klart! } 0-1
[Event "Waitzkin-Arnett, Charlotte 1985"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "May 1985"] [Round "-"] [White "Joshua Waitzkin"] [Black "David Arnett"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "unknown rating"] [TimeControl "unknown time control"] [WhiteElo "unknown rating"] { This game was played in the seventh and final round of the 1985 NationalPrimary Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. I recommend breakingout a practice board if you want to follow the analysis. Playing Whitewas Joshua Waitzkin and playing Black was David Arnett. My comments arebased on the annotated game from Ubisoft's Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition,annotated by Mr Waitzkin himself. Josh has just turned eight years old,and he's the top rated kid in the country for his age. 'This is my firstchance to win a national championship. I'm cocky, sure of myself, puffedup with the confidence that no kid can beat me. I've cruised through thefirst six rounds of this tournament and now I'm on the first board in thelast round. My opponent's name is David Arnett. He goes to the Dalton Schoolin New York City. He looks scared. What I don't know is that Dave is consideredby everyone who knows him to be a genius. At three years old he had memorizedthe New York City Subway map. At five he was doing high school mathematicsand at six he had been the top-rated first grader in the country. As faras I was concerned, he didn't have a chance.' We'll soon see. } 1. e4 { Openingby taking the centre. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 { This, so far, is still 'book,'but Arnett came up with something that caused Waitzkin much surprise. } 3... Nd4 { And this move appears to just leave Black's pawn on e5 undefended.Waitzkin can just play 4. Nxe5, or he can play 4. Nxd4. Or he can simplycastle. Castling is a good move, completing his development. 4. Nxd4 isalso fine. Arnett will reply 4. ... exd4, his pawns are doubled, whichis usually a weakness. And then there is the opportunity for Waitzkin tocastle. } 4. Nxe5 { A terrible decision. White has fallen for Black's trap. } 4... Qg5 { Black plays a very powerful move, and now, from the very beginning,White's in trouble. This opening is actually called the Costage Trap. Playing4. Nxe5, White allowed this move. Black is threatening both White's knightand pawn. The problem is that if White just moves his knight to f3, afterBlack takes the pawn, he is threatening the rook on h1, which would comewith check, and now in this position the knight is open to attack. If Whitemoves his rook, Black takes on f3 with his knight with check, and thisis terrible for White. And if White takes the knight on d4, then after6. ... Qxh1 he's lost a rook, the king moves to e2 or blocks with the bishop,and then Black can take on e4 with check. Castling is actually a good movehere, but Waitzkin believes 5. Bxf7+ would've been the best move. Blackhas to move his king. Now, though, if White moves the knight to d3 to saveit from the Black queen, his pawn on g2 is open to capture. White thenhas to defend the rook playing 7. Rf1. But Black then plays 7. ... Qxe4+and it is all over. White's king is trapped and can't move to f1 becausethe rook is there. The only move he can play is 8. Qe2 to block the check.Black then plays 8. Qxe2#. So White can't do that. If he plays a move like5. Nxf7, Black plays 5. ... Qxg2. White will have no time to take Black'srook on h8, because his rook on h1 is under fire, and if he moves it tof1, then after 6. ... Qxe4+, he loses his queen. After 7. Qe2 Nxe2 8. Bxe2Black plays 8. ... Kxf7, winning easily. If White blocks with 7. Be2 Blackplays 7. ... Nf3#, a smothered mate. } 5. Ng4 { Waitkin tries to keep itall together. He tries defending his knight by moving it away and blockingthe attack on the g2 square. This might seem like the best move, but, infact, what it does is give Black some time to develop a strong attack. } 5... d5 { Here, Black has a discovered attack. A very strong move. He is attackingWhite's bishop on c4 and he has opened up a discovered attack from hisbishop on c8 onto the knight on g4. 6. Be2 would have been the right choice.Of course, Black can win a piece. He plays 6. ... Nxe2, removing the defenderof the g4 square. Then White plays 7. Qxe2 and Black responds with 7. ...Bxg4. Here, White can block with 8. f3 and be okay. 'My king is okay. Ican castle soon, get my king to h1, open up the centre. I can start tofight back. This would have been okay, not good, but okay. That is wherecomebacks begin.' } 6. Bxd5 { White knows that he has lost a piece, and somakes sure to get a pawn out of it. } 6... Bxg4 { Black has won a piece, and,now, to save his queen, White's only move is 7. f3. } 7. f3 { For Black,7. ... Qh4+ is okay. White would play 8. Kf1, getting out of the way. Black'sbishop would have to move back and then White could start to defend. Noticethat White can't play 8. g3 here, blocking the check and attacking thequeen. This might initially seem good because if Black's queen moves, Whitecan take on g4 and he's won a piece back. But, here, Black has the verystrong 8. Nxf3+. Now White's king has to move. Black can then moves hisqueen away, and White is in huge trouble. Black can also play 7. ... Bxf3.After 8. gxf3, Black plays 8. ... Qg2, attacking the rook on h1 and thepawn on f3. But, after 9. Rf1, there is a forced win and Arnett could havewon the national championship this way. The best move would have been 9.Be7, a very strong attacking move. A quiet move, to be sure. The idea,of course, now, is 10. ... Bh4. This is going to be a mating attack. After9. ... Be7 there is no way for White to guard the h4 square. 10. ... Bh4is going to come next and win the game. } 7... Bd7 { 'But, look, Dave gave meanother chance. He didn't realise how much danger I was in. He didn't havethe presence of mind himself to seize the moment. Now I have a new leaseon life, a little bit.' Waitzkin has two pawns for a piece. Black is stillthreatening to capture on g2. White can castle here, and have an alrightgame. If Black plays 8. ... Bc5, White can just play 9. Kh1. If Black plays8. ... Bh3, threatening mate, White can play 9. Rf2. And the next movewill be 10. Kh1. } 8. Rg1 { 'But, again, think about my psychological state.I was an 8-year old boy, everything was falling apart for me. For somereason, I couldn't gain my clarity of mind back. After this move, I setup a whole new set of attacks for Dave.' Indeed, Waitzkin is in some seriousdanger now. } 8... Qh4+ { Arnett's idea is that White's king on e1 is in trouble.If White plays 9. g3, blocking, then Black can take on h2. } 9. Kf1 { After8. ... Qh4+, Waitzkin didn't want to play 9. g3 because after 9. ... Qxh2he considered it 'just terrible.' } 9... Qxh2 { White should now play a move like10. d3, the next move being 11. Be3 to cover up the king. } 10. Bxb7 { Whitetrys to get another pawn. His idea is okay, as he has to try to take somematerial to begin some attacking of his own. 'But, before I could beginthe fight, I had to consolidate my king's position.' 10. d3 and 11. Be3.Instead, after this move, Waitzkin let Black continue with his attack. } 10... Rb8 11. Bd5 { Black can play 11. Nf6 or 11. Bc5. Both moves bring a newpiece into the attack. 11. Nf6 would have been an okay move, eyeing thebishop, and then he would have 12. ... Nh5 and then 13. ... Ng3, whichis very strong. But 11. ... Bc5 has more immediate threats. } 11... Bc5 { He iseyeing the rook on g1 which is very difficult for White to defend becausehis queen and bishop are so well placed. When Black's knight moves it willexpose the bishop's attack on the g1 square. So then Black could play 13.... Qxg1+, which would be terrible for White. So in this kind of situation,anywhere the knight moves will open up this deadly attack. The knight hasa free move to f3, 12. ... Nxf3. He could take on c2, attacking White'srook on a1. He could play 12. ... Nb3, attacking the rook on a1 again.'At this point, things were really terrible. I just tried a last ditchattempt.' } 12. b4 { White's idea is to distract the bishop from the g1 squareto ease some pressure. If Black had played 12. ... Bxb4, Waitzkin wouldhave succeeded. But Black didn't, of course. He used the rook, instead. } 12... Rxb4 13. c3 { And, after the fork, Arnett just went back to his previousidea. } 13... Nc6 { This move opens up the bishop onto g1. Of course, Arnett couldhave played more actively. He could have played 13. ... Nb3 or 13. ...Nc2, to get a discovery with more attack. He could have even taken on f3.Now, if White plays 14. d4, which, according to Waitzkin, would most likelyhave been the best try, Black can maintain his attack on the g1 squareby sacrificing his knight. Black can play 14. ... Nxd4, and after 15. cxd4Bxd4, both of White's rooks are attacked. His next move is going to be16. ... Qxg1. } 14. cxb4 { 'Here, once again, I seem to deny the fact thatI am in big trouble.' } 14... Qxg1+ 15. Ke2 Nxb4 { This was a big mistake by Black,because he allowed White to trade queens and start to consolidate. In thissituation, black should have continued the attack, playing 15. ... Nd4+to remove White's queen on d1 and it's all over. White should have played16. Qxg1. At this point, though, according to Waitzkin, his mental statewas completely wrecked. } 16. d3 { And Dave had mate in one. } 16... Qf2# { Manybad moves were made in this game. And Arnett and Waitzkin were the twotop 8-year olds in the United States. 'So when you think about chess, it'snot about perfection. It's not about not making mistakes. All chess gamescontain mistakes. Usually the winner is the one who has been most successfulin rolling with the punches, dealing with the adversities as they comeup and who is able to recover when things go wrong.' If you wish to leaveme a suggestion for an annotated game, or want to leave me feedback, pleasedrop me a message. Your help is appreciated. } 0-1
[Event "WTW-Let me be the Sheppard"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.12.29"] [Round "-"] [White "easy19"] [Black "jkarp"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1148"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2003"] { This was a very interesting game between Fred and me. In a differentannotation, I mentioned about a player who lost, by attempting the SM. Well, this game had twists and turns. The master mater decided to challengeme to this game, to prove that attempting the Sheppards mate does not necessarily=aloss. As GM-tactical-abyss just mentioned, this is an example where yousometimes have to go out of book, in order to pull a win. } 1. e4 { Therefore,easy19, is going to attempt the SM, at this point. Therefore, we agreeon the following moves, 1.e4, e5 2.Bc4, Nc6 3.Qf3. } 1... e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qf3 Nf6 { So, I am not going to allow him to do the f7 tactic, mate on f7. Therefore, I decide to bring my other Knight out, while his Queen is out,early. Afterall, I told him that this time, I am not going to weaken myposition, or undue his handicap. Where did I get this idea? It was basedon two of my previous games, with this same opponent, '-Handicap 3-YourMove', and, 'This Time for Real', as jstevens1 had annotated. Instead,I am just going to continue developing my pieces, or, 'deploy', as IM shamashcalls it. However, M Fred, responded by saying, 'This is not as much ahandicap as the game before, but it might look like it. thing is thatyou you know that it is wrong whiteout thinking, the players in the annotatedgame are not so far yet. But this time i play it and i know what to doto and how to cope with putting opening principals aside and you ar enotso far yet. Bad English perhaps but i hope you understand what i try tosay.' He also stated, ...' i deviate from the principals but i would notdeviate if you where as strong as me or stronger. but i also notice thatmuch stronger players then me do the same thing to me as i do with you.they deviate from principals now and then and beat me. Just because thereunderstanding of the game is much better then mine. so i see a lot in ablink of a eye but they see more. You can remember 10 out of 100 thingswhiteout to much thought. I do 50 out of 100 but they cna do 80 or 90 outof 100 } 4. Ne2 { In this position, I understand that he intendsto castle. However, as we will see, he is not going to castle immediately,so I do not know why he deployed his Knight, this early. In addition,I believe that this move is a mistake as it is going to block his LSB,later on, so that he will have to waste time. } 4... Bc5 { In the meantime, Ido not waste any time, to develop my DSB. As noted earlier, I am onlyinterested in getting my pieces out, ASAP. } 5. Nbc3 { So is he, but as notedearlier, I would have played 5.0-0, if I were white. Of course, that doesnot matter because he will do this, on his next move. } 5... O-O { In the meantime,I decide to castle, but as noted earlier, he will do this on his next move. } 6. O-O Nd4 { At this point, white is better developed then black. However,he left his Queen out, in a vulnerable position, so I decide to take advantageby attacking it. Of course, he will not allow this attack to continue,and white is not going to retreat his Queen. Instead, he and I are goingto exchange Knights, which I am well aware of. In fact, that is the pointof this move, and that is why I made this decision. This exchange is goingto benefit my position, as it will eventually allow me to complete development,with my DSB. } 7. Nxd4 Bxd4 8. d3 { So, he is prepared to deploy his DSB,as I am getting ready to develop my LSB. } 8... b6 9. Bg5 { So, his developmentis now complete. } 9... Bb7 { But, so is mine, but by fiachettoing my LSB. Afterall, you generally want to accomplish a long diagonal, when you deploythe bishop. } 10. a4 { Of course, I do not know why he made this move. However,I recently learned from Expert myevilluck, a Walking the Walk mentor thatit is usually a bad sign, if you don't why a move was made by your opponent. Afterall, your opponent always has a reason for making a move, even ifit is bad. If you always knew why your opponent chose a specific candidate,you would never lose a chess game. } 10... Qe7 { This is now the time to bringthe Queen out. Afterall, it connects the Rooks, and it is always extremelydifficult for me to tell, when it is too early for the Queen to come out. However, I thought that if Fred was able to bring her out, on move 3,it was not premature. } 11. Ne2 { In the meantime, he pulls his Knightback. Why? To exchange my DSB for his Knight. Of course, I am not goingto allow that, so this move gives away a free pawn, or does it? That'sthe question. Note: After this move, he asked, ' Are you Ready?' I toldhim that I was more then ready, and his reponse was, 'ok wel pay attention.' } 11... Bxb2 { In fact, that is why I decide to take this pawn, as I told him. And his reply was, 'i think you have to figure it out afterwards'. } 12. Ng3 { Note: My last completed game was against myevilluck, so I was at thestage where I could not figure out the logic behind my opponents move. Having said that I have no idea why he moved his Knight. Afterall, itwas safe at e2. } 12... Bxa1 { ?? In the meantime, I take advantage by capturinghis a1 Rook. I figured that he left it hanging, and therefore, inadvertentlygave it away. As it turns out, however, this was not an accident. Itwas, instead, black's losing blunder. After the game, Fred said, ...'inchess i will give really nothing away and if i do you pay the price.',in a PM. } 13. Nh5 { In this position, he is hoping to force an exchange,and that will happen later on. } 13... Qa3 { In the meantime, I am trying to winhis a4 pawn because I believe that he left it hanging. Of course, however,he is not going to allow that. } 14. Nxf6+ { Instead, he forces an exchange,with this move. In addition, this move is automatically going to win thegame, very quickly. That is because after the exchange, my King will becomeexposed. } 14... gxf6 15. Bh6 { So, he decides to attack my e8 Rook. Of course,this was planned, ever since I played 13...Qa3. } 15... Rfe8 { Of course, I amonly interested in protecting my Rook, but there is a lot more that I shouldhave been aware of. What did I miss? } 16. Qg4+ { This is it. Like mygame against last-archimedean, mate is now unavoidable because of 16...Kh8(forced), Qg7#. Therefore, I resign, at this point. I learned two importantlessons from this game. First, at one point, black-cat-hamelet said, 'Theonly time playing badly would ever be of any use is if you are losing anywayand try a strategy you know can fail in the hope that your opponent fallsfor the trap.' The only other time that playing badly works is when yourrating is much higher, then your opponents rating. Then, you can try differentthings and put the basics aside, as I had mentioned earlier. Second, awise man once said that, 'To take is a mistake', and that applies here. In other words, I went wrong by deciding to capture the Master Mater'sRook, so 12...Bxa1?? was the decisive mistake. Those two concepts arethe moral of this story. } 1-0
[Event "Bishop End Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.05.07"] [Round "-"] [White "excile"] [Black "myaayesg"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 e6 6. Nc3 d6 7. d5 Nce7 8. Bd3 e5 9. Be3 f5 10. exf5 Nxf5 11. Qe2 Nf6 12. O-O Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Be7 14. h3 O-O 15. Nh4 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxh4 17. f4 exf4 18. Rxf4 Rxf4 19. Qxf4 Be6 20. Nc7 Qxc7 21. Qxh4 h6 22. Qe4 Re8 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Qh8+ Ke7 25. Qxg7+ Kd8 26. Qxc7+ Kxc7 27. Re1 Bd7 28. Rxe8 Bxe8 { The point of this gameis to give you some lessons in end game. if you want to improve your endgame i suggest looking through this game and see how i won as white. Imade a many mistakes in the opening and middle game but the end game isa place where i can win with my theories. How ever i am not a pro in endgame so i could have missed some moves and if you see a better way forwhite to play,please comment because i'd love to learn new stuff as well. } 29. Kf2 { Kf2. The point of this move is to centralize the king. In theopening and middle game you want your king to be as protected as possiblebut in the end game the king is an important active attacker. The bestthing to do with the king in the end game is to centralize it I.E. puttingit as close to the center as possible. Having a centralized king can bethe difference between a winning game and a loosing game. From the centerthe king can go fastest to any side of the board where action is takenand having the center makes it more difficult for black. } 29... d5 { a wrong move.I would suggest for black to compete in the centralization competitionwith Kc6. Now he basically gives up the center for my king. } 30. Ke3 { Movingfurther to the center } 30... Kd6 31. Kd4 { Well this looks good for white. hisking is more centralized than black's king and it is a strong blockaderof the passed pawn on d5. Yes,blockading a passed pawn could be consideredpassive but black will need to defend the passed pawn somehow and sinceit's isolated,his king will also be passive. } 31... a5 { well the point of thatmove is just to move a piece away from the light squares, you see, nowthat i have a light squared bishop moving away everything from the lightsquares is good because now my bishop can't attack the piece, that's whythe passed pawn on d5 would be better of on d6 or d4. } 32. g4 { g4. In theend game you'd want to get a passed pawn. Passed pawns are extremely dangerousin the end game and this is how white creates a passed pawn. after g4,h4,g5black can choose to exchange the pawn or just play it to h4, but whitewill have a passed pawn after that. you see when you create a passed pawnyou look on where you have more pawns then black,then exchange and in theend you will have 1 passed pawn. } 32... b5 { well this is a wrong move now hefocuses on just exchanging since he dont know that much theories but heis actually putting the pawn closer to my king which just makes it an easytaget } 33. a3 { not just for getting the pawn out of light squares but alsowhen he plays b4 then 34. ab ab and the pawn will be closer to my king. } 33... b4 34. axb4 axb4 { now no one will advance their pawn to keep them in darksquares. especially black because b3 gives up the square c3. } 35. h4 { proceedingmy plan to create a passed pawn } 35... Bd7 { My opponent isn't that experiencedin end game theories so he decides to just attack the pawn but that isn'ta good move white will just play g5 and the bishop will have to move back.so what should black instead play? well this game looks kinda lost forblack now. white has the center and is about to get a passed pawn so maybeBf7 would be a little better. } 36. g5 hxg5 37. hxg5 { now white has a passedpawn,this passed pawn will win the game for white. } 37... Be6 { the point of thismove is to be a strong blockader on g8 } 38. g6 Bg8 { for some this positionlooks like a draw but in this kind of position you need to ''scan'' theboard. look on what your advantages are and use them to win. White's advantagein this position is that he has the center and black's pieces are verypassive,king protects pawn on d5,so does the bishop while blockading thepassed pawn on g6. How ever the tricky part is how white should proceed.Well in this bishop ending game white should focus on taking advantagethat he has a passed pawn and so... } 39. Bb5 { Bb5!! Now white actuallyhas a winning game and there's nothing black can do to stop it. The pointof it is to move the bishop to f7 forcing black to take white's bishopand afterwards,when white takes back with pawn the black king will haveto rush down to stop the passed pawn and when he does that white can simplytake blacks pawns and push his own pawn to b8 which is unstoppable. However you shouldn't play g7,getting the pawn out of a light square in thisposition because then white wouldn't have any more attacking tactics andit would be a draw. } 39... Ke7 { Ke7! in order to stop white from moving his bishopto e8 and f7. } 40. Kc5 { How ever now he gave up the c5 square. now whitecan just take the b4 pawn,d5 pawn and push his b pawn. } 40... Kf6 { quickest wayto get rid of that passed pawn on g6 how ever now white can proceed withthis move... } 41. Be8 { and now even someone who wouldn't know any end gametheories could win in this position as white. } 41... Ke5 { I am not sure whatthe point of this move was. centralizing the king in this position is aweird thing to aim at. But then again,black has no other moves and now... } 42. Bf7 { Resigns. Of course now if black even capture white's bishop thensimply pawn takes bishop followed by f8=Q. } 1-0
[Event "Interesting end game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "11-Nov-06"] [Round "-"] [White "fransschwanen"] [Black "ukuyo"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1500"] 1. d4 c6 2. c3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. Bxb8 { Surprising move but playable. } 4... Rxb8 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nf3 e6 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. g4 Bg6 10. Bxg6 hxg6 11. O-O { the white position looks already lost... } 11... Rxh3 12. Ng5 Rh4 13. Nd2 Qc7 14. Ndf3 { an other critical error by whites } 14... Rxg4+ 15. Kh1 Bd6 16. Rg1 Rxg1+ 17. Kxg1 Ke7 { h2 is my target. } 18. Rc1 Rh8 19. c4 { bh2 was programmed,if c4 is played. } 19... Bh2+ 20. Nxh2 Qxh2+ 21. Kf1 Ne4 22. Nxe4 { I had forgottenthat K } 22... dxe4 23. d5 { d5 shows that fransschwanen wanted to gain tempo inthe center... but with 2 pawns up, how could black lose the game. NeverthelessI played really bad moves after. My intention here was to exchange thequeens. } 23... Qh1+ 24. Ke2 Qxd1+ { I should have played Qf3 . } 25. Rxd1 exd5 { I eventually take care of d5. } 26. cxd5 cxd5 27. Rxd5 f5 { I feel confortablewith those pawns on the K's side. But we play about 25 more moves. } 28. b4 Rd8 29. Rc5 Rd7 30. a4 { white's K can not fight on Q's side. } 30... b6 31. Rc4 Kf6 32. Rc6+ Kg5 { I can not understand why white do not resign. } 33. Rc8 Kg4 34. Rg8 g5 35. Rh8 Rc7 36. Rh7 a5 37. bxa5 bxa5 38. Kd2 f4 39. exf4 gxf4 40. Rh1 Kf3 41. Rh5 Ra7 42. Rf5 g6 43. Re5 Kxf2 44. Rxe4 g5 45. Re2+ Kf3 46. Re5 g4 47. Ke1 g3 48. Kf1 g2+ { there was probably some betterways to play the position, I could not find them. } 49. Kg1 { fransschwanencertainly saw this mate coming, I must thank him to let me play it untilthe last move. } 49... Rh7 50. Rxa5 { White take that a pawn but this is useless } 50... Rh1# 0-1
[Event "Hi, i invite you for the revenge."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.06.06"] [Round "-"] [White "thitho"] [Black "lewyg"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1779"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1708"] 1. c4 { i had a strange impression looking at the computer's analysis givingme the best position at the end, which was not exactly my own impression.Anyway, according to him we made a lot of mistakes. Once again c4 as firstmove. I may change sometimes, but, you know... i hate openings... } 1... e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. e4 Bc5 { looks like black knows which are the moves i hate most } 4. Be2 Nf6 5. Nf3 d6 6. d3 { ok, i may look like defensive, but it is nottrue. } 6... O-O 7. Be3 Bxe3 8. fxe3 { i really like this... maybe it is a flawin my mind... } 8... h6 9. O-O Be6 10. Nd5 Rc8 11. h3 a6 12. Qe1 a5 13. Nh4 Bxd5 14. cxd5 Nb4 { I've seen it and all what follows... } 15. Qg3 Nd7 16. Nf5 Qf6 17. Bg4 Nxd3 18. Nxh6+ Qxh6 19. Bxd7 Rcd8 20. Bb5 Nxb2 21. Rab1 c6 22. Rxb2 cxb5 23. Rxb5 { ... until now... } 23... Qh7 24. Rf5 Rc8 25. Rxa5 Rc1+ 26. Kh2 Rc4 27. Qg4 Qh6 28. Ra3 b5 29. Rb3 Rc2 30. a3 Rb8 { and i felt comfortabletill now. } 31. a4 { but this, i thought after, was not very clever } 31... b4 32. Rf3 Rc3 33. Rb2 Rxe3 34. Rb3 Rxb3 35. Rxb3 Qc1 36. Qd7 Qf4+ 37. Kh1 Qxe4 38. Qxd6 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 Rb7 40. Qc6 { so, here is when I proposed the draw.Computer gives me a clear advantage, but i don't think it is so clear.What about you? } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "06-Mar-08"] [Round "-"] [White "beerheit"] [Black "lord_wolken"] [Result ""] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1858"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 { Blackburne gambit!! } 4. Nxd4 { ... non accettato...:-( } 4... exd4 5. O-O c6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qf3 d6 { perch� questa mossa? } 8. Qd3 Nh5 { Comincia l'incursione di donna e cavallo! } 9. Qxd4 Nf4 10. Nc3 { !! } 10... Qg5 11. g3 Bh3 12. d3 { With this, the white has neutralized all my attacks... perhaps a bit naive? } 12... Qc5 { This move leads to a massacre. Perhaps it would have been better...Qg4! } 13. Qxc5 dxc5 14. Bxf4 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 b5 { The black knights close the cavalry and archers between their own ranks and the enemy's own infantry!! } 16. Bb3 Rd8 17. e5 f5 { A trap psychological, not all remember en passant... } 18. exf6 { beerheit invece se nericordava... } 18... gxf6 19. a4 a6 20. axb5 axb5 21. Ra6 c4 22. dxc4 b4 23. Ne4 Bg7 24. Nd6+ Kf8 25. Rxc6 Rd7 26. c5 Ke7 27. Nf5+ Kd8 28. Ra6 Kc8 29. c6 Rd1+ 30. Kg2
[Event "An interesting queen apparent sac"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.08.03"] [Round "-"] [White "damalfi"] [Black "zabalegi"] [Result "1-0"] { This game is interesting only for a late-opening 'trick' giving the queenfor 'apparently' nothing. } 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Ne5 { The London basics: if f6, Qh5+, and if g6, Nxg6. } 5... Nxe5 6. dxe5 { Anotherbasic: it seems that I am trapping my own bishop, but in fact I am whocramp his developement. } 6... Bc5 7. c3 { Pretty necessary, to permanently shieldagainst d4 by black. Now black has no attack plan. } 7... Bd7 { Just slow andplain developement. } 8. Qg4 { But I do: this attacks the kingside. } 8... g6 9. h4 { Nothing special, but still promising, specially if black doesn'tcastle queenside very soon. } 9... f6 { If I exchange, black can defend, so... } 10. h5 { ...let's see what happens now. } 10... f5 { yeah, the stonewall. Now theposition seems blocked and safe. } 11. hxg6 { This had surprised my opponent,for sure. But it is simple: 11... fxQ, 12. g6 wins a (trapped) rook andrestores my queen. Black can do nothing to avoid it. And if hxg, Qxg6+is not inmediate mate, but I will win the rook in h8: Kf8 (not Ke7, Bg5+),RxRh8 and I win. } 11... Ne7 { Even more interesting, my opponent sees it, sohe plays this move. Ok, now: 1) I can play g7, with the same theme (fxQ,gxR=Q), OR 2) Qh5, and if Nxg6, Qxh7 wins material. 3) the one I played:Rxh7. } 12. Rxh7 { Now, if RxR, gxR, and again, fxQ, h8=Q. If he takes thequeen inmediately, RxR+, Ng8, RxN, Bf8 (if Ke7, RxQ), g7, Qe7, g8=Q...and I still have Bh6 to press more. } 12... Rg8 { Ok, trick over. } 13. Qh5 { Threateningg7+ (disc). } 13... Nxg6 14. Rh6 { Very simple. The knight cannot be defended.Bg5 only leads to Be7, BxB, and black loses. Say QxB, RxQ+, KxR, Qh7+,Kf8, QxB. Or Qc8, but is a lost position for black. I could have playedRh8, and if RxR, QxN+, and I win the black queen with the bishop checks.But it was blitz, and I just went for the simple one. } 14... Qe7 15. Rxg6 Rxg6 16. Qxg6+ { the rest of the game is without interest. I made some riskymoves, and almost lost the game. } 16... Qf7 17. Qf6 { I bet that the pawn inf6 could be defended, of which I am not sure. } 17... Be7 { Qh8+ gives me nothingrelevant, I believe. } 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. Nd2 { To ensure castling, foreseeingRh1. } 19... Rg8 20. O-O-O Bg5 21. g3 Bxf4 22. gxf4 { I used the wrong pawn torecapture, but it's not 'tragic'. } 22... a5 23. Be2 { If Rg2, Rf1. My knightcan move freely. } 23... b6 { But he gave me the chance to use the other opencolumn. } 24. Rh1 Ke7 { Worse than worse. } 25. Rh7+ Kd8 26. Nf3 { I knewf2 was lost, but I wanted the game spicy. } 26... Rg2 27. Ng5 Rxf2 28. Ba6 { OrBh5. I am trying to build a mate net, or at least to go pawns grabbingmyself, since my pawns are more advanced. I am accepting to lose e3, too. } 28... c5 { Opening space for the king. Now, Nf7+ is possible due to Nd6, but Icannot cover c7 so no mate anymore. } 29. Rh6 { let's take the pawns, then. } 29... Kc7 { or Ke7, better, and my plan slows down. Having my opponent playedstronger, I would have had my work to win, due to the loss of e3 (eventually),but he didn't. } 30. Nxe6+ Bxe6 31. Rxe6 Kd7 32. Rd6+ Kc7 33. Rxd5 Rf3 34. Rd3 Rh3 35. e6 Rh8 36. Bc4 Re8 37. Rd7+ Kc6 38. Rf7 Kd6 39. Rxf5 b5 40. Rd5+ Kc7 41. Rxc5+ Kb6 42. Rxb5+ Kc6 43. Rxa5 1-0
[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.11.10"] [Round "-"] [White "quetzalcoatl08"] [Black "roan99"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1339"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1138"] 1. d4 { this is awful. again with the gruenfeld ideas but be warned thisisn't pretty } 1... Nf6 2. Nc3 { blocks the c-pawn } 2... g6 3. e4 d5 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qd3 { at this point, probably better to play Bf5 and cover the N and developthe B. } 5... Nxf2 { I get carried away with forks that force the K to move andprevent castling } 6. Kxf2 Bf5 { too late. } 7. Qb5+ Nd7 8. Qxb7 { bringingthe B back might have been better but boy those b7 pawns attract Qs likeflies to excrement } 8... Bxc2 9. Bg5 { this is a price for not developing properly. i resist f6 because I like castling over there, but Nb6 wasn't the response } 9... Nb6 10. Bb5+ { now, I'm stuck. no initiative, down in points. the B can'thelp because it just HAD to go pawn-grabbin. } 10... Nd7 { the only move } 11. Nxd5 { bringing in reinforcements } 11... Rc8 { better to play Bg7? there's a N forklooming, and that's not the least of the troubles } 12. Rc1 Be4 13. Rxc7 Bxd5 { the B gets into the action but with the other three--no four--pieces,it makes no difference. the game is lost } 14. Bxd7+ Qxd7 15. Rxc8+ Qd8 16. Qb5+ Bc6 { the only move but better refered to as a delay. } 17. Qxc6# { I look at this game when I feel too confident. poor opening play canbring the reaper within twenty moves. the opponent's name should havewarned me.. } 1-0
[Event "Guardians of the Fortress Mini Tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "01-Aug-08"] [Round "-"] [White "lawarner"] [Black "frebec"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1844"] [TimeControl "3d+2d, 7d max"] [WhiteElo "1669"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. h4 { An interesting move order,which I have played quite a few times myself in otb games. } 11... Bd7 { The alternativeis 11..... Qe5 12. Bf4 Qf5 13. Qf5 Nf5 14. cd4 Nfd4 15, Nd4 Nd4 16. 0-0-0 Which i think favours white } 12. f4 { This transposes back to more normalline. Rh3 is an interesting alternative. } 12... dxc3 13. Qd3 O-O-O 14. Qxc3 Nf5 15. h5 Rg4 16. Qf3 { I'm not sure about this move as it takes the queenaway from the d4 square. Maybe Rb1 is a better alternative } 16... Rdg8 17. h6 { Bb2 is probably better. A complex position arises after 17......Nh4 18. Qd3 Ng2 19. Bg2 Rg2 20. 0-0-0 where white is probably slightly betterbecause of the h6 pawn } 17... Ncd4 18. Nxd4 { This appears to be the decisivemistake, the only chance was 18 Qg4 Rg4 19. h7 Nc2 20. Kd2 Na1 21. h8(Q)Qd8. When black has a good ending but there is still some play in the position. } 18... Nxd4 19. Qh3 Nxc2+ { This is decisive, I dont think there is any possibledefense now. } 20. Kf2 Qc5+ 21. Be3 Rxf4+ 22. Ke2 Nxe3 { This line is extremelysharp, I find that few people will play it against me in otb chess, probablybecause it is much easier to play the black position that the white one,and as we saw just a couple of small mistakes can quickly lead to a verydifficult position } 0-1
[Event "Superpin"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.12.23"] [Round "-"] [White "damalfi"] [Black "vdarknight"] [Result "1-0"] { In this blitz, I played some bad moves, and got myself in a very compromidedposition. But with some luck, I managed to complicate the game, that offersvery juicy position for wild tactic. Have fun... } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 g6 { Seldomplayed, but very good, in my view. It becomes difficult to work the pawnstorm I normally plan here. } 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 { My aim is not d4. I wantto break in into the kingside with g and h, while defending d4 even atcost of c3. } 4... Nd7 { I can't avoid e5 forever, but it holds for now. } 5. c4 { Taking a risk. This is not bad, of course, but leads me out of my 'confortzone'. I decided blitz are for dare. } 5... e6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. g4 { No, you won'tput this knight on f5, to go to h4 supported by the queen... and I am freeto play this now, I have to take it, now or never. } 7... c5 { This kind of Tartakower'smove always baffles me. But I wanted to enjoy myself. } 8. Bd6 { Once ad5 defender is removed, it becomes vulnerable. } 8... cxd4 9. Bxe7 { If Nc3-b5,he castles, and I would have a hice Nc7, Rg8, Qa4. -- If now Qh5, b4. --- But the previous sequence have a downside I didn't note. Can you seeit? } 9... Qxe7 10. Nxd4 { If cxd5, dxN, and d6 is not enough to compensate (bxce,Bxce+, forking the rook...). exd5 was dangerous, with the black queen stillthere, and e5 coming soon... } 10... Nb6 { ...and this allows black time to defendd5. Now what? } 11. c5 { ?? A blunder, of course! } 11... Qxc5 { Well, IF THIS MOVEWAS A PLANNED STRATEGY, which would have been the plan? } 12. Rc1 { Thisone, for sure. } 12... O-O { Black allows the discovered queen-check. Ok, now,which is the best square to move the knight on? I was trying to trap theblack queen, or at least to force her to retire in a bad position, butit didn't seems possible. Can you see why? } 13. Ncb5 { ? Very bad move.It allows... } 13... Qb4+ { ...and for this reason, I should have played a3. Theproblem was that this allowed e5 by black, a threat I have to keep my eyeson. My position is lost. I am at the very bottom... } 14. Qd2 { By exchangingqueens, my king is not too badly placed, and the game takes a slower pace. } 14... Qe7 { ...so my opponent doesn't fall for it. Very good. I have a tempoto reorganize myself. Can this queen cause harm? Yes, on h4 it will beannoying. So, don't rush for some piece in c7, be wise... } 15. h4 { ...this also blocks a future Ba6. It becomes dangerous in some lines. } 15... e5 { Ok, now let's see if I can be a Phoenix... } 16. Rc7 Qd8 17. Nb3 { I couldn'tsee any point in losing the kinght. But now I am in serious danger. } 17... a6 18. Qa5 { ...but I have this resource. It is disastrous, since after axNb5,QxNb6, Rxa2, causing serious damage to my queenside. } 18... Bxg4 { Black sparesme a tempo, but not without multiple threats. } 19. Qxb6 { I have to take,or I'll lose my rook. I could have escaped with Rxb7, but it was dangerousto leave the c column to black. d4 is coming, if ever I allow it. } 19... Bf3 { Right place to move the rook, pleas? } 20. Rg1 { Let's say I am temptingblack to go Qxh5, allowing me some nasty trick on the queenside... andI can defend f1 in one tempo against the queen and the black's lsb, ifneeded. Of course, I expected axNb5, here, freeing my lsb for my good.But instead... } 20... d4 { It had to come, sooner or later. I'm sure this wasnot the right timing. I can't allow black to open the e column, or I'llbe lost! By the way: if you asked why I didn't take before b7, this canbe part of the answer. The oher is Rb8. } 21. Nd6 { I have to point allmy cannons against f7: it's the only way to survive. And miracolously enough,black spared my knight, that now blocks the black queen's action on thed column. My position is still lost, but... my opponent is not playingaccurately enough to take full advantage of it. } 21... dxe3 { yes, yes, now Itake it back, and Bh6 blocks my queen to the defence of e3... no, no, Ihave to drive the game to MY way. Can I? Maybe... yes, maybe... } 22. Rg3 { Rh3 should have been played before. But now it has an extra meaning. } 22... exf2+ 23. Kxf2 { ...and that's it! Black now can play Qxh5, but I'm notsure he will get enough after KxB, Qf4+, Kg2... } 23... Bc6 { Cutting the kinghtout of the defence of the queen. } 24. Rd3 { Weird, but it's a way to makeuseful the lsb on f1. Now, another discovered queen threat is set. Thisis becoming pretty complicated. Black can play e4, because of Nxe4, Qxh5+,Ng3, Qh2+, Ke1, Bxb2... very, very dangerous. } 24... Qxh4+ 25. Ke2 Qg4+ { Moredangerous was e4, in my view. White can still use the queen to retire,in case of emergency. } 26. Ke1 { Where to move the king? It can be a greatdifference. } 26... Qh4+ 27. Kd1 Qg4+ 28. Be2 { Fantastic! This alows me to cover,getting into the game my last piece. } 28... Qg2 { A free tempo! Yuppie!!!!!!! } 29. Nxf7 { Chess is not for chickens, you see? Moreover: a more passivemove, and black's Rd8 will be coming... can you calculate how things willbe after Rd8? } 29... Bb5 { Pretty. } 30. Re3 { ? Qe6 was the right move, threateningthe classical smothered mate with Nh6++, Qg8+... } 30... Qg1+ 31. Kc2 { Note thatmy rook e3 is pinned to my queen. Black can't play Rd8+ right now, butafter the knitgh is taken... so I'm not out of danger, at all... } 31... Rxf7 { An assassin would have preferred Rc8, I'd say... but it is all very confusing. } 32. Qe6 { ...but not as much as confusing as not to see this mate threat!Now, this will become a deadly fight for f7. } 32... Rf8 33. Rf3 { Yes, this isa 'superpin', indeed... two hanging rooks pressuring a pinned f7... anda BLACK bishop... but wait, the white's king is still exposed... isn'tit? } 33... Be8 { Please count... } 34. Bc4 { add one... } 34... Qg2+ { and now, the winningmove! } 35. Nd2 { ! Foreseen. White's position holds until Bh6 is played... } 35... Qg5 { ...but unfortunately for the beauty of the game, black delays itone move. An useless move, I'd say... } 36. Rfxf7 { No way out... } 36... Bxf7 37. Rxf7 Qd8 { The losing move, but what else was possible? } 38. Rd7+ { SomebodyI know would call it a resignation based of 'ruinous loss of material'...:) } 1-0
[Event "The pawn is mighter than the sword"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.12.05"] [Round "-"] [White "gilden"] [Black "nyctalop"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2175"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1961"] { This game was played in the 60th GK Tournament, on the fourth round. Ihave to give thanks to my opponent for avoiding the repetition that wasavailable to him at one point and allowing me to play one of my best gamesso far on this site. } 1. e4 c5 { I guess I'll have to start mixing it upsooner or later to prevent deep preparation, but so far that's not beennecessary. Anyway, the Sicilian is, in my opinion, the best defense to1. e4. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Bxf6 { A peculiar move order that gives me a few extra options but noneare as good as the main lines. } 8... gxf6 9. Na3 { For example, here I couldhave played 9...f5, but then the Na3 can come to c4 and White has resolvedthe main problem of this opening early on. } 9... b5 10. Nd5 f5 { I've seen Magnussticking to 10...Bg7 here, probably to avoid some sharper and forced lines.I'm still happy with this move and I don't intend to switch in the nearfuture. } 11. c3 { A particularly useful move for White. It covers both d4and b4, it makes room for the Na3 to be brought into play via c2 and insome lines it allows the White Queen to come into play. } 11... Bg7 12. Bd3 Be6 13. O-O Bxd5 { Now the game has transposed to a main line of the opening. } 14. exd5 Ne7 { All very natural moves by both sides. I have a slight worsepawn structure but a temporary superiority in the center. } 15. Nc2 O-O 16. Qh5 { I think this is all theory, with a rather balanced statistic.I think it would be hard to say White has achieved much from the openinghere. } 16... e4 17. Be2 f4 { A rather loose looking move, but you cannot affordto play passively with Black. Your only chance is active counterplay orelse White will slowly push you off the board. } 18. a4 { One of White'sideas for counterplay in this line. He attacks my b5 pawn and either forcesme to give up a pawn or activate his pieces and be stuck with a weak pawnon the a-file. } 18... Ng6 19. Bg4 { Trying to win the b5 pawn immediately runsinto all sorts of problems. After 19. axb5 f3 20. Bc4 (20. gxf3 Nf4) fxg221. Rfe1 (21. Kxg2 Nf4+) axb5 22. Rxa8 Qxa8 23. Bxb5 Qa2! and White's Q-sidepawns will fall, his pieces are stuck on the wrong side of the board andhis King is more vulnerable than mine. With the text, White gives up ontrying to win the pawn and instead focuses on keeping his Bishop active. } 19... Re8 { Just activating the Rook. The f-file isn't going to open any timesoon, so the Rf8 was the piece that needed to be activated. } 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Qxa8 22. Ra1 { My opponent swaps a pair of Rooks in order to seizethe a-file and gain entry to the weak points on my Q-side. } 22... Qb7 23. Nb4 Re5 { I was thinking about pushing the e-pawn directly, but first I wantedto misplace his Queen. } 24. Qh3 f3 { Vacating the f4 square for the Knightand weakening the White castle. } 25. gxf3 h5 { Taking isn't possible becauseof Nf4, so White has to move the Bishop. } 26. Bc8 Nf4 { Inviting a Queenswap. Around here I was thinking that this was going to be an early draw. } 27. Bxb7 Nxh3+ 28. Kg2 Nf4+ 29. Kf1 { 29. Kg3 draws on the spot and I haveto keep checking with the Knight in order not to lose material. } 29... exf3 { Nowthe f3 pawn is rather pesky for White. f2 can become weak and the backrank needs defending as well. Still, I think my opponent was fully justifiedto play on. } 30. Bc6 { Now the b5 pawn seems to be a goner. } 30... Re2 { Puttingthe Rook on the most active square. The b2 pawn is attacked and f2 is underpressure as well. } 31. Rb1 { White has to defend, or else c3 will becomeweak after both b-pawns will be removed from the board. } 31... Nh3 { Not givingmy opponent time to breathe. } 32. Nd3 { Forced. There is no other way todefend f2. } 32... b4 { Now the b-pawn has turned from a weakling into an attackingpiece. } 33. Re1 { Since the Nd3 defends b2 as well, White proposes a Rookswap to ease the tension in his position. } 33... Rd2 { Still attacking. Now White'smain defending piece comes under fire from the hyperactive Rook. } 34. Re3 { The Knight couldn't move or else both pawns would have fallen. Defendingwith Bb5 just loses a pawn after bxc3. Now White wants to mix defendingwith attacking. He's not only defending his Nd3 but also attacking thef3 pawn, the main source of his conundrums. } 34... Rd1+ { But now the first rankis weak and I keep on forcing my opponent to make only moves. } 35. Ne1 { Again forced. } 35... Bxc3 { This was a very satisfying move to play. For sixmoves, White has been in the ropes and his position is slowly but surelygetting worse. } 36. bxc3 { Again, forced, but a piece for a pawn can'tbe such a bad deal. Or can it? } 36... b3 { Now the pawn is two steps away fromQueening and all of White's pieces are poorly placed to stop it. His Knightis pinned, his Rook is stuck on the third rank, suffocated by its own piecesand the Bishop needs two moves to get into the action. } 37. Re8+ { The fatalerror. White's best shot was 37. Bd7 b2 38. Bf5 Rxd5 39. c4 Rxf5 40. Rb3Rf4 41. Rxb2 Ng5 42. Rc2, and although White will suffer, I think he candraw this ending, since my pawn structure doesn't allow me to make toomuch progress. With the move in the game, White keeps his Bishop stuckon c6 and allows me activate my last piece, my King. } 37... Kg7 38. Rb8 Nf4 { Anotherblow for White. Now Nd3 is a deadly threat, much more important than apawn Queening. } 39. Ba4 { Finally bringing the Bishop into play but stillrather clumsily. } 39... Ng2 { Forcing White to swing back the Rook to stave offmate. } 40. Re8 b2 { And the pawn is saved once more. Quite a metamorphosis,from a weak pawn on b5, this pawn that was looking like dead meat justten moves ago, has now become the star player on the chess board. } 41. Bc2 { The only way to stop the pawn from Queening. } 41... Rc1 { The Rook seemseven more active on the first rank that it was on the second. } 42. Bf5 Kf6 { Bringing his majesty into the fray. } 43. Bh7 Kg5 { Among other things,threatening f5. } 44. Bd3 { It's hard to suggest anything better. } 44... Nxe1 { Thesimplest way. } 45. Rxe1 Rxc3 { Here my opponent resigned. I guess he sawthe zugzwang that would arise after 46. Be4 Rc1! when White is simply outof moves. All he can do is shuffle the Bishop on d3 and b1, while I marchthe King to the h-file, capture the White pawn and then simple advancemy h-pawn. I really enjoyed playing this game and I hope you enjoy playingthrough it. I haven't had such a long sequence of forcing moves leadingfrom apparently equal to worse position to a devastating attack with veryfew pieces. Also, I'd say the b-pawn was the star player of the game. Hegot saved in extremis, then he was given a free way to advance and thenparalyzed White with just that threat alone. } 0-1
[Event "41st GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "12-Jan-08"] [Round "-"] [White "smartmoves"] [Black "getsirius21"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1459"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1337"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 { Here I was expecting either ...,Bc5 takinginto Guico pianso lines or ...,Nf6 stering into 2N Defence but... } 3... Nh6 { Black surprises & develops his piece on the rim (viloating the basic ruledevelop your pieces towards the center); Anyway white now goes for thecenter p break with } 4. d4 Ng4 { Black probably expected 5.dxe4 & so hecomes down with the text but breaks another principle - Do not move piecetwice unless necessary! but white simply plays } 5. h3 { Driving off theN before taking the central e5-p. } 5... Nf6 { With no good choice black has toretreat the N & in the process he counters whites central e4-p. White nowhas 2 good replies Nxe5 or dxe5 & he prefers the latter } 6. dxe5 { The pointnow was what Black would do? will he captures whites e4-p or retreat theN to g8 & to my surprise he prefers the former } 6... Nxe4 { Black obviously iseither punch drunk or overlooks whites coming next move } 7. Qd5 { Sets Q-Bbattery on the diagonal a2-g8- with dual threat of either Qxe4 pickingthe N or Qxf7 # How will Black react? } 7... Nxf2 { Probably hoping Kxf2 ; but it seems black cracks in the heat of pressure & misses the # } 8. Qxf7# { A good example on how waste of time & tempo whips the attack for the opponent! } 1-0
[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "23-Jan-08"] [Round "-"] [White "smartmoves"] [Black "ngatchess"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1450"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1388"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 { Typical Structure of French Defence inAdvance variation: White has a strong p chain in the center, & black consistentlywill attack the base d4 of the p-chain. White will try to reinforce thebase. } 4... Nc6 5. Nf3 cxd4 { Here we also see 5....,Qb6!? } 6. cxd4 Bb4+ { Thecheck doesnt disturb white but anyway... } 7. Nc3 Nge7 { This N will eithergo to f5 or g6 } 8. Bd3 { Clears the path for castling on the k-side } 8... Qb6 { Brings pressure on d4-p } 9. O-O { Unfazed with the threat white plays asper the plan. } 9... O-O { Better was 9...,Bd7!? reinforcing the threat on d4-p.Immediate 9...,Nxd4? due to 10.Nxd4,Qxd4; 11.Bb5 picks the Q on discoveredattack. } 10. Bxh7+ { with black pieces all piled on q-side this sac worklike a butter } 10... Kxh7 { forced else he simply drops a p for no reason. Butneverthless 10...,Kh8 was called for. Now after the text whites attackaccelerates } 11. Ng5+ { check clears the path for whites Q to join the attack } 11... Kg8 { What else? eg: if 11...,Kg6 stopping the Qh5 thrust is met with 12.Qd3,f5; 13.Qh3! swing for the final blow via h7 # } 12. Qh5 { Threatens 13.Qh7#, so there is } 12... Rd8 { Idea is if 13.Qh7 ,Kf8; 14.Qh8 ,Ne8 blocks the checkwhen black K escapes via e7; but text weakens f7, so white strikes firstthere } 13. Qxf7+ { forcing } 13... Kh8 { Now how should the attack move? } 14. Rd1 { Prepares for the swing on k-side via d3. } 14... Bd7 { It seems black didnt considerwhites last move else he should had played 14...,Qa6!? but then whitesprepares the swing from e-file; 15.Re1,Qd3; 16Re3 - & black is forced topart with his Q in order to save the # } 15. Rd3 { black resigns as # isinevitable } 1-0
[Event "Spelunking the Kingside"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "CykO"] [Black "Iansensei"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 { An interesting OTB game played between myself and a co-worker whois also on gameknot. e4! } 1... c6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 b5 4. e5 { Being the gameis OTB this move was more for irritational purposes and hopes of gainingfull control of the centre. } 4... Nd5 5. Nxd5 cxd5 6. d4 a6 7. Bd3 e6 8. O-O { At this point I have managed to get a decent bit of arsenal aiming towardsthe kingside. } 8... d6 9. Ng5 { I decide to proceed with plan A, shock and aweon the king side... } 9... f6 { B-b7 was probably better, this leaves the kingexposed to the queen. } 10. Nxh7 dxe5 11. Qh5+ { And my will be done. Hecan't go g6 because I will just take the pawn. He's forced to move hisking. } 11... Ke7 12. dxe5 { So I take a pawn and in my head am praying for pxp... } 12... Nd7 13. Bg5 { I think this wasn't my best choice in sacking my clergyman. But Ian knows when I sac pieces that I must be up to something devious,so he doesn't oblige. } 13... Nxe5 14. Qh4 fxg5 15. Qxg5+ Kd7 16. Nxf8+ Qxf8 17. Qxe5 Qd6 { He is set for a mate on Qxh2#. only one problem.... } 18. Qxg7+ { When I moved my queen he was excited! He moved his queen to h2with blistering speed and proclaimed CHECKMATE! However, he was quicklyupset once I told him that he wasn't allowed to make that move becausehe's in check. LOL } 18... Qe7 19. Qxh8 { Plan for mate on h2, foiled...and losta rook. } 19... Bb7 20. Qe5 Rg8 21. Rad1 Qh4 22. Rfe1 Qh3 { A nice little sidewindingassault by Ian. It must be dealt with promptly. } 23. Be4 { I knew therewas a good reason for moving my R to d1. :) } 23... Ke7 24. Bxd5 Rxg2+ { This movewas KIBITZED over ian's shoulder, and we both about gave up on the game,but I saw something and figured we'd give it a try. The move itself isa good move OTB for sure. White BxR and black QxB#. Black wins. Andalternatively if white K-f1 and I lose my queen with R-g5 w/ discovered+ } 25. Kh1 { Only decent move I had. Queen guards h2. } 25... Bxd5 { I must takethe bishop, otherwise another disovered check and I lose my queen. } 26. Rxd5 Rxf2 27. Qc7+ Kf6 28. Qd8+ Kg6 29. Qg5+ Kf7 30. Qh5+ { He keeps behindhis pawn well, so I said forget it, I'll just trade Q's and still be aR up. } 30... Qxh5 31. Rxh5 Rxc2 32. Rf1+ Ke7 33. h4 Rxb2 { I did some calculatingand realized that I could get my pawn up on H file before he could gethis down....but my calc's were a bit off. } 34. Rg5 Rxa2 35. h5 Ra4 36. Kg2 b4 37. h6 b3 38. h7 Rh4 39. Rh1 b2 40. Rb1 Rxh7 41. Rxb2 { Not exactlywhat I had hoped } 41... Kf6 42. Ra5 Ra7 43. Rba2 e5 44. Rxa6+ { He resigns here.We didn't really have time for me to be chasing his king around the board...beingat work and all. :) But it was a good game otherwise, a couple differentinteresting situations. } 1-0
[Event "- - The Annotation Project III - - Mobilization and Attack"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.10.03"] [Round "-"] [White "untateve"] [Black "dmaestro"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1544"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1707"] 1. e4 { This is my 3rd game as White in Freddy's (easy19) third editionof the Annotation Project. I thought this game might be a bit interesting,particularly for those in the tourney. The first six moves are all predetermined. } 1... c6 2. f4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Qxg4 Nxg4 7. Bxf7+ { Althoughnot required, this move is a must. } 7... Kd7 8. Be6+ Ke8 9. Bf7+ { I really wantedBlack's K to move to c7 and then b6. } 9... Kd7 10. Be6+ Ke8 { With this move,it became apparent that Black was either going to keep his K at e8, orwe were going to draw through perpetual. No fun in that. } 11. Bxg4 e5 12. Nc3 { White has to mobilize his pieces and create an attack as quicklyas possible, while constraining Black or White gives away the advantage. } 12... exf4 13. Ncxe4 Be7 14. Ne6 { This is where the N is happiest. } 14... Qb6 { In mycalculations, this is where I expected the Q to go. It prevents Whitefrom O-O and attacks b2, perhaps containing the DSB. } 15. d3 { I was preparedto give up b2 to the Queen to launch an attack. As White in this tourney,I think it's a mistake to play passively. Perhaps 16. Bxf4 Qxb2 17. O-O I'm not sure if this would be correct but this was my idea. } 15... Bh4+ { Thismove surprised me. I was expecting the N to come out (perhaps 15...Nd7,16...Nf6) to disrupt White's attack and get another piece into the action. I wasn't sure of the purpose of Bh4+, except perhaps to disrupt White'sK-side pawn structure and make O-O less desirable. } 16. g3 fxg3 17. hxg3 { Forced or the Rook goes bye-bye. } 17... Bf6 { 17...Bf6 is an error in my view. I believe that Be7 was needed to prevent Nd6+, followed by Nc4, attackingthe Q while at the same time guarding b2 and allowing O-O-O } 18. Nd6+ Kd7 19. Nc4 { Black's Q has very few safe squares, particularly given the discoveredcheck by White's LSB. } 19... Qb4+ { Black's plan is to withdraw the Q safely (obviously). However, this allows the DSB to develop with tempo. } 20. Bd2 Qe7 { White'sN is pinned but protected from any attack. Black's N has not move norhas either of his Rooks. } 21. O-O-O { Breaking the pin, connecting the rooks,and the preparing for a full assault on the King. } 21... Ke8 { 21...Ke8 losesthe Q with 22 Rhe1. dmaestro told me after the game that he considered21...Qxe6 22. Bxe6 Kxe6 with even material. I think that would havebeen interesting but White would still have held the advantage given thathis other pieces were developed and his King was safely tucked away. } 22. Rhe1 { And Black resigns. My thanks to dmaestro for the game. This isa really interesting tourney. I wonder if freddy will be able to comeup with The Annotation Project IV? } 1-0
[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "???"] [Black "???"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 c5 2. d4 { Smith-Morra gambit (I heard that it would be a weak opening,but I play it almost always against Sicilian.) } 2... cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 { Classical } 5... d6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. O-O { quickly castled } 7... Bg4 8. Bf4 e6 { we've both opened well. Problem is that he can't castle yet becauseof his black B } 9. h3 Bh5 { giving the K some space to flee and drivingthe B back } 10. Qb3 { I would like to ask if this was a good move of me(I'm white) } 10... Bxf3 11. gxf3 { I guess I had to take the B } 11... Nd4 { He's enteringmy lines } 12. Qxb7 Nxf3+ { He checks me, but it seems he hasn't yet noticedthe thread of my Q. } 13. Kh1 Rb8 { He completely focused on my Q that heforgot the white B so I could play } 14. Bb5+ { Here he resigned, he would'velost his rook for sure, I'm much better developed and he will come in troublewith my black B anyway. } 1-0
[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.05.30"] [Round "-"] [White "worldtraveler"] [Black "dokimos"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1320"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1353"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Bb5 Nd5 8. a3 a6 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Qxd7+ Nxd7 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Nxd4 Ne5 14. Ke2 Be7 15. f4 Nd7 16. b4 Bf6 17. Bb2 Nb6 18. Rac1 Nc4 19. Rc2 O-O 20. Kf2 Rfe8 21. Re1 Rac8 22. Bc1 g6 23. g3 Re4 24. Nb3 b6 25. a4 Nd6 26. Rxc8+ Nxc8 27. Bd2 Nd6 28. a5 bxa5 29. Nxa5 d4 30. Nc6 dxe3+ 31. Rxe3 Rxe3 32. Bxe3 Nc4 33. Bc5 Nd2 34. Nb8 Ne4+ 35. Kf3 Nd2+ 36. Ke2 Nb3 37. Nxa6 Nxc5 38. Nxc5 Be7 39. Kd3 Kf8 40. Kc4 Ke8 41. b5 Kd8 42. Kd5 Kc7 43. Nb3 Kb6 44. Kc4 h6 45. h3 f5 46. Nd4 Bc5 47. Ne6 Be7 48. g4 fxg4 49. hxg4 h5 { Key decision: f5 not pxh5. } 50. f5 gxf5 { Black takes wrong pawn byadvancing back pawn instead of front pawn. He could have kept a pawn ong4. Instead he will have a pawn on row 5, further from promotion and givingme the choice of pawn position. Now pxh5 so my pawn is further from hiskink and his pawn is closer to mine. } 51. gxh5 Bf6 { Advance pawn to h7for imminent danger to opponent. } 52. h6 Be5 53. h7 Bf6 54. Nf4 Bh8 55. Ng6 Bg7 56. Nf8 { Offer sacrifice of night for pawn promotion, or if headvances pawn his pawn then fork pawn/bishop. } 56... f4 57. Ne6 Be5 { The pawnwas lost. No sense protecting it. The intense need to protect his lastpawn led him to folly. } 58. Nxf4 { Another offer of night sacrifice forpawn promotion. } 58... Ba1 { This bishop move allows me to check then interposemy king protected knight protecting my pawn promotion. } 59. Nd5+ Kb7 60. Nc3 Bxc3 61. Kxc3 Kb6 62. Kc4 { Black resigns. } 1-0
[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2015.02.21"] [Round "-"] [White "nevhelp"] [Black "bird45"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1064"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1049"] 1. e4 a6 { St. George Defense. Usually pretty good opening for white. } 2. e5 b5 3. Qf3 { Nice threat to the black rook. } 3... c6 { Easily parried withthe pawn. } 4. d4 h5 5. Bg5 f6 6. Bh4 { You know what would be really coolhere? Really, really cool? Bd3. Let black take the black bishop (notthat he would). But if he did, Bg6#. Kapow! } 6... g5 7. Bg3 g4 { Ph4 mighthave been better, trapping the white bishop. } 8. Qf5 Rh6 { I really likeBf4 here. Black must move the rook or lose it. If black moves the rook,Qg6#! Game over. } 9. Bh4 { See, the other square was so much more exciting. } 9... d6 10. Qd3 a5 11. h3 dxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. e6 Ne5 { White is going to losePe6. } 14. Qb3 a4 15. Qb4 Bxe6 16. f4 Nf7 17. Bxb5 { This move was a terriblesacrifice. } 17... cxb5 18. Qxb5+ Bd7 19. Qd5 gxh3 20. gxh3 { Using the rook preventsthe right side pawns getting split. The knight would also have been agood choice--probably better yet. } 20... Ra5 21. Qxf7+ { Disaster! Queen forknight is not a great trade. } 21... Kxf7 22. b4 { Pa4 can take this en passant. Not that it helps black much to do that. } 22... Rd5 23. Nc3 Rd4 24. Nf3 { Ne2would have protected Pf4. } 24... Rxf4 25. Ke2 e5 26. Nd5 Re4+ 27. Kd3 { Kf2 preventsloss of Nd5. } 27... Bf5 28. b5 { I think I would have moved the bishop RxBh4+lets black seize Nd5 the following move. } 28... Qxd5+ 29. Kc3 Re3+ { I kind oflike Bb4+ for black better. 30 Kb2 QxPb5... I guess it doesn't matter. } 30. Kb2 Ba3+ 31. Kb1 Qxb5# 0-1