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[Event "Challenge from tactical_abyss"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.02.18"] [Round "-"] [White "tactical_abyss"] [Black "brigadecommander"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2232"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2504"] { Like my last annotation with geniusacamel and his opponent, this was alsoa very instructive and epic game between Joe and Janet. Because thereis so much theory in this particular game, wrecking_ball, who was alsoTA, showed this game in his club called the Deeper Chess Theory Club. He gave a lot of insights about it, which I will mention. There are interestingthings about this, that have changed history which is also what makes anepic game. First, brigadecommander has played and won against all of heropponents with the Berlin Defense. But, in this case, she only made onemistake, but that is what sealed her fate. So, how did this game unfold? } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O { Of course, the most common responseto the Ruy Lopez. } 4... Nxe4 { Ok move. Generally, speaking this doesn't wina pawn because white generally takes back with 5.Nxe4 But, not this time. The question is why, meaning, why didn't he recapture? } 5. d4 { The moveis ok and develops something But, in answer to the question above: first,wrecking_ball gives things away. The reason being is that he'll give theopponent an opportunity and make one think that winning something is enoughto have a noticeable. But, as we know, winning something is generallynot enough. You also need the theory and the fundamentals, like K safetyand other things. But, the idea is that even if you have won something,you need to still play accurately to maintain your advantages, as otherwise,you throw it away and suddenly find that the opponent has the advantage. Often, strong enough to win, and that is exactly what wrecking_ball emphasizesand teaches by giving things away. In fact, that's one logic behind thoseQ sacs as we know about. And, often he does win because the opponent underestimateshim after having won something like the Q. The idea is, like I said, evenin a winning position, you still have to be careful and not become overlyconfident as it could spell disaster. Second, white will get that pawnback shortly, so it doesn't actually lose anything. But, the idea behindthe first reason is to give you something to think about, in answer towhy WB does so as it's an important concept to the theory and concepts,as discussed in that club. } 5... Nd6 { ! Ok, time to really get into it, asthat's how you learn. So, with it, one might think or ask, why Janet didn't5...exd4 because it achieves liquidation, exchanges when ahead with 6.Nxd4,Nxd4 7.Qxd4. Well, that isn't so, and 5...exd4?? is a blunder becausewhite would immediately answer with 6.Qe2! actually winning a piece bydirectly pinning the N. So, ...PXP isn't good. Instead, this is the bestmove because black avoids that nasty pin. And, it wins back the pawn rightaway. } 6. Bxc6 { So, it starts with this move. } 6... dxc6 { Now, you might thinkthat these doubled pawns aren't good. First, it's toward the center, soit can't be that bad. Second, as I learned black still has plenty of opportunitiesto deploy and mobilize her pieces. In fact, it will make it that mucheasier, since her LSB can get right out. So overall, being forced to doublethose pawns, really wasn't bad, at all. } 7. dxe5 { !! And, this is wherewhite regains his pawn, and at the same time, gains time with this move. Now, that brigadecommander needs to protect her piece, this gives TA thetime he needs to come up with another plan. In addition, there's evenmore to this then meets the eye because this is part of the plan, as Iwill explain more on my next comment. But, that is why I deem it worthyof the double exclamation points. } 7... Nf5 8. Qxd8+ { And, this was the plan,with 7.dxe5 Instead of developing, which I would've considered, what heplayed, believe it or not, is exactly what I would've done. As now, blackhas lost the opportunity to castle, and this kind of capture is known,from my experience to expose the K. Of course, not right away, but eventually,as there is now a weakness which is quite vulnerable to attack. And, thatwas the idea behind 7.dxe5!! } 8... Kxd8 { As we know, this was how he had torecapture, so the move was forced. That's why black can no longer castle. Even though it's early to call, I'd say that with best play, white shouldwin this game, especially, given his rating. Taking away castling rights,like this, is how I've won several games, coincidentally. } 9. Rd1+ { Alsowhat I would've played. } 9... Ke8 { ! Best, as any thing else loses a piece dueto the e pawn. But, white kept that in mind which is a reason that heplayed 9.Rd1+! } 10. Nc3 { To develop another piece. } 10... Be6 { The same couldbe said for black. } 11. Ng5 { So, if black's not threatening anything, likea mate or loss of material, why did white disobey the guideline and movethe same piece more then once? Well, the reason is that, and it's somethingelse he teaches is that while opening guidelines are generally important,you don't have to follow them to win or do well. There was a game whereI broke all the guidelines and won, though it should've been lost withbest play because of how badly my K was exposed plus being down material. But, the idea is that, just as important as the opening guidelines, generalopening principles, is theory. And, if you don't understand about theory,even with better opening, or even being way ahead in that department, andactually having rooks connected and the center completely controlled, whereas,the other still has two or three pieces to develop, you can't defeat him. And, he has proven it to be true. In fact, that's where I got the ideaafter a lucky win to annotate a game where I didn't follow the basic guidelines,yet won, after so many told me that I lost previous game and did not dowell because of my failure to open properly. In it, he specifically commentedon what people say that because you didn't follow the guidelines, you lost,and he said that's weak because of theory, fundamentals, and concepts whichalso play an essential role. } 11... Bc8 { ?? According to the post game analysisand WB this is the only inaccurate move from black. Unfortunately, thisloses, however. It's a blunder, now the analysis shows why, but what WBis even worse then why it's listed as an inaccuracy. I don't what thebest move was, but what the analysis would actually be an illegal becausethey suggested 11...Be7 But, the reason they classify as a blunder isbecause of 12.Ne2, Be7 13.Nf3, Be6 14.Nf4, Bc4 15.g4, Nh4 16.Nxh4, Bxh417.Rd4, Bb5 18.Nh5, g5 19.f4, gxf4 20.Bxf4 But, as noted, WB has biggerplans. And, one thing worth noting, is that after this move, white calculatesthis win. I know because it was indirectly implied in the Deeper ChessTheory Club. And, the thing is that, despite not being a GM, as per whathe said, he can occasionally calculate 60 moves in advance which is veryimpressive. So, that's where it generally only takes one mistake to makeor break against a player like TA. } 12. Nge4 { Already starting the aggressiveplan, as noted earlier. } 12... Be6 { Ok, getting a piece into play, and preparingto castle which is always a good idea. } 13. h3 { In general, this wouldnot be a good move since he developed that h pawn before getting the lastpiece out and opening up a pawn right near the K. But, this is an exceptionas it's part of his winning plan. And, one thing to add is that I've seenTA win with his K exposed. He showed a game a game where it was beyondexposed but still won. } 13... h5 { ! The idea behind this is to prevent whitefrom taking that B, and forcing her to double pawns. However, betterwas to castle with 13...0-0-0 since K safety is very important. } 14. Ng5 { So, white comes back with that aggressive move. } 14... Rh6 { But, black won'thave to double up when if white plays 15.Nxe6, and that is why 13...h5!was good. However, this is where I, as noted, would've castled Q side,once and for all for the reasons outlined earlier. } 15. Ne2 { I don't whyhe played this. Instead, I would've played 15.Nge4 and when black getsthe R out of harm's way, I'd bring out the last piece, as white. In fact,completetion of development is the only grounds that I would even do thediscover attack. } 15... Bd5 { To avoid exchanging N for B, since in general, abishop is worth more. } 16. Nf4 { Supports what I said a move ago as whiteis still going or that exchange. } 16... Rd8 { ! But, before black does not allowit. And, it is the best way to avoid the exchange as any other means ofprotection would lose a piece, due to the e pawn. } 17. e6 { ! Like I saidearlier, as it does lose a pawn, TA will often give things away, but there'sa strategy and a lesson to behind it. You still have to be careful andplay accurately, even after you have won something. } 17... fxe6 { So, withoutfurther a due, black takes. } 18. c4 { So, white plays here. Now, in general,it wins a piece since the LSB is jammed, but not this time. } 18... Be7 { Instead,black responds here so that when white takes the B, black takes back andit's an exchange. However, we are now starting notice white's advantagesincrease since that B is going to be exchanged for the N, as noted earlier. } 19. cxd5 { As I mentioned. } 19... Bxg5 { Like I also said, white's advantages arebecoming more noticeable. } 20. Re1 { One idea is to attack the center withthe R as attacking is also a way to contest the center. The other planis so that white can win back a pawn. } 20... Bxf4 { But, as we expect, black doesnot make it easy because she takes. } 21. Bxf4 { So does white. } 21... Rg6 { Thistime, to prevent white from taking on e6, but Joe has other plans, as weknow. } 22. dxc6 { So, he takes, and the idea is to take advantage of thosedoubled pawns, since he did this on c6. } 22... bxc6 { So, she takes. But, worthnoting is that this was the only place to recapture, so Janet remains withdoubled pawns which was one of white's plans. } 23. Re4 { The idea is todouble up on the e file, which is why white played. So, the only questionthat remains is how long will it take before that happens. } 23... Rd5 { I don'tknow why black this. Her N was not in danger because even if 24.Re5, blackcan still play this and protect the N. But, with this move, white winsback a pawn, for now. Instead, I would've played 23...Rd7 to protect thed pawn. } 24. Bxc7 Kd7 { ! Normally, not good when you don't want to movethat K before the endgame, as where it's generally exposed. But, thisis an exception and a very good move, mobilizing that K and preparing itfor action. So, there is a plan behind this. } 25. Bb8 { Keeping his B safe. } 25... a5 { Also possible was 25...a6, but I like this move better as the pawnadvances further and it becomes a passed pawn, which, by definition canbe stopped. So, it's really a matter of time before that happens. } 26. Rc1 { To put pressure on the c6 pawn. } 26... Nd4 { To alleviate the pressure, asyou now have an added defender for the c file. } 27. Kh2 { To activate andmobilize his K. While we're not quite at that phase, yet, it's gettingclose to an endgame. } 27... c5 { Now, the idea is to take the pressure off ofthe c file, at once. } 28. Be5 { Unlike before, I have no idea why whiteplayed this. } 28... Nb5 { In my opinion, this move was not necessary, as the Nwas already protected. But, my guess is that black had other plans. And,she did so to prevent white from trying since the plan was Bd4, at somepoint, and this move stops him from doing that. } 29. b3 { A very good idea. Normally, I wouldn't have a clue as to why this was played. But, it makessense because, in this position, Joe is achieving a solid pawn structureby connecting his a and b pawns. And, I learned all about this from TA/WB,himself in the Deeper Chess Theory club as posted a very instructive videoby a GM. It gave you the idea of those solid pawn structures. } 29... Nd6 { !Understandable as white was threatening 30.a4 which keeps those structuresagainst the N. And, this move puts pressure right on the center. } 30. Ree1 { ! Protecting it. And, now, things are getting more and more interesting. } 30... Kc6 { I do not know why black played this. } 31. Kg1 { But, I do know what'shappening for white. As it turns out, it is a WM, waiting move, to seewhat black will do next, and then he'll go from there. } 31... Rd2 { Black's ideais to win that a pawn. } 32. a3 { But, white does not allow it. As noted,32.a4 was also playable, and this is how I would've moved to maintain thatpawn chain. But, the problem, though is that the b pawn is then blockedand can no longer move. My guess is that TA is doing another WM, and justwaiting for the right opportunity to move that pawn again and make it quitedangerous. } 32... Kb6 { I have no idea why she moved here, but my guess was toprevent white from getting passed pawns on the a and b files. } 33. Kf1 { But, white is doing another WM, in my opinion. Worth noting that Joedoes a lot of WM because the idea is that he's waiting for opportunitiesto arrive when the opponent has a weakness. However, waits until he figuresout, exactly what it is, so that he can exploit it. } 33... Rd5 { However, I don'tknow what black is trying to accomplish here. It could be a WM there,but why move that R and then back again, shortly after? That is the question. } 34. Bb2 { At first, I didn't know why he played this. In this position,where black to take that B, white certainly would've won the R, in exchange. But, forget about systems or anything else like that. In this particularposition, his B is worth more then the R's, as right now, it has potentialto do damage, so he's not going to exchange his B, even for her R. } 34... Rd2 { That is proven here, where Janet decides to put pressure right on theB. } 35. Bc3 { Of course, Joe protects it with a counterattack. } 35... Rd3 { But,so does black with this move. } 36. a4 { To achieve that pawn chain. But,I would've played 36.Be5 because of what I mentioned earlier. } 36... h4 { My guessis that this is a WM as black intends to get a pawn chain. First, by movingthe g R, and then advancing that g pawn, until it reaches the fifth rank. } 37. Re5 { To put pressure on the fifth rank. } 37... Nf5 { Of course, black hasa way out of that, for now. } 38. Bb2 { To keep that B safe, again. } 38... Rxb3 { Of course, it loses a pawn, but that B needed the protection and, onceagain, the loss of material against WB is not that big of a deal becausehe has more ways to compensate, then it might appear. } 39. Ba1 { Still keepingthat B protected. } 39... Rb4 { To win another pawn. } 40. Rexc5 { But, this time,white exchanges, instead of giving up another pawn. Plus, he is doublingup, which as we know, two R's on the same file is known to be quite dangerous. } 40... Rxa4 { While still putting pressure on his B. } 41. Be5 { The idea still remainsto protect that B. } 41... Ne7 { I don't know why black played this. } 42. Bc7+ { ! Happens to be a very serious check. As, while it might not appear,it's going to leave black with problems. } 42... Ka6 { I am actually surprisedthat black did not play 42...Ka7 } 43. Rb1 { ! And, that's because of whathe played. } 43... e5 { I don't know why she played this. Instead, my next movewould've been 43...Ka7, to prevent white from playing 44.Rb6+, which thatmove would be forced, anyway, but she would be in check automatically gainingtempo for white. } 44. Rxe5 { As noted, I would've considered placing blackin check with 44.Rb6+ However, I, most likely, would've played this asthe move is better. Getting a pawn back, and putting pressure right onthat e N, in return. The check could always wait, until later. } 44... Nc6 { !The best. Also possible was 44...Nc8 or 44...Ng8, but this puts pressureright on the e R. } 45. Reb5 { Planning a nasty check. And, Joe can do thistwo ways. The first idea is to check with 46.Rb6+ } 45... Nb4 { But, Janet doesnot allow this, as she intercedes with her N. } 46. Rb8 { So, this is hissecond plan. It's now strategy, as opposed to tactic because he's preparingfor his next move. } 46... Rc6 { Still trying to get that B. } 47. Ra8+ { But, thisis the check I was also alluding to, which was also the idea behind 45.Reb5 } 47... Kb5 { 47...Kb7 was also an option. In fact, this is what I would've played,if I were black. } 48. Bd8 { Still doing what it takes to protect the B. } 48... Rc4 { I don't know why she played this. } 49. Ra7 { But, white's intention'sare very good. It isn't just the pawn, but what he's doing is puttingpressure on the seventh rank. One thing worth noting, as I learned inan annotation, that a R on the seventh is quite powerful and dangerous. I learned that in my game against chesskingdom64 } 49... g6 { To protect. AlthoughI really like 49...g5 for the pawn chain, as noted earlier, this time,connected pawns would be a mistake. That's because playing would automaticallylose a pawn after 50.Bxg5 } 50. Rg7 { ! But, with this move, is going towin a pawn, one or another. That is, either the g pawn or the h pawn. As they say, one will fall. } 50... Rc6 { And, it is going to be the h pawn. } 51. Bxh4 Kc4 { Going for the opposition. } 52. Rc1+ { But, it is too little,too late, for that. } 52... Nc2 { ?? Blunder. As I recently learned from Jack,when the opponent places you in check, it's usually not a good idea toget out of it by interceding with a piece. Meaning, moving a piece, asopposed to, the K. Instead, it's better to use the K. And, this moveallows white to win a N and get a skewer with another, which wins a R. But, what he's about to play is worse then that. } 53. Bg5 { Therefore,I would've played 53.Rxc2, if I were white. But, I understand why he playedthis, instead. And, with things are actually worse for black, then itappears. } 53... Ra2 { Protecting the N, for now. But, it is going to fall rathersoon, as we're about to see. } 54. g4 { Getting his own pawn chain. } 54... Kb3 { Using her K as a weapon since it is guarding that N and R which makesit impossible to take for now. } 55. Rb1+ { At first, I was trying to figureout why black resigned here, so I did HW on it. The reason why is that,while it would take a while, even with best play from Janet, white hasa mating patter against black. It's not definitely how white would mate,but this is an alternative solution meaning one way to do this. So, somethinglike 55...Ka4 56.Ke2, Rc5 57.Bd2, Ka3 58.Ra4, Nd4+ 59.Kd3, Nf3 60.Bxa5,Ka4 61.Bd8+, Ra5 62.Rxa5# Even if that's not how, white has ways to mate,with no way out of it for black. As a result, Janet resigned. Overall,I really enjoyed studying this game from wrecking_ball. But, the moralis that you have to be very careful, especially against a stronger player. Even if you play super well, against someone like WB, it only takes onemistake to go wrong which is often the case. Something like this alsohappened in a game between Tom and a master. And, Tom was a piece aheadand had a won game. But, he made one mistake, and that was enough forthat master to get his advantages back and win the game, interestinglyenough. } 1-0

[Event "104th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.04.12"] [Round "-"] [White "hopewell"] [Black "stekilvington"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1085"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1138"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 { Now black must protect Pf7. Be6nets white a pawn, but Qe7 or Qd7 trades bishop and knight for queen, pluswrecks castling. Good deal for white either way. Here black should havemoved Ph6 or Bf7 instead of the knight to block this. } 4... Bg4 { Does not help. Pf3 parries. } 5. f3 Bh5 { Actually, very nice! Well done. } 6. g4 Bg6 7. h4 c5 { No, Ph5 takes black's bishop. Black Ph5 instead protects againstNxPf7. } 8. h5 Nfd7 9. hxg6 Qxg5 { Excellent! Too early in the morning forannotations. } 10. gxf7+ Kd8 11. Rh5 Qf4 12. d3 Qg3+ 13. Ke2 a6 14. Bg5+ Nf6 15. Nd2 h6 16. Bxf6+ gxf6 17. Qe1 Qf4 18. Rf5 Qh2+ 19. Qf2 Qxf2+ 20. Kxf2 Nc6 21. Rxf6 Be7 22. Rg6 Bh4+ 23. Kg2 b5 { Oops, Rg8+ allows pawn promotion,and QxRa8 too. } 24. Rxd6+ Kc7 25. Re6 { White flubbed it. } 25... Nd4 26. Bb3 c4 { Nice move, though white could opt to save the rook. } 27. dxc4 { Now therook costs only that pawn. Two pawns... } 27... Nxe6 28. cxb5 axb5 { No! Theknight is lost! So young. } 29. Bxe6 Bg5 30. Nf1 Rhd8 31. a3 Ra6 32. b4 { ? No love for the bishop? } 32... Rxe6 33. a4 Be7 34. a5 Bxb4 35. a6 Rc6 36. a7 Rxc2+ { You cannot afford todo that! White wins a queen. Or tradesapawnfora rook.always a good deal. } 37. Kg3 Bc3 { The bishop was protecting f8. Threatening the rook does not prevent the pawn rook trade at a8. } 38. a8=Q Bb4 39. Ra7+ { Now the rook is lost. } 39... Kb6 40. Qb7+ Kc5 41. Qc7+ Kd4 42. Qxc2 { I would have taken Rd8+ instead. } 42... Be1+ 43. Kh3 Rb8 { Rf8 wouldbe slightly better. You cannot have the king and rook lined up or youlose the rook. So it or the king had to move. } 44. Rd7# { Qd1 nets thebishop. Oh, never mind. The king couldn't move anyway. } 1-0

[Event "not good at finishing games"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.02.24"] [Round "-"] [White "metanight"] [Black "goldmedal10"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1156"] 1. e4 { normal opening } 1... e5 { same } 2. Nf3 { building minor pieces } 2... Nf6 { same } 3. h3 { not sure what white was doing there } 3... Bb4 { bishop } 4. a3 { baD movecause me my bishop } 4... Bxd2+ { + 1 } 5. Bxd2 { lost bishop } 5... O-O { castle kingside } 6. Nxe5 { knight } 6... d6 { pawn wall } 7. Nf3 { made knight go back } 7... Ng4 { now I am one who moves the knight too much } 8. hxg4 { bad start to thisgame } 8... Bxg4 { bishop } 9. Be2 { same } 9... c6 { what did i do there } 10. Nc3 { knight } 10... d5 { pawn wall } 11. exd5 { pawn } 11... cxd5 { pawn } 12. O-O { castle king side } 12... Bxf3 { bishop } 13. Bxf3 { bishop } 13... d4 { pawn } 14. Ne4 { knight } 14... Nc6 { last minor pieceout } 15. b4 { pawn } 15... a5 { pawn } 16. b5 { pawn } 16... a4 { stopped pawn form moving } 17. Bb4 { bishop } 17... Nxb4 { -2 } 18. axb4 { -5 } 18... b6 { stop white pawn } 19. c4 { pawn } 19... dxc3 { could some one explain to me what just happen here? } 20. Nf6+ { knight check } 20... gxf6 { =1 } 21. Bxa8 { I should moved that rook form there } 21... Qxa8 { back to-3 } 22. Qd3 { queen } 22... c2 { thought to get this pawn to the end } 23. Qxc2 { i was wrong } 23... Rc8 { rook } 24. Qf5 { queen } 24... Qxg2+ { queen } 25. Kxg2 { king } 25... Kg7 { same } 26. Qxc8 { rook gone } 26... a3 { pawn } 27. Rxa3 { rook } 27... f5 { pawn } 28. Qxf5 { queen } 28... f6 { pawn } 29. Ra7+ { check } 29... Kf8 { king } 30. Qxf6+ { check } 30... Kg8 { king } 31. Re1 { rook } 31... h5 { pawn } 32. Qg7# { i lost } 1-0

[Event "En Passant ftw"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Me"] [Black "some guy on blitz (sorry I forgot)"] [Result "1-0"] { This was yet another blitz game. I don't have my opponent's name becauseI closed the window before I realized that this would make for a nice annotation. I had this game conveniently memorized as the opening was strange andthe game short. } 1. e4 Nc6 { I don't know the name of this opening but ingame this played out to a reverse Alekhine. } 2. d4 Nf6 3. d5 Ne5 4. f4 { This isn't dangerous as black's e-pawn hasn't moved yet. } 4... Ng6 5. e5 Ng8 { Ne4 was impossible due to 6. f5! Then, if ...Nxe5 or Ng4, Qd4 or Qg4,respectively, wins a knight. } 6. Nc3 e6 7. dxe6 { Leaves black with an uncomfortablechoice of recaptures. } 7... fxe6 8. Bd3 { Threatening Qh5. } 8... N8e7 9. Qh5 { Black'sin trouble now. } 9... Kf7 { Probably better was 9...Nf5, to which I would haveplayed Nf3 followed by g4. } 10. Nf3 Kg8 { ? The losing move. Correct was...d6, though black's still losing. } 11. f5 { ! wins a knight by force. } 11... Nxf5 { This actually was black's best move, regaining a pawn for the piece. } 12. Qxf5 { Queen sac woo. } 12... exf5 { ?? Opens the line for mate. The f-pawnrecapture comes back to bite Black. Oddly, it's the a2-g8 diagonal that'sfatal, not the usual h5-e8 one. } 13. Bc4+ d5 { My opponent must have thoughtthat this would have been adequate, but... } 14. exd6+ { en passant winsthe game! } 14... Be6 15. Bxe6# { Practically a smothered mate. This mate hasbeen known to occur when white moves his king to g1 in the king's gambit. I hoped you all enjoyed this short, humorous (to me anyway) game. } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "24-Dec-07"] [Round "-"] [White "spartalex"] [Black "carnap"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1585"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1623"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. e3 { Why not c4 here? It would stake claim to someof the center immediately. } 3... d5 4. c4 Bb4+ { Similar to the Bogo-Indian butmade with the Samisch variation in mind. 3. e3 allows for the exchangeof bishops without the doubling of pawns commonly associated with the Samisch. } 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ { Exchanging the bishops made me very happy. It makes it alittle harder to attack the kingside with bishop-queen barrage. } 6. Nbxd2 { Why did White not take with the Queen and just simply develop on the nextmove with Nc3? I suspect he was expecting me to take the c pawn, and aftertaking with the bishop to follow up with e4 posting control over the center. } 6... c5 { Immediately challenging the d4. I think this move was better then dxc4in that it at least develops a piece and gains space. } 7. Nb3 cxd4 8. Nfxd4 { I suppose this move was a matter of taste. Nbxd4 would have been acceptableas well I suspect. At least with Nbxd4 White would cover the e5 squarein preparation to the eventual pawn push. } 8... dxc4 { This move violates oneof those addressed in My System. It allows for White to exchange whiledeveloping a piece. Perhaps Nc6 would have been in order to challenge theknight and possibly building a pawn chain after the exchanges of the knights. } 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O a6 { A development move was in order at this point.By playing e5 would have lead to the exchange of the queens but since Whiteis more developed, he would have been in better shape come the endgameruling out this move. Interesting was Nbd7, however it blocks in the bishop. } 11. Qf3 { This move makes it impossible to play Nc6 right away since Whitewould win the pawn after the exchange. The move also prevents Bd7 withthe hope of playing Nc6 under more favorable conditions. } 11... Qe7 { Over-protectionof the b7 allowing for Nc6 again after Bd7. } 12. Na5 Nc6 13. Naxc6 bxc6 14. Nxc6 Qb7 15. b3 Bd7 16. Ne5 Qxf3 17. Nxf3 Bb5 18. Ne5 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Ne4 21. a4 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 Kf8 23. f3 Nc5 24. Rb1 Rb8 25. Nd2 Ke7 26. Kf2 f5 27. Ke2 e5 28. e4 f4 29. a5 g5 30. b4 Na4 31. Kf2 h5 32. g3 h4 33. gxh4 gxh4 34. h3 Nc3 35. Rb3 Na4 36. Nc4 Nc5 37. Rb1 Rxb4 38. Rxb4 Nd3+ 39. Ke2 Nxb4 40. Nxe5 Kf6 41. Nd3 Nc6 42. Nxf4 Nxa5 43. Nd5+ Ke5 44. Nb4 Nc4 45. Nxa6 Kf4 46. Nb4 Kg3 47. Nd3 Kxh3 48. Kf2 Nd2 49. e5 Nxf3 50. Kxf3 Kh2 51. Nf4 { Black resigns here with the idea that he willnot be allowed to advance his pawn while White promotes to queen and winseasily. } *

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.25"] [Round "-"] [White "thegreek1"] [Black "vicerosa"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1824"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1781"] { this was a very interesting game in the sense that it shows how inaccuracieson blacks part can bring down disaster very easily some times. } 1. d4 c5 2. e3 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 { personally i dont like the last move forblack but is playable. } 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. e4 { so far its been an equal game more or less. maybe slight advantagefor white. when i analysed this position after this game i was certainthat blacks next move is not that good. My iron friend confirmed it. } 9... d5 { 9....d6 was better.Now white has an advantage. this inaccurasy gives whitean edge but still hes a long way from winning.After 9...d6 i would haveplayed probably 10.Re1 or 10.a3. } 10. cxd5 exd5 11. e5 Ne4 12. Qc2 { Whitewith the initiative here. Now i threaten to take a pawn.Will black tryto keep it or play for development and counterattack? } 12... f5 { this looks likea good choice and during the game i thought it was best too.however inthe analysis later fritz suggested 12...Nc6. heading towards developmentand not material.Looking closely at the conclusion of the game i agreebecause whites initiative is getting bigger. } 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Ng5 { Goingfor the attack.Now white creates various threats on blacks position.Ne6for example or Bxh7+ winning a pawn.Black must react but in what way? } 14... Ng4 { Black is trying to defend actively here and counterattack. The problemhere though is he hasn't got time for it!!Fritz suggests again 14....Nc6,giving up a pawn for development.Sometimes you got to give something toavoid losing a lot!! } 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. Bg8 { The key move. Now white threatenscheckmate!There's only one defence here for black!! } 16... g6 { Unfortunatelyfor him thats not it!16...Nf6 is best even though white has a big advantagein this position as well. for example 16...Nf6 17.Nf7+ Rxf7 18.Bxf7 withmore material as i had seen during the game. And the variation that fritzgave in the analysis 17.Be6 d4 18.Qd3 Qe8 19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.Bxd5 Nbd7 21.Bxa8Qxa8. } 17. Qxg6 Qc7 { Black was counting on this response, defending andalso threatening checkmate on h2. at first glance looks good. However........ } 18. Bf4 { If black makes another mistake here its over!If 18...Qxf4 19.Qh7#.The only chance is 18.Qg7 19.Qxg7 Kxg7 20.Bxd5 winning another pawn (20...Rxf421.Ne6+).Black is still in trouble but not mated!And if he takes on f4with the rook then.... } 18... Rxf4 19. Bf7 { Its all over.White threatens matein h7 and the only response is black to give his queen and rook for theknight. for example 19..RXf7 20.Nxf7+ Qxf7 21.Qxf7. If he tries 19...Nf6then 20. Qh6+ Nh7 21.Qxh7#.Here black resigned. So if we see the gamehere black made three errors that cost him the game real quickly. Firstof all a slight error of playing 9.d5 instead of d6, then another inaccuracyof 12...f5 instead of Nc6 and finally the most important error 14...Ng4instead of Nc6. One error led to another and finally blacks position collapsed.He could have put up more of resistance later but in the end it was thatsmall mistakes in the opening that led the position to get worse and worseuntil it was too late. In blacks defence i think that 16...g6 and 17.Qc7were very nice defencive ideas but they simply didn't work. } 1-0

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.10.17"] [Round "-"] [White "medix"] [Black "goldmedal20"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "782"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "972"] 1. e4 { I am black and medix is white. I fell behind in my game anotationsbecause I was in 3 tough games. There will be 2 more coming after this one. King pawn opening } 1... e5 { king pawn opening } 2. d3 { does not like white'smove } 2... Bb4+ { not a good idea to check at this time in a game. } 3. c3 { blockscheck } 3... Ba5 { blacks up } 4. Bd2 { starting to build up white pieces . } 4... Nf6 { getting ready to castle king side } 5. d4 { moves pawn } 5... exd4 { what doesexd4 stand for????????????? is that a special move? could someone tellwhat that stands for? } 6. b4 { I can not save both of my pieces } 6... Bb6 { blacksup } 7. cxd4 { takes pawn } 7... Nxe4 { take free pieces } 8. Be3 { trying to getsomething going. } 8... Nc3 { bad move } 9. Nxc3 { lost knight } 9... O-O { castle kingside. } 10. Nf3 { wow really she has a winning edge on me. } 10... Na6 { I needto build my pieces fast. } 11. b5 { tries to take my knight } 11... Nb4 { gets away. } 12. Ng5 { moves up her attack } 12... h6 { stops knight. } 13. Nge4 { moves back } 13... d5 { tries other time to get that knight } 14. Ng3 { gets away one more time. } 14... c6 { attacking on my queen side. } 15. bxc6 { bad move on moving the pawnthere } 15... bxc6 { but got her pawn } 16. Rb1 { I know she will not take my rook } 16... c5 { moves pawn } 17. dxc5 { I can that pawn during my next move } 17... Bxc5 { freepawn } 18. Bxc5 { lost bishop } 18... Nxa2 { takes pawn } 19. Nxa2 { lost knight badmove } 19... Re8+ { check } 20. Be2 { blocks the check } 20... Qa5+ { check } 21. Kf1 { outof check } 21... Bf5 { thinking about take the rook } 22. Ra1 { knew what i was upto } 22... Qxc5 { takes bishop } 23. Rc1 { thinks she can take my queen } 23... Qd6 { wrong } 24. Nxf5 { I could not save both my queen and bishop } 24... Qf6 { but i could takeher knight. } 25. Bd3 { gives knight backup } 25... Rad8 { bring up my rook forbattle. } 26. Nb4 { wants my pawn } 26... a5 { puts the heat on } 27. Nc6 { attackingmode } 27... Rc8 { kngiht is deadmeat } 28. Qb3 { white has a winning edge } 28... Rxc6 { dead meat } 29. Re1 { protects king } 29... Rxe1+ { check } 30. Kxe1 { out of harmsway } 30... Re6+ { check } 31. Ne3 { blocks check } 31... Qa1+ { check } 32. Ke2 { moves } 32... a4 { trying to the queen } 33. Qb8+ { check } 33... Re8 { one last move } 34. Qxe8# { checkmate } 1-0

[Event "A Battle in the Center Leads to Equality"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.01.31"] [Round "-"] [White "klacsanzky"] [Black "theonly"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1702"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1644"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 { Entering the Grunfeld Defense. More suitingmy style of late is 3.Nf3, making sure Black gets in the King's IndianDefense. } 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 { Bg7 is more common, butthis is an active response that works well. } 7. Nf3 { Bc4 is just as good,but I take after the old masters who said to develop the knights beforebishops :) } 7... Bg7 8. Be3 { I like this direct response, but Rb1 is most played. } 8... Qa5 { Usually you don't want to bring out your queen this early on and thisfar, but it has a strong purpose on a5. } 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. Rc1 cxd4 11. cxd4 { I have a pawn majority in the center but it is under attack at the moment.I also have a semi-open file that I need to find out how I can put it touse. } 11... Qxd2+ 12. Kxd2 { Without queens on the board and the lack of black'sdevelopment, I don't have to worry so much about attacks against my king. } 12... O-O 13. d5 { Opening a line for my bishop and gaining more space. } 13... Rd8 14. Ke1 Na5 { Nb4 leaves a strong possibility of the knight being trapped. } 15. Bg5 { Restricting counterplay from black. } 15... Bd7 16. Bd3 f5 { A key momentin the game: advance my pawns and possibly overextend, or ease into thecrux of black's counterplay. Bxe7 is met simply with Re8 and a fork comeson e4. } 17. e5 { I decide to have faith in my pawns. } 17... Be8 18. d6 Rdc8 19. dxe7 { I've won a pawn, but can I hold on to it? } 19... h6 20. Bd2 Rxc1+ 21. Bxc1 Rc8 22. Be3 Nc4 { A key move from black the creates the draw. Bd4 and blackwill slowly win the pawns on e7 and e5 with the advance of the king. } 23. Bxa7 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 25. Ke2 { I offered a draw based on us bothhaving dark/light square bishops and equal material without any sight ofan endgame advantage for each side. The pawn on e7 falls in no time afterKf7 and Rc7. A solid game from both players. Black seemed to play withmore purpose, but came up short on an advantage. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Yahoo Chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "ax2kool"] [Black "docrabax"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "12 Minutes"] { Notes by Kaze } 1. e4 d6 { I am not used to d6 defence, hence from hereon, I did whatever seemed natural to me. } 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 { A sortof KID set up? So i assume that my opponent is going to castle on kingside. I commence my attack without delay. } 4. Bd3 { The ideas behind myplay in this game are very simple. Starting with this move - I simply placethe bishop on a diagonal that may be useful in attacking the king later. } 4... Bg7 { KID setup - ish...i was right! } 5. Nf3 { Developing. Better thanNge2 because I can now use Ng5 square to attack the king. } 5... O-O 6. h3 { Thisis not to stop Bg4, that pin is useless. Bg4 h3, Bxf3 Qxf3 etc and whitehas a more pieces out in the open. The idea behind this move is just pawnexpansion on king side } 6... c5 7. Be3 { The previous move allows me to do thismove without worrying about Ng4 } 7... b6 { hmm, not sure how useful this moveis. Black should focus more on developing pieces here. } 8. Qd2 { idea isto castle queen side and launch a quick attack on black's king } 8... Re8 { Don'tknow what black is doing. Nbd7 looks good here with idea of cxd4 and thenNc5... } 9. O-O-O { Natural...white is ready to launch an attack } 9... a5 { black'scounter attack. I see that the pawns are too far away to threaten my knightright away..hence i begin expanding making threats of my own. } 10. g4 Ba6 { This move is troublesome because if the black bishop takes my whitebishop...my queen will be displaced from line of fire :P (i.e. the c1- h6 diagonal). Hence, i have to take the bishop first but I still havetime to do some damage on the king side. } 11. g5 { simple. displaces theknight and allows h4 } 11... Nfd7 12. Bxa6 { the idea previously discussed } 12... Rxa6 13. h4 { yup. } 13... b5 { now this is troublesome...the pawns have closed in now... } 14. h5 { I keep attacking. b4 here can be answered with Na4 or Ne2. In termsof pawn threats, white is still winning. } 14... Nc6 15. hxg6 { opens the h file } 15... fxg6 16. Qe2 { the idea here is to attack the b5 pawn and preventing b4. } 16... Qc7 { maybe he's planning Qxb5 Rb6 and thus attacking my b2 pawn... } 17. Qxb5 { But i go ahead and take it anyways because I notice that after thismove I have Qc4+ } 17... Rb6 { as predicted } 18. Qc4+ { Now the queen can infiltratethe black kingdom } 18... Kh8 19. Qf7 { easy and dangerous...black is runningout of options Rook is being threatened and Qxg6 is also a possibility } 19... Nd8 { This doesn't stop anything... } 20. Rxh7+ { BAM! K0! Kxh7 forced.Rh1+ seals the game after that } 20... Kxh7 21. Rh1# { Good game Mr. Docrabax.See you in Hell :D } 1-0

[Event "Ruy Lopez, aka Spanish Torture"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.10.09"] [Round "-"] [White "rjacobs"] [Black "elvuelodelcondor"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1781"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1590"] 1. e4 { Here's another mysterious resignation... I don't mind people resigningagainst me but it would help my sanity if I understood why! This gameis in a pretty serious mini-tournament in which I'm not doing very well,so this game was a nice bonus... } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. d4 Bb6 7. Re1 d6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 { Is Black overstretchinghimself with this move? } 10. Bg3 g4 { and even more so with this? } 11. dxe5 gxf3 12. exf6 Qxf6 13. Qxf3 Qxf3 14. gxf3 { as the smoke clears, White isa doubled pawn ahead, hardly worth crowing about. } 14... Kh7 { Black makes roomfor his rook to attack on the g-file, I think. } 15. Nd2 { Developing mylast minor piece as quickly as possible. } 15... Be6 { ditto for Black } 16. Kh1 { Vacating the g-file for my rook } 16... a6 17. Bd3 { attacked, by B retreats toset up a discovered attack on Black's king. } 17... f5 { Black blocks that lineof attack } 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5+ Rxf5 20. f4 { and Black resigned! Why? } 1-0

[Event "2nd MICHIGAN SPRING CLASSIC"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.22"] [Round "-"] [White "bekztx"] [Black "salmon_slayer63"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1300"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1400"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 { he preffered to exchangethe figures... but in most games, Bh5 or Bf5 are more played... } 6. Qxf3 Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. Be2 Bb4 9. Bd2 Bxc3 { Another tempo... instead of exchangingthe figures, he could've develop his other pieces.... } 10. Bxc3 e4 11. Qf4 O-O 12. O-O-O { this was a risky move... even though my king could beleft in a dangerous side, i decided throw the pawn-storm at him on hisking-side knowing he could do the same to me... } 12... c5 13. g4 Rc8 14. g5 { it's another good move but what would happen after 14...cxd4??? maybehis position would be much better after 15. gxNf3 dxBc3 .... who knows....but he didn't consider it as a nice going move.... } 14... Ne8 { very comfortablemove for me } 15. cxd5 { i am winning a free pawn....and so far i don't seethe danger... } 15... cxd4 16. Rxd4 f6 17. h4 fxg5 18. Qxe4 Nef6 19. Qg2 gxh4 20. Rhxh4 Ne5 21. Rdf4 { this was my first mistake... } 21... Ng6 { good catch } 22. Rhg4 { i was thinking he would make NxRf4... but i didn't see he could'vetaken my Rg4... } 22... Nxg4 23. Rxg4 Qa5 24. Kb1 Rxc3 { very good exchange todamage my kingside... } 25. bxc3 Qxc3 26. e4 { this is the biggest blunder....i should've secured my Bishop... } 26... Qe1+ 27. Kc2 Qxe2+ 28. Kc3 Rxf2 29. Qg1 Qxa2 30. d6 Rf3+ 31. Kd4 Qb2+ 32. Kd5 Rd3+ 33. Ke6 Qb3+ 34. Kd7 Ne5+ 35. Ke7 Nxg4 36. Qxg4 Qf7+ 37. Kd8 Rxd6+ 38. Kc8 Rc6+ 39. Kb8 Qc7+ 40. Ka8 a5 0-1

[Event "what a show"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.06.08"] [Round "-"] [White "goldmedal10"] [Black "greenwoodrook72"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "700"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "646"] 1. d4 { queen opening } 1... d5 { same } 2. Nc3 { going with the knights } 2... Nc6 { same } 3. Nf3 { got those knights out } 3... e5 { pawn } 4. e3 { pawn wall i am white } 4... exd4 { takes pawn } 5. Bd3 { getting ready to castle } 5... dxc3 { a slow start thistime around } 6. bxc3 { got my first piece next move i would castle } 6... Qf6 { queen } 7. O-O { castle } 7... Bg4 { i seen that a lot } 8. h3 { pawn } 8... Bxf3 { -6 } 9. Qe1 { safe } 9... d4 { pawn } 10. exd4+ { how is this a check? } 10... Nce7 { knight } 11. gxf3 { pawn } 11... Qxf3 { queen } 12. Kh2 { protecting the king } 12... O-O-O { castle } 13. Be2 { bishop } 13... Nf6 { forgot about that queen one more time } 14. Bxf3 { now starting to relax some after a slow start } 14... g5 { pawn } 15. Bxb7+ { check } 15... Kd7 { you could of took that bishop } 16. c4 { pawn } 16... Rb8 { rook } 17. c5 { pawn } 17... c6 { pawn } 18. d5 { pawn } 18... cxd5 { black does not know he could take that bishop } 19. c6+ { check } 19... Kd6 { king } 20. Bxg5 { bishop } 20... h6 { i would take that knight } 21. Bxf6 { +10 } 21... Rg8 { rook } 22. c7 { pawn } 22... Re8 { getting ready for the pawnto queen } 23. Bxd5 { bishop } 23... Nxd5 { bad move on my shake } 24. c4 { pawn } 24... a5 { pawn } 25. cxd5 { pawn } 25... h5 { pawn } 26. Rc1 { rook } 26... Kxd5 { down to pawns a bishopand rook } 27. c8=Q { this is in my favor black takes that q and i couldtake that rook } 27... Rxe1 { i should of moved that queen } 28. Rcxe1 { rook } 28... Bd6+ { black check } 29. f4 { blocks } 29... Rg6 { rook } 30. Qb7+ { check } 30... Kc5 { king } 31. Qxf7 { queen } 31... Rxf6 { takes bishop } 32. Qxf6 { I can handle it now } 32... Bc7 { bishop } 33. Qf5+ { check } 33... Kd6 { k } 34. a4 { pawn } 34... Bd8 { bishop } 35. Qxh5 { queen } 35... Bb6 { b } 36. f5 { pawn } 36... Bd4 { bishop } 37. f6 { pawn } 37... Bc3 { bishop } 38. f7 { pawn } 38... Bg7 { bishop } 39. f8=Q+ { check } 39... Bxf8 { bishop } 40. Rxf8 { rook } 40... Kd7 { king } 41. Rf7+ { check } 41... Kd6 { k } 42. Rf6+ { check } 42... Kd7 { k } 43. Rd1+ { check } 43... Ke7 { k } 44. Re1+ { check } 44... Kxf6 { k } 45. Rf1+ { check } 45... Ke6 { k } 46. Re1+ { check } 46... Kd6 { k } 47. Rd1+ { check } 47... Ke6 { k } 48. Re1+ { check } 48... Kd6 { k } 49. h4 { pawn } 49... Kc6 { k } 50. Qg6+ { check } 50... Kd5 { k } 51. h5 { pawn } 51... Kd4 { k } 52. h6 { pawn } 52... Kc3 { k } 53. h7 { pawn } 53... Kd4 { k } 54. h8=Q+ { check } 54... Kd5 { k } 55. Rd1+ { check } 55... Kc5 { k } 56. Qc8+ { check } 56... Kb4 { k } 57. Qe4+ { check } 57... Kb3 { k } 58. Rb1+ { check } 58... Ka3 { k } 59. Qe3+ { check } 59... Kxa4 { k } 60. Ra1+ { check } 60... Kb5 { k } 61. Qe5+ { check } 61... Kb6 { k } 62. Qd8+ { check } 62... Kc6 { k } 63. Qa8+ { check } 63... Kd7 { k } 64. Qg7+ { check } 64... Ke6 { k } 65. Qgg8+ { check } 65... Ke5 { k } 66. Re1+ { check } 66... Kf4 { k } 67. Rf1+ { check } 67... Ke3 { k } 68. Qa7+ { check } 68... Ke4 { k } 69. Re1+ { check } 69... Kf4 { k } 70. Qf8+ { check } 70... Kg4 { k } 71. Rg1+ { right here when the checkmate just pop out at me } 71... Kh4 { k } 72. Qd4+ { check } 72... Kh5 { k } 73. Qfh8# { checkmate I iwon } 1-0

[Event "82nd GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.06.06"] [Round "-"] [White "haapala"] [Black "jobser"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1725"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1940"] 1. d4 { I don't know how many times I had lost hope in this game. I wascompletely outplayed for the majority of the game...and just when I deepin the trenches expecting the inevitable final blow, I threw caution tothe wind and went for it! Enjoy } 1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Bd3 a6 11. a4 Ng4 12. Bg3 f5 13. h3 Ngf6 14. O-O Ne4 15. Bh2 b6 16. Ne2 { This is moment whenmy troubles began. Haapala's knight begins to roam noticing considerablegaps in my pawn structure, nice holes to place a knight. } 16... Bb7 17. Nf4 Rf6 18. Nh5 Rg6 19. Rac1 Rc8 20. Qe2 a5 21. Ba6 Bxa6 22. Qxa6 Ra8 23. Qb7 Bd6 { A bad mistake by me. A bishop exchange on D6, ultimately leads to a Queenexchange and as a result the C rook can invade the 7th row. Luckily forme Haapala decided not to exchange! 24. Bxd6 Nxd6 25. Qc7 Qxc7 26.Rxc7 Nf8 27. Nf4 Rf6 28. Ne5 Nc4 29. Nh5 Nxe5 30. Rxg7+ Kh8 31. dxe5 Rg632. Rc7 Nh7 Best: -1.41 » ... Qe8 24. Rc7 Rd8 25. Qc6 Ng5 26. Nxg5 hxg527. Rc1 Kh8 28. Kh1 Rh6 29. g4 fxg4 30. hxg4 Bb4 } 24. Qc6 Bxh2+ 25. Kxh2 { I had escaped a very bad move 23, and wasted no time to exhangebishops, and quite hopeful seeing the white king somewhat exposed. } 25... Qe8 26. Nh4 Rg5 27. Nf4 Nd2 { My position was getting worse with each move...andunsure how to proceed, I gambled and attemped to upset Haapala's back rank.In hindsight this move was another bad one, which could have lost the gamefor me. Nd2 28. Rfd1 Ne4 29. Nxe6 Nxf2 30. Nxg5 hxg5 31. Qxd5+Kh8 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Rf1 Nd3 34. Rc7 Rd8 35. Rxd7 Rxd7 36. Qxd7 Qxd7 Best:-3.37 » ... Nf8 28. Nf3 Rg6 29. Nxg6 Nxg6 30. Qxb6 Rb8 31. Qxa5 Rxb2 32.Qa6 Kh7 33. Rc8 Qf7 34. Kg1 Nf8 } 28. Rfd1 Ne4 29. Rc2 Rb8 30. Nxe6 { Now Haapala begins to gain material advantage. A hugely favourable position,two strong active knights, a queen deep behind enemy lines and rooks readyto pounce......it looks hopeless for me. } 30... Rh5 31. Nf3 g5 { At this pointI realised it was only a matter of time before I was put to the sword.I simply had to attack. My rook on H5 and strong knight on E4 needed somesupport. Looking at Happala's position only his knight defends his King,and the H3 pawn cannot leave its rank because of the rook pin on the King.......therewas some hope. } 32. Qxd5 { Small material advantage gained by White, butmore importantantly a nice discovered check! } 32... Ndf6 33. Qb3 Qf7 { Blunder!but I survived. Qf7 34. Rc7 Nd7 35. Ne5 Nxe5 36. dxe5 Nc5 37. Rxc5 Kh838. Rc7 Qe8 39. Rd6 Rh4 40. Rxb6 Rxb6 41. Qxb6 Qxa4 Best: -5.06 » ... Kh834. Ne5 g4 35. Nf4 Rg5 36. Nf7+ Kh7 37. Nxg5+ hxg5 38. Nd5 gxh3 39. gxh3Rb7 40. f3 Nxd5 41. Qxd5 } 34. Ne5 { Mistake: -7.19 » 34. Ne5 Ng4+35. Kg1 Nxe5 36. dxe5 Kh8 37. Rc7 Qg8 38. Rg7 Qc8 39. Rd8+ Qxd8 40. Nxd8Kxg7 41. Qf7+ Kh8 42. Qxh5 Rxd8 43. Qxh6+ Kg8 44. Qg6+ Best: -8.67 » 34.Rc7 Nd7 35. Ne5 Nxe5 36. dxe5 Nc5 37. Rxc5 Kh8 38. Rc7 Qg8 39. Rd6 Rh440. f4 Qe8 41. Rxb6 Rxb6 42. Qxb6 gxf4 } 34... Ng4+ { Hope! Moving the king tosafety was the only reasonable move. } 35. Nxg4 { However, I think Haapalawas so confident in his position, merely exchanging knights would not stophis victory. Blunder: -4.30 » 35. Nxg4 fxg4 36. f3 g3+ 37. Kg1 Re8 38.d5 Nf2 39. Rdd2 Rh4 40. e4 g4 41. fxg4 Nxe4 42. Re2 Qg6 43. Qxb6 Best:-7.77 » 35. Kg1 Nxe5 36. dxe5 Re8 37. Rc7 Nc5 38. Nxc5 Qxb3 39. Nxb3 Kf840. Rd6 Rxe5 41. Rxb6 Rh4 42. Nd4 Re7 43. Rc8+ Re8 44. Rxe8+ Kxe8 45. Nxf5 } 35... fxg4 { Opens up my Queen to the F file and now the combination ofrook, knight and queen look threatening. } 36. Rc7 { Fatal error! removingthe rooks defence on F2 pawn! Mate in 3!! unstoppable! Blunder: +Mate(3)» 36. Rc7 Rxh3+ 37. gxh3 Qxf2+ 38. Kh1 Ng3# Best: -5.05 » 36. f3 Re8 37.fxg4 Rh4 38. d5 h5 39. gxh5 Qxh5 40. d6 g4 41. Nf4+ Qf7 42. Qxf7+ Kxf743. g3 Rhh8 44. Rc7+ Kf6 } 36... Rxh3+ { King is left undefended.........itsall over. I wanted to share this game because not matter how bad your positionlooks, if you have strong pieces on the board, there is always a chance! } *

[Event "Reversed colours?"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.11.18"] [Round "-"] [White "kencan99"] [Black "damafi"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1423"] [TimeControl "300+5"] [WhiteElo "1356"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. dxe6 { White omits here Bb4+, his bestrepy. } 4... Bxe6 5. Be2 c6 { I decided to go for a simple developement line. } 6. d3 Bd6 7. h3 { Play this only if forced to, and better as a responsethan profilactic... anyway, it's in white's agenda. } 7... h6 { ...so is thisone. In fact, Ng5 is a nasty threat: I can't allow Ne6 to be exchangedby the N, leaving a poor pawn there. } 8. O-O Qc7 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 { White isslow in developement, so I can reach one by one all my agenda's moves. } 10. Re1 O-O-O { I will suffer from a white pawn's storm, but - speciallyin this white line - this will take more time than my own attack. } 11. Nf1 { Interesting defensive move, opening the way for the dsb. This willbe slow, so let's speed it up! } 11... g5 { White liked to play as black, and hisdesire is honoured. } 12. N3h2 { Another good defensive move, that makesme wonder how to break in. My pawns have to advance further, under thefire of white's B. I need h5 to prevent a piece to land on g4, to makeimpossible for white to play h5 (blocking the column) and assuring thatg5 would have openend the column. I can't avoid right now his pieces togo to g5: the only thing I can do is to sac the g pawn (12... g5) and onlyafter play Rg8, h5 etc. It was a blitz, so... } 12... Rdg8 { I can play h5 now,but I am allowing... } 13. Ng4 h5 14. Nxf6 Nxf6 { h5 goal, reached. Now,before g4, I have to push to h4, as before... } 15. Bd2 { White leaves itto me... well... it does threat something, I overlooked. } 15... h4 16. Bc3 { Thenormal move is Rh6, and it is probably the only and the best. } 16... Qd8 { Myforce on h2 is not really useful right now. Still, a horrible move. } 17. Bxf6 { ...but my opponent made it a good one. Now my Q is again on an activespot, looking to f2. } 17... Qxf6 18. Bg4 { ...and this is the price for my prematureh4. Now I am under pressure, and I have to be very calm to defend. My Qon f6 comes to be a real annoyance, blocking my f pawn when needed. } 18... Re8 { My attack being blocked, my R has to return to duty. } 19. Bxe6+ { Whiteis happy with exchanging down and go to the endgame. } 19... Rxe6 20. Qg4 Re8 21. c3 { I wouldn't have taken the pawn: white correctly spotted Bc5, mynext move, attacking f2. In this way, he prevents it. } 21... Kc7 { Unpinningthe R. } 22. Rxe6 Rxe6 23. Ne3 { This N goes to f5, he wants to take myB. I don't want to take it off the diag so easily. } 23... Qg6 { Threat on d3pending after the N jumps. } 24. Qf5 { I can play this, but I won't exchangeQ so easily. Just let me rearrange. } 24... Qg7 25. Kf1 { This is a plain lossof tempo, and besides, it gives me chances. } 25... Rf6 { Now I threat Bg3. But... } 26. Qa5+ { This is nasty, too. If Kb8, Qd8# If b6, Qxh7+. } 26... Kc8 27. Ng4 { Ishould have sacrified on g5 before, no doubt. This square is my nightmare... } 27... Rf4 28. Qxa7 Qg6 { Qh8+ doesn't worry me... still. } 29. Qe3 { Qe8+, Kc7 leavesWQ just hanging over there. If Re1 is not played, of course. } 29... Qf5 { Increasingmy pressure on f2. What else? } 30. Re1 Kc7 { No check if the Q leaves, andQxd3+ would follow. } 31. f3 { Solving his f2 problem at the cost of g3for my lsb. Take note. } 31... Ra4 { This is not to attack the pawn, but to makeroom for my B. Of course, I can't move it there now, or checks will start.But... } 32. a3 Ra5 { White should be able to win this by pushing those pawns,but I have to hope for a weakness. } 33. d4 { Preparing Ne5, probably. } 33... Rb5 { Just inviting him to block my R with b4. Maybe I should have gonec5 instead. } 34. Re2 { Wow! Look well to this move, and try to understandwhy this is a blunder. } 34... Qb1+ { This seems to be a naive check, but afterRe1, Qxb7, winning a pawn and opening the way for a massive penetration.White saw all that, and unfortunately played the alternate move too quickly,allowing a splendid... } 35. Kf2 Bg3# { ...mate! I hope you enjoyed thisone. White made some mistake (so did I!), but overall he played very intelligentdefensive moves in many occasions, don't falling in easy traps. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.01.20"] [Round "-"] [White "kapila"] [Black "bennykoo"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1295"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1138"] 1. d4 d5 2. e3 a6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Be2 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. O-O h6 7. b3 Bb4 8. Bb2 O-O 9. a3 Bd6 10. Na4 { Thinking about 11. N c5 to make some pressurein the Queen side. } 10... b6 { The b pawn fenced the next move. } 11. Bd3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bb7 14. Nf3 c5 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 { A pawn is smoothly stolen. } 16. Nxb6 Rab8 { Looking for a fork. } 17. Nd7 { Black is in deep trouble. } 17... Qd8 18. Nxb8 Qxb8 19. c4 dxc4 20. Bxc4 Rd8 21. Qd3 { White made a bad moveputting the Queen in danger. } 21... Bxh2+ { With the check, I realized that I'llloose the Queen. } 22. Nxh2 Rxd3 23. Bxd3 { Fortunately, Bishop came intothe action and got the Rook, leaving Black Queen against three pieces includingthe two Rooks. } 23... Qd6 24. Rfd1 Qf6 25. Be2 Be4 26. Bf3 Bc2 27. Rdc1 Bxb3 28. Rab1 c4 29. Bd5 Qd6 30. Bxc4 { Marching for the victory, the menaceof the c file has eliminated. } 30... Bxc4 31. Rxc4 Qxa3 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. Rb7 Kg6 34. Rc6+ f6 35. Ra7 a5 36. Rcc7 Qa1+ 37. Nf1 { I got my King safe enoughwith the excess Knight. } 37... f5 38. Rxg7+ { Just harvesting!!!!!!!! } 38... Qxg7 39. Rxg7+ Kxg7 { Got rid of all the major pieces off the board. } 40. Nd2 { Myguardian is coming into action. } 40... a4 41. Nc4 Kf6 42. Kf1 Ke6 43. Ke2 { Desperateof the pawn and black resigning, giving me the victory!!!! } 1-0

[Event "Imbalance of Risks"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.11"] [Round "-"] [White "blake84120"] [Black "renatodefrias"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1654"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<7d"] [WhiteElo "1897"] 1. e4 { A Mini-tournament game, I'm playing white and, you guessed it, Istart with the Open Game. } 1... e6 2. d4 { My opponent, however, didn't wanttoo much openness evidently, since he chose the French Defense. } 2... d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 { My favorite French trick, though I never get to pull itoff, is to follow 4. Bg5 with 5. e5 and win a knight. Black never seemsto let me do it though. I blame the GK DB... Nevertheless, it's a goodway to develop a piece, with a threat, and it nearly forces black's reply. } 4... Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 { And now black is getting in his ownway, with his knight on d7 blocking his LSB. But of course, anyone playingthe French very often knows to expect a little cramping. } 7... a6 8. Nf3 c5 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. O-O-O { Developing moves by both sides. } 10... c4 11. f5 { Timeto poke the bear, see if he growls. The pawn on f5 is not protected, andcan be freely captured, but white will reply with 12. Nxd5 threatening13. Nc7+ and 14 Nxa8. } 11... Nb6 12. fxe6 { The e6 pawn is, in my opinion, thelynch pin of the French. So he dies, though black can replace him quicklyenough if he chooses. } 12... Bxe6 13. g3 { The long diagonal looks good for white'sLSB. } 13... h6 14. h3 { Preventing the pin by keeping the black bishop off ofg4. } 14... Nd7 15. Bg2 b5 16. Nh4 { Planning to go to f5, though white is aboutto get sidetracked and it will take 6 moves to get this knight to f5. } 16... Nb6 17. Ne2 { Sidetrack. This knight wants to whelm upon the black bishopon e6. } 17... b4 18. Nf4 O-O-O 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Rhf1 { Cogitating and cogitating.How white dearly would love to get his LSB on the h3-c8 diagonal and skewerthe black queen to her king, but I could not find the way to force it tohappen. Though, if I had not played 16. Nh4, the way would be open for20. H4 threatening 21. Bh3. Not that I think that would have worked, andit's even less likely as a three-move combo. So, instead, white launchesa mini-campaign against black's kingside pawns. } 20... Na4 21. Qf2 { This feelswrong, or at least dangerous, to hunt pawns on the kingside while blackis forming a powerful queenside attack. White's king may find himself injeopardy, risking the loss of the game, while black is risking only theloss of pawns - quite an imbalance of risks. } 21... Rhf8 22. Nf5 { The immediatethreat is to black's pawn on g7. But white is also threatening Nd6+ whichputs three white pieces on the black pawn on f7. } 22... Qg6 23. h4 { White maybe trying to do too much. This move threatens both h5 and Bh3, each ofwhich creates problems for black. It might, however, have been simplerto just start with 23. Nd6+, offering to trade knight+pawn for rook, elsewinning the f7 pawn outright. } 23... Kb8 24. Qf4 { Black solved the threat ofNd6+, so white puts more pressure on black's king. Funny how a kingsidepawn hunt turned into a harassment of black's king, way over on the queenside. } 24... b3 25. axb3 { Black ignores the danger to his king, or more accurately,the danger to his other pieces that begins with a discovered check againsthis king, and launches an attack of his own. White must deal with the advancedblack pawns before continuing with his own attack. } 25... cxb3 26. Rd3 { 26. Rd3pretty much forces black's next move, and 26. ... bxc2 effectively neutralizesblack's advanced pawn until he can get more pieces into the attack. Allof which gives white time to pounce. } 26... bxc2 27. e6+ { Put an ! on this move.27. e6+! took a long time for me to work out, to figure out that all theangles were safe. With a combination of Qc7 and Rb3, white has severalmating threats that black must carefully avoid. 27. ... Ka8 buys him themost time, but then he immediately loses material with 28. e7. White'spawn forks the two rooks, so 28. ... Nxe7 is forced, after which whiteplays 29. Nxe7 winning black's knight and threatening the black queen.29. ... Qb6 blunts white's mating attacks but creates new problems afterwhite plays 30. b3 and the black knight has nowhere to run. But any otherqueen move leaves black dangerously vulnerable to white's mating threats.And white still holds Qe5, forking the d5 and g7 pawns to win another pawn.Faced with all the threats, black chose to resign. } 1-0

[Event "Deadly Sins: Wrath"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.07.05"] [Round "-"] [White "bwaa"] [Black "janek66"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1661"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1692"] { Here's a game in the English where I get a small advantage, but when Itry to force it into a mating attack, a couple of inaccuracies lead quicklyto a lost position. Enjoy, and thanks to janek66 for the game! } 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bg2 d5 5. b3 { White seeks to control the center fromboth flanks, while Black occupies it directly. } 5... Bd6 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. Bb2 O-O 8. O-O Ne5 9. d3 { It's been a quiet opening so far. Both sides aresettling into position; White has a somewhat stronger LSB but it doesn'tlook like Black will have too much trouble freeing his. } 9... Nfg4 { Black decidesto turn the pressure up. } 10. Qc2 { Connecting the White Rooks. } 10... Qf6 { Blackapplies more pressure to the Nf3, though he needs to be wary of a pin alonga1-h8. } 11. Rab1 { White ensures his Bishop will be defended when his Queenleaves the second rank. } 11... Qh6 { Threatening 12...Nxf3+ followed by 13...Qxh2#. } 12. h3 Nxf3+ 13. exf3 Nf6 14. Bc1 { With Black's Knight on f3, the Queenis looking very cramped and I'm wondering if I can win it by force (I can't). } 14... Qg6 15. g4 { The BQ has no spaces to run; now I hope to slide a Knight aroundto f4 via e2 without Black noticing (Ne2, Bf4 Bxf4 Nxf4 and the Queen islost). } 15... b6 { Black prepares to let his LSB out. } 16. Ne2 Nd7 { Black is notfooled. } 17. Nf4 Qf6 18. Nh5 Qe7 19. Bb2 Bc7 { ?! The intent here will becomeclear momentarily, but I don't think this sacrifice is sound. } 20. Bxg7 Qd6 { Threatening ...Qh2#. } 21. f4 { Not forced after all; thanks to gcah2006for pointing out that 21.Rfe1 Qh2+ 22.Kf1 leaves Black with no more threats. } 21... Re8 22. Bh6 { ? This bishop belongs on the long diagonal, not this tinycorner. I am trying to press my advantage with a mating attack, but franklyI can't, and I don't need to. This Bishop should retreat to b2 and thenI need to pull back my Knight and focus on defending my kingside. Thismove doesn't lose on its own, but it certainly is one big step along theroad. } 22... e5 23. Rfe1 { ?? I tried to defend f4 in a clever way (not that itactually needed defending) and bring my Rook into the attack that I thinkI have going, since now if 23...exf4?? 24.Rxe8+! However, I missed Black'sobvious threat, and now I will probably lose. } 23... Qxh6 24. Qb2 { I'm badlybehind and my pieces are disjointed. I'm looking to sneak a mate on g7now, while I try to consolidate. } 24... Ba6 { Connecting the Black Rooks in preparationfor opening the e-file. } 25. Re2 exf4 26. Rbe1 Rxe2 27. Rxe2 Qg5 28. Re7 { ? Inaccurate, but I'm running out of options, and I want to bait the BQaway from her defense of g7. 28.cxd5 was probably better (28...cxd5 29.Bxd5and at least I have a pawn and a slight initiative). } 28... Be5 { ! Black takescontrol of a1-h8, and my hopes are dashed. } 29. Rxe5 Qxe5 30. d4 { Not great,but I certainly can't afford to trade Queens. The game is lost at thispoint, so I won't make many further comments, but we played it to the end,and the mating attack is very elegant. } 30... Qe1+ 31. Kh2 Re8 32. Nxf4 dxc4 33. Bxc6 c3 34. Qc2 Qd2 35. Qf5 Qxf2+ 36. Bg2 Nf8 37. Qg5+ Ng6 38. Nh5 { I'm hoping for 38...Re2? and a draw by perpetual check with 39.Qd8+ Nf840.Qg5+ etc. } 38... Re6 { But Black, as usual, spots my tricks and shuts me down. } 39. Qd8+ Nf8 40. Qg5+ Rg6 41. Qe5 c2 42. Qc7 Bf1 43. Nf4 Bxg2 { ! It isover. } 44. Nd3 Qd2 45. Ne5 Bd5+ 46. Kg3 c1=Q 47. Qxc1 Qxc1 48. Nxg6 Nxg6 49. Kf2 Qd2+ 50. Kg3 Qe3+ 51. Kh2 Qf2# { Thanks again to janek66 for thegame! This game was mine to lose, I think, and lose it I did. A littlepatience would have gone a long way for me here, but I chose Total War,and it really didn't work out for me ;) Comments on the analysis or thegame itself are much appreciated. If you leave a rating, please also commentletting me know what you liked or what I can improve on. Thanks for reading! } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.05.10"] [Round "-"] [White "pablo1965"] [Black "hexchess"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1198"] { Judochess.com is chess without turns! Pieces traverse the board over timerather than jumping immediately to their destination. Once a piece moves,there is a short delay before the piece can move again. } 1. e4 { Opens Diagonalsto Queen And Bishop } 1... d5 { immediately challenges White's weak pawn thatis not undefended by no pieces. } 2. exd5 { white challenges my intentionto take with the queen so white maybe gets lead in development in exchangefor weaker center } 2... Nf6 { I am willing to sacrifice an pawn to commit Whiteto weakening the structure of the pawns and I will get a lead in developmentand take advantage of White's horrible position } 3. Nf3 { white does notwant any of that so just develops } 3... Qxd5 { I have a better center and moresolid pawn structure, but White can attack my queen with Nc3 or c4 afterd4 } 4. Be2 { maybe playing for a draw? } 4... Bg4 { I develop aggressively andcause White to struggle, usually it is Black who struggles, not White } 5. O-O { White castles into a devastating attack } 5... Nc6 { getting another re-enforcementto the kingside } 6. d3 { I'm not sure if White can recover, but maybe hisdark-squared bishop can help his position in shambles } 6... O-O-O { developingincredibly aggressively, White has no chance. } 7. Bg5 { White tries to getthe dark-squared bishop to help the situation but he only loses the valuablere-enforcement } 7... Bxf3 { BRILLIANCY ALERT GENIUS ALERT KING ALERT PROPHETALERT!!!!! I have captured the defender of the bishop, now White mightbe scratching his head wondering how he is left with a deficit, not understandingthat some people are just on another level } 8. Bxf3 { recaptures but.... } 8... Qxg5 { BOOM!!!! now I have extra knight } 9. Bxc6 { takes to weaken my pawnstructure, but it does not matter, I win } 9... bxc6 { no pieces to attack exposedking } 10. Nc3 { I have extra dark-squares bishop and I use it to attackthe h2 square and win the game } 10... e6 { planning Bd6-h2 } 11. a3 { maybe whitethought I was going after c3 knight so he stops my move } 11... Bd6 { but he doesn'tsee that his kingside is lost } 12. g3 { blocks my bishop's path to the strong } 12... h5 { getting another re-enforcement to attack the weak } 13. Ne4 { tradesbut to no avail I win not complex but obvious } 13... Nxe4 { and takes } 14. dxe4 { and takes } 14... Bxg3 { and reveals the rook to the queen so White does not takemy bishop } 15. Qf3 { but I win more easy } 15... Bd6+ { back } 16. Qg2 { block } 16... Qf4 { aim for h2 } 17. f3 { do not understand } 17... Rh6 { aiming Rook g6 to win thequeen } 18. Kh1 { prevents it } 18... Rg6 { attacks } 19. Qe2 { gets away } 19... Qxh2+ { Iwas getting really sick tired of white missing my attacks so I just tradequeens to make win more obvious } 20. Qxh2 { forced } 20... Bxh2 { queens off board } 21. Kxh2 { I lost the extra bishop but I have pawns to win } 21... Rd2+ { rook tod2 check attacks c2 and x-ray b2 } 22. Kh3 { a role } 22... Rgg2 { I win with awfullyawesome process } 23. Rh1 { he blocks } 23... g5 { but i get checkmate } 24. b4 { hemoves } 24... Rgf2 { and i plan checkmate } 25. Kg3 { he stops it } 25... Rg2+ { was nota mistake } 26. Kh3 { same position but no mistake } 26... Rxc2 { takes I am winningmore } 27. a4 { he moves } 27... h4 { now I threaten mate and I win } 28. b5 { he moves } 28... Rg3# { ALERT I JUST PASSED THE BRILLIANCY TEST I HAVE BEEN PROMOTED TO CHANCELLOR } 0-1

[Event "terribyte1's mini-tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "16-Jan-08"] [Round "-"] [White "pretz"] [Black "dronin"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1222"] [TimeControl "3d+1d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1292"] 1. e4 { Since I really only know the Stonewall opening, I thought I'd trya king's pawn opening instead. However, it really just turned into a backwardsstonewall setup. } 1... e5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Be3 Nf6 4. c4 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 { I was planningto develop the knight here anyway, and then to take the knight outpostat d5 after castling. } 5... h6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qd2 { Setting up the stonewall-stylebishop sacrifice } 7... d6 8. Bxh6 gxh6 9. Qxh6 Nh7 10. Be2 f5 11. O-O Rf6 12. Qh5 Be6 13. Nd5 { Finally taking the outpost as I had planned. } 13... Bxd5 14. cxd5 { The c file looked prettier for my rooks, so I took with the c pawn. I also liked being able to un-double my pawns if the e pawn was taken. } 14... Qe8 15. Ng5 { A tactical 'underdefence' error. } 15... Qxh5 16. Bxh5 Nxg5 { So nowI've lost my knight and sacrificed a bishop (for two pawns), and whileblack's kingside is demolished, the only troops I've got over there area bishop. } 17. dxc6 { I thought black would enjoy doubled pawns more thanI did. } 17... bxc6 18. Rac1 c5 19. a3 Ba5 20. f4 { These are sort of desperationmoves. } 20... exf4 21. Rxf4 Bd2 { Like the 'n00b' I am, I walked straight intothe bishop fork. Bad news. } 22. Rff1 Bxc1 23. Rxc1 fxe4 24. h4 Rh6 25. hxg5 Rxh5 { Agreeing to trade off pieces was probably not what I shouldhave down, being a rook down. } 26. dxe4 Rxg5 27. Rf1 Rg4 28. Re1 Re8 { That'spretty much a lost position. In conclusion, my two bad-but-not-fatal mistakeson moves 16 and 21 were both preventable tactical in errors, and whilethe strategic play wasn't atrocious, one cannot expect to tactically blundertwice and still win. } 0-1

[Event "Chess game, Cyprus (Ο.Φ.Σ., ΚΥΠΡΟΣ)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "9 Aug 2015"] [Round "-"] [White "Paris Klerides"] [Black "Andreas Georgiou"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "Rapid"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 dxc4 { Help the white king's knight on the chessboard. } 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. d4 e6 7. O-O g6 { The better move is 7... η6. } 8. Re1 Bg7 { It had been better if the I move had been executed from the 8th rank (8...,Ιη8-ε7). } 9. d5 { The pawn is moving to the first rank. } 9... Na5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 { He/She refused to move. He/She had a better plan. Better 10...,Rz8 } 11. dxe6 Bxb5 12. exf7+ Kxf7 { White to play and win! } 13. Ng5+ { The Queen (with move 13...Rz8) will give the castle (with move 13...Rz6). } 1-0

[Event "That was surprising!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "???"] [Black "???"] [Result "*"] { Here goes the game: } 1. e4 { Rather a boring opening in my opinion. } 1... f5 { Now black is making it more interresting } 2. e5 { Nope! White doesn't likethe idea of the swap } 2... f4 { What is this? Pawn domination? } 3. d4 { It seemsso } 3... c5 { Black tries again } 4. d5 { White still doesn't agree } 4... g5 { Ah, Ithink black realised that white's bishop was threatening its pawn! Butwas that the best idea?????!!!!!!!!!! } 5. Qh5# { Ha Ha Ha, that was sneakybut obviously successful!!! Lucky old white! } *

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.09.27"] [Round "-"] [White "flyd123"] [Black "lyin_eyes"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1444"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1420"] 1. g3 { g3...pfffttt. Come on. } 1... f5 { Didn't expect that one, did ya?? } 2. Bg2 c6 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 { OK, attack the Knight...one of his few movesI liked. } 4... d5 { Took a chance here with a bad move. If he takes my knightI'm in bad shape! } 5. Bd4 { He wimps out, sealing his own fate. } 5... Qc7 6. f3 { What was that!!??? } 6... e5 { And the game begins } 7. Bb2 Bd6 8. a3 { Uhhhhhh,what??? } 8... O-O { Now, my king is safe and i OWN the center. He has absolutelyno chance! } 9. e3 Nbd7 10. b4 Re8 11. Nh3 f4 { ATTACK!!!! } 12. O-O fxg3 { Ripping down the defense a pawn at a time } 13. hxg3 e4 { Notice how allof my pieces are in postion to attack a very suspect defense. Also, Hehas not developed his Queens knight and his King's Knight is hanging outin an alley! } 14. Ng5 Nh5 15. g4 Ng3 { Safe and logical } 16. Rf2 exf3 17. Nxf3 Ne4 { I decided to move to open up the queen and bishop's diagonal.....Imean, who am i to say they cant join in on the action?? } 18. Re2 Ndf6 { Now, all my pieces are ready. queen and both bishops have open diagonals,rook is well placed (Although i really want him on the f- file) and bothknights are waiting for a FORK } 19. Nc3 { Finally, he attacks! } 19... Bxg4 20. d3 { Not sure what that move was supposed to accomplish } 20... Ng3 21. Re1 Qd7 { Getting ready to attack his bishop! } 22. Qd2 Bh3 { OK, lets just lookat the board here. He has not ONE piece past 4 rank. His pieces looklike a bunch of hobo's trying to stay warm on a winter night (that's notme, that's Robert Frost). Again, Im in attack mode trying to get ridof pieces now. } 23. Ng5 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 { Why did he position his queen thereand then take with his King. Bad move you will see after 24...Qg4!! } 24... Qg4 25. Nf3 Nge4+ 26. Kh1 Nxd2 { Game over. He never had a chance. } 27. Nxd2 { Re-take. Understood. } 27... Qg3 28. Re2 Rxe3 29. Rg1 Qh3+ { My plan here isobvious! } 30. Rh2 { Only move } 30... Qxh2# { Blammo! Have a nice day } 0-1

[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "???"] [Black "???"] [Result "*"] { I'm black i'll give you my thoughts } 1. d4 { Personally I hate this opening,I like to open with e5 but don't want to give up the pawn } 1... d5 { monkey see's,monkey does } 2. e3 Nc6 3. h3 e5 { ok I can open 'normally', and can takehis pawn if he takes mine } 4. Ne2 Nf6 { This is a position i'm use to } 5. f4 e4 { I didn't see the advantage in taking either piece } 6. Nbc3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Be6 8. Ng3 Qe7 9. f5 Bd7 10. a3 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 a5 12. Bb5 g6 { My ideahere is to give up my castling power king side to get my rook/s involved. } 13. Rf1 gxf5 14. Nxf5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 Qe6 16. g4 h5 { Here I have multipleattacks, if I take his pawn (hxg4) and he takes back (h3g4) he leaves meRh1+ and me taking his queen } 17. Bxc6+ { Wants me to capture with my queen,but that gives up my attack } 17... bxc6 { So I take with my pawn and in my mindmake queen side castling useless (well at least for right now) } 18. Qe2 hxg4 { His decision, take the pawn and lose the a1 rook or castle and losethe f5 rook. } 19. O-O-O { He wanted to keep his king safe, bad move } 19... Qxf5 20. hxg4 Qxg4 { With my piece advantage I want to do the natural thing andtrade down } 21. Qf2 { guess not } 21... Qf3 { Is he sure? } 22. Qd2 Rh1 { Now thetrade down is forced and even worse for him, he's losing both his rookand queen. I on the other hand can afford it } 23. b4 { White dosen't knowwhat he wants. Now after the trade down I can get rid of one of his pawns } 23... Rxd1+ { He resigned } *

[Event "bodejax's mini-tournament I"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.03.05"] [Round "-"] [White "paladin316"] [Black "chizzo83"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1764"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1563"] 1. d4 Nf6 { The most flexible move. I can play d5 in another move or a indiandefense } 2. Nf3 { This move do not shows the cards. White can plays c4 later } 2... b6 { Playing a queen indian-style } 3. e3 Bb7 4. Bd3 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 { Now, the white`s structure is similar to a Colle system. Togheter, ifwhite plays e4, take adventage. I can allows this move, but was a mistake.Ne4 or d5 are better. } 6... O-O 7. Nbd2 d6 { Now, d5. } 8. Qe2 Nbd7 9. e4 { Whiteare a good central position, with initiative and possible attack in kingside. } 9... c5 { I need space, but e5, stopping the white e pawn, are better. } 10. Re1 Rc8 { To take the c-column in case of cxd4. But me do not take thatidea. } 11. Nf1 Qc7 12. Bf4 e5 { A bad move, with idea to opening the centerand put the f-rook en d8, I gives to my opponent the f5-square and weakthe d5.. White has a clear adventage } 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bg3 Nh5 { Ne3 areinevitable. Thus, I will have the pair of bishops } 15. Rad1 Nxg3 16. Nxg3 Rfd8 17. Nf5 Bf6 18. Bc4 Nf8 19. g4 { White weakness the kingside in a tryto attack. A bad strategy. He must play Bd5, the outpost, with total controlof the position, Now, I have the outpost f4 } 19... Ng6 20. g5 Be7 21. Bxf7+ { Asacrifice without another piece to attack. Best are Bd5. Now I take materialadventage. } 21... Kxf7 22. Qc4+ Kf8 23. Qe6 { Now, I will enchange material, toreduce the attack and approveach the pair of bishops } 23... Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Rd8 25. Rxd8+ Bxd8 { A big mistake, better is Qxd8, threating Qd1+ and Bc8. } 26. Nd6 Bc6 { Only move, but sufficient } 27. Nxe5 Nxe5 28. Qxe5 Qe7 29. Qf5+ Kg8 30. e5 { Best is 30 h4 Bd7 31 Qf4 } 30... Qxg5+ 31. Qxg5 Bxg5 32. Nc8 Kf7 33. Nxa7 { Now, the knigth are out of the game, and the last chanceto not lost is 34 c4 35 Nb5, allows the exchange. } 33... Bd7 34. b4 cxb4 35. cxb4 b5 0-1

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.07.06"] [Round "-"] [White "worldtraveler"] [Black "asmir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1349"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1389"] 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 e6 4. e3 Ne7 5. Nc3 b6 6. b4 Bb7 7. c5 O-O 8. Be2 Nbc6 9. a3 d6 10. cxd6 Qxd6 11. Ne4 Qd7 12. O-O Nxd4 { The white knightat e4 is undefended. In addition, black's black bishop now has a potentialbead on the white rook. } 13. Nxd4 Bxe4 { Knight for knight plus pawn. } 14. Ra2 { White defends against Pc5. Moving the knight would cost a rook,and white can't launch much of a counterattack at the moment. } 14... Qd5 { Thepawn at g2 is history. } 15. Rd2 Qg5 { ...or not. Mate is so obvious andeasy to defend against I would have gone for the pawn. } 16. Nf3 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Rac8 18. Bb7 { White thinks black's rook is better off on b8. } 18... Rb8 19. Bf3 h5 20. e4 { With this move white could pick off the pawn at c7 withhis rook (or the black knight) unless black moves the queen. } 20... Qb5 { I don'tsee black's advantage here, other than that the queen is not threatenedthere. } 21. Be2 Qc6 22. Bf3 e5 23. Qc2 Qxc2 24. Rxc2 c6 25. Rd1 f5 26. Rd7 fxe4 27. Bxe4 { This trade nets white the pawn at c6 or g6. } 27... Nf5 { c6 } 28. Rxc6 g5 { Out of the frying pan, into the friar. Or white's black bishop... } 29. Bxg5 Nd4 { The obvious response here is to double tag black's bishop. } 30. Rg6 Rf7 31. Bd5 Rf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.01.17"] [Round "-"] [White "riwulof"] [Black "strayshift"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1888"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1887"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Be6 3. c4 f6 4. Nc3 Bf7 { The 2nd, 3rd and 4th move of blackhave 2 purpose: 1) get out of books 2) (may be) make me in 'attackingmode' I did not succeed to prove it, but loosing tempo in the openingis dangerous. } 5. Nf3 { Quiet development. Qb3, putting seeds on a queensideattack is interesting. } 5... e5 { Due to his hazardous opening, black has difficulitesto develop kingside pieces. } 6. Be3 Nd7 7. Be2 { White develop quietly andpostponed the question of the center. After dxe fxe, black would havethe f6 square for the knight and e7 for the bishop with acceptable development. After d5, the position is locked and black can continue with plan involvingg6, Bg7, Ne7, 0-0, f5. Like Philidor. } 7... exd4 8. Nxd4 g6 9. O-O Bh6 { I wasexpecting Bg7 } 10. Qd2 { ?! After BxBh6 ! NxB Qd2, black would have toplay Ng8 (beurk) or g5, f4 and the position will open on a very unsafeking. } 10... Bxe3 11. Qxe3 Ne5 { Attack the c4 pawn. After Ne7, I would haveprobablt played Qh6 to prevent 0-0. } 12. b3 h6 13. f4 { Obviously, it istime to open lines for an attack ! } 13... Nd7 14. Bg4 Kf8 { Black start a manualcastle, as other pieces are somehow blocked. } 15. Rae1 Kg7 16. Be6 { Candidatesmove : A] e5, B] f5, C] Nd5, D] Qg3, E] Qh3 Probably the best one wasQh3 with possible answer Nc5, f5 g5, Bh5 White move intend to exchangean active defender but actually loose a piece. } 16... c5 17. Nf5+ { !! the knightwill not leave for nothing ! Black king will have no safe harvest, blackarmy will remain tied. } 17... gxf5 18. exf5 Nb6 19. Qg3+ Kf8 20. Bxf7 Kxf7 21. Qg6+ Kf8 22. Re6 { Well, black is a knight up, but kingside N and R cannotmove, the Nc3 intend to jump on e4 b5 or d5, Rooks can attack on d, e andg files. What should black do ? I was expecting Qd7 then Qg7 (or f7) toexchange the Q but black choose another way. } 22... h5 23. Rd1 { After Ne4 Rh6,QxR NxQ, Rxf6+ is interesting but probably insuffisant. } 23... Rh6 24. Qg3 Nc8 25. Ne4 b6 { Prevent Nxc5 } 26. Nxd6 { Probably the wrong move. Black isso cramped than white should have take time Qf3 or Qc3 or Qd3-d5. } 26... Nxd6 27. Rdxd6 Qc7 28. Qd3 Rh7 { Here my opponent offered a draw. After consideringthe answer to Qd5 I felt there was not enough pieces left for an attackand agreed for it. For instance Qd5 Rc8, Rc6 Qd8, RxR QxRc8, Qd6+ Kg7and the king will be safe in h8. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Annotation on request"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "bobpeterson1973"] [Black "no_genius"] [Result "0-1"] 1. e4 { It's been a while since I annotated someone else's game, so naturallywhen no_genius sent me a request to annotate this GK blitz win I jumpedat the chance :) } 1... c6 { 'I thought I'd play a Caro-Kann', as no_genius putit. } 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 { Exchange variation. Often seen as quieterand less interesting than the main lines, and White is not considered tohave much advantage. } 4... Nf6 { The normal move here is 4... Nc6, since thebishop has interfered with the queen's defence of the d4 pawn, so Whitethen plays 5. c3 and loses a development tempo. } 5. Nf3 { Curiously, theworld DB recommends 5. c3 even though Black has not attacked the pawn.Presumably the reasoning is that the move will have to be played sooneror later anyway. In any case, the next two moves by each side are obvious,and we reach the same position regardless of the order they are playedin. } 5... Bg4 6. O-O Nc6 7. c3 Qc7 { The DB gives this as only the second mostcommon move, after 7... e6, but again the two lines are likely to transposeinto each other. } 8. Re1 e6 9. Bg5 { (?!) Recommended is 9. Nbd2, so that9... Bd6 can be met with 10. Nf1! } 9... Be7 { This move seems at first sightrather less enterprising than 9... Bd6. If White exchanges on f6, the bishopwill be poorly placed whichever capture Black chooses; and if the intentionbehind this move was to avoid gxf6, then surely Black ought to be gladof the chance to add a rook on a half-open file to his accumulating pressureon White's kingside? However, Black's subsequent play reveals that thismove was part of a consistent plan. } 10. Nbd2 h6 { Time to leave the DB.Only three games reached this position; 10... h6, 10... 0-0 and 10... Bh5were played once each, all three games being Black wins. } 11. Bxf6 { Whiteimmediately deviates from Gottlieb-Rousell, in which Bh4 was played. Thecapture allows gxf6, as I mentioned in a previous comment, but probablyafter 9... Be7 White had confidence Black would not play this move. } 11... Bxf6 12. Qc2 { Gets out of the pin and connects the rooks. All the same, it'snot clear what White's plan of attack is going to be. White misses thedark-squared bishop here, since he can't try to establish a central majorityby b3 and c4 as this would allow d4 to be taken. } 12... Rc8 { Black's intentionsare clear, at least: 'Place your rook on the line of the queen, whateverthe pieces that lie between.' This is the start of a minority attack, aimingto divert the c3 pawn from its defence of d4. This plan justifies Black'schoice of 11... Bxf6. } 13. h3 { 'Let's settle this once and for all.' Whitewants the pieces on d2 and g4 removed from the board to give his otherpieces more room to rearrange themselves. } 13... Bxf3 { Black has no choice, since13... Bh5?? 14. g4 Bg6 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Qxg6+ not only wins a pawn butmakes the backward pawn on e6 an instant target. And of course 13... Bf5??just loses the piece, since the e-pawn is pinned. } 14. Nxf3 Kd7 { Blackchooses not to castle, in view of the fact that White could now plan anattack with Qd2, Bc2 and Qd3, and Black lacks the kingside knight to defendagainst this. Moving out of the e-file pin before beginning to advancethe queenside pawns was a pragmatic decision. } 15. Re2 { White begins todouble the rooks, following another old chess adage and meeting a flankattack with a central one. Presumably White intends to advance the pawnto f5. It begins to look like we're in for quite an exciting middlegame. } 15... a6 16. Rae1 b5 17. a3 { Black's attack is getting there faster, and Whitemust take time out to inhibit the pawns from advancing further, especiallywith the queen still on the file Black is trying to open. } 17... Na5 { I thinkI would have played 17... Qb6 here, intending to continue advancing with...a5. This requires the b5 pawn to be defended first, and moving the queenalso makes the rook's veiled attack on the enemy queen more imminent. Withthe move played, the knight is heading for c4, a good square, but too easilychallenged with Nd2. } 18. Ne5+ { The knight vacates the file for the pawn'sadvance. This is the most forceful way of doing so, gaining tempo and simultaneouslycontrolling the c4 square. Black is forced to exchange (an exchange thatfavours White, since the knight was not useful to his plans, while Black'sbishop was defending the e7 square), as otherwise the a5 knight is simplymisplaced. } 18... Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Nc4 { Black gains a tempo in return by attackingthe rook. This time the exchange was not forced, but seems best all thesame, since Black's knight is well placed, White no longer has his ownknight to challenge it with, and the exchange allows White to keep theinitiative. } 20. Bxc4 Qxc4 { Black does not want to recapture with eitherpawn, as that would close the c-file, negating his plan so far. However,the queen capture has a disadvantage: } 21. Qd1 { Black's queen is not wellplaced to get back to defend the kingside pawns, so White is able to keepinitiative by attacking them. } 21... a5 { Black continues with his original plan. } 22. Qf3 Rhf8 23. Qg4 Rg8 { I think better here is 23... g6 24. Qh4 h5, asthen only one pawn (the f7 pawn) is vulnerable and needs to be defendedby a rook. } 24. Qh5 Rcf8 25. Kh1 { A mysterious king move. Of course therewas no danger of Black changing plans and attacking on the kingside, sincethe f7 pawn cannot move. } 25... b4 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qe2 { White decides to bringBlack's minority attack to a halt by threatening to exchange queens andcreate a passed pawn. } 27... Qxe2 { Black is correct to initiate the queen exchange,since after 27... bxc3 28. Qxc4 dxc4 29. bxc3 the c4 pawn gets in the wayof attacking the base of White's pawn chain. } 28. R5xe2 b3 { (?) Surely28... bxc3 is correct, for the reason I mentioned in my last comment; Blackwould like to fix White with a backward pawn on a file available to Black'srooks. } 29. f4 { At last! } 29... Rc8 30. f5 Rge8 31. fxe6+ fxe6 { Now Black isthe one with the backward pawn. However, White will find it difficult toattack, in view of how much better placed Black's king is than White's.White therefore switches plans and doubles up on the newly opened f-file: } 32. Rf2 Re7 33. Ref1 Rce8 { But this is easily met by manning the breachwith the rooks. Now if White tries to break through: } 34. Rf7 Rxf7 35. Rxf7+ Re7 36. Rxe7+ Kxe7 { The result is an exchange of all the rooks, andnow it's down to the kings. } 37. Kg1 g5 { My first thought was 37... Kd6,trying to make more of Black's better-placed king before White's catchesup, but in fact this pawn advance is probably best. Black claims spaceand gets his pawns closer to the end of the board, thus ensuring that the...e5 break is much more powerful when it comes. It's important to notethat, even though it's the pawns that are doing the work, it is Black'ssuperior king position that gives him the advantage, for two reasons: (1)White must centralise his king, giving Black time to advance the pawns,and (2) there is no possibility of White using the c4 lever as it wouldtake his king too long to get there. White must now be regretting 25. Kh1?,but that was by no means his last mistake in the game. } 38. Kf2 { I thinkWhite needed to play 38. g4, halting Black's pawns before they can advanceany further. } 38... Kf6 39. Ke3 h5 { White's king is denied any possibility ofadvancing on the kingside. } 40. g3 Kf5 41. Kf3 h4 { And the advanced positionof this outside pawn secures Black the win. The fact that Black's kingmust retreat is irrelevant, since ...e5 followed by Kxe5 is inevitableanyway. } 42. g4+ Kf6 43. Ke3 e5 44. dxe5+ Kxe5 45. Kd3 { Or 45. Kf3 d4 46.cxd4+ Kxd4 47. Ke2 Ke4 48. Kd2 Kf3 49. Kc3 Kg3 50. Kxb3 Kxh3 51. Kc4 Kxg4and White is still losing the pawn race. } 45... Kf4 46. Kd4 Kg3 47. Kxd5 Kxh3 48. c4 Kg3 { An understandable precaution in blitz. In fact 48... Kxg4 wasfine, even though White is promoting with check, since Black is also promotingwith check and thus has time to ensure that White will not promote at all. } 49. c5 h3 50. c6 h2 51. c7 h1=Q+ { Now we have a queen versus a pawn onthe seventh rank. This would be interesting without the other pawns, butwith them on the board Black just has an easy win by sacrificing his queenfor the pawn. (For the record, without the other four pawns Black winsby 52. Kd6 Qh3! keeping White's king from getting in front of the pawn.If Black plays any other move, White has a draw, since the pawn is on abishop's file and Black's king is too far away.) } 52. Kd6 Qh8 53. Kd7 Qg7+ 54. Kd6 Qf8+ { Black should not be able to stop the c-pawn this way, andshould just take the quick win by Qxc7+. } 55. Kd7 Qf7+ 56. Kd6 { (?) Anyother king move and the queen v. pawn duel would be drawn, and Qxc7+ wouldbe the only way to win. After this move... } 56... Qe8 { ...Black can stop White'sking getting back in front of the pawn like this. } 57. Kc5 Qc8 58. Kd6 Kxg4 { Black now has an easy win (even if you remove both Black pawns!)so White resigns. Well played, and thanks to no_genius for showing me thisgame; it was an interesting one to play through. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.09.28"] [Round "-"] [White "matanzas"] [Black "elwoos"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1552"] [TimeControl "14 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1515"] 1. b3 { Another close fought match with a few mistakes on either side whichas a result could easily have gone either way } 1... e5 { It's a long time sinceI have seen this opening from white so I decided to go for the centre.This is the Nimzovich-Larsen attack, modern variation. } 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 e4 { Played to avoid going a pawn down from Bxc6, b7xc6 Bxe5which I didn't like the look of } 5. Nc3 a6 { There is only one game in thegameknot database that gets to this position } 6. Bxc6 dxc6 { I didn't likethe possibly more natural bxc6 as it totally wrecked my pawn structure,this didn't look quite so bad as an alternative } 7. f3 Bf5 { This is themove that varies from the other game, there Bd7 was played. } 8. fxe4 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Nf3 { Pretty much forced as Bxg2 would be unpleasant forwhite } 10... Qd5 { I'm still not entirely sure why I played this but it does makea claim on the centre and give me the option to castle } 11. O-O O-O-O 12. d3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 f6 { I won't object too much if white exchanges as I canimprove my pawn structure. This move was to protect the g7 pawn from whitesbishop and it was also to prepare for a future pawn storm } 14. Qf5+ Kb8 15. e4 Qc5+ 16. Qxc5 Bxc5+ 17. Kh1 h5 { Here comes the pawns, can I makesomething of it } 18. Rae1 h4 19. e5 fxe5 { I didn't like the look of thealternatives here } 20. Bxe5 Rhg8 { protecting the pawn and preparing anadvance but white had other ideas } 21. Rf7 { I had overlooked this } 21... Bd6 { about the only way to get out of it without losing material that I couldsee. } 22. Bxd6 Rxd6 { I preferred this to cxd6 due to Re-e7, which lookedpretty nasty } 23. h3 { This seems a wasted move to me and was quite a surpise } 23... g5 24. Ree7 { and here it is, however as I still have a pawn on c7 I canresist the pressure } 24... Rc8 25. Rg7 Rf6 { If white is going to start pawn grabbingI need to try to do the same } 26. Rxg5 { To me Kg1 looks better as it preventsmy next move } 26... Rf2 { regains a pawn } 27. Rh7 Rxc2 28. Rxh4 Rxa2 { From herewhite looks better to me particularly with his connected passed pawns } 29. Rb4 { I dont understand this move } 29... a5 30. Ra4 Rb2 { I preferred thisto exchanging rooks as I was hoping to get a passer of my own } 31. Rgxa5 { and once again completely overlooked this move. Clearly white is threateningmate } 31... b5 { The only defence I could see from mate. } 32. Ra8+ Kb7 33. R4a7+ Kb6 34. Rxc8 Kxa7 { Now whites rook is a little stuck and although he cangain more material I think he has lost the initiative and I can get a passedpawn of my own } 35. Rxc7+ Kb6 36. Rd7 Rxb3 { Now there is surely going tobe a race for promotion, I would hope that I have the advantage as my bpawn is one move ahead of whites pawns } 37. h4 b4 38. h5 Rb1+ { White hasto be a little careful now as I have spotted a ploy that I am hoping willget me a queen and prevent him promoting but he is short of time and hisrook is in no real position to gain more time e.g. with a check } 39. Kh2 b3 40. h6 b2 41. Rd8 { Threatens to skewer my pawn with Rb8 } 41... Rh1+ { And nowmy plan comes to fruition, I really liked this move, probably one of thebest I have played for some time. } 42. Kxh1 { Means that when I promoteI can prevent the skewer as white will be in check } 42... b1=Q+ 43. Kh2 Qc1 { Ifh7 then clearly Qh6+ gains the pawn } 44. Rh8 { I need to be careful thatI dont allow white to push his g pawn or his king (or both) up the boardtoo far } 44... Qf4+ 45. g3 Qe5 46. Rh7 Qe2+ 47. Kh3 Qxd3 48. Rg7 { I'm lookingto fork the pawn or rook with the king but white is too canny for that } 48... Qd6 { if h7 then Qh6+ } 49. Rg4 { This was a shock, white concedes the pawn,and likely the game } 49... Qxh6+ 50. Kg2 c5 { Here white resigned. This was ahard fought match with mistakes on both sides, in the end there was anelement of luck that prevailed. I think white still had chances right upto move 49 when he seemed to throw it away. Please comment } 0-1

[Event "Blunderfest Pt. 9 - A horror show!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.05.07"] [Round "-"] [White "easy19"] [Black "jstevens1"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1779"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2220"] 1. f3 { Hi everyone! I think this is my second worst game I have playedagainst Master Freddy. I played like my OTB rating here. My OTB ratingis still 1200. If you see what happened from the middlegame onwards youwill see why. Freddy opens with the Gedault Opening, 1. f3. } 1... e5 { 1. ......e5 - the most common response to this pawn move. } 2. Nc3 { 2. Nc3 - aha,Freddy does not follow up with the Fried Fox, Pork Chop Opening, whichis 2. Kf2. This knight move of Freddy's to c3 transposes into his favouriteopening which is the Dunst! } 2... Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 { 4. ....... Nc6- and this becomes like the Centre Game but with the e pawn on e2 and note4. I decide to develop a piece. Freddy chooses to tuck his queen, thatWicked Witch of the West onto f2. You will see why as the game develops. } 5. Qf2 Bb4 { 5. ..... Bb4 - pins the knight on c3 and develops a piece. I am now wondering whether the move Be7, although more passive would havebeen more circumspect here. For starters it defends the knight on f6. } 6. Bd2 d6 7. O-O-O Qe7 { 7. ........ Qe7. I start to clear the decks sothat I can choose whether to castle kingside or queenside. I would preferto castle queenside, same side as Freddy this time, but there is the possibilityof Freddy putting a knight on d5. Freddy prepares for it by playing e4. This move makes Nd5 a very strong move because if there is an exchangeof knights on d5, the e pawn will recapture, threaten the c6 knight andopen up the possibility of a rook pin on the e column. Henry and Glendaare really sitting ducks there! } 8. e4 Bxc3 { 8. ........ Bxc3 - so I avoidthis possibility by making a concession. Fou Lenoir gives up his lifefor that knight but now Freddy's dsb goes to c3. That dsb's control ofthe a1-h8 diagonal will open up the possibility of a combo against thef6 knight later on. } 9. Bxc3 b6 { 9. ...... b6 - prepares a fianchetto ofFou Leblanc on b7. } 10. Bb5 Bb7 11. Ne2 O-O-O { 11. .......... 0-0-0? -I feel that I have enough breathing space to make this move. I think inhindsight I should have prepared this by moving my rook to g8 first. } 12. Ng3 { 12. Ng3 - I thought he was going to move his knight to f5 or h5 threateningto invade, which prompted the blunder, g6?? } 12... g6 { 12. ..... g6?? - the rotsets in as early as the 12th move. Incredibly this is the only time sucha thing has happened in my game against Freddy, me being lost in just adozen moves!!! Now here comes the combo. Admittedly it takes four movesbefore the devastation becomes apparent, but at my level I should haveseen it coming. } 13. Bxc6 Bxc6 { 13. ........ Bxc6 - this knight trade accomplishestwo things. 1. The Witch can now come to d4. 2. Fou Leblanc is luredonto a square where he is hanging. } 14. Qd4 Nd7 { 14. ...... Nd7 - naturallyI move my knight out of the way as Qxh8 results in the loss of 2 rooksfor the Witch for me. But Fou Leblanc is hanging and now Freddy exploitsthis. } 15. Qc4 Bb7 { 15. ...... Bb7 - I now have the grim choice. LoseFou Leblanc or the exchange. I choose to save Fou Leblanc. } 16. Bxh8 Rxh8 17. Ne2 f6 { 17. ...... f6 - after the horse has bolted, the stable doorshuts. } 18. Nc3 Ne5 19. Qd4 Qd7 { 19. ....... Qd7 - In retrospect Rd8 shouldhave been played here. Guess I was in a state of shock over what happeneda few moves back. It is so easy to be in this state after something soawful. When this happens it is quite possible that more mistakes can bemade. So is the case here. } 20. f4 c5 { 20. ........ c5?? - if I had playedmy rook to d8 this move would have been OK, but it drops a further pawn. } 21. Qxd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Ng4 { 22.......... Ng4 - trying to make the bestof a rotten job. } 23. h3 Nf2 24. Re1 { 24. Re1 - Freddy defends his e pawn. } 24... Re8 25. Rxf6 Nxe4 26. Rf7 { 26. Rf7 - a real bone in my throat. } 26... Nd6 { 26........ Nd6 - I now decide to get my knight out of a pin but this resultsin a trade of my remaining rook. } 27. Rxe8+ Nxe8 28. g4 { 28. g4 - pawnroll. } 28... h5 { 28. ...... h5 - my h pawn is lost if he remains where he is,might as well trade it if I can. } 29. Re7 Nc7 30. f5 gxf5 31. gxh5 { 31. gxh5 - the trade occurs and there is a pawn race. Freddy wins it. Hedecided to underpromote to a rook and Henry met an all too familiar fateon move 35. I am determined to stay positive. Since this debacle Ihave been doing some homework on Freddy in order to try to put an end tothis losing run (if I finally win or draw against him then I can mentallyconsign these losses to a bottomless dark pit and just count the win ordraw!). I have already annotated two games of his, one already releasedand am about to release another - and done one of his puzzles. I willdo some more tonight, but now it is time for me to do some Saturday morninghousework. Enjoy your weekend everybody! Cheers and bye for now. Joanne } 31... f4 32. h6 f3 33. h7 f2 34. h8=R+ Ne8 35. Rhxe8# 1-0

[Event "Why its important to be mindful of the tempo..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "08-Oct-06"] [Round "-"] [White "chameleonmind"] [Black "chllin2music"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1447"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1479"] 1. e4 { I haven't done much annotation lately so i thought this would bea good match to annotate since this time I'm black. I'm trying to learna bit more theory on openings and middle games, but to be honest, everyoneis bound to develop their own strategies. So, hope you enjoy! } 1... c5 { Ok,one thing i know is that this opening move 1.. c5 is supposed to unbalancethe game, which is true. White now has stake of control over the d5 square(white square) and black now has stake on the d4 square (black). However,white's pawn on e4 pretty much seals that square but places it under futurethreat, for which white has to defend. I like to take the outside controlapproach. } 2. Nf3 d6 { Protecting c5 pawn, not allowing for Nf3 to get tothe e5 square, and expanding my queen side. } 3. g3 { Fianchetto comin rightup. } 3... Nc6 4. Bg2 { Oh dear... white has developed really well. Has stakeover the center, ready to castle, and all set for an attack on my poorlydeveloped king side. Or maybe i'm getting too far ahead of myself... } 4... Nf6 5. O-O g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 { Fianchetto. } 7. d4 { First strike: i'm opting forjust a knight trade. But here's probably one of the many mistakes i made:but trading the knights, i've opened up his fianchetto. Plus, it will eventuallyopen up the e file for his rook. I had to ensure that the file is protected. } 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Bd2 { (??) I know that white's intendingto bring the other castle into play, but i thought Bg5 was a bit bettercos it will then stop black from playing the e7 pawn as it would createa pin on the Nf6 } 10... e5 11. Qe3 Be6 12. Nd5 { Here's an interesting scenario:i didn't realise it before, but now i've got a nice little c file to occupy.at the same token, i'm weary about the knight jumping on e7 and causinghavoc. So, here's how i played the hand i was dealt... } 12... Rc8 13. Qxa7 Rxc2 14. Ba5 { b7 pawn is under threat. So, i've got to protect it with my queenand test out how much he cares about his queen. As the game continues,I will demonstrate how much importance was placed on the white queen andhow that was white's ultimate demise. } 14... Qa8 15. Qb6 { When i saw this, iknew that he really cares about his queen. Now, i'm going to try and workto move the queen around as much as i can, thus resulting in white's lossof tempo. Never leave the work of the game rest on the shoulders of onlyone piece. } 15... Nxd5 16. exd5 Bf5 17. Qb4 { Another mistake from Black: at thispoint i can move e5-e4. This will block the Bg2 bishop and releases thediagonal my bishop on g7 rests. If there was an exchange in the two whitesquare bishops, i will still win the bishop on a5 as its no longer protectedby the queen. Oh well, what follows is just as good i suppose... } 17... Rc5 18. Bb6 Rc2 19. Rac1 Rfc8 20. Be3 e4 { Ah, all i need is for white to take thepawn on e4... } 21. Bxe4 { Woo hoo! Free bishop! } 21... Rxb2 22. Qxd6 { Well, thatwas the first of many moves to come made just by the queen. During thistime, i developed my pieces enough to create a mating opportunity. Thisloss of tempo is really damaging at this point in the game, because youneed to develop the right opportunity to end the game. } 22... Bxe4 { And now,i saw a potential mating opportunity, since my queen occupies a strongdiagonal. However, the pawns on b7 and d4 are blocking it, and my bishopon e4 needs to protect the g2 square. Its a long shot, but in the processof setting it up, it will open up other doors. } 23. Qe7 Bxd5 24. Qd7 Be6 { Perfect. Protecting my rook on c8, threatening the queen, and gettingthe bishop on e6 ready to move to Bh3. } 25. Qd6 Rd8 26. Qc5 b5 27. a3 Bh3 { Well, that's the final move. At this point, there's nothing much whitecan do. If white moves f2-f3, that opens up an opportunity for a fork withmy black square bishop. If white moves the rook on f1, then its game over. } 28. Rfe1 Qg2# { Hope you have enjoyed this game. Its all about tempo andensuring that a piece is not moved around too much, compromising developmentof other pieces. My opponent played really well, and i had to really thinkahead. Thanks and hope you enjoyed it! } 0-1

[Event "72nd GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.08.02"] [Round "-"] [White "sbdavid"] [Black "justnkase42"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1506"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1367"] 1. d4 { Started annotating this around move 25. Started out trying to playthe Stonewall Dutch against the d4 opening Never got to play a standardStonewall Has been an interesting game - some blunders on my part. } 1... f5 2. e3 d5 { maybe should have played e6 - later was hard to play e6 } 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. c4 { went with c6 - could have done e6 } 4... c6 5. Ne5 Nbd7 { want to tradeoff that White Knight on e5 } 6. cxd5 cxd5 { cxd5 was somewhat unexpected- kind of different style } 7. g3 { looks like White will finchetto the whitesquare bishop } 7... Nxe5 8. dxe5 Ne4 { was planning Ne4 at some point anyway } 9. f3 Nc5 { didnot see f3 coming } 10. e4 fxe4 11. Be3 b6 { some protectionfor the N } 12. Bxc5 { didnot expect White to trade a bishop for a knight, If I was playing white and wanted to chase the knight, would have consideredb4. bxc5 gives me connected pawns in the center } 12... bxc5 13. fxe4 { Don'twant to capture dxe4 - gives me isolated stacked pawns } 13... d4 14. Qf3 { WhiteQg3 -This is a problem - will be hard to castle kingside and queensideis not appealing } 14... e6 { Wish I had done this sooner } 15. Nd2 Qa5 { Qa5 - notsure if this is a good move } 16. Bc4 Be7 { thinking white could castleresulting in a battery of Queen and Rook - would leave the knight open } 17. O-O { white castles - free knight? } 17... Qxd2 18. Qf7+ Kd7 { I could be introuble } 19. Qxe6+ Kd8 20. Rf2 { my next move is a blunder. If white doesRf7 - that would create a lot of pressure on me } 20... Qe3 { While Qe3 pins therook - did not see the check/attack on the rook - should have traded queens } 21. Qd5+ { I think I am in trouble now } 21... Kc7 22. Qxa8 { Really in troublenow - about to try a hail mary - will trade the remaining rook for a shotat checkmate - Bb7 Qxh8, Qxe4 followed by Qh1# . If he sees it and doesKf1, will get the rook back } 22... Bb7 23. Qxh8 Qxe4 24. Kf1 { so I will get therook back after Qh1+ } 24... Qh1+ 25. Ke2 Qxa1 { back to -2 - could be a wild game Think I have a shot if I keep up a series of checks with the Queen andthe Bishops Have to be careful to avoid another blunder I anticipateKd3 so that the Rook will defend the b pawn. Response would be Qd1+ } 26. Kd3 Qd1+ { got to keep checking - could lose the black square bishopotherwise } 27. Rd2 Qf1+ 28. Re2 Qf3+ { continuing with the checks - keepingqueen on 3rd rank forces a retreat } 29. Kd2 Bg5+ { get the black squarebishop involved - however will lose it as soon as I don't check. ThinkI can win both the rook and the bishop for the black square bishop } 30. Kd1 Qf1+ { Kc2 will cause problems for me long term - still think I canwin - have to avoid taking the Rook since it is guarded by the bishop -will have to take the bishp first if Kc2, I will lose the ability tocontinue the checks at some point - one sceanrio even had black being checkmated- Kc2 Qc1, Kb3 Qd1, Ka3 now what - Bc6 threating mate with Qa4. Thatwould allow White Qxg7+ with Q attack on g5 } 31. Kc2 Qc1+ 32. Kb3 Qd1+ 33. Ka3 Kb6 34. Qxg7 Bc6 { Will give up the Black square bishop for a shotat checkmate } 35. Qxg5 Qa4# { He takes the bishop but gives me checkmate } 0-1

[Event "King's Gambit"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "01-Nov-07"] [Round "-"] [White "idldice81"] [Black "cmberman"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1382"] [TimeControl "3d+1d, 5d max"] [WhiteElo "1445"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 { This game came out of a thematic mini-tournament.King's Gambit Accepted was the starting ground for all games. It leadsto rather sharp and chaotic positions, which I tend to love. } 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 { Nothing out of the ordinary here. } 5. Bxf7+ { This startledme. I had just come out of a draw with the player after a VERY strenuousmatch, so I knew he was competent. After a short time I saw the threat,and was almost on the verge of resigning. Because... } 5... Kxf7 6. Ne5+ Ke8 { What now? I'm a piece ahead, but as long as he keeps throttling at mykingside, mate is an inevitability. Truth be told, defense is not exactlymy strongest point, and I did not see how I could possibly turn this around.Still, I played on, curious to see how the line would develop. } 7. O-O { Now those pawns on f4 and g4 look silly. } 7... d6 { There's no saving the g4pawn, but I can open a few lines here. } 8. Nxg4 Qg5 9. h3 Nh6 { I typicallyhate putting Knights on the edge of the board, but I needed my Bishop tocover it instead of relying upon my Queen. Tempi were all-important here,and I couldn't afford to squander any. } 10. Nxh6 Bxh6 11. Qf3 Rf8 { I knewthe f-pawn would be vital, so I began to protect it and focus on the f-file.Though my queen is still entirely exposed, the opponent is rather underdeveloped,and his earlier Castling move now allows me a few opportunities to cramphis king. } 12. d4 { Preparing to put a cramp on my Queenside, and openingup another attacker on the f-pawn. } 12... Qg7 { Otherwise, Black loses the pawnon f4. } 13. d5 { Restricting c6 for the Knight, and keeping my Bishop largelyat bay. } 13... Nd7 14. Nc3 Ne5 { I always feel a little silly making two Knight-Movesto attack a Queen, but here it made sense. } 15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. Ne2 f3 { !Offers an exchange (favorable for Black, as he is ahead on material), threatensmate on g2 (Qxg2#), and destroys communication between White's pieces. } 17. Ng3 Bxc1 18. Raxc1 Qxg3 { Otherwise, the f-pawn is lost. } 19. Rf2 { Really,the only saving move. } 19... Qg6 { Encouraging the Queen exchange. } 20. Qxg6 { 20.Qh4 is no real threat. White realizes this, and accepts the exchange. } 20... hxg6 { And here White resigned, down on material and without a positionaladvantage to justify further play. Black, with a series of counter-attacksand well-placed pieces, managed to stop White's assault. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.30"] [Round "-"] [White "chessy131"] [Black "zeroply"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1644"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1860"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 d6 { And we herefolks, have a closed Ruy-Lopez: steinitz-like variation! } 7. c3 O-O 8. d4 Bd7 9. Nbd2 exd4 10. cxd4 Nb4 11. Bb3 { I decide to break from lineshere. The usual move is Bxd7, but Bb3 is fine as well. } 11... Re8 { Better is11..Nd3, pestering my rook. } 12. a3 Nc6 13. e5 dxe5 14. Ng5 Nd5 { A terriblemiscalculation. My opponent missed the strong strong attack that followsthe trades. } 15. Nxf7 Kxf7 { Better was probably Qb8 or something.. my attackis overwhelming. } 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17. Bxd5+ Kh8 18. Be4 { Now black surelyrealizes the problem! } 18... h6 19. Qg6 Kg8 { Try running if you like, king, I'llcatch you! } 20. Qh7+ Kf7 { If Kf8, Bd5! mates } 21. Bg6+ Ke6 22. Qxg7 Rf8 { The move makes the ending quick and elegant, but I am certain that hisking would not live much longer! } 23. Rxe5+ Kd6 24. Ne4# 1-0

[Event "Game Five"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "July 20 1972"] [Round "-"] [White "Spassky"] [Black "Fischer"] [Result "0-1"] { This is the fifth game in the series for the chess world championshipin 1972. Fischer considered games number 3 and 5 his best in the match.Game annotation by grandmaster Larry Evans. } 1. d4 { Once again, Spasskyresorts to his QP opening, an indication that he prefers a solid builduprather than the sharp play required in the Sicilian, Fischer's pet defenceagainst 1. e4 } 1... Nf6 { Black prevent's 2.e4 and leaves open many options. } 2. c4 { Gaining more center control. } 2... e6 { Preparing to pin White's Knightafter 3.Nc3. } 3. Nc3 { Once again threatening e4. } 3... Bb4 { This is the NImzo-Indiandefence, one of the most popular answers to 1.d4. By pinning the KnightBlack gains several advantages. He neutralizes the Knight's pressure onthe center. In some instances Black will exchange BxN, which weakens White'squeenside pawns. Black also gains a temporarily lead in developmant withtwo pieces out. Finally, Black can now castle in one move, while Whitehas yet to develop any of his Kingside forces. It is easy to see why theNimzo is favored by many of the world's best players. } 4. Nf3 { White developsto control the center and prepares to castle kingside. } 4... c5 { Black bringsup his pawn to chalenge d4. } 5. e3 { Preparing to bring out King's Bishopas well as protecting the pawn in d4. Now if Black plays 5...cxd4 6.exd4retains a pawn on d4. } 5... Nc6 { Another solid development move and a favoriteof the German Grandmaster Robert Huebner. } 6. Bd3 { White pursues straightforwarddevelopment. } 6... Bxc3+ { Swapping the bishop is usually reserved until whiteplays a3. The text forces a permanent weakness on white's queenside pawns.Also White no longer has the option developing his Knight on e2 as in thenormal Samisch line. Black saddles White with doubled pawns. However, amidthe large scale of activities of the middlegame Black will have difficultyconcentrating on this weakness as the diversion of force this would entailmight leave his K-side in the lurch. Hence, Black plays to prevent or nutralizeany aggressive overtures from White, knowing that an eventual endgame willallow him to exploit the doubled pawns without the fear of a K-side attack.This is also good psychology as it lets White know he must come up withresourceful middle game play or eventually face an inferior endgame. } 7. bxc3 { As the result of Black's sixth move, White enjoys the advantage ofthe two Bishops.However, two Bishops need an open position to functionat maximum efficiency. White plays to open up the center. The trouble isthat Black skillfully keeps the center well barricaded with pawns, restrictingthe scope of the Bishops. } 7... d6 { This is consistent with Black's strategy;instead of the text, 7...d5 would be a grave strategical error as it wouldallow White to undouble his pawn and open up the center for his Bishops. } 8. e4 { Freeing the QB. } 8... e5 { Liberating the QB and contesting the center. } 9. d5 { While this has the advantage of cramping Black, the locked pawnformation in the center constitutes a formidable barrier against the activityof White's Bishops. But if 9. dxc5 dxc5 10.Qc2 Be6 11.Nd2 Na5! does notgive White time for Nf1-e3-d5. } 9... Ne7 { The best square for the Knight. Instead,9...Na5 would leave it out of play as White could easily defend his weakpawn on c3 while building up an attck on the other wing. } 10. Nh4 { Notthe best solution. The right way is to sit on the position by 10.Nd2 followedby f3, Nf1-e3, etc.Black has no counterplay unless White tries violentmeasures. In view of the obstructing barrier of pawns in the center, theWhite Bishops have reduced mobility. To rectify this Spassky aims for f4to try to open up lines as quickly as possible. } 10... h6 { Preventing the pinBg5 and and deterring White from castling for fear of g5. } 11. f4 { Spasskypondered a half hour, pursed his lips, then launched this energetic thrust.But more in the spirit of things is 11.g3 or 11.f3 g5 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5Qh5 14.Qc2! 0-0-0 15.h4 with advantage. } 11... Ng6 { Keen judgement. Black doesnot want to get involved in the complications arising from 11...exf4 12.Bxf4g5 13.e5!. } 12. Nxg6 { Virtually forced in view of the threats of Nxh4and Nxf4. } 12... fxg6 { Now Black's kingside is secure. Fischer's defensive instinctis uncanny. } 13. fxe5 { Perhaps White hoped that Black's KP would becomea weakness after this exchange; if so he is soon disillusioned. 13. 0-0-0is clearly better. } 13... dxe5 { White's protected passed pawn is a long termplus but maenwhile his Bishops are hemmed in and lack scope. } 14. Be3 { Developingby a gain of time attacking Black's pawn. } 14... b6 { The simplest way to defendthe pawn. But now Black must be alert against White's a4-a5. } 15. O-O { TheKing has lingerd in the center long enough. } 15... O-O { Ditto. } 16. a4 { To breakthroughon the Q-side. } 16... a5 { Black rteckons that his pawn on b6, although backwardon an open file, is no weaker than White's a4 pawn. Also, the hole createdon b5 cannot be occupied or exploited by a minor piece. } 17. Rb1 { Pillingup against the target pawn. } 17... Bd7 { Keeping a watch on the a4 pawn. } 18. Rb2 { More flexible is 18.Bc2, freeing the Queen of the onerous task ofguarding the pawn. } 18... Rb8 { Overprotecting the pawn to free his Queen. } 19. Rbf2 { Vacillating. The Rooks have no future on the f file, but White reallyhas no constructive idea. He rejected 19.Bc2 Ng4 20.Rxf8+ Qxf8 21.Qe2 Nxe322.Qxe3. And weakening is 19.Kh1 Ng4 20.Bg1. } 19... Qe7 { More efficient is 19...g5followed by...Qe8.White has used 1hr and 20 min, Black only 40 min.CharacteristicallyFischer is again ahead on time. } 20. Bc2 { Necessary to protect the pawnand free the Queen from her menial task. Again 20.h3 is met by 20...g5.Spassky took 25 min on this retreat and was getting nervous because ofthe clock. } 20... g5 { Black begins to assume the initiative. Now Black's Knightcan be manoeuvered to the strong post f4 via h5; If White plays Bxf4 thengxf4 undoubles the pawns and creates a viable 3-2 pawn majority on theK-side. } 21. Bd2 { Putting the Bishop on a less vulnerable square, out ofreach of the Black Knight. } 21... Qe8 { A very fine concept. From here the Queencan pivot to the Q-side while keeping White's Queen and Bishop tied tothe defence of the a pawn. } 22. Be1 { White is reduced to passivity. } 22... Qg6 { Nxe4 is not a threat yet( 23...Nxe4 24.Rxf8+ Rxf8 25.Rxf8+ Kxf8 26.Qf3+Bf5 27.Bxe4 winning material) but Nh5 threatening to post the Knight powerfullyon f4 is. } 23. Qd3 { Probably hoping for 23...Qe8 24.Qd1 Qg6 25.Qd3 withadraw by repetition. } 23... Nh5 { But Fischer of course is playing for the win.Black wants to force White to weaken himself on the white squares afterg3 (keeping the Knigh out of f4). } 24. Rxf8+ { Spassky hopes exchangingwill draw out the poison from Black's set up. } 24... Rxf8 { Black doesn't mindthe exchanges as he foresees that he will still have a promising position. } 25. Rxf8+ { Continue to chop wood. } 25... Kxf8 { White still has problems withhis passive Bishops.Also, Black's King can now get to c7 to defend theweak b6 pawn. } 26. Bd1 { The lesser evil is 26.g3 to keep the Knigh outof f4. } 26... Nf4 { Black is clearly better but a force win is still a long wayoff. } 27. Qc2 { This could be the worst blunder in Spassky's career. After27.Qb1 is still a game.Curiously he took a good 5 min studying the positionbut still had 25 min left on his clock.For the first time on the matchSpassky's will appears to be crumbling. } 27... Bxa4 { 28.Qxa4 Qxe4 with the doublethreat of Qxg2 or Qxe1 mate decides quickly. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.10.26"] [Round "-"] [White "kaspanatola"] [Black "lobotomy"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1904"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1761"] 1. d4 { in this game I struggled for a space advantage in the centre andslowly profited from my opponent inaccuracies until I was able to win apawn, and create a passed pawn } 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 { King's Indian, Averbakh system, black allow white to overextendhis pawns in the center hoping to contest that occupation latter with thepush c5 or e5, the move Bg5 intends to prevent the immediate e5, blackusualy replies with h6 to repel the bishop with the possibility of a futureg5, although this last move may weaken the castled king } 6... c6 { an unusualmove, c5, h6, Nbd7, and Na6 (a Judith Polgar favourite) are all commonreplies } 7. Nf3 { Qc2 is also possible, any other thematic move h4, f4,for this line lead to an equal game for black } 7... Qc7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qd2 e5 10. Rad1 exd4 { N Re8 is the favoured move here, but leads to heavy percentageof defeats by black,a6 has worth attention in three games with two winsby black and one draw... } 11. Nxd4 { keeping the queen behind the g5 bishopto avoid h6 } 11... Nc5 12. Qf4 { pins the d pawn to keep it from advancing, keepingit as a weakness on black's field } 12... Nfd7 13. Bh6 { I will try to exchangebishops to exert some pressure over d6 latter on } 13... Re8 14. Bxg7 { I'll exchangebishops and try to use the holes on black's dark squares... } 14... Kxg7 15. b4 { gains space with tempo, and forces the knight to define it's locationeither on the king's side, or on the queen's side... } 15... Ne6 16. Nxe6+ { Nowblack is forced to recapture, probably with the pawn and not with the rook(I'll detail latter the complications to black arisen by recapturing withthe rook), either way he will lose a pawn to Rxd6 if he captures with thepawn or with c5 Rxd5 if he captures with the rook, notice how the d6 pawnis pinned in the h2-b8 diagonal by white's queen, now several ideas arisefrom the position: If black recaptures with the rook, then in addictionto c5 Rxd6, white may try also Bg4 to skewer the knight, and if black triesto block the bishop he will lose two pawns covering his king, whom willbe left exposed. Also after c5 and Rxd6, Rxg6+ is another possibility witha discovered attack on black's queen. So Black has to deal with severalthreats now... } 16... Rxe6 17. c5 { to put pressure on d6, that is about tofall } 17... Rf6 { ? pointless, Qg3 keeps the same threats, and offers the chanceof playing e5 with tempo } 18. Qg3 { d6 still under the queens aim } 18... a5 { tochallenge my b pawn position } 19. cxd6 { zwischenzug, ignoring the pawnat a5 and now I have a passed pawn... a very important threat that blackcan't ignore } 19... Qb6 20. b5 { only now I play b5, if cxb5 I have the strongNxb5 were it will add further support for the d6 pawn and even keep aneye for Nc7, on the other hand Nd5 forking queen and rook, loses the d6pawn because blocks the d1 rook that defends it } 20... Nc5 21. a4 { adding furthersupport to my b pawn, as I may want to move my knight or my bishop, e5will follow } 21... Be6 22. e5 { I expect now Rf5 and I will play Qe3 to pin theknight while defending the e pawn } 22... Rf5 23. Qe3 { pins the knight, and threatensNe4 } 23... f6 { !? interesting challenges my e pawn, I have to make a choice eitherexf6 or f4 } 24. exf6+ 1-0

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.06.15"] [Round "-"] [White "sanjinp"] [Black "millerdias_chess"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1516"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1490"] 1. g3 { Benko's opening. } 1... c5 2. Bg2 Nf6 3. Nf3 g6 4. O-O Bg7 { Per the databaseNc6 seems like a stronger move for black, though this move is the mostcommon response. } 5. d4 cxd4 6. Qxd4 O-O 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qd2 Rb8 9. Bf4 d6 10. Na3 Bd7 11. b4 a6 12. c4 Ne8 13. Rad1 Na7 14. c5 b5 15. cxd6 Nxd6 16. Bxd6 exd6 17. Qxd6 Bc6 18. Qc5 Qb6 19. Rc1 Qxc5 20. Rxc5 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 Nc8 22. Rd1 Rb6 23. Rcd5 Ne7 24. Rd6 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Bb2 26. Nb1 Rc8 27. Nd2 Bc3 28. a3 Bb2 29. Rxa6 Nf5 { Bg4 temporarily pins the black knight. } 30. Bg4 Rd8 31. Ne4 Nd4 32. e3 Nc2 33. a4 { Oops, white is vulnerable toa pawn fork of his knight and bishop. } 33... Nxb4 34. Ra5 bxa4 35. Rxa4 Nd5 36. Ra2 Bg7 37. Rd2 f5 { ...and there it is. White is able to recover sincethe black rook is pinned. } 38. Bf3 fxe4 39. Bxe4 Bc3 40. Rxd5 { Bxd5+ seemsbetter. 41. Rd3 counter threats the black bishop, and white can defendthe white bishop with e4, freeing up his rook with a pawn advance. } 40... Rxd5 41. Bxd5+ { On the other hand, forcing a trade while up two pawns also playsto white's advantage. } 41... Kf8 42. Kg2 g5 43. f4 gxf4 44. gxf4 Ke7 45. Kg3 Kf6 46. Kg4 Bd2 47. e4 h6 48. h4 { The bishops are invisible to each other--itwill be hard to force a trade. But white should be able to force the blackking to move by advancing pawns. } 48... Bc1 49. e5+ { ...just like that. } 49... Ke7 50. f5 Bb2 51. Kf4 Bc1+ 52. Ke4 Bd2 53. h5 Bc3 54. f6+ Kf8 55. Kf5 Ke8 56. e6 1-0

[Event "Nice attack for the New Year"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Eilonwy"] [Black "fredkohn"] [Result "0-1"] 1. d4 { Eilonwy's favorite. } 1... Nf6 { Lately I have been experimenting with1 ... g6. The move in the game is my old standby. I thought I would revertto this because I had already played the modern defense against this particularopponent and I wanted to mix it up a bit. } 2. c4 e6 { Tried and true. } 3. Nf3 b6 { I don't have much experience with this since the large majorityof players I have faced choose 3. Nc3 rather than face the Queen's Indian. } 4. g3 Ba6 { I don't really know what I'm doing here. I played this movehere mainly to avoid the possibler gambit line 4 ... Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6. d5. } 5. Qc2 Bb7 { An apparently ignomious retreat, but the point of Black's previousmove is to pull White's pieces out of optimal position. The Black Bishopwas always headed for b7. If I had been more familiar with the line I mayhave chosen 5 ... c5. } 6. Bg2 Be7 { An unassuming move. More aggressivealternatives are 6 ... c5 and 6 ... Bb4+. Immediately after I made thismove I regretted that I didn't look at Bb4+ more closely, but as it turnsout, the Bishop on e7 has a great future. } 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 { I know fromprevious games that this guy likes an expansive pawn center. Nothing wrongwith that as long as you don't allow your opponent to tear it apart later. } 8... d6 9. O-O { Now both Kings are safely tucked away in their respective Kingsides;at least for now. } 9... Nbd7 { So Black has completed his minor piece developmentand White has a decision to make: what to do with the QB? } 10. Bf4 { Thiscaught me by surprise. If it had been me, I probably would have opted tofianchetto this Bishop. } 10... Nh5 { Well, why not? } 11. Be3 c5 { Black eventuallyhas to make some sort of break in the center, otherwise he'll get squashed. } 12. d5 e5 { White has decided to lock up the center pawns, which favorsthe attacking side. I wonder which side that will be, hmmm? } 13. Bh3 { Whitehas decided to go on the offence. The Bishop eyes the f5 square and occupiesan important diagonal. } 13... Bc8 { So I counter with my Bishop } 14. Qa4 { AgainI was caught by surprise. Should I worry about a future Qc6? } 14... Nb8 { I decideto worry about it, although I did feel like my pieces were going in thewrong direction. White looks better to me here, but I was wondering abouthis intentions. Is he trying to attack Kingside or Queenside? } 15. Bg2 { I think this deserves a question mark, but the computer let it pass withoutcomment. } 15... f5 { Now that White has ceded the important h3-c8 diagonal toBlack, he can play this important break. What could White be thinking? } 16. Nh4 { Oh, whoops! The computer gives this a ?? } 16... f4 { Since I'm on theattack, I have no problems with locking up the center even further. Ofcourse White can't play 17. g3xf4 because it leaves the Knight on h4 hanging. } 17. Bd2 Bxh4 { Now I'm glad I didn't play 6 ... Bb4+ with an aim to tradethis bishop! } 18. gxh4 Qxh4 19. Qd1 { So the Queen comes back to the defenseof the King. Nevertheless, 19. f3 was better. } 19... a6 { Just a plain waste oftime. Now White can still play f3. } 20. Be1 f3 { Finally Black decides toprevent f3 and opens up the f-file for his Rook to boot. } 21. Bxf3 Nf4 { The computer didn't like this and prefers 21. Bh3. A possible line is21 ... Bh3 22. Bxh5 Qg5+ 23. Bg4 Bxg4 24. Qd2 Rf4 25. f3 Bxf3+ 26. Bg3Qg4. } 22. Ne2 { Bringing another defender into the fray. } 22... Bh3 { Now Blackgets this shot in. } 23. Nxf4 Rxf4 24. Bd2 Rf6 25. Re1 { So White has managedto save the exchange, but now the f2 pawn is weak. Of course, on 25. Bg2then ... Rg6 } 25... Nd7 { Getting ready to bring the other Rook to the f-file. } 26. Re3 { At the time I thought 26. Rc1 was a better try, but the computerdoesn't like it. The computer thinks that 26. Re3 is White's second bestmove, slightly preferring 26. Kh1. (A very computer like move. The ideais to get the hell out of Dodge!) } 26... Raf8 { That's a lot of stuff trainedon the f2 square. } 27. Qe2 { Understandably trying to defend, but he missesBlack's next shot. } 27... Rxf3 { Removing a crucial defender. } 28. Rxf3 Qg4+ { Ofcourse not 28 ... Bg4 29. Rxf8+ } 29. Rg3 Qxe2 { The end is near. } 30. Be3 Rf3 { Whoops! } 31. b3 { Waiting for the end. } 31... Rxg3+ 32. hxg3 Qf3 { With matecoming the next move, White resigned. } 0-1

[Event "NOT a draw..."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.05.08"] [Round "-"] [White "gcteh"] [Black "damalfi"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qe5+ 4. Be2 c6 5. Nf3 Qc7 6. O-O Bf5 7. d4 e6 8. h3 h5 { Blunder. It is not necessary, and black can't lose a singletempo for developing. } 9. Bd3 Bxd3 { Another idea could have been Bh7, andif white echanges, my rook has to look for its fate somewhere, and it won'thave been easy. } 10. Qxd3 Nf6 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. d5 { The wise one wouldhave been cxd, and castle kingside soon after, but... } 12... O-O-O 13. dxc6 Qxc6 { The 'surprise' I had in mind, remembering of a 'zen' game I held recently. } 14. Qe2 Bb4 15. Bd2 Kb8 16. a3 Bxc3 { Maybe not the wise choice, as thedsb is a most important piece for me. } 17. Bxc3 Nd5 18. Ne5 { Ough! I haveto take it because I cannot affor Nxf7. } 18... Nxe5 19. Qxe5+ { ...but anyway,a pawn is lost. } 19... Qc7 { I save a tempo to protect f7 after Qxg7 } 20. Qxg7 Nxc3 { I must, or Be5. } 21. Qxc3 { Now, I had the idea that his pawns wouldhave been very vulnerable. } 21... Qxc3 22. bxc3 Rd2 23. Kf1 Rc8 24. Re2 Rd5 { RxR,KxR, Rxc3, but I was sure I could do it later. } 25. Re3 Rdc5 26. Ke1 Rxc3 27. Rxc3 Rxc3 28. Kd2 { I can't see the benefit... well.. material is even. } 28... Rc4 29. Rb1 Kc7 30. Rb3 Rf4 31. f3 b6 32. Rc3+ { Not on the 3rd row, becausethe rook's penetration would have been lethal... } 32... Kd7 33. Ke3 Ra4 34. g4 h4 35. Kd3 Rf4 36. Ke3 e5 37. Rd3+ Ke7 38. Rc3 Kd7 39. Rd3+ Kc7 { I thoughtit was draw. } 40. Rc3+ Kd7 { He rejected a draw offer. } 41. Rb3 Rc4 42. Kd3 Rd4+ 43. Ke3 { I could have played for draw, now, but I wanted to seewhat happened if My rook penetrates... except it was the wrong timing. } 43... Rd1 44. Rd3+ Rxd3+ 45. Kxd3 Kd6 46. Ke4 Ke6 47. f4 f6 48. fxe5 fxe5 49. c4 Kd6 50. Kf5 Kc5 { My last hope. If he goes for promotion, I have a slightchance... } 51. g5 Kd4 52. g6 e4 53. g7 e3 54. g8=Q e2 55. Qd5+ Ke3 56. Qe4+ Kd2 57. Qd4+ Kc1 58. Qxh4 Kd2 59. Qf4+ { Well, the story is well known.White wins. } 1-0

[Event "King's Gambit Backfired...well, almost"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016.10.04"] [Round "-"] [White "mortuarydirector"] [Black "bholifield"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1783"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1795"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 { Kings Gambit, Fischer defense. I've playedthousands of KG games as white (and hundreds of Latvian Gambits as black),yet this one was unique as I very soon found myself under early attack.Normally it's the other way around: the gambiteer should be the early attacker.That being said, under a threat of mate, Caissa smiled and I found a sneakyway out...and was able to turn the tables just in time. } 4. d4 Be7 5. Bc4 c6 6. O-O { 6. Bxf4 would have saved me a lot of trouble had I playedit instead of 0-0. In playing the King's Gambit I've discovered that whenyou can safely recoup the f-pawn, it's usually the right decision to make.The bishop and/or knight can most of the time relocate to safe havens afterblack advances g5 and g4. } 6... g5 7. Nc3 Bg4 8. b3 { Not a good move. Betterperhaps was the quiet 8. Bd2 without gridlocking the WSB's retreat. I alsomissed the blistering 8. Bxf7+! Kxf7 9. Nxg5+ Bxg5 10. Qxg4 Bxf4. In blitznormally with the Kings Gambit I do not fianchetto the DSB. But here forsome reason -- probably since I had more time to think -- I went againstmy intuition. And I soon regretted it. } 8... Nh6 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. d5 Ne5 11. Be2 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 g4 { By now I'm regretting my 6th and 8th moves. The f-pawnshould have been taken while I had the chance, and my DSB should have neverleft the c1-h6 diagonal. My only consolation exists in the potential discoveryon h8. } 13. Be2 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Qe3 { Things are heating up! At this pointI was wondering what the hell went wrong. I was expecting 15...0-0-0 onthe next move, with a fantastic assault commencing. And the pawns on f4and g4 were starting to look like the twin fangs of a snarling dragon.Plus, I was still down a pawn with no material or positional compensation. } 15. Bd3 { I needed to do something about that invasive queen ASAP. Thismove adds reinforcement to e4 and protects the c3 knight as I plan to swingmy DSB back down to b1, aggressing the queen and hitting the f4 pawn twice.Basically praying for a miracle. } 15... f3 16. gxf3 { I realized I had to takethe pawn, for after 16. Bc1?, black has the nasty ...fxg2+ 17. Kxg2 Qh3+18. Kh1 (not Kg1?, on account of Nxf3+) ...g3 19. Qe2 Nhg4! with a crushingattack. } 16... Qg5 { On the brink of death, 16...Qg5? lost a piece, and here Caissasmiled at me. } 17. f4 Qh4 18. fxe5 g3 { I let up my guard and breatheda sigh of relief here, but soon saw that I wasn't out of the woods yet.Black still had a few dangerous tricks left. } 19. Qe2 { Preventing mate:19...Qxh2# } 19... Ng4 { Threatening the devastating 21...Nxh2! } 20. Rf4 h5 21. exd6 Bxd6 22. e5 Bc5 23. Ne4 Bf2 { This move took me by surprise, as I didn'tsee the bishop's shield allowing the instant 24...Qxh2#. My mind blankedhere, and I actually thought I'd lost the game over this stupid oversight.I texted my opponent and congratulated him on the awesome move. I toldhim I'd need a few days to calculate some variations. } 24. Nd6+ { Afterspending almost two full days deliberating between 24. Nf6+ and 24. Nd6+(I also considered 24. Kg2 out of sheer desperation), I went with thismove, fully expecting him to play 24...Kd8 and escape to the queenside.Had he played it, I would have most likely continued with 25. Kg2 (as 25.Nxf6+ Kc7 26. d6+ Kb8 goes nowhere, and ...Qxh2# still must be dealt with).Suddenly Caissa smiled at me once again :) } 24... Kf8 25. Rxf7+ Kg8 { Here Iplayed a forcing move that effectively ended the game. It's not too hardto see. Can you find it? } 26. Rg7+ { A rook sacrifice that must be accepted,for the alternative is 26...Kf8? Qf3+ and black is destroyed. } 26... Kxg7 27. Nf5+ { Game officially over. I thought the events leading to this royalfork were quite interesting; as this was definitely a rollercoaster chessgame, and if not for a few blunders on my opponent's behalf, I would havebeen made into minced-meat. But such is the unpredictable beauty of ourglorious game. We played on for another move or so. } 27... Kf8 28. Nxh4 g2+ 29. Nxg2 { Black resigned. Hope you enjoyed this little excursion. Happychess! } 1-0

[Event "Blunders 1-1=drawn :-)"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2015.09.24"] [Round "-"] [White "EncounterWith"] [Black "damalfi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1. e4 { It's a real pleasure when in blitz you come to face a rated opponent!He was about 2000, a honour to face him! The game went more interestingthan usual. } 1... d5 { How I dare? :-) } 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 { How I dare? Trueis that this is my 'to-be-explored' line. } 4. dxe6 Bxe6 5. Be2 { Blackhas a tempo to develop. A little edge, provided he can control white'scenter. For this, black has o-o-o... Now, the 'strong' line is Qe7 (selfblocking the dsb, to be freed later), but with the B already on e2, thisis no good for black. So I went for another line: } 5... Bc5 { This may seembad, but black develops his dsb and, with proper care, he will find a goodsquare in c7. White can do d4, of course, and I will go b6. I can't preventwhite to play d4, so I will accept it. } 6. O-O c6 { Now you say: 'why notNc6?' I answer: White has a ready-made attack after it, with 7. Bb5, Ne5,Re1... I will get myself defending. This move controls it all, even afterNc3. } 7. d4 Bb6 { As foreseen. White can harass my B with c4-c5, but Iwould have Bc7 as desired. BUT this move leaves white the chanche to occupyf4 with his DSB, and this is to be avoided by Black, if possible. } 8. c3 { Passive! A passive move 'must' be 'refuted': that means: I have touse the tempo to attack, an attack that won't be possible after the 'active'white move he didn't play. And I felt that this was... } 8... Qd6 { This weirdmove aims to create a battery after Bc7. I will have to get in Bg4 in orderto exchange the N to make it a real threat, and white still has c4.c5 todisrupt it. But my Q will land on d7, with nice ideas of a sac on the whitecastled king. By provoking c4-c5, black obtains a secure dominion of d5,and this is not all that bad. c4-Bc7-c5-Qd7 would be the sequence. Theimportant thing is with this move I prevent Bc4, while with the alternativeoption (o-o, Nd7), I allow it. } 9. Bg5 { White went for another idea: toshield the battery with the B in g3. Very clever? } 9... Nbd7 { Passive! But white'sB comes first to g3. I develop, preparing QScastling. } 10. Nbd2 { ThisN can jump to c4, causing the loss of my B pair. } 10... Bc7 { Too many threats.I set my battery, blocking Nf3. But I was expecting c4, forcing me to goQe7 or to adventure me in the sand of Qb4!?, with great danger of beingtrapped. } 11. Bh4 { White goes on with his plan. I can castle QS and acceptBg3 and the subsequent exchange, or I can be more aggressive. } 11... Nh5 { ThisN will take the B if Bg3, leading at least to a B pair for me (the openedf column is a worry, though). Otherwise, this N will go to f4, ready totake the lsb. No matter the discovered threat he has, since Nf3 can onlygo to e5, but in that case I'm not forced to play NxN, and I can spendthe tempo for Nf4. Of course, leaving f6 has a counterside... } 12. Ne4 Qf4 { I was shaking: Q trapped Q with a rated player is ashaming! Was it?The critical line is 13. g3, QxNe4, 14. Bd3, Qd5, (Qg4 leads to 15. h3!,Qxh3, 16. Ng5, (Diagram 1) where black loses the Q (Qg4, 17. c3, andthe Q is trapped. Similar if Bg4, 17. c3).). Retaking after 14. Bd3, Qd5,15. c4, Qa5 (only move), (Diagram 2) taking advantage of the discoveredattack on the Nh5, where NxBe6 will be deadly for black. ----- The quickway to use the g5 square for white was at the beginning of this line, directly13. Ne4-g5, where black will have to play someting as weird as Bg4, witha very intrincate position... (Diagram 3) in which white can't play14. Ne5, because of NxN, 15. dxNe5, BxBe2!, and Bh4 is hanging. White willlose a piece, even after Bg3 (NxB, hxB, BxQ, gxQ, Bc2 and black is up ab pair for a N and a pawn... } 13. Bg3 { White went for the non-sac way. } 13... Nxg3 14. Nxg3 { The good thing is that white didn't go for the sac again,with 14. fxg3, QxN, 15. Ng5! } 14... O-O-O { Time for castling opposite side! Thisis a freeing move for black as long as th WQ is on his home square. } 15. a4 { White starts an attack, but it is slow, and it will leave me some temposto do some harm. How? } 15... Nc5 { Not exactly sure. Ne5 provokes the exchangeline I don't want. } 16. a5 { I don't have to lose any tempo if not forcedto, so no a6. My lsb should go to exchange the Nf3, but at this time Ican see it would be difficult to make it work (I have to use both g andh pawns to make it dangerous... too slow!) } 16... Bb3 { This assures me no b4by white. } 17. Qd2 { Now I had all sort of moves, but I blundered! * Edit:Let's see: If I exchange Q, I will have both B and N under threat! I haveto retreat the Q, but where? Qd6 allows dxN, QxQ, NxQ, RxN, with a goodposition for black. But Qd6, Ng5 is dangerous too. Qc6 was accurate, andif Nh5, Ne4. I can save the N by Na4, and if QxQ, BxQ and b2 is threatened.But I blundered! } 17... Ne4 { ?? } 18. Qxf4 { AAAghhh! No NxN+, so I will losea piece for nothing! It was so easy to play QxQ! * Edit: QxQ? NxQ, andblack will lose a piece too! } 18... Bxf4 19. Nxe4 { So here I am. I lost for ablunder after a reasonably well played opening, where I got the initiativefor a pawn, but now... resign? Never resign! } 19... f6 { First thing: controlthe N jumps. An inmediate Re8 just leads to Bd3, and nothing happens. } 20. a6 { Ah, the pawn. Ok. } 20... b6 { This can be dangerous, but white has topenetrate first with his R, and this seems very far away. } 21. Ra3 Bc2 { Now that f7 is not targeteable, my B is free to move around. } 22. Ng3 h5 { The last straw of an attack. } 23. Bd1 Bg6 { Useless was Bd3, Re1, Ijust help him. } 24. Bb3 h4 { More threatening would have been Re8 first,but Re1 and the exchange didn't seem a good option for me. } 25. Ne2 Bd6 { Tempo recovered on the R. } 26. Raa1 Rde8 { Now I have the WN as a shieldagainst the exchange, and if he wants to keep it there, I will pressurehim a lot. In other words: the N has no good squared to go to. } 27. Bd1 { Cutting R's connection... hmmm... where can I go to? } 27... Bd3 { Pressuringfrom a safe spot, of course! } 28. Re1 h3 { This will cause the g pawn tomove one way or another, and the other N will be harassed! } 29. g3 Be4 { Even more accurate was Bg6-Bh5, but I feared white could have found somethingin the midwhile. } 30. Nc1 { ? Look at this beauty: can you see why it isa fatal mistake, and white loses a clean piece here? } 30... Bxf3 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 { ...and white CAN'T take BxB or Re1#! This is good for tactics... } 32. Nd3 { Now I'm not forced to exchange the B. I have the pair! } 32... Be4 { Stillplaying with N's uneasy position. My aim is to prevent the w pawns to move.The material is still -1 for me, so it's not any 'gimme'! } 33. Nb4 { Targetingc6. After f3, I will have to exchange my lsb by force, unless I go BxN.This will leave his pawns very scrambled, but I will lose the B pair...but let's remember white has Bg4+, grabbing the dearest h3 pawn! } 33... f5 { Ihoped to prevent it for now. } 34. Bh5 { ?! Well, not sure about it! } 34... Re7 { Better was d6, and if white doesn't go Bc7, g6. But if he does... } 35. Re1 { It seems that my only chanche to preserve my B is Bg2. But withoutR in the game, the back rank mate threat is useless. } 35... Kc7 { I protect c6,waiting for him to come. What else? BxNg4 instead was accurate here, andthe last chance to play it for a balanced engame. } 36. f3 { I already lostthe chance to play BxNb4 and scramble his pawns. After 36... BxN, 37. cxBe4,my dsb is lost! See it by yourself... } 36... Bd5 { The isolated pawn will be ok,I hope. } 37. Rxe7+ Bxe7 38. Nxd5+ cxd5 { In the hindsight, I must havegone for BxNb4. My pawns are weaker now. } 39. Bg6 f4 { Better to save itor make him doubled! } 40. gxf4 Bd6 { A way to c1 and the other vulnerablechain. } 41. Bf5 Bxf4 42. Bxh3 Bc1 43. b3 Bb2 44. c4 Bxd4+ { Well, thismay seem hopeless, but let's see how can white force my pawn out of g7. } 45. Kg2 dxc4 46. bxc4 Kd6 47. Bf5 Kc5 { I can force his B to c8 to defenda6. } 48. Be6 Kb4 49. f4 Ka5 50. Bc8 b5 { Freeing the way for my K. } 51. cxb5 Kxb5 52. f5 Bf6 { White will have to force the win. Can he? } 53. Kf3 Be5 54. h3 Bf6 55. Kg4 Kc5 56. h4 Kd5 57. h5 Ke5 58. Kf3 Bg5 59. Kg4 Bh6 { I think he can't! I survived, after a blunder and a heavy endgame mistake.I hope you enjoyed the midgame combination, and the heavy power of black'sh pawn. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Challenge from facecrumbs"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2021.04.28"] [Round "-"] [White "ptitroque"] [Black "facecrumbs"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1596"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1909"] 1. e4 { This is an unrated game, for training purpose. A fine game - veryopen - complex edge to edge situations - computer analysis : https://gameknot.com/analyze-board.pl?bd=31115914&rnd=0.8849737753012125 } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 { Ruy Lopez } 3... Nf6 { Not the most common answer but inbooks } 4. O-O a6 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nxe5 Nxe4 { This will lead to an open gamewith battle for the center. } 7. Qf3 { menacing mate (8. Qf7) } 7... Nd6 { onlymove } 8. Re1 { Menacing a discovery check } 8... Be7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 { Bishoponthe long diagonal } 10... Re8 11. d3 Bf8 12. Nd2 f6 { Weakening the king but whitehas nomore LSB so that it's not that serious. } 13. Nec4 Re7 14. Ne4 { Totry and conquer the center } 14... Nxe4 15. Rxe4 { White wants to hold the centerand conquier the open file } 15... Rxe4 16. dxe4 { 1. Immediate threats : none2. center : white has a far better control on it (N,P,DSB,Q indirectly)fired. 3. Pawn structure : slighly bette for white because of the doubledpawn. 4. Open files : one (and a central one !). under black control...for the moment ! Still a clue in the game. 5. Safety of the kings : Bothkings are safe. The advance of the f awn has weakened the black king butwhite has no more LSB. 6. Material equality : black has the 2 bishops,which is an advantage, especially in open games. 7. General disposition: the white pieces are more active (having more mobility) but 2 of themare unprotected. } 16... b5 17. Ne3 Bc5 { A good place for the bishop (aiming atthe white king) } 18. Rd1 { Taking control of the open file. } 18... Qe8 19. e5 { At this point, I begin to prepare an eventual endgame : material : onepawn advance can be decisive, as well as a passed pawn.The respective colourscontroled by the pawns and the remaning bishops, Centralizing my piecesso that they are active as possible and trying to keep the pressure onthe opponent so that he won't be able to do the same... } 19... fxe5 20. Bxe5 Qe7 { mistake, the c6 pawn hangs - GK computer proposes 20...Be6 } 21. Qxc6 { 1.immediate threats : none 2. material equality : white has one pawn advance.3. safety of the kings : the white king has 3 pawns as protection - blackonly 2 - Whote has to pay attention to the 1rst line (easy mate by rookor queen, as the white king could be blocked by his pawns) - common patternto which one has to pay attention) 4. Center : white is definitely better5. Pawn structure : equivalent - white has a majority on the kingside.6. Open files : 2 : one controled by white (d) and the other one (e) contested.7. General organization : white pieces are more mobile } 21... Ra7 { The computerproposes Rb8 which would have secure the bottom line. } 22. Qf3 { Blunder,according to the machine which proposes 22.Nd5 but white overlooked it(if 22..Qxe5, a complex serye of moves and trades leads to an advantagefor white which takes black's DSB. } 22... h6 { The black LSB is still in his garage22... Bb7 would probably have been better. } 23. Qg3 { Menacing the blackking. At this point I believed that the game would be over in a coupleof moves, for white has many attacking options but black defended verywell. } 23... Be6 { Another blunder according to the computer but white didn'ttake profit of it. } 24. Qg6 { Menacing 25. Rd8+ Qxd8 (forced) 26. Qg7 mate. } 24... Ra8 { Black has seen the danger and avoids the mate. } 25. Bxc7 { Second pawnadvance. If 25... Qxc7 26.Qxe6+ } 25... Bf7 { Firing the queen } 26. Qg3 { The queenis still on the opposite king's file, protects the bishop and the knight. } 26... Rc8 27. Be5 { reiterating the menace on g7 } 27... Bh5 { Menacing the rook and protectingg7. Black has now a far better position than a few moves ago. but whitehas still the 2 pawns advance, which is not quite copensated by black's2 bishops advantage. } 28. Rd2 Re8 { Now the game is mostly tactical andblack has the initative } 29. Bd4 Bd6 { The white queen has to leave andhas not many places to go. } 30. f4 { protecting the queen and providingher a retreat on f2 or e1 } 30... Bc5 { The white kinght is in danger (if 31...Bxd432.Rxd4 Qxe3+) } 31. Kf2 { White is unsecure : K and Q on the same diagonal,K exposed but white has now possibilities to counter. } 31... g6 { Blunder, blockingthe LSB and weakening the king. Black didn't see the danger. } 32. Bxc5 { Now the brave knight is protected by his king, so that white can tradethe DSB... and black is in serious trouble. } 32... Qxc5 33. Rd5 { Fork attack,black is doomed } 33... Qxe3+ 34. Qxe3 Rxe3 35. Kxe3 { black resigns here. Theinequality in material being too big - a fine game, very open, with plentyof complex posibilities for both sides and therefore a buch of mistakes- thanks to facecrumbs for the game. } *

[Event "Sicily, there we go"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017.01.18"] [Round "-"] [White "big-mac"] [Black "picadily"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1520"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1578"] { I played this game in a mini-tournament where all games start from 1.e4c5, the Sicilian Defence. The purpose of the annotation is to analyse myown game, and hopefully get some feedback. } 1. e4 c5 { I played this gamein a mini-tournament where all games started with the Sicilian Defence,1.e4 c5. This can allow me to familiarise myself with this opening. Thepurpose of the annotation is for myself to analyse my own game, and hopefullyget some feedback from my team members. After the opening moves (basedon game database), I will comment on almost every move, in order to allowsome of our team's teachers to see my reasoning throughout the game. } 2. Bc4 { 2.Bc4 is not a very common move it seems. Maybe the opponent is tryingto take me out of book as soon as possible. I will follow examples fromthe Games Database to make sure I play a correct opening. } 2... e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 { 4.a3 and we're already 'out of database' (on Gameknot in 'World'setting). Looks like White may consider b4 at some point. If the move ismeant as anti-Knight strategy, I don't think this was necessary here. } 4... Nf6 5. d3 d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. Qe2+ { 7.Qe2+ brings out the Queen with check,but I can undo it by developing my dark squared bishop, after which I cancastle. White played this move before moving away his bishop on c4. Maybethe idea was to make a forcing move and gain time and at the same timedevelop the Queen. But now my ambition is to castle and play Re8, puttingthe Rook in front of White's Queen. } 7... Be7 8. Bb5 { 8.Bb5 pins my Knight.I'm about to castle, but since my Rook is going to travel to e8, I mustbe mindful of variations in which my c-Knight is required to move. } 8... O-O 9. Bxc6 { 9.Bxc6 I'm not sure why White exchanges. There are certainly similarpositions where this happens. Since exchanges should always have a point,I'm guessing White's point is to create a doubled pawn on the c-file andthen attack it. I now have the bishop pair (and will be keeping it untilthe end of the game). } 9... bxc6 10. h3 { 10.h3 Another move that doesn't immediatelyseem necessary to me. Of course it gives space to the King after castling.And it takes away g4 from my Knight and light squared bishop. Maybe Whiteis avoiding a pin on his Knight. I would have castled. } 10... Re8 { 10...Re8puts my Rook on the open e-file, and in front of the White Queen (and King). } 11. O-O Rb8 { 11...Rb8 is the last move that I found in games with a similarsetup. It makes sense to me. It places my second rook on the open b-file,and makes the b-pawn a possible target. White must now make sure to defendit before moving his bishop. } 12. Re1 h6 { 12...h6 The reason for this movewas probably to prevent Bg5 followed by Bxf6. In that case, I would preferto recapture with the Bishop, but I was concerned of my back rank. MaybeI could have developed my light squared bishop (on c8), thus connectingmy Rook on b8 with the Queen and other Rook. I know moves like h3/h6 anda3/a6 can make sense, but I often feel like they make me lose time. } 13. Qd2 { 13.Qd2 takes away the Queen from the e-file. Obviously safer for theQueen, but it blocks the ds-bishop, and maybe White should have moved theQueen to d2 in the first place instead of 7.Qe2+ earlier. Maybe Whiteplans on manoeuvring on the Queen-side. This move does support b4, if Whiteis going to attack my doubled pawn(s). But White's bishop can't join thefight. I'm a little concerned about the e5-square. It looks like White'sknight has access to it, supported by its rook. } 13... Bd6 { 13.Bd6 was playedto support the e5 square (now covered by both the rook and bishop). Thebishop also keeps supporting c5. } 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 { 14...Qxe8 I prefer takingwith the Queen, so my Knight stays on f6. This also keeps control of theopen file, and e5. } 15. b3 { 15.b3 looks like White is going to develophis bishop to b2, where it will be very active. Here I don't rememberall the variations I looked at, but my plan against Bb2 was to play d4,in order to somewhat limit the reach of White's bishop. However, Whitecan challenge d4 with c3, and his Knight also covers the d4-square. Thereforemy plan is to exchange Knights } 15... Nd7 { 15...Nd7 in view of Ne5. } 16. Bb2 { 16.Bb2 is what I anticipated. The bishop there is a monster, eyeing g7.It reigns over the a1-h8 diagonal. Hence ... } 16... d4 { 16...d4, hoping to blockthe White bishop. } 17. Qd1 { 17.Qd1 White is making room for is other Knighton d2. This will counter my hope of not having a Knight on f3. } 17... Ne5 { 17...Ne5playing what I wanted to play. } 18. Nbd2 { 18.Nbd2 thus supporting the otherKnight } 18... Be6 { 18...Be6 I had been wanting to develop my bishop. I also lookedat Bf5 during the game. On e6 it does block my Queen. I can't rememberwhich variation I was looking at, which made me choose Be6. I hope to beable to bring the bishop to d5 later on. } 19. Ne4 { 19.Ne4 White posts aKnight on e4, attacking my bishop on d6. I don't want to move my bishop.I could play a defensive move like Qd7. But I was just reading JeremySilman's chapter on 'Macho Chess' and 'Bowing to panic', where he tellsus to play the move you want to play. So I felt compelled to try somethingmore aggressive. Here I reasoned that I could play Nxf3, Qxf3, Bd5 whichwould pin the Knight on e4. Then my bishop would be where I wanted, andI can play a defensive move later, if necessary. } 19... Nxf3+ { 19.Nxf3+ check,and White 'must' take back with the Queen. } 20. Qxf3 Be5 { 20. Be5? Thisis why I should comment all my games every move. I played this move, havingforgotten my plan of Bd5. This move throws away my pawn on c5. I'm sureI was calculating variations where this move would prove to be useful,but I failed to see my hanging c5 pawn. Up to this point, I felt I hadbeen playing rather OK against a better rated player, but this was justbad. } 21. Nxc5 { 21.Nxc5 and I only saw my error after White played hismove ... } 21... Bd5 { 21...Bd5 trying to retain my bishop pair. I know one pawndown isn't always game over. Hopefully I'll be able to put pressure onWhite's kingside. If I chase the Knight away, my c-pawn could still supportd4. One move I was considering was a5. My Queenside looks a bit messy,but my central bishop pair does still cover many squares all over the board. } 22. Ne4 { 22.Ne4? this looks like a present. White is moving the Knightinto a pin, so now I can attack it. f5 is not possible yet, so I'll playg6 first. Maybe White feared being out of squares for the Knight in caseof an attack. Black would have been able to attack the Knight with Rb5and Qe7. White could defend with b5, but I think after a5 by Black, thisdefence doesn't hold out. Na4 would have been ugly ... } 22... g6 { 22.g6 I feelguilty moving away my King's defences, but I'm hoping this will drive theKnight back, and it takes away some more squares on the Kingside. Thecomputer also points out that I totally missed the Knight fork on f6: Nf6+,Bxf6, Qxf6. I must have benefited from White concentrating on his Queen? } 23. b4 { 23.b4 I would have understood this move one move ago. Now I'm notsure what it does. Maybe once again making space for the Knight via Nd2-Nb3to attack d4, but the Knight is going to be lost. White should have movedhis Queen to unpin his Knight. } 23... f5 { 23...f5 is the reason I had playedg6 earlier. Attacking the pinned Knight. } 24. Qe2 { 24.Qe2 is one move toolate. } 24... fxe4 { 24.fxe4 I take the material will I can } 25. dxe4 Be6 { 25...Be6Although my material advantage is rather limited in mathematical terms,I do have the bishop pair, while White just has more pawns, and its bishopon b2 is still being blocked by my d4. } 26. Qd2 { 26.Qd2 attacking bothd4 and h6. Looks like I'm going to lose the material advantage, but I stillbelieve my bishop pair should give me better chances now. } 26... Kh7 { 26...Kh7to support my pawns. I didn't like the idea of Qxh6, leaving me with anisolated g-pawn to defend, and the enemy Queen deep into my territory. Then I preferred losing my d-pawn. Since White will take that with hisdsb, I'll exchange bishops, taking away White's piece that would otherwisebecome way too active. } 27. f4 { 27.f4 driving back my bishop. It is beingrelegated to performing defensive tasks ... } 27... Bg7 { 27...Bg7 to avoid havingto move it again after e5. Maybe Bc7 and Bb6 would have been a better plan. My bishop pair isn't looking very fearsome. They're not really doing thatmuch. } 28. e5 { 28.e5 now really locks away my bishop on g7. It can't goanywhere now. Here I really regretted not going to c7. My pawn on d4 sholdstill fall, and I really need to improve my position. } 28... Rd8 { 28...Rd8 Whitegave me the time to play this move. I believe he should have taken my pawn,but I guess he wanted to retain his bishop and not risk the exchange. Now if the bishop takes on d4, it will be pinned. } 29. Qd3 { 29.Qd3 notsure what this does for White? } 29... Bf5 { 29...Bf5 This feels quite natural.The White Queen moved to a square where it could easily be chased, andmy ls-bishop looks less silly now. It attacks c2. } 30. Qd2 { 30.Qd2 stillkeeping the Queen on the same file as my Rook. I have a feeling White hasmade too many inaccurate Queen moves. In my opinion White should havetaken the d4-pawn, and then move his Queen to e3. Now he has made 2 movesand is still on d2. } 30... d3 { 30...d3 this 'wins' my pawn back, in the sensethat I'm not losing it anymore. } 31. cxd3 Rxd3 { 31...Rxd3 and suddenlymy position looks much healthier. My Rook looks quite powerful. I mustnow find a job for my Queen as well. She's not doing anything at all. } 32. Qe1 { 32.Qe1 yet another Queen move } 32... Qd7 { 32...Qd7, part of my planto finally get my Queen into play, while still covering my pawns on c6and a7. } 33. g4 { 33.g4 White is doing everything possible to reduce mybishop's influence. I'll need another 2 moves to go to d5. White is gettingan impressive presence on the kingside. } 33... Bxg4 { 33...Bxg4 So I lost my patience,and tossed away my bishop. Thinking that after axg4, Qxg4+ I'd finallyhave my Queen and Rook in an attacking position, and if White makes a mistakeI could even have a mate threat.. If not, I'd still have a possibilityto attack the two remaining white pawns, and things should still work outwell in the endgame. I'd also almost certainly get the opportunity tocheck White's king and take it's bishop at some point. } 34. Qh4 { 34.Qh4White seems to dislike the scenario's after axg4. } 34... Rxh3 { 34.Rxh3 and nowWhite must move the Queen away again. } 35. Qf2 Qd5 { 35...Qd5 threateningmate on h1. The alternative was Rf3 to start attacking the pawn on f4. Qd5 seems more forcing, and gives White the possibility to blunder hisQueen away with Kf1. It didn't happen, but would have been nice. Now Whitewill need to exchange Queens, and I'll still take the pawns and win theendgame. } 36. Qg2 Qxg2+ 37. Kxg2 Rf3 38. Rf1 Rxf1 39. Kxf1 g5 40. fxg5 h5 41. Kg2 Kg6 42. Bd4 a6 43. Kg3 Kxg5 44. a4 Kf5 45. a5 Bxe5+ 46. Bxe5 Kxe5 0-1

[Event "demolition derby"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27th-05-16"] [Round "-"] [White "blackrook11"] [Black "gigino42"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1660"] [WhiteElo "1854"] { This was a tournament game I played on goldtoken.com... In the end, mydouble bishop sacrifice wasn't accepted but black still met a quick end..Enjoy! } 1. e4 Nf6 { The alekhine defence. Usually I don't allow black totempt me to extend my pawns but I decided to make an exception } 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 { Now the game is looking something like the fourpawn attack } 5... dxe5 6. fxe5 { The correct pawn capture I think, dxe5 isn'ttoo good.. Now I have the open f-file for my rook after I castle } 6... c6 7. Nc3 e6 { A bit inaccurate. He should have played Bf5 before this move } 8. Bd3 Be7 9. Nf3 Na6 { Personally, I think Nd7 was better but this move isby no means bad } 10. O-O O-O { Both sides castle but notice that blackhas castled into a dangerous position. White pieces are poised to pounceon that weak kingside than black pieces are ready to attack mine } 11. Ne4 { ?! I'm not sure about this my move though, it seems a bit slow } 11... Bd7 12. Neg5 Bxg5 { This capture just feels wrong. Black needs defensive resourcesto try to hold off my attack. A better defensive plan for black was 12.g6 13. Re8 14. Bf8 to hold the dark squares around his king. Note thatg6 also prevents sacrificial ideas on h7 } 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Nh3 { My opponentmight think he got a tempo on me but what he just did was create a targetfor me } 14... Nb4 { This pesky move tries to move me off the b1-h7 otherwise Ilose the pawn on c4 but what is a pawn loss when you can get your enemy'sking } 15. Bb1 { The best place for this bishop. The b1-h7 diagonal is justtoo juicy to leave } 15... Nxc4 { Black munches a pawn but he really needs to watchhis kingside } 16. Bxh6 { The first bishop sacrifice. Accepting it leadsto 16.gxh6 17. Qg4+ kh8 18. Rf6! Where black must give up his queen toprevent an immediate mate, even then the black king still gets in troubleafter 18. Qxf6 19.exf6 Rg8 20. Qh5 } 16... Nxb2 { ?? The hungry black knight nabsanother pawn and nestles my queen to the helpless black king } 17. Qg4 { !Very strong square for my queen. Now I threaten mate on g7. } 17... g6 { The onlyway to deal with the mate threat on g7 but this losses to.... } 18. Bxg6 { !! The second bishop sacrifice. Accepting it leads to 18. fxg6 19. Qxg4+Kh7 or Kh8 20. Qg7#.. Blacks best chance for survival is probably Kh8 buthis majesty is still in a lot of trouble after Rxf7 } 18... Qe7 { ??? This losesvery quickly. Black sees the danger of accepting and tries to bring inthe queen for defence so as to capture my LSB next move but... } 19. Bh7+ Kxh7 20. Qg7# { ..... his queen won't have a chance to defend. A wonderfulgame on my path which I enjoyed playing. Remember, don't leave your kingexposed and go pawn hunting.. NB:i kinda felt sad that one of the bishopsdidn't live to see this great victory from his army.. Cheers! } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.11.23"] [Round "-"] [White "kaspanatola"] [Black "aperturaf"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "2083"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1936"] 1. d4 { A nice game I've exchanged two minor pieces for a rook and a pawn,and achieved some advantage at some points, even captured another pawn,but then black could get a fortress and so do I, I've kept pushing my passedpawn and the game went on naturally until a forced draw by repetition,black's only chance to stop the pawn...So I offered a draw which was accepted.Also remarkable was the novelty 7...Be7! presented by black which consistedin an improvement over the previous game played until then Bogoevski Jani(MKD) - Mitkov Nikola (MKD), Struga (Macedonia), 2007! } 1... d5 2. c4 e6 { QGDSlav (D30) } 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. a3 h6 6. e3 a6 7. Qc2 { avoiding theexchange of queen in case the centre gets open, while adding a defenderto c4 pawn and to the e4 square } 7... Be7 { N in the game Bogoevski Jani (MKD)- Mitkov Nikola (MKD), Struga (Macedonia), 2007; 0-1 was tried 7...Bd6,but two moves latter black moved the bishop to e7 losing a tempo, so Be7can be considered an improvement over that game } 8. b3 { to keep my pawnpresence in the centre in case black decides to exchange pawns } 8... dxc4 { andhe does exchange } 9. bxc4 O-O 10. Bb2 { aimed at the castled king and alsoimproving my defence of d4 when and if black decides to challenge my pawncentre } 10... Na5 { with an eye on b3 and the other on c4 } 11. Be2 { developingthe final piece and making possible the short castle } 11... c5 { an expected challengeof my pawn centre } 12. Na4 { mimics blacks knight with an eye on c5 andthe other on b6, but black still has b5, which I expect to be his nextmove } 12... b5 { ?! after Nxc5 Nxc4 Bxc4 black will retain the bishop pair buthas the worst pawn structure with three pawn islands and a hanging pawn } 13. Nxc5 Nxc4 14. Bxc4 { after some exchanges now if Bxc5 I'll have an extrapassed pawn after dxc5 and Qxc4 } 14... bxc4 { black sacrifices a pawn to denyme of my bishop pair } 15. O-O { connecting rooks and protects my king } 15... Rb8 16. Ne5 { aimed at c4 } 16... Bb7 17. f3 { temporarily weakens e3 but then it canalso support a pawn push to e4 and blocks the b7 bishop and removes someoptions from black's knight on f6, namely Ne4 and Ng4 } 17... Qc7 { black queenis hanging, so I'll play Rfc1 to support the capture of c4 } 18. Rfc1 Bxc5 19. dxc5 { and black facing the loss of his c4 pawn gives back the bishoppair to get the 'invested' pawn } 19... Qxc5 20. Bd4 { improving my position withtempo } 20... Qe7 { now I thought a while about Qxc4 with the idea of playing Bc5,but I lack one tempo, due to Rfc1 attacking my queen before I can playBc5 and would be black improving his position with tempo } 21. Nxc4 Nd7 { maybe with the idea of playing f6-e5.... } 22. e4 Ba8 23. Qc3 Rfc8 24. Bxg7 { So I'll exchange two minor pieces for a rook and a pawn, and withmy queen on the centre I might get some chances of promoting another pawn } 24... Rxc4 25. Qxc4 Kxg7 26. Qc7 Kh7 27. Rd1 Rb7 { forced, but black's pieceshave bad coordination so maybe I can force some win here } 28. Qc8 Ra7 { forced,because Rb8?? leads to Qxd7 Qxd7 Rxd7 +- } 29. Rab1 Kg7 30. Kh1 { avoidingsome check on the g1-a7 diagonal } 30... a5 31. Qc3+ { ? bad move (I only realisedit a couple of move latter) now white plays e5 and can shift his queenfrom g5 and e7 and achieves a fortress, the outcome of this game shouldbe a draw now... } 31... e5 { ! exactly } 32. h3 { ? I was worried about my lastrank safety, but this loses a precious tempo, although the result shouldn'tvary much without 32.h3 } 32... a4 33. Rb4 Nf8 34. Rc4 Qg5 35. Rc5 Re7 { ? Ng6defending e5 and aimed at f4 is better, but black is putting on a defencenow, and already has better coordination of his pieces } 36. Ra5 { now thea pawn falls } 36... Bb7 { expected } 37. Rxa4 Ne6 38. Ra7 Nf4 39. Qb2 Kh7 40. Kh2 h5 41. Rb1 Ba6 42. Rxe7 { Rxa6?? loses to Rb7 even if Rb6 then Rxb6 andI can't play Qxb6 as is mate in one } 42... Qxe7 43. a4 Qg5 44. Qf2 h4 45. Kh1 { now black can force a draw... I've placed some conditional moves Nd3 Qa7Nf4 Qf2... shifting the queen and knight between f2-a7 and d3-f4 respectively } 45... Bc4 46. a5 Nd3 47. Qa7 { aimed at f7, so black can defend it or attackmy king's position with Qg3 } 47... Qg3 48. Rf1 { now black can again force a draw...I've put some conditionals regarding that chance } 48... Nf4 49. Rf2 Kg7 50. Qe3 Bf1 51. Qd2 { only move to keep the g2 pawn... I've sent a draw offer, let'ssee if my opponent accepts it, as the game is dead draw, black can't entermy fortress, nor can I enter his, also despite being two pawns up, I can'tforce a promotion. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "League division C1"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.30"] [Round "-"] [White "dwardman"] [Black "climb512"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1913"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2018"] 1. d4 { Off we go } 1... Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 { All is even at the moment } 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. c3 d6 { This prevents my knight going to e5 which is where I would liketo place it at some point } 5. e3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Qb3 b6 8. Bc4 { I decideto put a little pressure on f7 } 8... Nc6 { Black is threatening Na5 so I dropthe queen back } 9. Qc2 e6 10. Bd3 Nd5 { I drop the bishop back } 11. Bg3 Nde7 12. h3 { Now I chase the black bishop } 12... Bxf3 13. Nxf3 e5 { Mmm, movethe king to safety } 14. O-O f5 { This looks aggressive but weakens blackskingside } 15. Qb3+ Kh8 16. Ng5 Qd7 { White will get a rook for a knight } 17. Nf7+ Rxf7 18. Qxf7 Rf8 19. Qb3 Nd8 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Rad1 { Things arelooking good } 21... Qc8 22. Bh4 Bf6 23. Ba6 { Black takes the bait } 23... Qxa6 24. Rxd8 { Black resigns } 24... Rxd8 25. Bxf6# 1-0

[Event "Studija"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2008.09.23"] [Round "-"] [White "srdjand "] [Black "srdjand"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "2000"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1200"] 1. e4 { Watch out, beginners who have learned to attack f7 only are focused on that and keep falling into traps, getting stuck in development and have no chance to defend. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 { Black develops his pieces and lures white to the attractive field g5. } 4. Ng5 { He took his mother's hand. } 4... d5 { This is a draw. White can either capture the pawn or take a piece. } 5. exd5 Na5 { The black piece takes the initiative. Every figure on the board is challenging the opponent to take the initiative by advancing its own piece. } 6. Bb5+ { White looks like it is the most logical solution. } 6... c6 { The new mother has the opportunity to hold back the white pawn and completely disrupt the black pawn structure on that side. All of this looks very dangerous like a very powerful attack. } 7. dxc6 bxc6 { This is a key moment of the chess game. The most attractive and logical move is to play Ba4. The possibility of capturing a pawn with c6 and then attacking the king and the knight with a powerful combination is simply irresistible. All that is needed is to get rid of the black knight and the game is won. } 8. Ba4 { Beli nastavlja sa realizacijom svog genijalnog plana da uzme topa. Samomu još taj konj smeta, ali najuriće ga on. Ima vremena. } 8... h6 9. Nf3 { Ovoje samo malo odlaganje plana. Još uvek ima vremena na pretek. } 9... e4 { Crnipostaje malo dosadan sa ovim pešacima. } 10. Ne5 { The white pawn has taken an aggressive stance and advanced to c6. This is actually a very dangerous move. The only alternative to this move would be to return the pawn to its previous position. The decision of which of these two moves is better is up to the white player. } 10... Qd4 { White is attacking two figures simultaneously. If - 11. Nxc6 Qxa4 12. Nxa5 Qxa5, Black can answer - 11. Bxc6 Nxc6 12. Nxc6 Qd5 13. Nxa7 Bg4 14. Nc3 Qh5 15. Ne2 Ra7, any white move leads to defeat. Therefore, the best continuation for white is... } 11. c3 Qxe5 12. b4 { Beli je napokon dočekao prilikuda ostvari svoj plan i napadne tog konja koji mu smeta. } 12... Bxb4 { Ali was surprised at the end. Black would win this part and move - 12. Ba6 which might be better, but I like to simplify things and this is totally solid game. } 13. cxb4 Qxa1 14. bxa5 Qxb1 15. Bxc6+ { Finally, the white knight has reached the end of the board. ( : You just need to be patient enough. } 15... Bd7 16. Bxa8 O-O { There is a problem. ) : Sadly, there is no place for the loving player to escape. The game is full of pitfalls. } 17. O-O Rxa8 { It is clear who will win this game and further analysis is unnecessary. From move 12 onwards, the game could have developed into a few-move draw. It was not necessary to play in such a way, but this is the limit of our analysis. In any case, Black has all the pieces in his hands and victory is not in doubt. Most openings hide such or similar traps. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully polish these variations. With the help of a chess database, one can very quickly learn the song. I did not have this opportunity when I learned chess. } 0-1

[Event "A trapped piece, a desperado sac, then what??"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.03.25"] [Round "-"] [White "jstevens1"] [Black "bookie"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1878"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1782"] 1. Nf3 { Hi everyone! In the early part of the middlegame I got too temptedto leave my knight on a 'strong' outpost that could be attacked by an enemypawn. Glenda inadvertently trapped her own steed by cutting off the onlyescape square it could have had. This was brought home to me when FouLenoir was attacked. I then decided that the best way out of this wasto sac Fou Lenoir for two kingside pawns which left King Bookie ratherdraughty. Can Glenda make amends and save the day? If you do not wishto see the GA spoiler below you can just read on ....... } 1... Nf6 { 1. ....Nf6 - a symmetrical response to Nf3 (Reti Opening). } 2. d3 { 2. d3 - makinge4 and c4 possible. } 2... g6 3. e4 Bg7 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 { 5. Bh4 - maintaininga potential pin on the f3 knight should the e7 pawn move. } 5... O-O 6. c3 c5 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. Be2 { 8. Be2 - development. } 8... Nh5 9. O-O Nf4 10. Re1 Nxe2+ 11. Qxe2 { 11. Qxe2 - Fou Leblanc is traded off for one of black's knights. } 11... d6 12. Nc4 Bg4 13. Ne3 { 13. Ne3 - an attempt to force a trade of minorpieces or to make the black light square bishop retreat. } 13... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 { 14. Qxf3 - black makes the trade. } 14... Qd7 15. Nd5 { 15. Nd5 - eyeing up apotential fork on f6. } 15... b5 16. Rad1 Kh7 17. Qe3 { 17. Qe3? - this is themove that will block off my knight's retreat. } 17... g5 { 17. ..... g5! Blackexploits this and this move cleverly blocks off Fou Lenoir's defense off6. Now if Fou Lenoir moves to g3 then e6 makes my d5 knight into horsemeat! } 18. Bxg5 hxg5 19. Qxg5 { 19. Qxg5 - a piece for 2 pawns down. I will nothit the resign button yet as black's king is exposed. I am therefore gonnago for the jugular. } 19... f6 20. Qh5+ Bh6 21. Re3 { 21. Re3 - a rook lift. Asthe black bishop is pinned it is possible for me to swing the rook overto the kingside. } 21... Qe8 22. Qh4 Rg8 23. Nc7 { 23. Nc7 - fork. Black triesto get out of it by threatening mate on g2 but my rook will then attackthe BQ. When she moves out of the way then the rook on a8 will be demolishedby my knight's huge mace! } 23... Qg6 24. Rg3 Qf7 25. Nxa8 Rxa8 26. Rh3 Qg7 27. Rg3 Qf7 28. Rh3 { 28. Rh3 and DRAW OFFER of which my opponent accepts. It is draw by perpetual threat - what a relief! } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Scotch game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "20.10.2010"] [Round "-"] [White "Magnus Carlsen"] [Black "Etienne Bacrot"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2716"] [TimeControl "2hrs for first 40 moves"] [WhiteElo "2826"] { Sven Magnus Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess Grandmasterand chess prodigy currently ranked number one in the world on the officialFIDE rating list. He has achieved the second highest ever rating exceededonly by Garry Kasparov. Étienne Bacrot (French pronunciation: [etjɛn baˈkʁo])(born January 22, 1983 in Picardie, France) is a French chess grandmasterand currently ranked second in France (after GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave).I give their game from Nanjing Pearl Springs tournament, being played now.The lowest rated player in this tournament has a rating of 2719 and thereare 3 players with a rating exceeding 2800. This is one of the strongesttournaments. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 { Popular in the 19th century, by1900 the Scotch had lost favor among top players because it was thoughtto release the central tension too early and allow Black to equalize withoutdifficulty. More recently the Scotch has regained some popularity and ithas been used by grandmasters Kasparov and Timman as a surprise weaponto avoid the well-analyzed Ruy Lopez. White aims to dominate the centerby exchanging his d-pawn for Black's e-pawn. Black usually plays 3...exd4,as he has no good way to maintain his pawn on e5. } 3... exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nf6 { Fritz suggest 6. Qf6 with a mate threat after whichthe position is equal. } 7. Qe2 O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 a5 10. a4 Nd4 11. Qd3 Nxb3 12. cxb3 Re8 13. O-O-O d6 14. Qc2 { White is planning to develop hislsb to c4 or can play his knight to d5. Black should control the d5 square. } 14... Bd7 15. Bc4 Be6 { Black plays this one move late. } 16. Rhe1 Qe7 { Black doesnothing to release the pin on his f6 knight. This will prove to be a costlyerror. 16. g5 was necessary. White is in full control of the center. } 17. e5 { a bit premature. 17. f4 followed by 18. e5 would have been better. } 17... dxe5 18. Rxe5 { Now, Black's knight on f6 and bishop on e6 are both pinned. } 18... Qf8 { Black releases the pinned pieces but at a disadvantageous position.His king side castle will be torn open. } 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Re2 Qg7 { A dangerousplace for the Queen in front of the King while White Rooks can occupy theg-file. } 21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. Rxe6 fxe6 23. Rd3 { White Rook is ready to swingover to the g-file. } 23... Kh8 24. Rg3 Qh7 25. Qd2 Bc5 { Bishop is rushing tohis king's defense. } 26. Ne4 Be7 27. Rh3 { A critical position. White pressureon the h6 pawn seems to be deadly. Black chooses a weaker defense on hisnext move. } 27... Kg7 { ? loses quickly. Better was 27...Rd8 28. Qe3 Bf8 29. Qc3e5 30. Qf3 Be7 } 28. Qd7 { White occupies the 7th rank. } 28... Kf7 { ? second mistake.Kh8 was better. } 29. Ng5+ { Piece sacrifice to open lines. } 29... fxg5 30. Rf3+ Kg8 31. Qxe6+ Kh8 32. Rf7 { Now White wins back more than his sacrificedpiece. } 32... Bd6 33. Rxh7+ Kxh7 34. Qf7+ Kh8 35. g3 { To stop a check from f4. } 35... Ra6 36. Kb1 Bb4 37. f4 gxf4 38. gxf4 { Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "rematch, nice moves."] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "17-Nov-06"] [Round "-"] [White "rider_tiger"] [Black "bukefalt"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1476"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1200"] 1. d4 { This is an interesting game with careful moves on both sides. Blackhad a mate opportunity at move 53, did not see it. Black deserved a winbut lost probably because he was 'dizzy with success' as russians wouldput it and made an impulsive mistake at the end. Queen's pawn to d4, myfavorite move, leading to Queen's gambit. I enjoy this move because backwhen I was first learning the basics (very long time ago), I guess I tookthis as a habit because this opening leads to a closed game with slow maneuvering.In contrast, e4 is a good move but it leads to an open game and at thebeginning, I had more chance of giving away material due to forks by knightsand bishops. } 1... d5 { Queen's gambit, as expected. } 2. c4 { I am not givingaway that pawn, after he takes that, I intend to e4, taking control ofthe center. Later I can capture his pawn by bishop to c4 } 2... e5 { Interestingmove, I can just go ahead and capture his pawn and then try to defend myisolated pawn at e5. } 3. dxe5 { Captured and I am 1 pawn ahead in the material. } 3... d4 { He advances his pawn, trying to control my c3 square. } 4. Nf3 { Threaton d4 pawn both by Knight and queen } 4... c5 { protects it and makes it solidon the board, controls my e3 and c3 squares. } 5. g3 { Preparing for italianstyle bishop to g2 } 5... Bg4 { Juggling around } 6. Bg2 { protects the knight } 6... Nc6 7. Bf4 { Wanted to take bishop to the game, controlling the diagonalto the some point and protecting e5 pawn. } 7... Be6 { Threatens my c4 pawn. } 8. Qb3 { Take care of that threat and threaten b7 pawn at the same time. } 8... Qd7 { Protects b7 } 9. O-O Nge7 { He is trying to castle but blocking hisblack bishop is not a good idea if you ask me. Then he cannot move hisknight to f6 because i have a freaking pawn there. } 10. Na3 { connectingthe rooks, mobilizing the horsy troops, planning on visiting b5 and forkingwith c7 if the opportunity represents itself :) } 10... a6 { He is preventing mehorsy from coming to b5 I see :) In our last match, I did that and forkedhis rook and king. } 11. Qa4 { Now that he protects his pawn, i try to makemy queen useful. Queen is 'vezir' in turkish, which means like prime minister.Knight is 'at', meaning horse, rook is 'kale' which means castle, and kingis 'sah' which is persian king. Instead of bishop, we use 'fil' which meanselephant :) Really... } 11... Ng6 { Fine move, attacking my 'elephant' } 12. Bg5 { running the bishop and controlling f6 and e7, kinda...I also have a pawnthere, so its all good. } 12... Rb8 { i think he is gonna move his Q somewhere,so he wants to keep that pawn protected. } 13. e3 { trying to regain controlover there and breaking the deadlock } 13... Ncxe5 { takes my pawn and attacksmy Q, perhaps even hoping i wont see that. } 14. Qxd7+ { exchange the ladies. } 14... Bxd7 { he regains his lost pawn at the top of the game. } 15. exd4 { i takethat back, i am again a pawn ahead. } 15... Nxf3+ { Exchanges horses } 16. Bxf3 { Now i control that nice diagonal. Good thing he saw ahead and protectedhis pawn at b7. } 16... cxd4 { material even now, and he has a passed pawn. } 17. Rfe1+ { Muhahahahaha } 17... Be6 { fine protectionovski. } 18. Bd5 { threat } 18... Kd7 { Surprisingmove me thinks, but now the queens are gone, we can have a macho game,playing around with kings and such :) I myself would still try to castleand lose the pawn. } 19. Rad1 { trying to get that lonely ranger at d4. } 19... h6 { bishop to c5 would have protected his pawnovski (trying to give thisa russian theme :) } 20. Bc1 { maybe i could exchange the bishops at e6,but oh well, i wanted to keep that nice combo of bishop and pawn, protectingeach other. } 20... Bxd5 { he makes the exchange for me. } 21. cxd5 { i could alsotake d4 pawn with castle, and he could not take my pawn because he wouldhave to move his king. } 21... Bc5 { Now he takes care of his own. } 22. Nc2 { iam no fool, i threaten that pawn with my horsy also, so i win the exchange. } 22... Ne7 { he tells me i take his pawn, he takes mine. } 23. b4 { get out of herebishop sir... } 23... Bb6 { OK } 24. Nxd4 { I am up a pawn after all that hard work,but he can take my pawn also. But i plan to move my horse up to his rightside, 'eating' some more of his pawns. } 24... Nxd5 { even steven. } 25. Nf5 { Instead,I could also do rook e5 etc. But I like what I do here, coz I threatenpawn at g7 and pin horse at d5 (he cannot move thanks to my rook at d1) } 25... Kc6 { Now he can take my pawn at b4 if i take his pawn at g7. } 26. Ne7+ { again, rook e5 may have been a better move (followed by taking his horseat d5) but all i thouoght about here was getting my rook up there so Icould line up one of his pawns. He has been playing very good with no dumbmoves, so my mindset was not on major pieces but on getting an advantage. } 26... Nxe7 { as expected. } 27. Rxe7 { rook 'up there' } 27... Rhe8 { empty threats. } 28. Rxf7 { pawn ahead. } 28... Rf8 { more empty threats. } 29. Rxf8 { I could have takenthe g7 pawn, but you see, he has a bishop pointing at my f2 pawn, so hecould take that with his rook, complicating the matters. } 29... Rxf8 { he takesthe rook back. } 30. Be3 { i protect my f2 pawn } 30... Bc7 { he does not want toexchange bishops because he is down one pawn. } 31. h4 h5 32. Kg2 { gettingmy king out of black squares. } 32... Kb5 { attacking my pawn } 33. Rc1 { you takemy pawn, i take your bishop. I guess d7 would have worked as well. } 33... Bd6 { attacks my pawn with two pieces (king and bishop) } 34. Bc5 { i protectit and attack his bishop } 34... Bxc5 { here i thought long and hard. Should itake it with my pawn or with the rook. Taking the bishop with rook wouldspeed up the game, and I was ahead one pawwn, so i decided to go with that.Now that i think back, using the pawn would have been a lot better becausei would have a passed pawn.it would be separated from the other pawn, butanyways... } 35. Rxc5+ { i am infact attacking his h5 pawn. } 35... Kxb4 36. Rxh5 { IMO i accelerated the game. } 36... b5 { now he starts rolling down his pawns. } 37. Rg5 { thinking back, i think this was the worst mistake. I should havedone rook to h7 and start moving the pawns. I do it later (move 42), buttoo late. } 37... Rf7 38. Rg6 { move it up so i can threaten two pawns on the leftside. } 38... a5 39. Rc6 { not sure if this is a good move. } 39... Ka3 { going for theother pawn. This shows the importance of an active king in an end game. } 40. Rc5 { i am like, now i got him, he cannot protect both his a5 and b5pawns with his king. } 40... Rb7 { well, he does not have to, he will protect hisg pawn and p pawns at the same time using one rook. Efficient use of technology.Star trek fans will know, this is like Borg or something :) } 41. Rh5 { icould do c2 here, but how long will i get to protect that pawn, he willjust keep rolling down with the other pawns. I needed an attack plan. } 41... Kxa2 42. Rh7 { i should have done this long time ago. } 42... b4 43. h5 b3 44. h6 b2 45. hxg7 { i was hoping he would queen immediately and i would geta queen with a check, keeping my queen and rook. I knew if he took my pawnsacrificing his rook, it would not be good for me. } 45... Rxg7 { and surely, thatswhat he did. } 46. Rxg7 b1=Q { now we have a queen for a rook and he hasa good pawn on a file. } 47. Ra7 Qe4+ { checks } 48. Kh3 { i run } 48... a4 49. f3 Qd4 50. Ra5 a3 51. f4 Kb2 52. f5 a2 53. g4 { that must have been the dumbestmove I made throughout the whole game. He could have just take the queento c3 , taking my rook, promoting his pawn to queen freely, just matingme in a coupla moves. } 53... a1=Q 54. Rxa1 Kxa1 { no i gave my rook for anotherpawn, i am pretty darn sure to lose the game. } 55. Kh4 Qh8+ 56. Kg5 Kb2 57. f6 { just trying to promote the pawns, but i am almost hopeless. } 57... Kc3 58. Kg6 Qg8+ 59. Kf5 Kd4 60. g5 Kd5 61. g6 Kd6 62. f7 Ke7 { here, i thinkhe would just put his queen to g7. What I think happened was he was 'dizzywith succcess' as russian players would put it. This type of stuff happens.I have to admit he deserved a win but lost instead. } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.06"] [Round "-"] [White "quantized"] [Black "9422m"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1927"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1747"] 1. d4 { Because I know the e4 and d4 open I know the proper response accordingto what I learned from the 1960's when Fischer and Spassky were at it... } 1... Nf6 { I like the Nimzo Attack by you know who. I also like King's IndianDefense. } 2. c4 { The usual for White. } 2... e6 { I go for the NIMZO ATTACKinstead of the King's Indian. Either will do. } 3. Nc3 { The usual. } 3... Bb4 { The Nimzo Attack. I learned this as an attack and not a defense. I learnedit in the 60's against White. Today they call it a Defense; however, inmy days it was an attack. } 4. e3 { White is willing to suffer stacked pawnson 'c' rank for the trade. However, my bishop is still attacking and Ican develop a pawn to the front to apply extra pressure without mercy. } 4... d5 { This does not alleviate the NIMZO ATTACK. It can develop rapidlyto complicate White. } 5. Bd3 { I want c7 to c5 anyway. It is the NIMZOATTACK. Nothing here is changing this. } 5... c5 { Now the Classical NIMZO ATTACKis in operation with my c5. } 6. Ne2 { He is clearing and defending househere; but the NIMZO ATTACK is on schedule. } 6... cxd4 { His knight at c3 isuseless. } 7. exd4 { A forthright pawn trade to diminish the NIMZO ATTACK. } 7... dxc4 { It results in an isolated pawn for white } 8. Bxc4 { He should gethis king 0-0'd. } 8... O-O { I do mine first. } 9. O-O { He follows. } 9... Nc6 { Iam developing whilst seeing I may have to move my knight that just JUMPEDout. } 10. a3 { Pressuring my bishop to another place.... } 10... Bd6 { If he wantsto continue pushing my bishop let him do so... } 11. Bg5 { A good pin. } 11... Bxh2+ { However.... } 12. Kxh2 { His King...... } 12... Ng4+ { under attack by anunlikely piece while his bishop is out for grab. } 13. Kg3 { So I am readyto grab it. } 13... Qxg5 { Disclosed check is here... } 14. f4 { Separating my Queennecessarily for now... } 14... Qg6 { But still under disclosed check.... } 15. f5 { An advance I can handle with a pawn... } 15... exf5 { I have to use it...and defendthe posted knight. } 16. Nf4 { I am thinking another pin is in the make... } 16... Qd6 { So I do it. } 17. Nb5 { White is trying to unpin the pin... } 17... Qb8 { Thepin remains. } 18. d5 { White pushes a 'passed pawn' to threaten... } 18... Nce5 { I move my knight forward with my forward deployed knight. Together theyare a lock. } 19. Be2 { In the lock the knights are fine. This move enticesme to do what knights are famous for.... } 19... Ne3 { A fork between two morevaluable pieces. } 20. Qc1 { He doesn't want to lose his queen for the rook.Should I take the rook? } 20... Nxf1+ { No better thing to do no better move tomake.... } 21. Bxf1 { Recovering material for White. } 21... g5 { I am doing theKing Side attack now... } 22. d6 { That pawn isn't going anywhere. } 22... gxf4+ { This pawn is. } 23. Qxf4 { My King has an open next window to White's Queenbut my pawn has served to block that next move before } 23... Ng6 { I close thewindow and attack while my bishop on c1 is still there to defend. } 24. Qh6 { An aggressive move made by a piece not in a position to really domuch. } 24... a6 { Time to push forward... } 25. Nc7 { He wants that rook I nevermoved... } 25... Bd7 { He can have it if he wants. } 26. Be2 { ? } 26... f4+ { Continuing. } 27. Kf3 { His knight is still hesitating from the Book of Second Hesitations.... } 27... Qa7 { This should clear up hesitations.... } 0-1

[Event "Chess game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "abdalmoneem"] [Black "player B"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1200"] [WhiteElo "1200"] 1. e4 e6 { this follows the French defence. } 2. d4 c5 3. d5 exd5 4. exd5 d6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. c4 Be7 7. Be2 { untill now,this follows GAMEKNOT database. } 7... b6 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. b3 Nbd7 11. Bb2 a6 12. a4 { i wanted to preventblack from playing b5. } 12... b5 { 12....b5?? this is a mistake and black losesa pawn. } 13. axb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 { may be 14.Rxa1 was better. } 14... Rxa1 15. Qxa1 Qa8 16. Nc7 Qxa1 17. Rxa1 Bd8 18. Nb5 Re8 19. Kf1 { i think better was 19.Bd3or Bd1. } 19... Be7 20. Ra7 Rb8 { the best move as 20....Ba8 loses to 21.Nc7 andbishop dies. } 21. Bc3 g6 22. b4 Ne4 23. Be1 f5 24. Nd2 cxb4 25. Nxe4 fxe4 26. Bxb4 Nc5 27. Ba5 Ra8 28. Rxa8+ Bxa8 29. Bc7 Nb7 30. Bg4 Kf7 31. Ke2 { better was 31.Bc8. } 31... h5 32. Bc8 Kf6 33. Ke3 { 33.Ke3?? i should have played33.Bxb7 to win the d6 pawn. } 33... Nc5 { 33....Nc5?? black should have played33....Ke5 } 34. Bxd6 Bxd6 35. Nxd6 Ke5 36. Nxe4 { 36.Nxe4!!! } 36... Nxe4 37. f4+ { 37.f4+!!! now black king has to leave black knight without protection. } 37... Kd6 38. Kxe4 Kc5 39. Ke5 { i allowed black king to eat my pawn to promotequickly. } 39... Kxc4 40. d6 Bc6 { forced to prevent pawn from promation. } 41. d7 Bxd7 42. Bxd7 Kd3 43. Be8 { may be g4 or h3 are better.Anyway,here blackresigned because he can't protect his pawns. } 1-0

[Event "OTB Chess Game-Well Rested"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "5/6/16"] [Round "-"] [White "Joe"] [Black "Ted"] [Result "1-0"] [TimeControl "103 min"] [WhiteElo "1350"] { I annotated my second game against Ted, last Friday. That was, the onethat I lost due to being distracted. But, this was the game prior to that. Similarly, I mentioned in my club the importance of being well rested. Well, I'm inferring that Ted did not get enough sleep the night beforethe chess club because he was really tired last Friday. In this particulargame, being fatigue is what caused his mistakes which led to his downfall. } 1. e4 { So, I start off with my usual, and so does Ted. Therefore, it's,as usual, going to become a Ruy Lopez. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 { The usualresponse. So, I'll answer with the conventional move, as well. } 4. Ba4 Nf6 { Usually, he answers with 4...b5 which is the most common response. However, there's nothing wrong with this move. And, bringing the otherN, although it hasn't transposed into this line, this became somethinglike the Berlin Defense. The only differences are that whites LSB is noton a4, and black's a pawn hasn't advanced. Otherwise, it's the same idea. } 5. Nc3 { So, I treat it, as though, it were the Berlin Defense since isthe most common reply to that. } 5... b5 { Now, it goes back to what you mostsee in the Ruy Lopez. So, my next move will be the same. } 6. Bb3 Na5 { ?Ted often plays that. But, this is where that bringing the N is on therim but not the normal reason. What I mean is that it's not due to theguideline of a N on the grim is rim. Instead, there's more to it, as thismove is going to lose a pawn. In the past, I'd just castle and allowedan exchanged. However, seeing that e5 is not defended, I take, especiallygiven that my e4 is, on the other hand, protected by my Nc3. } 7. Nxe5 c5 { ?? I'm not sure why he played this. He was certainly fatigued here, somy guess is that he was zoning out. But, this is already going to resultin ruinous loss of material. With that being said, 7...Qe7 was forced. Back in the day, I'd answer with Bxf7+ only to take away his right tocastle and win a pawn. Seeing however, that I can fork with my N and gethis Rook, I'm going to do that. BTW, this was not my original intention,for had it been, I wouldn't have taken on e5. That's because it wouldbe a cheapo tactic which they can drive away. The real reason behind mylast move was because it wins a pawn with no way to defend. This blunder,as noted, is going to spell disaster. } 8. Nxf7 Qb6 9. Nxh8 c4 { Sort ofoverlooked but am not surprised to see Ted play this. I was wonderingwhat to in order to capitalize on my advantage. Yes, he is going to apiece, but the question is can I get something to exacerbate the situation? Definitely, and I am going to do that with my next move. } 10. Bxc4 Nxc4 11. O-O { Knowing my advantage, I capitalize on that, as noted by SusanPolgar in an e-mail course, by castling. } 11... Bb7 { Continuing his development,whilst, attacking my e4. } 12. e5 { So, I attack in an attempt to protectwhile gaining tempo. I'll admit that this the one thing I need to stopthinking. That's because this move is a mistake, as he will get a pawnback. Better was to move my Queen to the e file. Beyond that, (so best),however, was 12.Re1. Not only does this protect the e pawn, but it centralizesa Rook. And, as I recently learned, one way of controlling the centeris to centralize the Rook. } 12... Nxe5 13. Re1 { Remebering here about centralization,I play that move now. But, it would've been better a move earlier, asnow, he has gotten back a pawn. } 13... O-O-O { ?? But, this was another blunderas it loses another piece. Much better would've been 13...Qd4 Best, however,was 13...Bd6, as not only is the N protected, but Ted has completed hisdevelopment, as well. } 14. Rxe5 Ng4 { ?? Kicking my Re5. I'm presumingthat fatigue combined with tempo gain obsession led to this mistake. But,this is yet, another blunder as I'm going to win a piece. Just about anythingelse was better then this move. For me, just that hyperfocus and fixationwas enough to make a mistake like this. When, however, you add fatigue,yes I'm understand where Ted comes from as I used to cope with that pattern. In fact, the week before, I played two games. The second one was annotated,where I applied what I learned from the N+B mate. But, in the game before,my play was horrible and wound up making terrible mistake. Therefore,I should not have won that first game. With best play, I should've gottena draw, at best. I was very lucky that Ted didn't see the mistake, andit was then that I was able to figure out and force a win. But, the mistakewas directly caused by only getting 6.5 hours of sleep, the night prior. Not only that, but I had a cup of coffee before the chess club and startedgetting tired, shortly there after. This led to a mistake in the gameafter but was, somehow, able to find enough energy to apply what I learnedabout how to mate with N+B. } 15. Qxg4 { Once I took again, Ted resignedas black figured out that he didn't stand a chance. Right after this game,my opponent told me that he was not concentrating and got a cup of coffeeto help him stay awake. That's how I could tell that he was fatigue becausein the next game (which was my most recent annotation), he played muchbetter and won. That's because when I made that super blunder due to beingdistracted from the jazz band warm up and major time crunch he won my Queen. And, I resigned, right afterward. So, the moral of this story is to bewell rested before a chess game. If you're playing and did not get enoughsleep the night before, you'll wind up fatigue. That can cause blunderswhich, in the end, become costly, and that's what happened here. } 1-0

[Event "Offensive game + blunders"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.03"] [Round "-"] [White "guest*3042"] [Black "bsvino2"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1200"] 1. d4 { Both myself (Black) and white are offensive players. White hasn'tplayed for about five years, but still has some good game in him and givesme a good run for my money. We both make a couple serious blunders andthe game goes the distance. We played the game in one night over aboutfour hours of chatting and playing. } 1... Nf6 2. g3 c5 { A bit of a gamble forme. I'm hoping he'll take the pawn, so I can go e5. } 3. c3 { He doesn'tgo for it. } 3... d5 4. Bh3 c4 5. Qa4+ { Brave! } 5... Nc6 6. b4 cxb3 { Poor guy doesn'tknow about this obscure rule, so it catches him completely by surprise.Honestly I only did the move because I knew it would freak him out, notbecause it gained me in any way. He's still complaining to me about my'hacks' on this move. } 7. axb3 Ne4 8. Nd2 { Bad move. Leaves the c3 pawnundefended, opens it up for a fork. } 8... Nxc3 9. Qa3 Nxd4 { Moving in for thec2 fork. } 10. Qc5 { He effectively blocks the c2 fork. } 10... Nc2+ { I do it anyways,I have a backup plan. } 11. Kf1 d4 { Nicely tied up. Only trouble is, itgives up the pawn on a7. } 12. Rxa7 { This guy's really good at pulling unexpectedmoves on me. I had to think it through a bit. Although, while this winsthe pawn, it ends up losing the rook... } 12... e6 { ... because of a discoveredqueen attack. (e5 is bad, due to the Bishop on h3.) } 13. Qc4 Rxa7 { Yumyum. } 14. Ngf3 Ra1 { Forces Kg2. } 15. Kg2 Qd5 { My intention here is to offera queen trade, but I forgot about the Bishop. Shit! Blunder number 2. } 16. Qxc8+ Qd8 17. Qxb7 Ba3 { This forces a bishop trade. } 18. Qc6+ { Delayingthe inevitable. } 18... Qd7 19. Qxd7+ { He finally goes for a fair trade. } 19... Kxd7 20. Bxa3 Rxa3 21. Ne1 { Knight trade! Good shit. } 21... Nxe1+ 22. Rxe1 f5 23. e3 Ra2 24. Nc4 Ne4 25. exd4 { He made this move and then said 'Crap!' } 25... Rxf2+ { It turns out an even trade, even if I'm out of offensive options I'm allup in his face now. } 26. Kg1 Rb8 { Time to grab some pawns. } 27. Ne5+ Kd6 28. Bg2 { Ganging up on the Knight. } 28... Rd2 { I'm cool with a trade if it letsme pick up a pawn. } 29. Nf3 { He's not into it. } 29... Rb2 30. Bf1 R8xb3 31. Re2 Rxf3 { Crap! Another blunder. This wipes out all of the lead I had in thisgame. } 32. Rxb2 Kd5 33. Rb4 Nd2 { Another blunder! Crap crap! I was expectingBe2 but... } 34. Bg2 { I didn't realize during my analysis that Bg2 wouldpin the Rook. } 34... g5 { Figuring I'm in for a Bishop/Rook trade, I advance pawnsin preparation for a pawn attack. } 35. h4 { Odd... speaking with him laterhe didn't realize that the rook is so much more valuable than the Bishopin the end game. } 35... g4 36. h5 Ke4 { GAMBLE. His next move is Rb7, capturingthe h7 pawn. My gamble is that I will find a mating solution that involveshis rook being on the other side of the board, before he promotes a pawn. } 37. Rb7 { He seems to be going for it... } 37... h6 38. Re7 Kxd4 { Yum yum. } 39. Rxe6 Rxg3 40. Kf2 { Damn! He caught on to my trap. He doesn't go for theh6 pawn, suspicious of me closing in on his King. } 40... f4 41. Re2 Kd3 42. Ke1 f3 { KNIGHT SACRIFICE! } 43. Rxd2+ { He goes for it. According to my gameanalysis, at this point, all routes lead to mate for Black, barring anymove I missed. And still the game goes another 18 moves... } 43... Ke3 44. Bf1 { I was hoping for Bh1 Rg1#, oh well. } 44... Rg1 45. Rf2 g3 46. Re2+ Kf4 { As pointedout by a commenter, if I take the rook, it ends in stalemate. } 47. Re6 f2+ { Methodically shoving my pawns down his throat. } 48. Ke2 g2 { He hasa choice between capturing the pawn and capturing the other pawn. } 49. Bxg2 { He wouldn't have gotten off much better with Kxf2 gxf1=Q+. } 49... Rxg2 50. Kd3 { I have no idea why he didn't take the pawn. If he had then itwould have been a struggle to get his King away so I could promote. } 50... f1=Q+ 51. Kd4 Kg5 { Prevent any funny business with pawn capturing and tryingto promote. } 52. Rg6+ Kxh5 53. Rxh6+ { His logic: at least I wouldn't beable to capture the pawn. } 53... Kxh6 { I don't know why, but from this pointhe actually made me go through with the mate rather than resign. He's afighter, he never gives up until it's over. } 54. Ke5 Rg5+ 55. Ke4 Qc4+ 56. Ke3 { No Kf3? } 56... Rg3+ 57. Kd2 Qc3+ 58. Ke2 Rg2+ 59. Kf1 Qf3+ 60. Ke1 Qe2# { Good game. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "28-Jan-07"] [Round "-"] [White "dennis88"] [Black "almageccom"] [Result "*"] [BlackElo "1426"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1570"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 { This gambit is alwasyt tricky fr me. I have lost manygames playing against it incorrectly and still am not sure what is bestto do. } 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e4 Bg4 6. Be3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 { It seemsthat he had attacking possibilities for the past several moves, but optedto play defensively. It has permitted me to improve my development andmake some threats of my own. } 8. Bg5 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nxd4 10. Qd1 Nc6 11. Qxd8+ Rxd8 { Once I get castled I think I have a strong position and I maytake the Knight on c3 to give him some Pawns that willb e hard to defend. } 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. O-O Bxc3 14. bxc3 Ne5 15. Bb3 b5 16. h3 c5 17. f4 Nd7 18. Rad1 c4 19. Bc2 O-O 20. Rf3 Kh8 21. Rg3 Rg8 22. Rxg8+ Kxg8 23. a4 a6 24. Rd6 h6 25. Rxa6 Nc5 26. Ra7 Rd2 27. Rc7 { Now comes a tricky exchangethat I think I can win. There are complexities that might trip me up, though. } 27... Nxa4 28. Bxa4 bxa4 29. Rxc4 a3 30. Ra4 a2 { He did just what I had hopedhe would. Now he resigns, but it seems that there is still hoe for him.He could just move the King to h2 and live to fight on. No? } *

[Event "A Nasty Surprise"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.03"] [Round "-"] [White "maxillo"] [Black "aspiemikey"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1416"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1338"] 1. e4 e5 { Again with the king's pawn game. This is my first choice openingas black, as my queen and kingside bishop both have freedom. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 { Moving to the king's pawn game. We are level on development, and my king'spawn is defended by my own knight. } 3. Bb5 { Moving to the Ruy Lopez Spanishopening. My knight is now under attack, and my pawn is about to lose someprotection... } 3... Qf6 { ...so I bring out my queen to the 3rd rank to defendmy knight, and should I drop the latter, I can still keep a reasonablepawn structure... } 4. Bxc6 Qxc6 { ...and this is exactly what happens. Myqueen is eyeing up the c2-pawn, should the enemy queen drop her guard,although she may end up getting caged in... } 5. O-O { ...but he castleskingside, and I'm debating as to whether or not I should play Qxd4 andcapture the pawn... } 5... Qxe4 { ...and I decide it's worth it, as the e-fileis not yet open... } 6. Nxe5 Qd5 { ...but although the knight recaptures,I dare not capture it, as Re1 would be the response, causing me to dropmy queen for a rook. However, she guards f7, should the enemy queen advanceto h5... } 7. d3 { ...but I have nothing to fear from the dark-square bishop,just yet, as both the king and queen are on light squares... } 7... d6 { ...soI threaten the knight, and free up my light-square bishop... } 8. c4 Qc5 { ...but as the queen comes under attack from a pawn, I must move her outof harm's way... } 9. Qf3 dxe5 { ...and as he fails to move his knight, Iaccept it. With the queen out of her initial position, I could have usedmine, as Re1 would have been met with an instant rank mate: Qxe1#. } 10. Re1 { The rook does indeed come out, but it is not yet threatening to takemy pawn on e5, as my queen is defending it, but it needs some cover forBf4... } 10... f6 { ...and this is it. All four kingside pawns are now connectedand covered... } 11. Be3 Qb4 { ...and the bishop does indeed come out, sonow I target the pawn on b2, and the rook on e1, hoping to win either ofthe two, with latter resulting in a possible mate... } 12. b3 Qxe1# { ...butto my great surprise, I end up with the rook, and mating. I sure gave hima nasty surprise! } 0-1

[Event "For old times' sake"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2018.09.14"] [Round "-"] [White "lake-bay"] [Black "contramundum"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1588"] [WhiteElo "1648"] { A classic... } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 { A waste of precious time.This will prove costly. } 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Ne5 { Best. } 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Bf4 { An exchange would favor me. } 7... Ng6 8. Bg3 d6 9. Nc3 a6 { Again, this is bad. } 10. O-O { Clear the e-file quick... } 10... N8e7 { He closes it. } 11. Qf3 { Developmentcomplete. Black still has a bit of work... } 11... O-O 12. Nf5 { My knight didn'tfancy a retreat. } 12... Bxf5 13. exf5 Ne5 14. Bxe5 { A long debated exchange. } 14... dxe5 15. f6 { Quickly getting rid of the pawn and opening up the kingside. } 15... Ng6 { ? This is risky. } 16. fxg7 Kxg7 17. Qxb7 { Now I am up a pawn. } 17... Bb6 18. Bd5 { I see juicy prospects on a8. } 18... Ra7 { Such a shame... } 19. Qc6 Qg5 20. Ne4 { This knight goes for a hike. } 20... Qf5 { I like Qe7 better. } 21. Ng3 { Hitting the queen and potentially h5. } 21... Qf4 { This never gets old! } 22. Nh5+ { Winning without a doubt. } 22... Kh7 23. Nxf4 Nxf4 24. Be4+ Kg7 25. g3 { Igive the knight a boot. } 25... Nh3+ { A lost cause... } 26. Kg2 Ng5 27. f4 exf4 28. Rxf4 Ne6 { Mate is coming soon. } 29. Rg4+ Kf6 30. Rf1+ Ke7 { Of courseKe5 isn't an option. } 31. Bd5 Ba5 32. c3 { First things first. } 32... Bb6 { Matein three... } 33. Bxe6 fxe6 34. Rg7+ Kd8 35. Rxf8# { Cleanand solid! } 1-0

[Event "50th World Open U1800 Round 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "7.1.2022"] [Round "-"] [White "Celina"] [Black "freeman-82"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1439"] [TimeControl "40/90 min 30 min SD +30s"] [WhiteElo "1644"] 1. d4 { On the 2nd day Round 2 started at 11am. I got a good night's sleepand believed I adjusted to the new time zone. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 { Benoni } 4. dxc5 { !? but here I was out of book. I know that if White plays4. Nf3 or 4. g3 it transposes to the English opening which I was readyto encounter if played. } 4... Bxc5 5. Nf3 d5 { Theory states I must contestthe center, right? 5...b6 is too slow and White could play 6. e4 threateninge5 on the next turn. 5...Nc6 would still allow 6. e4 and transpose intoa Sicilian. } 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Qxd5 exd5 { I prevented whitefrom playing pawn e4. } 9. e3 { ? } 9... O-O 10. Bd2 { Time remaining 82/90 minutes. } 10... Re8 { 10...Bf5 looks equal for Black. Time remaining 65/90 minutes. } 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Bxd7 Nxd7 13. O-O Rac8 14. Bc3 Nb8 { !? I took some timeplaying this. I looked at 14...Nf8-Ne6 but I thought the knight would hinderthe rook's movements in middlegame to come. 14...Nf6 allows white to doublethe f6-square. } 15. Rfd1 { Time remaining 73/90 minutes. } 15... Red8 { Is Rcd8=or not? Time remaining 82/90 minutes. } 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rad1 d4 { 17...Ne7appears bad and cannot hold the d5-pawn. } 18. exd4 Bb4 { Briskly and brashlymoved. I looked at Bd6 and Bf8 but didn't want to ponder on such maneuvers. } 19. h3 { !? Creating luft. } 19... Bxc3 20. bxc3 { Time remaining 60/90 minutes. } 20... Na5 { Time remaining 48/90 minutes. } 21. Rd3 { ? } 21... Nc4 22. Rb1 b6 23. Rc1 f6 { Making room for the king to enter the game. Plus, a prophylaxison White's knight. 24. Nd2?...Nb2 25. Re3...Rxd5! } 24. Rdd1 Kf7 25. Re1 { Time remaining 29/90 minutes. } 25... Rd5 { Time remaining 41/90 minutes. } 26. Re2 Rc7 27. Nd2 Nd6 28. Nb3 { At this point I should have invoked adraw with 28...Nc4 and 3 move repetition in mind. } 28... Re7 { ? a mistake onmy part as this allows white's c-pawn to march forward. } 29. Rxe7+ Kxe7 30. c4 { Time remaining 25/90 minutes. } 30... Rf5 { Time remaining 34/90 minutes. } 31. c5 bxc5 32. dxc5 Nc8 33. f3 { An inaccuracy I would say. 33. Nd4seems forcing. } 33... Rd5 { My rook is back in the game. } 34. Kf2 Kd7 35. Ke3 { Time remaining 18/90 minutes. } 35... Ne7 { Preventing the c-pawn from movingforward. Time remaining 29/90 minutes. } 36. Nd4 { ? } 36... Nf5+ { ! Allowingblack to secure a draw. I thought my position was shaky before this. } 37. Nxf5 Rxf5 38. c6+ Kc7 39. Kd4 Ra5 { Rg5/Re5 appear equal I chose this linethan because the rook is farther away from the White King. } 40. Rc2 a6 { drawn by agreement. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "17-May-08"] [Round "-"] [White "broomstreet"] [Black "dmaestro"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1613"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1570"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. h3 { less common waiting move } 3... Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. d4 Nbd7 6. Be3 O-O 7. Qd2 c6 8. O-O-O { Up to now, fairly standard hanham formation.0-0-0 is risky given black's counterplay on the queenside. } 8... Qc7 9. g4 b5 10. Ne2 c5 { Better would have been 10...nb6 } 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Ng3 { Whiteprepares a kingside attack, while black hopes his queenside attack willprevail first. } 12... Bb7 { Here black decides an open position with pawn exchangesgives better chances if white takes the pawn. } 13. Bxb5 { Perhaps betterwould have been 13 nf5. } 13... Rfd8 14. Qe2 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Bxd7 Rxd7 17. Rxd7 Qxd7 18. Re1 Qc7 { The exchanges have left } 19. Nd2 Bb7 { The exchangeshave left black with strong bishops but the position is basically even,if unbalanced } 20. f4 { White tries to exploit the position of the blackbishop } 20... Bh4 { this is an essential intermediate move } 21. Rf1 exf4 22. Bxf4 Qe7 { Black offers a queen exchange } 23. Qh2 { White declines the queenexchange, overestimating kingside chances. Now white's position deteriorates. } 23... Re8 { Now black controls the e-file, and threatens checkmate via a queensac at e1. } 24. b3 { prevents the checkmate } 24... Qe2 { Black seizes his seventhrank } 25. Qg1 Bg2 { a strong move, driving away the rook while threateningthe h pawn. } 26. Rd1 Bxh3 27. Qxc5 { White wants to keep the material even,but does not see the danger to his king. } 27... Qxg4 { Black could have played27...QxR here, since QxR is met by Re1 . } 28. Qb5 { Oblivious to the danger. } 28... Qxd1+ { QxR !!, a devastating surprise. } 29. Kb2 Bf6+ 30. c3 Rc8 { tighteningthe noose. } 31. Ne4 Be7 32. Nf2 { hoping for a miracle, but the white kingis too weak. } 32... Qe1 33. Nd3 { the bishop was immune because 33 Qxc3 wins } 33... Qxc3+ 34. Kb1 Bf5 { fishing for a mate, if white takes the bishop, Blackplays 35 ...Qc2 , 36 Ka1, Bf6 ,, #7 Be5, BXB , 38 QxB, QxN. } 35. Be5 { stoppingBf6, but... } 35... Qc1# { The knight is pinned. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.11.21"] [Round "-"] [White "cgctv"] [Black "shaggdog22"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "634"] [TimeControl "10 days per move"] [WhiteElo "845"] { ok this is my first proper win.... hope you enjoy :D please comment ifyou wish and give stars as you wish } 1. e4 { my normal start } 1... e5 { lookslike anormal king side opening } 2. Nf3 { i attack pawn } 2... Bd6 { ??? never seenthat opening before... } 3. Bd3 { prepare to castle king-side } 3... Nf6 { he doesthe same } 4. Nc3 { im getting my knights out } 4... Nc6 { he does the same } 5. O-O { i castle as planned } 5... O-O { he does the same } 6. Bb5 { im attacking hisknights. in my opinion knights are strong and can attack and take thingswhich i easily miss :D } 6... Na5 { he doesnt want to swap pieces } 7. d3 { justgetting my bishop ready to move out } 7... b6 { protecting his knight also opningfor bishop } 8. Bg5 { i attack } 8... c6 { he attacks } 9. Bc4 { i move back } 9... Bb7 { nothing important about that move } 10. Bxf6 { no suprise there } 10... gxf6 { openedup his king area good for me bad for him i have advantage } 11. Nh4 { allowingmy queen to move out } 11... h6 { not sure what he is planning } 12. Qg4+ { checkand he is stcuk in a corner } 12... Kh7 { he doesn't want to trap himself } 13. Nf5 { mate is coming very quick now } 13... Rg8 { delaying mate } 14. Qh5 { mate isalmost unstopable } 14... Rf8 { ?????????????????????? what is he thinking matein 2 } 15. Qxh6+ { check has to move to g8 } 15... Kg8 { as i said and..... } 16. Qg7# { CHECKMATE.... hope you enjoyed.... } 1-0

[Event "A 'Who's better?' quiz"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2014.12.03"] [Round "-"] [White "flochess"] [Black "damalfi"] [Result "1-0"] { In this late-night blitz, we went into some oversights in the midgame,but finally we got to a position with unbalanced materiale: both B againstone B but more pawns, in an open position, with pawns on both sides. Ithink it is very interesting. I timeoutted! I had to leave the board...it was a real pity. So it went like that: } 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 e6 4. Bg5 { A good and original (for me) answer to the Icelandic. Blackcan't play Nbd7 because of dxe. Black doesn't have to, but has to thinkabout how to develop properly. } 4... Qxd5 { I went for an experiment. It shouldbe bad, but I plan to USE the g column. Let's see... } 5. Bxf6 gxf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 { The standard answer, with the surprising intention to take the N,then e5... } 7. Ne2 c5 { Let's take advantage and attack! It was not a plan,it was instinct. Generally speaking, often it comes out than to exploitpins is the way to break the opponent. I am well aware of Nb5, now... } 8. Qd3 c4 { Harassing the Q, based on the fact that white will better becramped that favoured in his developement by a pawn's exchange. But I overlooked... } 9. Qg3 { Forking g7 and c7. Which is worse? What kind of play do I try tobuild around this 'tragical' choice? Maybe, g7 is worst. Intuition. c7is rounded by pieces. } 9... Qg5 10. Qc7 O-O { !? True, castling on an openedcolumn, but I bet white is in no position to exploit. } 11. f4 { Not thefutile check Qh5+, but... } 11... Qd5 { defending d4, that white overlooked ordidn't want to take with the Q. } 12. O-O-O { Here, I blundered! A pity.I 'forgot' that the N was not pinned anymore, and played... } 12... Na6 { A fanasticmove, since the WQ is trapped, if not for... :-) } 13. Nxd5 Nxc7 { NO choice. } 14. Nxc7 Rb8 15. g3 { 'Well done'. How can I save this game? Nevertheless,the position is still very rich of nuances. } 15... a6 { It cames out that I willplay for trapping the WN. } 16. d5 { Smelling the danger. He has no B tosupport d8, so I bet I will be able to stop it. } 16... b5 { Solidifying the trap.If d6, Ba5... I'm in danger! } 17. dxe6 fxe6 { Now, WN is trapped. How willhe get out of this one? It wil cost me two tempos! } 18. Bg2 { Ok. } 18... Ba5 { One. } 19. Nxa6 { ...of course. better to dye for something. But betterwas the e pawn. Black could have thought that the following move will compensate. } 19... Bxa6 20. Rd6 { A good plan. } 20... Rb6 { The only defence. } 21. Rhd1 Rfb8 { Again,the only defence. I'm really hanging... } 22. Rd7 { Good, trying to forceme to leave him the 7th rank. } 22... Bc8 { This is needed. I defend e6. } 23. Rd8+ { That's ok. } 23... Kg7 24. Nd4 { White threats Nc6. } 24... Ra6 { I was exploitingthe discovered attack to the WR, coupled with a threat of Rxa2, but nowwas his turn to blunder. } 25. Nxe6+ { I don't need to retake with the B... } 25... Rxe6 26. Bd5 { That's almost a mate net, but not comple. } 26... Re1 { ...and Iforce a R exchange. Not sure if good or not, but I knew I had to standfor a check. } 27. Rg8+ Kh6 28. c3 { Now, I have a bishop, but white haspawns. My R is pinned. My advantage is almost a disadvantage! :-) } 28... Rxd1+ 29. Kxd1 { Unfortunately, there was no way to threat Bg4+ (for RxR), becausete R would be the B's killer. } 29... Bc7 { Step one: unpin my lsb. } 30. Kd2 Bf5 { Get a strong position, and forcing white to exchange the rook. } 31. Rxb8 Bxb8 32. Bf3 { ? Overlooks Bc6, winning a pawn. Me too. } 32... Kg6 { I wasthinking in managing his pawns. } 33. a3 { So to prevent b4. } 33... h5 { ...soto prevent g4! I felt very released, forgetting that... } 34. Bc6 { Oh, My,the last blunder. } 34... h4 { A sac to destroy his pawn's chain. This will berisky, but will cause him to worry. } 35. Bxb5 Bd3 { I can't lose this pawn,too! } 36. Ke3 Kh5 { I dreamed to go into... white squares. And my lsb'sduty was pretty limited by then... } 37. Kf3 f5 { ? I have to support mylsb... but it was a mistake, since... } 38. Be8+ Kh6 39. gxh4 { ...and Ican't retake. } 39... Be4+ 40. Kg3 Bd3 { Now, dear reader: who's dead? Can blacksurvive? } 41. Bc6 Ba7 42. Kf3 Bg1 43. h3 { I timeoutted here. I'm verysorry, so I annotate the game because it was very tense, despite the blunders. } 1-0

[Event "The dynamic popular weapon V.S 1.d4 the GRUNFELD!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "1998"] [Round "-"] [White "Beliavsky"] [Black "Leko"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "N/A"] [WhiteElo "N/A"] { This Game shows you the Grunfeld in action. The game was played in Dortmundin 1998 with Beliavsky ( playing White) V.S. Leko ( playing Black). } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 { This opening is called the Grunfeld whichis popular with people who want to counter attack with the Black pieces.It is Bobby Fischer's and Garry Kasparov's they use it as a dynamic andpopular weapon! 3.d6 however is the King's Indian Defence ( KID) } 4. Nf3 { Other options for White are; A) 4.cxd5 Exchange variation. Nxd55.e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 (black plays 7.c5) B) The fairly quiet system4. e3. C) 4. f3 which is met by 4.c5. D) 4. h4 4.c5. E) 4.Qb3dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bg7. F) 4. Bg5 which should be met with 4. Ne4 apparently. } 4... Bg7 { The sniper rifle is set! } 5. Bf4 { The lines with 4. Bf4 can usuallybe dangerous for Black, mostly because of the slight move order nuancesoblige different types of reaction to movesof which look very similar.But however, there is no real theoretical danger for Black and a well-preparedplayer will have very good chances in this line. } 5... O-O { 5. c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 Bxc3 9. Bd2! ( note that if White played 4.e3instead of 4.Nf3 then he would not be able to play 9.Bd2 because the e3pawn would have been in the way) 9. Be6 ( if 9.Bxd2 10.Qxd2 Qxc5 11.Rc1Qf5 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Qh6 which is good for White because Black has someserious coordination problems and weak dark sqaures on the King side. 10. Qxb7 Bxd2 11. Nxd2 0-0 12. b4! Qa4 13. e3! worked very well inthe Van- Wely Kamsky, Groningen in 1995. } 6. Rc1 { 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5Qxd5 8. Bxc7 Nc6 9. e3 Bf5 gives Black more than compensation for thepawn because of his impressive lead in development. } 6... dxc4 { ! Rc1 indicatesnothing but a warning not to play 6.c5. 6. Nh5 is met by 7.Be5!. } 7. e4 { 7. e3 is much less threatning of course because and Black can securea good game by playing 7. Be6! 8. Ng5!? is the only danger move ( 8.Nd2c5! 9. dxc5 Nbd7 and Ne5 c5! are definately O.K for Black) After 8. Bd59. e4 h6 10. exd5 hxg5 11. Bxg5 Nxd5 12. Bxc4 Nb6 13. Bb3 Nc6 White shouldthen rely on using the bishop matching pair and also the h pawn and supportthe d4 pawn because it is weak. } 7... Bg4 { 7. b5 is also possible and it isalso theory. } 8. Bxc4 { Recapturing the pawn, developing a piece and alsopreparing to 0-0. } 8... Nh5 { Black's opening strategy here is to capture theKnight on f3 and make him end up with doubled pawns which should give himan endgame advantage. } 9. Be3 { Bishop retreats. } 9... Bxf3 10. gxf3 { 10.Qxf3 Bxd4 11. g4 Ng7 12. Rd1 Nc6. } 10... e5 { This move completely neutrilizesWhite's opening system. Black srikes at the centre right away and alsohighlights the weekness of the f4 sqaure and also stops white playing f4. 10.. e6 however keeps all the tension in the position } 11. dxe5 { 11.d5 is very anti-positional because. It restricts White's bishops and also gives Black a forever outpost on f4. } 11... Bxe5 { 11. Qh4!? is worth a tryespecaily at club level. After 12.e6 fxe6 13.Bxe6 Kh8. Black has somedark square compensation and White has to be very careful. Black's plansare Nc6-e5, Be5 and Nf4 and White's King will have a problem. } 12. Qxd8 { 12. Qb3!? is another possibility but I am not sure about it. } 12... Rxd8 { Nowhave a look at this position before you continue. Black has many possibilitiesfor creativity, Black's opening play is a definate success. White has theadvantage of the 2 Bishops but on the other hand he has bad pawn structure.White has some ways to build the pressure up here. It is also easy forWhite to screw up here because without his 2 bishops there is nothing atall good about his position. Blacks target now is to try and swap one ofWhite's Bishops off. } 13. Ne2 { After 13. 0-0 Nd7 intending Nf8- e6 andpawn to c6. 13. Nc6 is much more chunky though. } 13... Nc6 14. O-O { 14. f4 Bxb215. Rb1 Ba3 16. Rxd7 Rab8 17. Rxb8 Rxb8 looks good for Black since Na5is very effective if White does 0-0. } 14... Nd4 { ! Keeps control of the game.If White was allowed to play f4,e5 and then Ng3 Black would be in a LOTof trouble. } 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 { Recapture. } 16. Bd5 { This move blocksthe d8 Rook from supporting the Bishop on d4. An exchange is in actionhere. 16. Be5 is also possible 17. Bxb7 Rab8 18. Bd5 Rxb2 19. Bxa7 Nf4and it is anyone's game!! } 16... Bxe3 17. fxe3 { Recapture..... } 17... c6 { Threatningthe Bishop. } 18. Bb3 { It retreats..... } 18... Rd2 { Bang!! the Rook is alwaysstrong on the 7th rank especaily when doubled because they act as batteringrams and the King will be restricted can't get out easily. } 19. Rf2 { ARook exchange will be good for White because there will no longer be anyBlack Rook on the 7th rank and there will never will be. } 19... Rad8 { Keepingthe pressure and supporting the Rook on d2. } 20. Rc2 { White is now threatningto win a Rook because the Black Rook is being attacked twice and only beingdefended once. } 20... Rxc2 { Not a happy choice for Black because he will nolonger have a Rook on the 7th Rank. But it was forced. } 21. Rxc2 { Recapture... } 21... Kf8 { Black gets his King ready for action because it is the endgame stage. } 22. Kf2 { White does the same. } 22... Ke7 { Black has a slight advantage thoughhe should consider getting the Knight to e6 where it would be stronger. } 23. Ke2 Ng7 24. e5 Ne6 25. f4 f6 { Gives the King some room. White can'tpush his passed e-pawn without creating weaknesses. } 26. exf6+ { The bestreply. } 26... Kxf6 { recapturing the pawn. } 27. h4 Ng7 28. e4 Ne6 29. Ke3 Rd1 30. Bxe6 { White stops himself from trying TOO hard to win just in timeand they agreed a draw. The Rook endgame is equal. Still either side cantry to win. But there is a really serious risk of losing the game. GOODGAME!! I thought anyway. Shows you what the Grunfeld is all about. SoonI might annotate another game with the Grunfeld. I hoped you guys enjoyedthe game and expect to see another game soon! } 1/2-1/2

[Event "A Little Less Carelessness"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.06"] [Round "-"] [White "blake84120"] [Black "stetienne1888"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1653"] [TimeControl "5 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1874"] 1. e4 { A team match, I'm playing white in this game. } 1... e6 2. d4 { The FrenchDefense, so I go main line. } 2... d5 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 { 3. ... c6 is not listedas one of the common replies for black, so now I'm off in uncharted waters. } 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nf6 6. Nxf6+ { Well, it was either this or go for the pin. } 6... gxf6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O { Just developing. } 9... Nb6 10. Bh6 Nc4 11. Bxc4 { 10. ... Nc4 was obviously a blunder by black. Evidently, he completelyoverlooked white's bishop on f1. I worried for a moment that it was a sacrificeof some kind, but seeing no refutation, I take the knight. } 11... Bxh6 12. Qxh6 { Black is down a piece, so it doesn't seem to his advantage to trade material.However, either way, he could not avoid trading bishops since his bishopon g7 had nowhere to hide from white's bishop on h6. } 12... b5 13. Bd3 Bd7 14. Qg7 { White could have played 14. Bxh7, but then the bishop would have beenpinned. Instead, it seemed safer to simply ask the black rook to step awayfrom h8. } 14... Rf8 15. Bxh7 { 15. Bxh7 may have been handled better with simply15. Qxh7, leaving the bishop on a safe and active square. It becomes aproblem quickly, and I should have anticipated the problem better. } 15... Qe7 16. Rhe1 O-O-O 17. Nh4 { Aiming for f5, since the pawn on e6 is pinned.This is the move that makes 15. Bxh7 problematic. While white's 15th moveis not necessarily bad, 17. Nh4 sets white up to lose material. } 17... Qd6 18. Qxf6 Rh8 19. Qxf7 { Black has skewered the white bishop to the white knight.Gobbling the pawn and defending the bishop seems natural, but it's probablynot the best course of action now. } 19... Rdf8 20. Qg7 Qf4+ 21. Re3 { Black hadforked the white king and the knight on h4. The king could move, but instead,white advances the rook and prepares to place it on an open file, in frontof its own pawns. } 21... Qxh4 22. Rf3 { At first glance, black seems to have 22.... Rxf3 to ruin the white pawns after 23. gxf3 Qxh2. But that move losesfor black, for whit's response is 23. Qxh8 and then 24 gxf3, getting tworooks for one. } 22... Rd8 23. Rf7 { The rook on the 7th defends the white bishopon h7 and threatens the black bishop on d7 (though white only wins a pawnwith that set of exchanges). } 23... Rhe8 24. h3 { Saving the a3 pawn. Despitethat loaded 7th rank, black seems well enough protected that white doesn'tsee any immediate attacking opportunities. } 24... Rh8 25. Re1 { White brings hisother rook into the battle. The threat is simply 26. Rxe6 and if blackreplies 26. ... Bxe6??? then white will mate with 27. Rc7+ Kb8 28. Qc7+Ka8 29. Rxa7#. } 25... Rxh7 26. Qxh7 { Black gave away another piece, well, theexchange anyway. I'm not sure what 25. ... Rxh7? was meant to accomplish,but all it does is lose the exchange, and white is still threatening 27.Rxe6. Behind by the exchange and 3 pawns, black resigned instead of playingon. It was a relatively quiet game, punctuated by careless losses of materialon both sides. No powerful winning combos, no speculative sacrifices. Justa little less carelessness on the white side of the board. } 1-0

[Event "Rook sac"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.09.11"] [Round "-"] [White "marecek"] [Black "riwulof"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1839"] [TimeControl "10 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1867"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 { Unusual but very solid. c4 is more popular } 3... b6 { Classical player will go for d5, agressive player can try c5 at once.I choose the queen's indian. } 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. Nbd2 c5 { Start the fight forthe center. } 6. O-O Be7 7. b3 { Best results according to GK database. } 7... O-O 8. Bb2 d6 9. c4 Nbd7 10. Qe2 { Connecting rook. White is better andprepare e4, then an attack on the kingside with the help of the 2 rocket-likebishops. } 10... d5 { So black prevent e4 } 11. Rfd1 { If Rae1 to go e4 anyway Ne4,so white puts rook on c and d files, that can be open at will. Anotherplan was 11.Ne5 followed by f4 and Ndf3. } 11... Ne4 12. Rac1 f5 { So eventually,black choose the plan he would have suggested for white. I still preferwhite here because it is ahead in development. } 13. Ne5 Nxe5 { Not surethat allowing a pawn on e5 is good, but his knight was better than mine,and white black-square bishop can no longer threaten my king. } 14. dxe5 Qe8 { !? Blacks idea is to bring the queen on the kingside and launch anattack against the king. By the way, prevent white queen to enter on h5. } 15. f4 { Prevent black to play f4. But the e4 knight cannot by pushed awayby f3. Thus after Nxe4 or Bxe4, the pawn structure would be frozen in thecenter, and the bishop would feel useless. } 15... g5 { ?! Black try to mess abit the position and plan some Qg6, Kf7, Rh8, Rg8, h5 ideas. Interesting,but a bit too optimistic maybe. Center is not closed yet. } 16. cxd5 exd5 { Obviously, not Bxd5 ? that loose a pawn. Now, black as a weakness on d5,and the e6 pawn cannot be blocked efficientely (where as gone my 2nd knight?) } 17. Kh1 gxf4 18. exf4 Qg6 19. Rf1 Qh6 { With the basic threat Ng3.Rac8-c6-g6would have been a better plan (well, Qh6 is not a plan at all). } 20. Rf3 { Bxe4 dxe (if fxe, f5), c4! would have give big trouble to black. 'Whenattacked on a side, counter attack on the center.' } 20... Bh4 { Threatening Bg3,h3 Bxf4. } 21. Kg1 Kf7 { I want to bring a rook in via g8 } 22. Rh3 { Whitesaw an opportunity to grab my Bishop and went for it. Bxe4 first seemsmor safe. } 22... Rg8 { 22...Qxf4 ? 23.Rf1 (Qh5+ looks promising too) Qg5, 24.Nf3 } 23. Nf3 { I was expecting g3 at once. Not sure what a would have done. Maybe Nxg3But I'm not really confident in black chances. } 23... Rg4 24. Kf1 Qxf4 25. g3 { Here I was quite afraid of Rc2 followed by Bc1 and black can resign.The text move, looks good but... } 25... Rxg3 26. hxg3 { Forced, Rxh4 Rxf3+ KmoveQg3+ } 26... Nxg3+ 27. Rxg3 { Obviously forced } 27... Bxg3 28. Rc2 d4 { ! Attacking thepined knight } 29. Kg2 { Protect the knigh and prepare to push the queenwith Bc1, after what black can breath a bit. } 29... Bh4 { And not Rg8?? Bc4. Herewhite sportively resigned as Qg3+ cannot be prevented. Please, feel freeto add any comments. } 0-1

[Event "A Game of Chicken"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.09.10"] [Round "-"] [White "tonnerre"] [Black "gecd"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1610"] [TimeControl "5 min + 10 sec"] [WhiteElo "1811"] { I was once told that pawns were the 'soul of chess.' After this game,I am inclined to believe that. } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 { All according to the book. } 5... e5 6. Ndb5 { Dare to be different.I wanted to play this game like the Kalashnikov Variation. } 6... d6 7. Be2 { Notsure about this move. I wanted to castle but did not want to spend tempoprotecting the Knights either. } 7... a6 8. Na3 { The drawback to the plan isthat Black has the Knight placed on c6 with tempo. I will still spend moretime using the Knights. Reminds me a bit of Alekhine's Defense with allthat hopping around and whatnot. } 8... b5 { Black's plan is simple. Push thepawn to b4 and capture Knight. I can retreat one and reposition the otherbut the e4 pawn is left en prise a la Nc6. } 9. Naxb5 { My counter is equallysimple. Gambit the Knight. If I am to go down in material, at least itshould be in exchange for position. I can strive for play on the Queenside. } 9... axb5 10. Bxb5 Bd7 11. Bg5 { Pin the problem Knight. Mobility is essentialfor me now. My other pieces and pawns need to be repositioned with minimuminterference. } 11... Be7 12. Bxf6 { I decide to make good on my threat. I giveup the Bishop pair but I relieve pressure from my e4 pawn and open an outposton d5. } 12... Bxf6 13. O-O O-O { Black gets the King to safety and further reducesthe impact of my Bishop. } 14. Nd5 Bg5 15. c4 { I consolidate the centreof the board and plan to dominate the light squares. } 15... Rb8 16. a4 Nd4 { Black'sKnight grabs a strong outpost. } 17. Qd3 Bxb5 18. axb5 { I want to make theopened a-file Black's Achilles' Heel. The b- and c- pawns can gain muchhonour in the battle ahead. } 18... f5 { Black counterattacks on the Kingside withthe intent to destabilize my centre and open lines to my King. } 19. f3 f4 { Any number of siege plans can follow. I did not analyze the Kingsidein detail but pawns + Bishop + Knight + Queen/Rook just felt bad for me.I needed to hurry up. } 20. b4 { No use having backward pawns. This moveallows me to push c5. It also restricts Black from getting to a5. } 20... Bh4 21. Ra6 g5 22. b6 { We both surge onward. } 22... h5 23. c5 g4 24. Ra7 gxf3 25. Rxf3 { We both ignore the other's plans and hope our own attack is better.The ultimate game of 'Chicken.' I loved it! } 25... Nxf3+ { Who cares about a sillyRook anyway? } 26. Qxf3 Qg5 27. c6 Ra8 28. Nc7 { Lancelot makes his presenceknown! } 28... Rac8 29. Ne6 { A fork comes in handy every so often. } 29... Rxc6 { Planningone last assault with Rc1. I suppose that I should spend a move to protectthe King (Ra1 Qg6, Nxf8 Kxf8, b7 Rb6) which knocks some wind out of mysails. } 30. Nxg5 { We've ignored each other thus far. Why ruin a good thing?I had faith in my plan. I wonder if my opponent was still confident withhis? } 30... Rc1+ 31. Qf1 Rxf1+ 32. Kxf1 Bxg5 { Still down materially... } 33. b7 { ... but man! what a great position. } 33... f3 34. Ra8 fxg2+ 35. Kxg2 { Blackresigns. } 1-0

[Event "Play Off"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.12.21"] [Round "-"] [White "Brigadecommander"] [Black "Skorpio"] [Result "0-1"] { A81: Difesa Olandese: 2 g3 } 1. d4 { In this game, alongside my comments, they also added those of the computer of Gameknot. I find it very interesting to discover how some moves considered good, in reality, are judged weak or improvable. } 1... f5 { The Dutch Defence is considered to be a more advantageous opening with Black than with White. } 2. g3 { . } 2... Nf6 { . } 3. Bg2 { . } 3... g6 { . } 4. Bf4 { . } 4... Bg7 { . } 5. Nf3 { . } 5... d6 { Ripara e5 } 6. Nc3 { . } 6... c6 { Ripara b5+d5 } 7. Qd2 { . } 7... h6 { Controlla g5 } 8. O-O { Gameknot: 8. 0-0 Inaccuracy: -0.19 » 8. O-O g59. Be3 Ng4 10. h3 Nxe3 11. Qxe3 Na6 12. d5 Nb4 13. Nd4 Qb6 14. Ne6 Bxe615. Qxe6 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Nxc2 Best: +0.59 » 8. O-O-O Na6 9. Be3 Rh7 10. Nh4g5 11. Nf3 Ne4 12. Nxe4 fxe4 13. Ng1 Bf5 14. Nh3 e6 15. Qc3 } 8... Be6 { The black piece is a bit behind in its development. } 9. a4 { . } 9... Na6 { . } 10. Ne1 { . } 10... g5 { . } 11. Be3 { . } 11... Qd7 { . } 12. Nd3 { . } 12... Rf8 { . } 13. a5 { . } 13... Ng4 { Il gioco èda considerare in perfetta paritâ } 14. d5 { . } 14... Bg8 { . } 15. dxc6 { . } 15... bxc6 { . } 16. f4 { . } 16... gxf4 { . } 17. Bxf4 { . } 17... e5 { . } 18. Be3 { . } 18... Be6 { . } 19. Ra4 { . } 19... O-O-O { . } 20. b3 { Protect c4. } 20... Nxe3 { . } 21. Qxe3 { The Black has the pair of the Alfieri. This I consider a light but important advantage. } 21... Rf7 { The plans of the black begin to be realized. } 22. Rd1 { . } 22... Bf6 { . } 23. b4 { Altra possibilità 23. Qxh6 e4 24. Nxe4 fxe4 25. Bxe4 Kb7 } 23... h5 { Altravariante: 23... Rg8 24. Kh1 (24. Qxh6 (un pedone avvelenato) Bg5 25. Qh5Rh7) } 24. Rb1 { . } 24... e4 { The Black pieces threaten e4xd3 which can be played as 24... f425. gxf4 Rg8 26. Kh1. The game is still playable. } 25. Nf4 { I found that the horse in f4 had found its optimal position, thus resuming the game in its own hands. } 25... d5 { .. } 26. b5 { White is threatening to move b5xa6. However, after 26. Nxh5, Black can play Be5, preventing the move. Therefore, White's 27. b5 is not a legal move. } 26... d4 { Il Nero minaccia la Regina } 27. Qf2 { . } 27... Nc5 { White's 28. bxa6 Bd4 29. Rxd4 Qxd4 30. Nxe6 Qxf2+ 31. Kxf2 leaves white with the advantage. } 28. bxc6 { . } 28... Qxc6 { . } 29. Nxe6 { . } 29... Nxe6 { White is able to draw after 30. Nxd8 Bxd8 31. Nxa4 Qxa4 32.Bxe4 Qxa5 33. Qf3, but it was also possible to draw with 29... Qxe6 30. Rab4 Be5 31. Nb5. } 30. Qxf5 { Gameknot:30. Dxf5 Mistake: -2.50 » 30. Qxf5 dxc3 31. Qxe4 Qxe4 32. Rxe4 Rd6 33.Bh3 Re7 34. e3 Kc7 35. Rf1 Nc5 36. Rxe7+ Bxe7 37. Rf7 Rd1+ 38. Kg2 Rd2+39. Kf3 Best: +0.01 » 30. Rbb4 Bg5 31. Rc4 Nc5 32. Nxe4 Be3 33. Nxc5 Bxf2+34. Kxf2 Qh6 35. Nb7+ Kb8 36. Nxd8 Qe3+ 37. Kf1 Qc1+ 38. Kf2 Qe3+ Graziea questa mossa il nero prende un vantaggio che il bianco non riuscirà piùa recuperare. } 30... dxc3 { A horse less than a checkered board on the chessboard. } 31. Kh1 { Finalmente il Nero ha una posizione attiva } 31... Qd5 { . } 32. Qh3 { . } 32... Rd6 { . } 33. Bxe4 { . } 33... Qe5 { The Black pieces gain a good positional advantage. } 34. Bf3 { Il Bianco minaccia Af3xh5 } 34... Bd8 { Il Nero risponde nelle stesserime minacciando Ad8xa5 } 35. Re4 { . } 35... Qf5 { Nuovo invito allo scambio diRegine. } 36. Rc4+ { . } 36... Bc7 { . } 37. Qxh5 { . } 37... Qxh5 { It was also playable to move 37...Qxc2 38. Be4 Rd1+ 39. Kg2 without giving Black excessive advantages. } 38. Bxh5 { At the end of the combination started at the 26th move, the black pieces gain one piece. } 38... Rf5 { . } 39. Bg4 { . } 39... Rxa5 { This pawn was disturbing me a lot. } 40. Rb3 { White threatens Tb3xc3, but the pawn is no longer salvageable. Nevertheless, take into account its successful offensive moves, it dies with honor. } 40... Kd8 { . } 41. Rbxc3 { . } 41... Bb6 { . } 42. h4 { The White has a relatively tight position. } 42... Re5 { . } 43. Rd3 { Il Bianco minaccia Td3xd6 } 43... Ke7 { . } 44. Kg2 { . } 44... Rd4 { . } 45. Rdxd4 { . } 45... Nxd4 46. h5 { . } 46... Kf7 { . } 47. c3 { . } 47... Nxe2 { . } 48. Bf3 { . } 48... Ng1 { . } 49. g4 { . } 49... Bc5 { Gameknot: 49.... Ac5 Mistake: -0.14 ...Bc5 50. Rxc5 Rxc5 51. Kxg1 Rxc3 52. Kf2 a5 53. Bd1 Kf6 54. Ke2 Rg3 55.Kf2 Rd3 56. Be2 Rd2 57. Ke3 Best: -1.49 ... Nxf3 50. Kxf3 Bc5 51. Rf4+Kg7 52. Ra4 Kf6 53. Ra6+ Bb6 54. Kf4 Rd5 55. Ra2 a5 56. Rb2 Bc7+ 57. Ke4 Re5+ 58. Kd4 } 50. Rf4+ { Gameknot: 50. Tf4+ Mistake: -1.42 » 50. Rf4+ Kg751. Bd1 Ne2 52. Rc4 Nc1 53. Bc2 a5 54. Kf3 Re3+ 55. Kf4 Ne2+ 56. Kf5 Rf3+57. Ke6 Rxc3 58. Rxc3 Nxc3 Best: -0.34 » 50. Rxc5 Rxc5 51. Kxg1 a5 52.Bd1 Rxc3 53. Kf2 Kf6 54. Ke2 Rh3 55. Kf2 Ke5 56. g5 Kf4 57. g6 Rh2+ 58.Ke1 Giocabile era anche 50. Ra4 Nxf3 51. Kxf3 Kf6 } 50... Kg7 { . } 51. Ra4 { . } 51... Kh6 { . } 52. Ra6+ { Altra combinazione 52. c4 Bb6 53. Rb4 Nxf3 54. Kxf3 } 52... Bb6 { . } 53. Rxb6+ { Oppure 53. c4 Nxf3 54. Kxf3 } 53... axb6 { . } 54. Kxg1 { . } 54... Re3 { . } 55. Kf2 { . } 55... Rxc3 { . } 56. Be2 { . } 56... Rc5 { . } 57. Ke1 { Gameknot 57.Re1 Mistake: -2.03 » 57. Ke1 b5 58. Kd2 b4 59. Bd1 Kg5 60. Ba4 Rc4 61.Bd1 Rc6 Best: -0.98 » 57. Ke3 Re5+ 58. Kd3 b5 59. Bd1 Rd5+ 60. Kc2 b4 61.Be2 Re5 62. Bd3 Rc5+ 63. Kb1 Rd5 64. Kc2 b3+ 65. Kc3 b2 66. Bb1 Rb5 67.Kc4 } 57... Rd5 { Gameknot: 57. ... Td5 Mistake: -0.87 » ... Rd5 58. Bc4 Re5+ 59.Kd2 b5 60. Bb3 Re4 61. Bd1 Rd4+ 62. Kc2 b4 63. Be2 Re4 64. Bd1 Re1 65.Kd2 Re5 66. Kc2 Kg5 67. Kb3 Re4 Best: -1.99 » ... b5 58. Kd2 b4 59. Bd1 Kg560. Bc2 Rc4 61. Bd1 Rd4+ 62. Kc1 Rd6 63. Be2 Rf6 64. Kd2 b3 65. Kc1 b2+66. Kb1 Rf2 67. Bd1 Kf4 } 58. Bc4 { . } 58... Re5+ { . } 59. Kd2 { . } 59... b5 { . } 60. Bb3 { . } 60... Rc5 { . } 61. Bc2 { . } 61... b4 { . } 62. Bd1 { anche 62. Ba4 Rc4 non porta anulla } 62... Rc7 { It would have been better to play 62... Kg5 63. Bb3. } 63. Bb3 { . } 63... Kg5 { . } 64. Bd1 { . } 64... Rc3 { . } 65. Bc2 { . } 65... Rc6 { . } 66. Ba4 { . } 66... Ra6 { . } 67. Bd1 { 67. Bb5+ Ra2 68. Kd3 Ra5 would not have been bad. } 67... Rf6 { . } 68. Kc2 { . } 68... Rf1 { . } 69. Kd2 { . } 69... Rg1 { . } 70. Bb3 { . } 70... Rxg4 { . } 71. Kc2 { . } 71... Rg3 { . } 72. Bf7 { . } 72... Kf4 { . } 73. Be6 { . } 73... Ke5 { . } 74. Bf7 { . } 74... Kd4 { . } 75. Kb2 { . } 75... Kc5 { It would have been better to play 75...Rf3 76. Be6 Kc5 77. Bc8. } 76. Kc2 { . } 76... Rf3 { . } 77. Be6 { . } 77... Re3 { . } 78. Bg4 { . } 78... b3+ { . } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "06-Mar-08"] [Round "-"] [White "bgsmitty"] [Black "stonebergftw"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1307"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1415"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 { I'm a pawn structure whore } 4. Bf4 Qd7 { Notquite sure why I did this } 5. g3 h5 { Not sure why I did this either } 6. h4 Ng4 { Moves knight to a safe haven and holds some of the middle } 7. e4 Qe6 8. e5 Qg6 9. Bd3 Qe6 10. Qe2 f6 11. Bg6+ Kd8 12. O-O-O fxe5 13. Bxe5 { Dunno why he didn't Bd3 instead } 13... Qxg6 14. Rhe1 e6 { Open a route for mybishop } 15. Ng5 Nd7 { Pushes his bishop out } 16. Bxg7 Kc7 { Avoided the Qxg7to Nxe6 trap } 17. Nxe6+ Kb6 18. Bxh8 Qh6+ { Unfortunate trade } 19. Kb1 Qxh8 20. b4 a5 21. Na4+ { I'm getting really worried at this point. I'm feelingvery claustrophobic. } 21... Ka7 22. bxa5 Bb4 23. c3 Ba3 { This piece is killer } 24. Nc7 Rb8 25. Ka1 b5 26. axb6+ Nxb6 27. Nxb6 Rxb6 28. Rb1 Qh7 29. Nb5+ { Horrible move on his part imo } 29... cxb5 30. Rxb5 Ba6 { Protects my rook andpins his rook } 31. Ra5 { He pins my bishop } 31... Bb2+ { Forces a rook bishop forqueen trade } 32. Qxb2 Rxb2 33. Kxb2 Qf7 34. f4 Qf5 35. Re7+ { Now thingsget tricky } 35... Kb6 36. Rc5 Qd3 37. Re6+ Ka7 38. Ka3 Bc4 { Things get very tricky. He could have drawn the game at this point. } 39. Re7+ Ka6 40. Re6+ Kb7 41. Re7+ Kb6 42. Ka4 { But decides to try to take the win. } 42... Bb5+ 43. Kb4 Ne3 44. Re6+ Kb7 { I anticipated this. I needed to bust my king throughhis rooks. A worthy sacrifice? We'll find out! } 45. Rxb5+ Kc7 { Breach! } 46. Rc5+ Kd7 { It's a war of attrition at this point } 47. Rec6 Qb1+ 48. Ka5 Qxa2+ 49. Kb6 Qg2 50. Rc7+ Ke6 51. R5c6+ Kf5 52. Rf7+ Kg4 53. Rg6+ Kf3 { Safety. } 54. Kc5 Qc2 55. Rc6 Qxc3+ 56. Kd6 Qxd4 57. Re7 { Fatal moveon his part. } 57... Nf5+ { I follow any of his moves with. 58.Kd7Nxe7 59.Kxe7Kxg3 60.Rg6 Kxf4 61.Rf6 Qxf6 62.Kxf6d4 FTW! A good win imo } 0-1

[Event "GameKnot Blitz, http://gameknot.com/"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2020.11.21"] [Round "-"] [White "jaybalaram"] [Black "daveyh0716"] [Result "1-0"] { A blitz game } 1. e4 { Standard e4 opening } 1... Nf6 { Black opts for Alekhine'sdefence, which I know nothing about. } 2. Nc3 { So I just defend the pawn. } 2... e5 3. Nf3 { And go for the Spanish, which I'm more comfortable with } 3... Nc6 4. Bb5 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Nd4 { Not worth capturing, as that would onlyexpose the other knight to attack. } 7. Bg5 { Developing the bishop and pinningblack Knight to queen. I only realised afterwards that I'd made a mistakeby not moving the white bishop out of the line of attack. True, I can recapturewith the knight, but I've come to regard the light square bishop as morevaluable, especially in this kind of opening. } 7... Nxb5 8. Nxb5 c6 9. Nc3 Re8 10. Ne2 { I think I was thinking if the d4 pawn push here. } 10... d5 { An interestingmove, as if he anticipated my thinking, and countered with his own pawnpush. If I don't do anything, he will occupy the d4 square, controllingthe centre. } 11. Bxf6 { First remove one of the defenders of the d5 pawn,then exd5. } 11... Qxf6 12. exd5 cxd5 13. d4 { And complete the initial intentionof occupying d4. Looking at this position now, both knights and queen onthe white diagonal seems to invite a pin from the white bishop, which blacknever makes. } 13... e4 { Does not seem a strong move. It only helps the knightto a better square. } 14. Ne5 Bd6 { Moving the bishop out of the way, andadds a third attacker on the knight. } 15. f4 { Another defender on the knight,and opening the file for the took, should he capture en passant, whichis what I was expecting. } 15... Qh4 { This seems to invite G3, but better is... } 16. h3 { Keeping the king protected, and preventing the pin on white queen. } 16... Bxe5 { A little surprised. It did not seem a great loss. } 17. fxe5 { Openingthe file } 17... Be6 { Protecting from knf4 attack, but blocking the rook } 18. Qe1 { Probably one of the most significant moves of the game. I was lookingfor the exchange, as his queen looked dangerous. If he avoided it, thewhite queen takes possession of an important diagonal. } 18... Qg5 19. Qg3 { Stilllooking for the exchange, giving some play to white knight. } 19... Qd2 { I neversaw this. I spent almost a minute trying to figure this out. I had to savethe knight. Black will capture the pawn. I had thought of capturing whitebishop, but something better came along. } 20. Nf4 Qxc2 { It was here thata strong move occurred to me. } 21. Rf2 { Attacking the queen and preparingto double the rooks . Suddenly, a lot of fire power is being directed towardsblack king. Maybe he should have gone for the exchange after all. } 21... Qc8 22. Raf1 { It was here that I noticed the dangerous looking knh5 } 22... Qd7 { Blackwas trying to add a defender to f7, but also walked into a royal fork alittle down the road, which he avoids by resigning after the next move. } 23. Nh5 { The game could have continued though, with kf8. } 1-0

[Event "Memorialis"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "03-Aug-08"] [Round "-"] [White "jstevens1"] [Black "michaeltf"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1964"] [TimeControl "7d+3d, 10d max"] [WhiteElo "1646"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. a4 b4 9. Na2 e5 10. Nb3 d5 11. Bg5 { M: A possible other route wouldbe 11. e4xd5 Nf6xd5 12. Bf2 Bf6 13. Bc4 } 11... Be6 12. Bd3 dxe4 13. Bxe4 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Ra7 15. Bxf6 { M: I would not have given away the pair of Bishops,even though that weakened my pawn structure. Maybe 15. Be3, occupying thelong diagonal. } 15... gxf6 16. Nac1 f5 17. Bd3 Nd7 18. a5 Nc5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 { M:I take back with tempo ... now my two Bishops are nicely positioned ... } 20. g3 { M: I did not understand that move. It weakens your pawn structureon the King side. What about 20. Nb3 } 20... Bd4 21. b3 Ke7 22. Na2 Rd7 23. Kf1 { M: Maybe 23. Kd2 to combine the rooks and get control over c3 ... pushingthe pawn to c3 later on? } 23... Rb8 24. Kg2 { M: I think instead of 24. Kg2 itwould have been better to take on a6. Kg2 gives me the chance to indirectlyprotect the pawn on a6 with Rd5. After Rd5 the pawn on a6 is 'poisoned'. } 24... Rd5 25. Bxa6 { M: This take on a6 costs you the quality (N for a P) andopens the a-file for my rook!!! Maybe activating your h-rook would havebeen a rout to go (25. Rhf1 or 25. Rhe1). } 25... Rxa5 26. Nxb4 Rxb4 27. Bd3 Ra2 28. Kh3 e4 0-1

[Event "Team match"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27-Jul-07"] [Round "-"] [White "ds2005"] [Black "nunzio"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1636"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1738"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. c5 Nd7 6. Nc3 { No such move found in other games; is it a novelty? } 6... b6 { White's center is being targeted quickly. } 7. b4 a5 8. b5 { There is still an unexpected move that does not defend the center. } 8... bxc5 9. bxc6 Nb6 10. Bb5 Qc7 { White was trying to play c6c7 with the loss of a Pawn. It is necessary to block the Pc6 and take it quickly. } 11. Be3 c4 { Il Neronon ha interesse ad aprire il centro, ha il Pc6 facile preda e Bb5 bloccato } 12. a3 { Impedisce Bb4 che avrebbe eliminato un difensore di Bb5 } 12... Ne7 { Nonc'� tempo da perdere: il Pc6 va eliminato } 13. Na4 Nxc6 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. Qa4 { Sociedade Bb5 e está minando a captura de Nc6. } 15... Rc8 { prontamente difeso } 16. Ne2 Be7 { finalmente si libera la via per l'arrocco liberando di conseguenzaNc6 dall'ichiodatura } 17. h4 { At this point in the game, White is struggling to make progress on the King's side, leaving the fate of the game up to Black on the Queen's side. } 17... O-O 18. f3 Nxe5 { White's first move as a knight is to try to solve the block on the side of Donna with a series of captures. In fact, if now 19.dxe5 Qxe3. However, the goal is to threaten the arrival of Nb2 with capture of the Donna. Therefore, White must abandon Bb5 otherwise he will lose the Donna. } 19. Nf4 { Good move to prevent his passing Ne5d3b2 } 19... Rb8 { Then if Black plays Bb5, it cannot be defended by Rb1 due to Bf5. Therefore Bb5 cannot be defended and it cannot run away. } 20. O-O Nd3 { Bene, cambiamo un po' di pezzi } 21. Ne2 { White made a grave mistake, not noticing the threat Nb2 which will cause him to lose his Queen. I was expecting 21.Nxd3 Bxd3 } 21... Nb2 22. Nc3 Nxa4 23. Bxa4 Qb2 24. Nb5 Bxh4 25. Rac1 Bd3 26. Rfd1 Rxb5 27. Bxb5 Qxb5 28. Bd2 Bg3 29. Bc3 Qb6 0-1

[Event "Dangerous counterplay"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "08-Jan-07"] [Round "-"] [White "watusi"] [Black "anotherminorpawn"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1522"] [TimeControl "7 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1675"] 1. c4 { Black blundered a piece, but found some counterplay in the centerbefore allowing it to slip out of his grasp. Interesting game with someimportant lessons learned. } 1... e5 { English opening with 1...e5 often leadsto a reversed siciliean with an extra tempo for white. } 2. Nc3 { Naturaldeveloping move, controlling d5 and e4. } 2... Nf6 { Countering white's previousmove. } 3. g3 { Preparing to fiachetto the bishop, this seems to be the mainline (though I've never looked it up). } 3... d5 { Trading pawns before the bishopcan influence the d5 square. } 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 { Developing the queen,attacking the knight, and adding pressure to the weak f7 pawn. I don'tusually develop my queen so early, but can't find fault with it. } 5... Nb6 { Retreatingand devending the b7 square, which will soon be attacked by the fianchettoedbishop. } 6. Bg2 Be6 { Forcing the queen to move again, costing white a tempo. } 7. Qc2 c6 { The thought was to protect both the b and c pawns (from bishopand queen). } 8. e3 { Preparing for Nge2, possibly also d4. It seems unusualto advance the e pawn after fianchettoing the kingside bishop. } 8... N8d7 9. Nge2 Bd6 { Clears kingside for castling, and eyeing the g3 pawn. } 10. b3 { Preparing to fianchetto the queenside bishop, also prevents black's knightor bishop from advancing to c4. } 10... O-O 11. Bb2 f5 { Advancing to attack g3. } 12. f4 { Prevents the attack, but severely weakens the kingside castle. } 12... Nd5 { Offering to trade knights and hoping to open the c file. } 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. d3 { Countering black's pawn center. } 14... Bb4+ 15. Bc3 Rc8 { Pinningthe bishop to the queen. } 16. Qd2 d4 { Attempting to add pressure, but forgettingabout my bishop. I still expected white's bishop to be pinned. } 17. Bxb4 dxe3 { Liquidating the center before white can destroy it. Specificallyafraid of exd4 exd4, leaving me defending an advanced isolated pawn withouta dark squared bishop. I almost resigned, but decided to see what opportunitiespresented themselves. } 18. Qxe3 Re8 19. O-O { Finally castling to move theking out of the center. } 19... exf4 { Probably better is b6, but I felt as thoughI'd already lost and wasn't interested in a long endgame. This weakensthe king's position and opens the e file for attack. } 20. Nxf4 Bxb3 { Grabbinga pawn to help compensate for the eventual loss of my a and b pawns. Icouldn't find a better move for the discovered attack and wanted to dosomething before it disappeared. Again, b6 is probably better. } 21. Qxa7 Bf7 { Retreating the bishop, looking for a way to remove the queen fromthe a7-g1 diagonal. } 22. a3 { Passive move, white should post his rookson the open files. With an open game, a vunerable king is a greater weaknessthan a minor material disparity. } 22... Ne5 { Centralizing the knight, thinkingabout the weak d pawn. } 23. Qxb7 { ?- Bad move, white abandons the a7-g1diagonal to grab a pawn. Bxb7 is better if white really wants the pawn,though perhaps he was afraid of the bishop being pinned via Rc7. } 23... Qd4+ { ! - Good move, grabbing the open diagonal and starting to attack the weakenedking. } 24. Kh1 Ng4 { Threatening smothered mate via Nf2 , Kg1 Nh3 (doublecheck), Kh1 Qg1 , Rxg1 Nf2#. } 25. Qf3 { Protecting the f2 square. } 25... Rc2 { Advancingto the 7th rank, a powerful move in almost any position. } 26. Nh3 { Overprotectingf2, opening up an attack on the hanging f pawn. } 26... Ree2 { ? - Bad move, asit fatally weakens black's king. There is a minor threat of Rxg2 followedby Rxg1 , but white has enough time to prevent it. Correct would havebeen 26...Rxg2!!, if Black recaptures, Bd5 either wins white's queen, orat least equalizes (i.e. 27. Qxg2 Bd5 28. Rf3 Qxa1 29. Ng1 Re1 30. Bc5). If black doesn't recapture, 27...Bd5 also answered most moves. I hadset Ree2 as a conditional move and tried to change it after thinking aboutthe game late at night, but was too late to change it. } 27. Rae1 { ! - Goodmove. White finally contests one of the open files and halts black's attack. Rxg2 is no longer possible due to the weakened black king (i.e. 27...Rxg2 28. Qa8 ). For that matter, almost any move black makes can be metby Qa8 . } 27... Qe5 { Attempting to defend the e2 rook and prevent Qa8 . } 28. Rxe2 Rxe2 { Qxe2 may have been slightly better, but I was trying to maintaina battery on the e file and potentially recreate the threat from move 26. } 29. Qxf5 { 1-0 Threatening Qxf7 followed by mate as well as Qf8# if thebishop is moved. At this point I resigned as I was down material and hadlost my chance at a counterattack. The lesson learned is that a vulnerableking and counterplay by an opponent is more dangerous than a small materialadvantage. This is similar in principle to a sacrifice for an attack. } 1-0

[Event "Beer and Pickles Cup"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2015.09.01"] [Round "-"] [White "penelope80"] [Black "cultjones"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1738"] [TimeControl "3d+2d<5d"] [WhiteElo "1696"] 1. e4 { Some of my readers will know, that when one of the lovely ladiesin the 'sixth sense' team ask me to annotate a game for them, I find itvery hard to resist! So this is a favour for the lovely Laura, also knownas penelope80. So she starts conventionally. } 1... a6 { But this is a very unusualreply, although the English grandmaster Tony Miles used it once to beatWorld Chess Champion Karpov. I knew Tony Miles well at Sheffield University.I could have played him, but chose to play him at Backgammon instead -he still beat me! Laura fails to make the mistakes former world championKarpov did. Instead she plays sensible developing moves, taking controlof the centre. } 2. d4 { Laura replies sensibly. This e4-d4 pawn centre isvery strong, controlling the squares c5, d5, e5 and f5. } 2... b5 { I guess thisis a logical follow-up to a6. } 3. Nf3 { Laura continues her development.This is another good move by her. } 3... e6 { This is a reasonable developingmove. } 4. a4 { Laura immediately challenge's Black's queen-side set-up.Taking on b5 is a nasty threat, as after axb5, Black cannot take back asthe rook on a8 would be taken by the rook on a1. } 4... b4 { Which Black avoids. } 5. Bd3 { Laura wisely continues her development. } 5... Bb7 { Black develops thebishop. } 6. O-O { White tucks her king away to safety. This is another excellentmove by the Italian Lady. } 6... a5 { Black secures the b4 pawn, but this is yetanother non-developing move. c4 or Nf6 seem better, or even Be7. } 7. c3 { This adds extra protection to d4. White now has a very solid centre. Sheis playing well. } 7... c5 { So Black tries to undermine it. } 8. Re1 { Anothersensible developing move, proving once again that she is not just a prettyface, but has brains as well as beauty. This position was reached in m422(1715) vs. domowoj (1773) when Black chose 8....Qb6 and managed to go onand win. This time Black chooses a different path, with a different result. } 8... Nf6 { Black develops the knight instead. } 9. Bg5 { Laura pins it. As thebishop drops back to f4 next move, maybe it was better to play it straightto f4. What do you think dear reader? } 9... h6 { Black attacks the Bishop. } 10. Bf4 { Bishop drops back. I personally think that white has wasted a moveand would have been better off developing the bishop to f4 immediately. } 10... d6 { Black, with the king still in the centre, wisely tries to keep thecentre closed. } 11. dxc5 { But Laura opens it up a bit, a clever plan, consideringBlack's king is still in the centre. } 11... dxc5 { Black takes back. } 12. Qe2 { White wisely avoids the exchange of queens. With the queens off the board,it is much harder to take advantage of Black's king in the centre. } 12... Nbd7 { Black develops. } 13. Nbd2 { So does White. Post match computer analysis(PMCA) gives this move as a mistake, - the first it gives of the game -and suggest the line 13. Bb5 g5 14. Be5 Ke7 15. Rd1 Nxe5 16. Rxd8 Nxf3+17. gxf3 Rxd8 18. e5 Nh5 19. Nd2 Nf4 20. Qe3 as better. However I can'tsee much wrong with this fairly natural development. } 13... Nh5 { Black hits thewhite bishop. } 14. Be3 { Bishop drops back, avoiding exchanges, which isexactly the right strategy if, like white enjoys here, you have a spaceadvantage. } 14... g5 { This aggressive pawn thrust is to my mind a bit over-optimistic.Be7 followed by 0-0 seems sounder to my mind. } 15. Bb5 { Laura producesa powerful pin. This is an excellent move. } 15... Bd6 { PMCA gives this as a mistake,and instead suggests Nhf6 16. Ne5 Qc7 17. Ndc4 Bxe4 18. Red1 Rd8 19. cxb4axb4 20. Nxd7 Nxd7 21. Bxc5 Bd5, but the position was quite hard for Black. } 16. Nc4 { Knight advances, attacking bishop. This is another good move bythe talented Italian player. } 16... Bc7 { The bishop drops back. } 17. Bxc5 { Lauracleverly takes advantage of the pin on the knight on d7 to win a valuablepawn. The knight on d7 can't take the bishop on c5 because of the bishopon b5 pinning the knight. } 17... Nf4 { Knight comes in to attack the white queen. } 18. Qe3 { So the queen moves. As the knight on d7 is pinned, and the pinis very hard to get out of, maybe Qd2 is even stronger - still keepingan eye on the knight on f4, but also perhaps preparing to gang up on theknight on d7 with Ra1-d1, and, if Black allows it, Nf3-e5. I think in somevariations, pressure on d7 can be stepped up with Nc4-b6 too. Black isquite tied up here already! } 18... g4 { This is another mistake, driving the knighton f3 to the square it wants to go anyway, and also unprotecting the oneactive piece in the Black army - the knight on f4. A truely dreadful move. } 19. Nfe5 { This is by far the best move white could have played in thisposition. White now has two pieces attacking the knight on d7. 19.....Bc8 is the only way to fight on, although white has a huge advantage now- she has handled this off-beat and tricky defence by Black very well indeed. The knight on f4 is unprotected to add to Black's problems. Black cannotprotect both knights. } 19... Qg5 { Black protects the knight, but seems to havemissed something..... what would you play as White now? } 20. Bxd7+ { Whiteis very clever and takes the knight with the bishop, with check. The onlymove the king can move to is d8, when Nxf7 check forks the king and queen.It is hopeless for Black, and Black resigned. White could have also takenon d7 with the knight, but this is much more effective! Many thanks forreading my annotation! Please comment, rate it on the star system, anduntil next time dear reader! } 1-0

[Event "GameKnot Blitz"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "stevebest"] [Black "jbknijff"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 Bg4 6. Be3 Nc6 7. Be2 e6 8. Qb3 b6 9. O-O Nge7 { So far, so good. } 10. h3 { Computers dislike this move,even though it gives White a pair of bishops. } 10... Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Ne5 12. Be2 O-O 13. Qc2 a6 14. a4 { Before going on with the king-side attack, Whitedecide to stop the possible breakthrough on the queen-side. Unfortunately,this weakens control over b4 square, which Black knights find very attractive. } 14... N7c6 15. Qd2 { White's plan is to exchange dark-squared bishops and launchan attack on the Black king. } 15... Nb4 { Black seizes the opportunity providedby White's 14.a4?! move. } 16. Rad1 { Sooner or later White plans to playBh6, which may require Qxh6. Thus, while the queen is away, the rook willprotect the d3 pawn. } 16... Nec6 17. Bh6 Ne5 { The knight returns to a squareit was on just a move ago. Perhaps Black decided to use it in defense ratherthan attack, after all. } 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. f4 Nd7 { Computers are happyto play 20.d4 here, but in the game White prefers a king-side attack toa central domination. } 20. Rde1 { The 'e' and 'f' files will soon be exploded,and White wants to take control of it right now. } 20... Nc6 21. f5 Nd4 22. Bg4 { Joining the attack. If necessary, White will sacrifice the bishop to proceed. } 22... exf5 { A real mistake, allowing White to finally use its trump cards. } 23. exf5 Nf6 24. Bd1 { After 24.fxg6 Nxg4 25.hxg4 fxg6 I was not sure how toproceed with the attack, so I decided to keep the bishop. Black shouldhave taken the chance to equalize with 24...Nxf5 here. } 24... Qc7 { Rather pointlessmove. The queen is hardly of any use on this square. } 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Rf2 { Rooks are preparing for an assault against Black king. Something mustbe done. } 26... Rae8 { White's following move gives the opponent an opportunityto fall into a tactical trap. } 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 { And the trap works! It looksnatural to take with a rook -- after all, how good can 27...Nxe8 28.Rxf8Kxf8 29.Qh6+ be for Black? But a knight on a rim is better than a knightoff the board, as the White's following move proves. } 28. Rxf6 { ...andBlack should accept the loss of a knight. Taking the rook only makes itworse. } 28... Kxf6 29. Nd5+ { And Black resigned facing the inevitable 30.Nxc7. } 1-0

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2013.10.17"] [Round "-"] [White "mani_chandru_7"] [Black "robbakery"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1200"] { Standard beginning chess position. } 1. e4 { Common opening move for White. } 1... e5 { Common opening defensive response from Black. } 2. d4 { Still in book. } 2... exd4 { Book move. } 3. Qxd4 { White recaptures and is still in book. } 3... Nc6 { Black attacks Queen and is still in book. } 4. Qd5 { This is where it appearsto depart from book moves. An apparent blunder by White to place the Queenin such a lame position. } 4... Nf6 { Black develops and attacks the Queen. } 5. Qf5 { Another apparently terrible move, placing the Queen in a lame position. } 5... d5 { This time Black not only places the White Queen under attack but alsoplaces White's developed Pawn under double attack. } 6. Qg5 { Now the developedPawn is undefended. } 6... dxe4 { Captured and now Black's undeveloped Queen isthe only piece on the d file (column). Additionally, White's only developedpiece is the Queen. } 7. Bb5 { Black's Queenside Knight is pinned. } 7... Bd7 { unpinned. } 8. Qh4 { and yet another Queen move! with only two developed White pieces. probably a terrible move. } 8... Nd4 { White's Bishop is placed under doubleattack and the Pawn on c2 is threatened. } 9. Nc3 { White's developed Bishopis now defended but he's under double attack and the c-file pawn is stillvulnerable. Better might've been Bishop takes Bishop for a check. } 9... Nxc2+ { Pawn captured, check, Rook in danger. } 10. Kd1 { out of check but vulnerableto another check via movement of Black's developed Bishop. } 10... Bxb5+ { Bishoptakes Bishop and White's King is in check. Black is offering a Knightand giving up taking White's a-file Rook. } 11. Kxc2 { White captures theKnight instead of blocking check and now it's a King chase. } 11... Qd3+ { Whitehas only one move. } 12. Kb3 { Black has different options here, includingsacrificing a Bishop with B-a4+, forcing the King onto the fourth rankand soon into checkmate. } 12... Bc4+ { Instead Black is keeping the Bishop. } 13. Ka4 { White's only move. Now Black cannot move Q-c4+ because the developedBishop wasn't sacrificed. } 13... Qd7+ { Black's Queen is nonetheless moved tocheck White and now White is one move away from checkmate. } 14. Ka5 { Whitemoves the King rather than blocking the check. } 14... b6# { After 14 White moves,5 of them a Queen move, 5 of them a King move, and only 4 other moves,White is checkmated on the 5th rank by the first move of one of Black'sPawns. The Pawn is double protected and Black's Queen and two Bishops,one of them undeveloped, cover the other squares adjacent to the WhiteKing. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.10.14"] [Round "-"] [White "red_heart_prince"] [Black "kaspanatola"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1447"] 1. d4 { .White just blundered a piece right in the opening phase (move 6),but still managed to drag the game for 25 more moves, I've done some massiveexchanges, but white defended stubbornly and forced me to play almost tomate (a mate in one in the last position)... } 1... Nf6 { My usual reply to d4 } 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 { The more flexible option, fianchetto the bishop, justleaving to white the definition of his pieces to chose a way to contestthem latter } 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 { So here we have a Grünfeldmodern exchange variation... without the exchange part... as white didn'tcaptured back?? } 7. Qd3 { ?? blunders a piece, obviously bxc3 is clearlybetter than the game's move } 7... Na4 8. Be2 Nc6 { to develop my pieces } 9. Be3 Bg4 10. Rb1 Bxf3 { and cash in my material advantage, by exchanging as manypieces as I can } 11. Bxf3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 { massive exchanges to simplifythe position } 13. Qb5+ Qd7 14. Qxb7 O-O { connecting rooks Rab8 followsgetting my pawn back } 15. O-O Rab8 16. Qa6 Rxb2 { I don't mind exchangingrooks } 17. Rbd1 { trying to pin my bishop } 17... Nc3 { unpinning my bishop witha threat over a2 } 18. Ra1 Rb6 { chasing away the queen is my priority nowto consolidate the position } 19. Qc4 c5 { more consolidation and white'squeen is traped } 20. a3 { ? } 20... Qb5 { now forcing the exchange of queens } 21. Qxb5 Nxb5 { recaptures the queen and attacks the rook } 22. h4 { ?? blundersa quality to my discovered attack } 22... Bxa1 23. Rxa1 Nd4 24. Rc1 Nxf3+ { Noneed to worry about the c pawn as I'm exchanging with check which allowsthe defence of the c pawn latter } 25. gxf3 Rc8 { The best placement formy rook is behind the pawn, and it will stay there, while the other rookwill force it's advance to promotion } 26. Rc4 Rb3 { now the advance of thec pawn is decisive I expect 27.a4 Rb4 gains a pawn, or if 27.Ra4 Rc7 defendingboth black pawns a7 and c5 } 27. Ra4 Rc7 { defending both pawns } 28. Kf1 c4 29. Ke1 c3 { and the promotion is inevitable } 30. Kd1 { White's king walkto the promotion square is of no use as it only shortens the win } 30... c2+ 31. Kd2 c1=Q+ { and mate in 1, the bad 7.Qd3?? sealed the fate of white on thisgame. Some bad choices of moves, including an easy recapture that didn'thappened allowed for a small material advantage, easily converted in toa won endgame. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.04.19"] [Round "-"] [White "well91"] [Black "brahmslover"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1200"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1403"] 1. d4 { well91 (1403) vs brahmslover (1200) (annotator) } 1... Nf6 { The most flexibleoption for black against 1.d4 } 2. Nf3 g6 { Black shows that he will eitherplay a King's Indian Defense, or the Gruenfeld Defense. } 3. Bf4 { As blackI can assume that white will play the London System, which is similar tothe Colle System except with the bishop on f4. } 3... Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 { The Gruenfeld Defense. White's objectively best move here is c4, attackingthe center, but this requires somewhat more 'theory' than c3. } 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 { Anticipating striking the center with ...c5 or ...e5 } 7. c3 { Thebasic position of the London System. } 7... c5 8. Rc1 Re8 { Threatening to openthe center with ...e5 since white has not castled. } 9. h4 Qb6 { Counter-attackingon the queenside. I am not afraid of white's attack with 10.h4 Nxh4 11.Rxh4gxh4 12.Ng5 ...etc } 10. b3 { Black now has the initiative and White is reactingto Black's moves. From here on out, White is simply reacting to my moves,rather than creating a plan of his own. } 10... cxd4 11. cxd4 Qa5 { Attackingthe e4 square. } 12. Rc2 Ne4 { Voila! The knight jumps into the center andstops white's dangerous light-squared bishop. } 13. O-O { I could play 13...f5here and play to control the center. Because of white's potential to attackon the kingside (though not very much), I didn't want to close the center(my counter-attacking potential). } 13... Nxd2 14. Nxd2 e5 { Now opening the center. All attacks on the wing should be met with a counter-attack in the center. } 15. Bg3 { Simply a blunder, losing a pawn. But after 15.dxe4 Nxe4 16.Be2Bg4 White is very passive. } 15... exd4 16. exd4 Bxd4 17. h5 Nc5 { Actively playingin the center, to meet white's 'attack' } 18. Be2 Bf5 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Rxc5 { White tries to take the initiative, but to no avail white is simplylost. } 20... Bxc5 21. Bh5 { Another blunder, the sacrifice is easily repelled. } 21... gxh5 22. Qxh5 Bg6 23. Qxd5 Rad8 { The final blunder. } 24. Qxb7 Qxd2 { AndWhite resigns. Notice how White never had a real plan, he was simply reactingto Black's moves. } 0-1

[Event "OTB Mentoring Game 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "11/17/17"] [Round "-"] [White "Joe"] [Black "Jack"] [Result "0-1"] [TimeControl "69 minutes"] [WhiteElo "1332"] { This was my second out of 3 games against Jack Stockel. The last onewas my first one in a long while. To be exact November 17th was the firsttime against Jack since July 30th. The reason being is tournaments whichoccur at various times, as well as, new students at Jack's club. I alwayslook forward to playing since he is my main mentor and has been mentoringme for about 13 years. In fact, similar to GM Susan Polgar, he gives lessonsright after a tournament game on where we went wrong or where mistakeswere made to improve the students play. That's the idea behind the tournaments. But, similar to what fiercequeen mentioned in one of her recent annotationstraining never ends. Bonnie mentioned that in her second training gamewith anandi which is why there was additional Homework. That's, in general,what this mentor does when he plays directly against his students. Partof that involves variations. With that being said, there were mistakesin our first game. And, I almost lost, but since it wasn't a tournament,there were take backs. With that being said, I made a mistake that would'velost immediately. But, as Homework, Jack, as usual, made me go back andfind a better move explaining why I would've lost. As I, somehow, playeda move that got my Q out of play. Once that happened, I played well andwon the game. He made a mistake, and due to glaucoma thought that theN was the pawn. Therefore, he didn't realize that his Q was under attack. Once I captured it, he resigned that game and had me start a new game. Unfortunately, that game had enough corrections that the position becametoo corrupt to annotate. However, the way to compare this game is whatI see with fiercequeen. As once I made a mistake, he took advantage ofthat and went back to his a game. Therefore, it was game over. So, howdid it go all down? } 1. e4 { I start off with my usual. } 1... c5 { Although hismain response is 1...e5, he plays this often. Not only is this Jack'ssecond most common response, but I've evaluated. I'd say that he answerswith 1...e5 55% of the time and this move 45% of the time. So, I'm usedto it and as usual, we're going into the variation that he taught me whichis the Open Variation. The reason being is that he, as Homework, mademe study the next move up through 5.Nc3 until it became second nature. As he told me that this is the main variation of the Sicilian. The approachis wrong, as the reason for this teaching is because this part of the Sicilianis the most analyzed by Masters and GM's according to him. The truth isthat it's not about what's most analyzed, but rather, what you have themost experience with. With that being said, it works because by teachingme this line, I have the most experience. So, when 1.e4, I have a coupleof conditional moves like 1...e5 with which 2.Nf3. But, the same is truewhen they play 1...c5 The difference is that the variations are a littledifferent, but I just memorize them which isn't the best way to go sinceunderstanding is a little better. However, it blends in with my styleof play. } 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 { The move that Jackmade me remember was 5...a6. The difference is that I understand, as opposedto, memorize the move. As the reason is to prevent 6.Bb5+ or 6.Nb5, andI keep that in mind as we're about to see. For now, I must defend. } 6. Nf3 Nc6 { Instead of 6...a6, Jack played this to develop. But, this iswhere I understand and remember why ...a6 is played, and therefore, tryto take advantage with my next move. As the idea is to prevent what I'mabout to do. } 7. Bb5 Bd7 { I am not surprised that Jack broke the pin thisway since he said that you mainly use the B. Seeing what else I can do,I decide to pin the other N. And, I'm not surprised that Jack breaks itin the same way. In fact, 8...Be7 is a conditional move as I had plannedthis. For once he does that, I will castle, at once. } 8. Bg5 Be7 9. O-O a6 { This move took me off guard a little. But, I knew what to do. } 10. Bd3 Nb4 { I forgot that Jack had this move. Not that it matters. Jack's real goal is to exchange my B for N. As I posted with what I learnedfrom GM Susan Polgar, you should not exchange unless you have a reallygood reason for doing so. What she's mainly alluding is B for N, but evaluatingthe N is also important. The idea being is that with how many squaresthey can cover, a B is usually worth more then a N. I felt that this wastrue here, so similar to what kenneth_fiore_3 I'm not going to exchangeeither. I'm sure that 11.Be2 is a conditional move for the same reasonthat 8...Be7 was a conditional move. He knew that I wouldn't exchangeso the idea is castling, when I retreat which is what happens. However,castling is also conditional, as that's when I'll take advantage of myopportunity to attack his N. } 11. Be2 O-O 12. a3 Nc6 13. Qd3 { Contraryto before, I didn't know what to do. But, given that I have castled andam fully developed, my plan was to connect and maybe even double up myRooks. The way to do this is by bringing my Q in action. } 13... h6 { I was alittle surprised to see this. But, I knew how to handle the situation. } 14. Be3 Ng4 { Of course, similar to before, I overlooked this move. Asnow, Jack is, threatening to exchange B for N. For the same reason thatI mentioned on his 10th move, I refuse to exchange. } 15. Bd2 b5 { This isthe first time where I am not sure why Jack played this. I believe thatit was to get a pawn chain since the a and b pawns are better connected. } 16. Nd5 { Although I should spend time to figure out why Jack played this,the reason doesn't matter to me, at all. I felt that Jack should've defendedbetter with something like 16...Be6 to prevent my N from coming up. Hepreviously told me some time ago that you have to be weary of what thoseN's can do. By that, he was implying what TA taught which is about N VisualizationCount. The idea is preventing the N from coming this far as once it advancesfar enough, it can become quite dangerous. Well, that's the first thingthat I kept in mind which is the reason behind this move. In fact, myoriginal plan this move was to play 17.Nb6 As it was his Jack's Bd7 thatI wanted to exchange knowing that he must recapture with the Q. Afterwhich,I thought that I had an advantage. But, Jack prevents that with his nextmove. } 16... Be6 17. Nxe7+ { But, I really didn't want to exchange this B. That'swhy my original play was 17.Nc3?? But, Jack answered with 17...Bc4 Irealized from that point that I was going to lose a piece since it's askewer as now the Q is attacked and must move. That's when he said thatafter 16...Be6 exchanging with 17.Nxe7+. In fact, he said, 'And, that'swhy you came up with the Knight. You wanted to exchange so why didn'tyou do that.' I then told him that it wasn't this B, but rather, the otherone that I wanted to exchange. But, once he moved that, it wasn't possible. He said that there was no choice as this is the only way out of trouble. Of course, the idea being is that it is an intermediate check to preventthe loss of material. For were he not in check, nothing would've stopped17...Bc4 Once that happened, we went back, and I played this. } 17... Qxe7 { Ihad expected 17...Nxe7 where his Q appears stronger. Thus, when Jack playedthis, I was happy about where I stand. } 18. Qc3 { Of course, Jack is stillthreatening 18...Bc4, so I put an end to that by attacking his N. } 18... Rac8 { I thought that Jack would protect by retreating it. But, he did it thisway which is more powerful. } 19. Rad1 { The only reason behind this movewas to centralize one of my Rooks since it is in the center. But, slightlybetter was to move to my Q, as Jack could have launched a discovered attackwith 19...Na7. } 19... Bc4 { But, he attacks my Be2. That should've occurred tome. I underestimated the position and thought that, at worst he exchangeswhich is a burden but nothing serious. But, the way I'm thinking is aboutto cost me the game. As I think about other things besides that (whichshould be my main focus.) } 20. b4 { ?? With that being said, I become fixatedon the pawn chain just like what Jack has. But, I miss the next move. Therefore, this is the losing move. In this case, exchanging with 20.Bxc4was forced. The obvious move for Jack would've been 20...Bxe2 which winsa piece as well as R for B right away. However, he is about to play somethingjust as powerful which leads to the same result. } 20... Nd4 { As Jack adds anotherattacker. I resigned here only because he will win a piece, as well as,a piece R for B. Although he could play that right away, it'll happenon the next move, anyway. For, if I try to dispute this with 20...Bxc4??he forks and wins the Q with 21.Nxe2+ The difference between this anda regular mentoring game was that Jack didn't know exactly where I wentwrong here. But, he did know that I originally played 17.Nc3??. Afterthat, he lost track which isn't how it usually goes. I picked up and realizedthat my last move 20.b4?? was, in fact, the decisive mistake. Instead,I should've exchanged right away with 20.Bxc4 to prevent this. What ledto this mistake was the way that I was thinking, my thought process. Asmy thought was that he was just trying to compromise my position by threateningto exchange which Ken mentioned in a couple of annotations after our firsttraining game. I should've, however, expanded that by realizing that there'san immediate threat here. Had I paid better attention to that, I would'veput an immediate stop to this. } 0-1

[Event "chess game against Engine"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "-"] [White "ChessBuddy (engine)"] [Black "Rakshith"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "????"] [WhiteElo "????"] { here you will see pawns grabing & Bishop sac by Black to become strongattacker } 1. e3 { a poor opening } 1... d5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Bb5+ c6 4. Bf1 Nf6 5. Nf3 Ne4 { Here Bd6 also playable } 6. Nxe4 dxe4 7. Ne5 Bd6 8. Nc4 Bc7 9. Qg4 { Threatenin e5-pawn and g7-pawn } 9... O-O 10. Qxe4 f5 11. Qf3 Nd7 12. d4 Nf6 13. Be2 Bd7 14. O-O b5 15. Ne5 Ng4 { again sacrificing another pawnto develop Rook on f-file } 16. Nxg4 fxg4 17. Qxg4 e5 18. Qe4 Bf5 19. Qxc6 { white enjoying the pawns grabing } 19... e4 { again sacrificing a pawn,black simply gave up four pawns } 20. Bxb5 Rf6 21. Qb7 Bxh2+ { now Bishopsac } 22. Kxh2 Rh6+ 23. Kg1 Rc8 24. Ba4 Qh4 25. Bb3+ Kh8 26. f4 Qh2+ 27. Kf2 Rh3 28. Qxa7 Rf3+ 29. Ke1 Qg3+ 30. Rf2 Qxf2+ 31. Kd1 Qf1+ 32. Kd2 Rf2# { Checkmate in a different style } 0-1

[Event "Game Number 12 - A Master Lesson in the Positional Mid-Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.10.04"] [Round "-"] [White "easy19"] [Black "freddz123"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1690"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2256"] { For my twelfth match on Gameknot, under the advise of another player Isent a message to easy19 requesting a match. I knew before hand of thissemi-celebrity namesake of mine through other annotations on the site,so was looking forward to what would be a challenging match up. I wentinto the game brimming with confidence, 11 wins from 11 games already andnot once had I felt out of control in any of the matches. I felt I couldtake on all comers. How wrong I was! Freddy (or as I will refer to him,Freddy 2 :o) ) is a great player and a master of complicated mid-game playin a way I can only dream of. During the match, early on I felt I hada slight advantage only to see it disappear very quickly. We decided earlyon in the game that we'd play through to checkmate, as the end-game isalways something of interest to a student learning the game so rather thanresign when it was a lost position we continued. } 1. Nc3 { I'm unsure howoften this is played, but where I play I haven't seen it before. It seemsa fairly logical move, developing a piece early on and pressuring the centrelight squares. } 1... c5 { So I played what felt natural to me. c5 allows meto attempt to control the dark squares whilst ceding the light ones toWhite. I figured that White would be forced to play either e4 or f4 toattempt to keep things even. } 2. f4 { As expected, White plays f4. } 2... d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 { Development moves. Felt I was already beginning to gaina small advantage. } 5. Bb5+ { White makes his first attack, I think mainlyto test the resolve of his unknown opponent. I think I preferred d3, whichalthough slightly passive would allow White to continue developing insteadof wasting a tempo. } 5... Bd7 { Better than Nfd7 or Nbd7 due to the direct challengeof the Bishop. } 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 { White decides to exchange Bishops, whichI think benefits Black more than it does White. } 7. O-O Nc6 8. d3 Be7 9. Qe1 O-O { Black still holds a slight advantage after both sides have castled. } 10. Qg3 Rac8 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. a4 c4 13. dxc4 dxc4 14. Kh1 Rfd8 15. e4 Bb4 16. Rac1 { Waiting move played by White. } 16... Qb6 17. Ra1 Ba5 { Attacks White'svulnerable b2 Pawn and blocks the progress of the a4 Pawn. } 18. Rab1 Nb4 { Attacks White's Pawn at c2 } 19. e5 Nfd5 { With careful play, I think Nfd5could've worked, but the fact is this is the turning point of the gamefor me. From here on, easy19 manages to get back into the match. PerhapsNe8 was safer? } 20. f5 exf5 { Isolates White's e5 Pawn. } 21. Nh4 { Doubleattack on Black's f5 Pawn. } 21... f4 { Suddenly the game is slipping away fromme. } 22. Bxf4 Qe6 23. Bg5 Bc7 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Bf6 { White threatens checkmate,forcing Black to make another defensive move. } 25... g6 26. Nf5 { Partial pinon White's Pawn at g6. } 26... Nc6 27. Nh6+ { Check on Black's King. Most of Black'spieces are incapable of defending, still positioned for the attack thatwas occurring on the Queen-Side, meaning White has complete control. } 27... Kf8 28. Rbe1 c3 29. bxc3 Rc5 30. Nxf7 { White creates a passed Pawn on e5 witha Knight sacrifice. A nice piece of play, which shocked me at the timethinking it was a mistake. I think I'd have played Qf2 first, before playingNxf7, but the shock effect of Nxf7 took a hold so was probably the bettermove. } 30... Kxf7 31. Qf2 { As expected, White attacks Black's Rook on c5 andcreates the possibility for a powerful discovered check. } 31... b6 32. Bd8+ { Expecteddiscovered check. } 32... Qf5 { Forks White's Bishop and Queen. It's worth notingthat Kg7 and Kg8 led to mate in the next move (Qf8#), Qf6 led to mate in3 (33.Qxf6+ Ke8 34.Qf8+ Kd7 35.e6#) and Ke8 was so ruinous as to be unplayable(33.Qf8+ Kd7 34.Rf7+ Ne7 35.Rxe7+ Kc6 36.Rxe6+ Kb7). } 33. Qh4 Bxd8 { Wasthis the correct decision? In hindsight I'm no longer certain. I wasaiming at threatening the White Queen, basically following a simple ruleI learnt early on when I started playing chess - 'If you can take a piece,always take with the least valuable one'. However, I wonder if here thingscould've turned out differently if I'd simply seized the open-file withRxd8? I realise I'd be sacrificing my Queen either way, but I wonder. } 34. Qxh7+ { Isolates my Pawn at g6. I had expected Rxf5+ first, with Qxh7afterwards, but I guess the order isn't overly important. } 34... Ke6 35. Rxf5 { Threatens mate again (Qf7#) } 35... gxf5 36. g4 fxg4 { Isolates White's Pawn ath2. Material is technically even, but White has a huge lead. } 37. Qg6+ Kd7 38. Qd6+ Ke8 { White manoeuvres the Black King into a favourable position. } 39. e6 { Advances the passed Pawn. } 39... Ne5 40. Rxe5 R8c7 41. Rxc5 { Funny forme to say this, but I actually think Rxc5 was a slight error. Not overlyimportant, still a winning move, but I think Re1 was better. } 41... bxc5 42. Qf4 Rg7 43. Qe5 Rh7 44. Qf5 Rg7 45. Qh5+ Ke7 46. Qh6 Kf8 47. Qh8+ Rg8 48. Qh5 Rg7 49. Qxc5+ Re7 50. Qd4 { Lovely set of moves, homing in on Black'sBishop. } 50... Rxe6 { Better players will have already spotted why I had to abandonthe Bishop here, for those that haven't seen it - 50...Ke8 51.Qh8# or 50...Bc7/Bb6/Ba551.Qh8# The only feasible move I could see was to get rid of that dangerouse6 Pawn. } 51. Qxd8+ Kf7 52. Qd7+ Re7 53. Qxg4 Kf6 54. h4 { White has beenbusy creating space for the final offensive before pushing his passed hPawn. } 54... Rg7 { In hindsight, I wonder about this. I realise by this pointthe game is lost, but I was looking to hold out as long as possible againsta player that others have nicknamed 'The Master Mater', so I wonder whetheror not Re1+ might have allowed me to stretch it out a few more moves. } 55. Qd4+ Kg6 56. c4 Re7 57. c5 Kf5 58. c6 Ke6 59. Qd8 Kf7 60. c7 Re1+ 61. Kg2 Re2+ 62. Kf3 Rxc2 63. Qd5+ Kf6 64. Qg5+ Ke6 65. Qg6+ Ke7 66. Qxc2 { Matein 3 - 66...Kf6 67.c8=Q Ke7 68.Q2f5 Kd6 69.Qcd7# } 66... Kf6 67. Qc6+ { Unsurewhy this pleased me so much, but White missed it allowing me to last 1extra move. :o) 67...Kg7 68.c8=Q a5 69.Q8d7+ Kh8 70.Qa8# } 67... Kg7 68. c8=R { Rubbing salt into my wounds, since he doesn't need the Queen he doesn'tbother to get one. } 68... a5 69. Rc7+ Kf8 70. Qa8# { And it's over. A lovelygame in which I hope I've learnt a few lessons on positioning my attacks. Sorry that I couldn't do justice to Freddy's moves in this match, thefact is that even after the game with all the time I needed to analyseeach position I still couldn't grasp the tactical decisions made. } 1-0

[Event "36th GK tournament"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27-May-07"] [Round "-"] [White "joe_hartson"] [Black "bidettm"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1481"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1418"] 1. e4 { This is the first game I've ever tried to annotate. Please feelfree to make lots of comments and give suggestions on better moves I couldhave made. } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 c4 { More common is Nc6 to put pressureon d4. } 5. Nf3 b5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O h6 8. Bf4 f6 { Weakens black's kingsidecastle. Probably dangerous since white is well developed on the kingside. } 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. b3 O-O 11. Nbd2 a5 12. bxc4 bxc4 13. Nh4 g5 { Nice pawnfork here, but I'll get out of it since the knight on b8 was never developed. } 14. Bxb8 { White loses an attacking piece because of the pawn fork, butthe knight is pretty strong here as we'll see. } 14... Rxb8 15. Ng6 Rf7 { Thiswas an unfortunate mistake. } 16. Ne5 { White has somewhat of a knight forkhere. Black can move his rook to safety, but white can follow with Nc6forking the queen and the other rook. } 16... Qc7 { Black opts to save his rookon the open file and put his queen on a diagonal that attacks white's castle,but after 17.Nxf7 Kxf7 the black king is on a dangerous square. } 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Nf3 Nd7 { Keeping white's knight off e5. } 19. Re1 Nf6 { ??? } 20. Ne5+ Kg7 21. Qc2 { There is no way for black to protect g6. } 21... Bd6 22. Qg6+ Kh8 23. Nf7+ { Wins the black queen! } 1-0

[Event "Fast Ladder"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.08.12"] [Round "-"] [White "koostika"] [Black "bengi95"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1830"] [TimeControl "3d+1d<3d"] [WhiteElo "1626"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 { I like the Scotch opening. Verystraightforward but can quickly spiral into chaos. } 4... Nge7 5. Bb5 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bb3 { I've never played this variation } 7... Ne5 { Not sure what he wasgoing for. I thought this allowed me to push the f pawn and gain some momentum. } 8. f4 N5g6 9. O-O { I blundered here. My bishop is hanging by way of myknight. } 9... c5 10. Bxf7+ { At least I'll get a pawn and disturb his king. } 10... Kxf7 11. f5 { Now I'm glad I castled. } 11... Ne5 { I'm down 2 pawns. If I let himdevelop any pieces I've lost. } 12. Qh5+ Kg8 { It seems like g6 probablyevens things up or better if king goes to g8. } 13. f6 gxf6 14. Rxf6 N7g6 { Now my rook is in trouble, my knight is still hanging, and nothing elseis developed. I felt I had only one choice. } 15. Rxg6+ Nxg6 { pawn takeswould have given me the knight, but I still would have been behind. } 16. Qd5+ { Now there's no escape. } 16... Kg7 17. Nf5+ Kf6 18. h4 h6 { anything else... Bg5 mate. } 19. h5 { This is to move the knight away from guarding e5.I have one more piece to sacrifice. } 19... Ne7 20. e5+ Kxf5 21. Qf7+ Kxe5 { g4and e4 are quick mate } 22. Bf4+ Kd4 23. Qf6+ Kd5 24. Nc3+ Kc4 25. b3+ Kb4 26. a3+ Ka5 27. b4+ cxb4 28. axb4+ Kxb4 29. Qd4# { I'm pleased that my opponentlet me play it out. } 1-0

[Event "Chelyabinsk Variation'"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "09-Nov-08"] [Round "-"] [White "elwoos"] [Black "aramis"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1584"] [TimeControl "9d+4d, 13d max"] [WhiteElo "1561"] 1. e4 { Another taken from the Chelyabinsk Variation tournament } 1... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 { Starting position } 6. Ndb5 { Thisopens up some interesting possibilities, the b knight has an eye on d6and c7 the c knight is looking at d5, note also the white queen has a halfopen file. } 6... d6 { Almost forced, black now has the d6 square defended byhis queen and his dsb } 7. Nd5 { Applies some considerable pressure to c7 } 7... Nxd5 8. exd5 { The knight choices are limited now, if he moves to b4 forexample I can chase it around a little while developing some of my pieces,so gaining some tempo } 8... Ne7 { Probably the best option however blacks dsbnow cannot develop without moving another piece first } 9. c3 { Opens theline to a4 for my queen, note that there is a nice line to the king - a4-e8,I did consider c4 but felt that restricted my lsb too much } 9... a6 10. Qa4 { threatens mate with Nxd6. Black is under some severe pressure now andwill surely have to lose material to save the game } 10... axb5 { Possibly theonly option that allows black to survive } 11. Bxb5+ Bd7 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 { forced, I can now gain the rook } 13. Qxa8+ { Up to this point we were stillin the Gameknot database! } 13... Nc8 { Unsurprisingly black declines to exchangequeens } 14. O-O Be7 15. Qa5 b6 { Trying to pressure my queen but I thinkthis is a mistake as it allows my queen to get into a slightly better position.Should black have castled instead? } 16. Qa6 O-O 17. Be3 Bd8 { My developmentis finally complete and I am ready to throw my pawns forward on the queensside } 18. b4 Qf5 { This move is a bit of a mystery to me ... } 19. a4 { SoI continue with my plan ... } 19... e4 { However the purpose of it now becomesclearer. I think this is a mistake as he now has 3 weak pawns and I caneasily cover mine } 20. Qc4 Ne7 { Still going for my d pawn } 21. Rfd1 { Iused this rook as the other was supporting the pawn push and my f pawnis protected by my dsb } 21... h5 { Trying to counter } 22. a5 bxa5 23. bxa5 { Idecided to take with my pawn as a8 is white and black has no lsb, it isalso more tricky to get his knight into a useful position on that side,which meant that I thought this pawn had some good chances to cause problems } 23... Ng6 { Continuing the counter effort } 24. a6 { For now I ignore it } 24... Ne5 { Iwasn't sure what the big benefit of this move was at the time, though wewill see later } 25. Qb5 Bc7 { Allows his rook to protect the a8 square } 26. a7 { Continuing the push. The pawn here is well defended } 26... Nf3+ { Thismove scared me, if I take with the pawn I am in big trouble, 27 gxf3, exf3means that my king is potentially trapped on the back row by his pawn. } 27. Kh1 { f1 would have lost my h pawn, there is little he can do now thoughto threaten my king even though it is cornered } 27... Qe5 { Threatening mate withQxh2 } 28. gxf3 { Black threw in the towel. Thanks for reading } 1-0

[Event "Holding my own!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.12.18"] [Round "-"] [White "jstevens1"] [Black "sachy"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "2042"] [TimeControl "3d+3d<10d"] [WhiteElo "1954"] 1. e4 { Hi everyone! This game took place in GM Cyrano's Italian CoffeeMT in which I played an Expert who had an optimum rating in the 2100s beforesuccumbing to timeoutitis. I won this game on timeout but Gameknot Analysisgave me a score of -0.50 so I decided to record this game as an ExpertDraw rather than an Expert Victory. As Gameknot Analysis shows below,there were no errors or inaccuracies in this game:- } 1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 { 3. d4 - fairly standard Sicilian Defense. } 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Bb5+ { 6. Bb5+ - getting my pieces out quickly. } 6... Nbd7 7. Nf5 a6 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 { 8. ...... Qxd7 - bishop trade. } 9. Bg5 Nxe4 10. Nxg7+ Bxg7 11. Nxe4 O-O 12. Qxd6 { 12. Qxd6 - I now win a pawn due to the fact that the weakpawn on d6 is attacked by both Glenda and my knight on e4 and only defendedby the Wicked Witch of the West. } 12... f6 13. Qxd7 Bxd7 { 13. ..... Bxd7 - afterthis queen trade I now extricate Fou Lenoir. } 14. Bd2 Bc6 15. f3 f5 16. Nc3 { 16. Nc3 - willy, nilly I am about to be struck down by passivitis. However, I somehow manage to evade my opponent's subtle or not so subtlethreats over the next few moves. } 16... Rf6 17. O-O-O { 17. 0-0-0 - as the queensare off the board I feel that Henry is better placed towards the centreof the board than he would have been had I chosen the kingside. I havealso brought a rook onto the open d file which might help a bit. } 17... Rg6 18. Rhg1 { 18. Rhg1 - my rook is now passive but I feel I need to preserve myextra pawn as long as possible. } 18... Rd8 19. Be3 Rxd1+ 20. Nxd1 { 20. Nxd1- I would have dearly have loved to have played Rxd1 here but that wouldhave allowed Rxg2. As I still had Fou Lenoir on the board and as blackhad the bishop pair I preferred to keep Henry on a dark square so I didnot play K x R. However, it does leave my knight rather passive. Still,I have my extra pawn and another pair of major pieces have been exchanged. If I can hold my position my extra pawn could still prove decisive. } 20... f4 21. Bf2 { 21. Bf2 - now that black has blocked off the c1-h6 diagonal (atleast for the foreseeable future as he cannot take his own pawn), I cankeep Fou Lenoir on the g1-a7 diagonal, defending my rook on g1. } 21... e4 22. fxe4 Bxe4 { 22. ..... Bxe4 - the blockade does not last long because blackforces a trade of pawns. Still, it does keep black's kingside pawns split. I can now play my vulnerable g pawn up to g3 and free up my rook fromdefending it though! } 23. g3 Bh6 24. Kb1 { 24. Kb1 - Henry evades a nastydiscovered check on the c1-h6 diagonal. } 24... f3 25. Ne3 { 25. Ne3 - this knightmove blocks off the c1-h6 diagonal. If black exchanges B for N then althoughhe has a passer on the f column, he will concede the bishop pair and makelife a little easier for Henry and my rook. I still keep my extra pawn. Here my opponent times out on me and I am hoping that Gameknot Analysiswill say that my advantage is over +1.00. Unfortunately it is -0.50 sothat Expert Victory still eludes me and I had to be content with simplyjust about holding my own. I hope you have all had a good read - Kindregards - Joanne } 1-0

[Event "Break in, if you can!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2017.06.13"] [Round "-"] [White "damafi"] [Black "D2Einar"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1389"] [TimeControl "300+5"] [WhiteElo "1439"] { I had the game lost, beyond any hope... but I found a shield behind hispawn, and he didn't find the way to come in. I looked for my faintest shadowof an edge, and he finally broke down. The (bad) game is interesting becauseof a weird exposed K by white, and a kind of a 'lock' on black's position. } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. Nd2 Bf5 4. h3 { A loss of time, but the move is onthe agenda anyway. } 4... e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. Ngf3 { ...transposing into the usuallines. } 6... Bb4 7. c3 Bd6 8. Ne5 O-O 9. e3 { This move allows to play h4, beingg4 protected. } 9... Ne4 { Now black can play f6, but NxB will be good for me. } 10. h4 { Very important to block Qh4. } 10... Nxd2 { In many occasions, hereI took with the K. I want to keep my Q on the white squares, to be ableto get quickly in front of the opp. K. I didn't get a clear idea on whichis better, but here I played conventionally... } 11. Qxd2 Bxe5 12. dxe5 { I gave up the attack on the b7 pawn. It is defendable, and I want to gofor the K. } 12... f5 { Here, the position was so 'yummy' that I didn't choosethe right continuation. Bg5 had to come FIRST. } 13. h5 { ? Open the g columnwas very important. True he can take with the R, but there's no damagein it, since I can play then Bd6. I missed it in this game, and this wasvery costly. } 13... Be8 14. g5 { ?? Throwing away the game. } 14... Bc6 15. Qd4 { Now,I realize too late that I will have to manage a way to avoid the pawn'schain to be formed in front of his K. I'll have to sac a piece. Now, thebad B move allows me to occupy this central square, one-step to the Kside,with no loss of tempo dued to Nc6 or c5. Fortunately, my opponent is nota proficient attacker! } 15... Nd7 16. Bg3 { ...the plan is Bh4-g6. A simple one,but the very one I can figure out! } 16... Qe8 17. Be2 { Bd6... but I have no wayof forcing the opening of the white diagonal. I plan to sac it on h5! } 17... b6 18. h6 g6 { In order to create at least some pressure, I have to reinforcethe h column. In order to do that, I have to move the Q, but I don't wanthim to take advantage of d5 and the discovered threaton Rh1, so... } 19. Rh2 Bb7 { He prepares c5, but my Q is ready to fly to the K side. But allthe point is that I dont' have any break in, NOT EVEN with the B sac! AndI overlooked that. } 20. O-O-O { I know I'm castling into his storm, butI had the idea I could break in somehow. } 20... c5 21. Qh4 a6 { ? Fortunately,my op is taking the slow way. } 22. Rdh1 { ?? Forgetting about d4. } 22... b5 { Forgetting about d4! } 23. Qf4 { I realize that if I want to get somethingout from the lsb's sac, I have to protect it with the R, not the Q. } 23... c4 { ?? Stopping himself from winning the game. } 24. Bh5 { Well, let's see.How do I miss a N, now! } 24... gxh5 { First step accomplished. } 25. Rxh5 { Now,I have to manouver in order to have the Q on the g column, or a R, evenbetter. But... } 25... Qg6 { He blocks everything with this one. Now, his Q willbe dued to this post, defending a lot of weak points. I have no way tobreak in. My dsb is almost useless, so are my R, and I am a piece under...for nothing. 'Well done, Davide!' } 26. Qd4 { Preventing some nasty movesby black, but without hope. } 26... Rfc8 { Nc5 is coming. } 27. Bf4 Nc5 28. f3 { I'dbe glad to have his powerful N exchanged for my useless lsb. } 28... a5 29. R5h2 { Necessary, in order to move the other R. } 29... b4 { His Q can' participate intothe attack, but he doesn't need it! } 30. Rc2 bxc3 { ? Better was a4, increasingthe pressure. } 31. Rxc3 { I'm busted after Na4, but black can calmly prepareeven more with a4. } 31... a4 32. Kd2 { Making R for my K. I realize that the costfor have his Q blocked is... my Rh1 can't leave his post without allowinga deadly Qh5's penetration. } 32... Nd3 { Threats b2. } 33. Rc2 { Allows c3+. } 33... Rc7 { He chooses to delay it, reinforcing the power on the c column forthe killing. } 34. Qb6 { Not really good, but it prevents Nb4 and threatsthe lsb if the R moves. Not a big deal, I know. At least, his Q is stillcompletely blocked, while I threat e6 (how do I miss a N, again!). } 34... Rac8 35. Kc3 { !? This is 'the blockade game'. Now my Q can be trapped if I amnot careful! } 35... Ba8 36. Qa5 { He can play a R on the b column, but Rb7 looksugly. } 36... Bc6 { The key of my defence is not to move any pawn, and let himfind the way - if any - to break in. Of course, all this won't have heldagainst a correct attack. We both failed in ours. } 37. Rh3 { Having black'forgotten' to play d4+, I take some measures against it, too. } 37... Be8 { Blacktries to free his Q. } 38. Qb6 { Preventing a T to go to the g column forfree... } 38... Qf7 { ? No, sir, you hurried up! } 39. g6 hxg6 40. h7+ Kh8 41. Bg5 { ! And I win his Q. } 41... d4+ 42. exd4 { ? Cutting my Q's way out of troubles... } 42... Rc6 43. Bf6+ Qxf6 44. Qxc6 { I'll get the exchange from it... sigh! } 44... Rxc6 45. exf6 Nf4 46. Rh6 { ? Better was Rg3, giving away the h pawn for Rh2+. } 46... Nd5+ 47. Kd2 Bf7 { Nxf6 was better. True he always has it. } 48. b3 { Bothmy R and his B are frozen... again! } 48... Nc7 { I'm lost anyway, but he has veryfew seconds on the clock. This is a bold mistake. } 49. bxa4 { My pawns wilfall, but let's keep him busy! } 49... Ne8 50. Rc3 Nxf6 51. a5 Ne8 52. a6 Nc7 53. a7 { If the R leaves the c column, I can play Rxc5 (e5, RxNc7) } 53... Na8 { ...preventing that, but allowing interesting possibilities for me... } 54. a4 { Keep him busy and force him out of the c column, even for bad. } 54... Rc7 55. a5 Rxa7 56. Rxc4 Re7 { He realized he can't play Rxa5 orRc8+ wins. } 57. Rc8+ Re8 58. Rc5 { Protecting against d5. } 58... g5 59. a6 { Black is lookingat the board and he can't believe it: white is fighting back! } 59... Kg7 { Desperadomove - it was almost a zugzwang! Now it's my chance! } 60. h8=Q+ Rxh8 61. Rxh8 Kxh8 62. Rc8+ Kg7 63. Rxa8 { ...and this is a winning endgame... forwhite! Incredible. I hope you enjoyed, despite the bad moves and the missedchances from both sides, the weird blockades from both sides through thegame. Thanks for commenting. } 1-0

[Event "St. Andrews vs Dundee - round 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.08.21"] [Round "-"] [White "bigpeta"] [Black "hogfysshe"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1725"] [TimeControl "4 days per move"] [WhiteElo "2083"] 1. c4 { A Walking the Walk club - Big Peta Students club hybrid game. Petewanted to try an opening beginning 1. c4 e5, 2. Nc3 Nf6. Unfortunately,a mistake by black at move 14 made the experiment less useful than it couldhave been. Then a bad idea at 16 landed black in a position with severelyrestricted mobility and no solution being found. } 1... e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 { The specifiedopening comes together. } 3. g3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bg2 { White plays a straightforwardEnglish Bremen opening. I've played this a lot as white but have not playedagainst it. } 5... O-O 6. O-O Re8 { 6. ...Re8 } 7. Nd5 Bc5 8. d3 Nxd5 9. cxd5 Nd4 10. Nd2 { 10. Nd2, opening the diagonal for white's light square bishop. } 10... d6 { 10. ...d6, for the moment, closes down that diagonal. } 11. e3 Nf5 { 11. ...Nf5. } 12. Ne4 { 12. Ne4 } 12... Bb6 { 12. ...Bb6. Note that white's kingsidepawns do not move at all from move 11 to the end of the game. } 13. Bd2 { 13. Bd2 } 13... c6 { 13. ...c6 } 14. dxc6 { 14. dxc6 } 14... d5 { Here, I lost focus, thinkingI'd push the knight back and keep the diagonal closed but completely overlookingthat white didn't have to move the knight. the first of a game losingpair of moves. } 15. cxb7 { White takes advantage of my oversight and playsthe correct move. And it is on the b-file where the concluding actionoccurs, 20 moves later. } 15... Bxb7 { 15. ...Bxb7. not looking terrible for black,though he is down a pawn. } 16. Nc3 { ...but, black follows 16. Nc3 with... } 16... Re6 { ...this problematic 16. ...Re6. I had a vague idea that lateral mobilityfor the rook could be used to some positive end. but that rook NEVER leavesthat square and this contributes to an oddly immobile game for black. In keeping with this theme of the game being 'locked up,' I'll point outthat the black pawns on e5 and d5 do not move from move 14 to move 30,a not awful aspect of a fairly awful game. I say not awful (those pawnsput some limits on white), but Pete will have no trouble working in thelimited real estate along c and b. } 17. Na4 { From here, white plays a nicesystematic game and slowly breaks down black's position. Here, black can'ttake the protection off c5. } 17... Rb8 { 17. ...Rb8. This move is intended tosupport removing white's lsb from the board, an idea that never pans out. see next. } 18. Rc1 { Black probably should have grabbed the c-file theprevious move. Comments? } 18... Ba6 { 18. ...Ba6 } 19. Nc5 { 19. Nc5. } 19... Bxc5 { BxN } 20. Rxc5 { RxB } 20... Ne7 { puts a second defender on d5, but further limits thatpoor rook, ...not to mention drifts black more into a defensive mode. yes, white has an unprotected pawn, but... } 21. Ba5 { 21. Ba5 } 21... Qd6 { nowthe queen is at HER final resting place. candidate name for this game:'the sealed fate.' } 22. b4 { further shuts down black's options while gettingin position for the final 12 moves. } 22... Rc8 { 22. ...Rc8 } 23. Rxc8+ { RxR } 23... Bxc8 { BxR } 24. Qb3 { 24. Qb3 } 24... Bb7 { before I killed my chances, Pete had beentrying to get me to remove the white lsb, ...a lesson in creating a weaknessin a fiancetto'd position. but I never came close to following throughon that, though this move is a remnant of that idea. Plus it frees theknight. } 25. Rc1 { reload. } 25... a6 { how to remove white's b-pawn? second theme:let's watch the master player advance and promote that pawn. } 26. Rc7 { 26.Rc7 } 26... Bc6 { 26. ...Bc6 } 27. a4 { 27. a4. sets up replacing the first b-pawn. } 27... g6 28. b5 { 28. b5 } 28... axb5 { PxP } 29. axb5 { PxP } 29... Be8 { 29. ...Be8. one chanceto remove that pawn lost. } 30. b6 { and white is two squares from promoting. } 30... Nc6 { 30. ...Nc6 } 31. Bd2 { 31. Bd2 } 31... e4 { inhibiting the bishop. } 32. Rc8 { White finds a nice safe square on black's home rank. } 32... Kg7 { as Pete pointedout during the game, I should have played Nd8 here if I was to have anychance of mitigating the cost of the coming promotion and exchange. } 33. b7 { 33. b7 } 33... g5 { a few moves earlier, I had noted that white could playRxN. but another mental lapse and that got away from me. so while I amthinking I can play NxP next move, I proceed toward the idea of a clashat the white king's fortress. } 34. Rxc6 { RxN. black resigns. a bit ofa shirk here as the WTW Rulez say play on. but as this was a hybrid WTW/ BP Students game, I took what at the moment felt like a luxury. Laterthought that I should have hung in and tried to engineer a stalemate. I expect however that bigpeta would have none of that and would have closedthings out before too long. Thank you to bigpeta for playing. } 1-0

[Event "2 Knights Defense"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Me"] [Black "Nykhood"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1761"] [TimeControl "5 min + 20"] [WhiteElo "1409"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 { 2 Knight's Defense begins. } 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Qf3 { A line I adopted a few weeks ago. } 8... Bb7 9. Bd3 { This move seems weird to me because it blocks the d3 pawn butI don't really have anywhere else to put it and it exercises importantcontrol over e4. } 9... h6 10. Ne4 c5 11. Nxf6+ { With this line I almost alwaystrade Nf3 away on f6. Normally I get doubled pawns which is normally alwaysa good thing. } 11... Qxf6 12. Qxf6 gxf6 13. O-O { To elminate Bxg2. I was consideringBb5+ instead of 0-0. If anyone has any input that would be great. } 13... Rg8 14. Bb5+ { Now the Bb5+ in order to exchange and begin developing my untouchedqueenside. } 14... Ke7 { No castling for black. } 15. f3 { f3 appeals more then g3here. Again feedback would be great. I simply didn't want that peskybishop to see into my castle. } 15... Nc6 16. Bxc6 { I did not want to deal withthe knight on D4. So this exchange seems good. } 16... Bxc6 17. d3 { Helps tohold onto e4 and frees up my darksquare bishop (which proves to be thedecisive piece). } 17... Rb8 18. Nc3 { I wish to place the knight on the outposte4. } 18... f5 { This is not favorable for my opponent. } 19. Rb1 { Frees up my bishop. } 19... Ke6 { Centralizing his king and freeing up his dark square bishop. } 20. Re1 { Seemed good to me until about 5 seconds after I made this move. Ihave opened myself to one of those more advanced (at least to new playerslike myself it seems 'advanced')tactical situations. Now my f3 pawn isundefended. Bxf3 would be terrible for me. Fortunately my opponent didn'tnotice this weakness and continued on with development. } 20... Bd6 21. Re2 { Tobe honest I made this move so I could eventually double the rooks here. This is a bad move though because it does nothing to prevent Bxf3. (Whichmy opponent didn't see). } 21... f6 22. Kf2 { This should have been done a coupleof moves ago. } 22... Rg6 { To double the rooks (and also defend h6.) } 23. Bd2 { Frees up my queenside rook. } 23... Rbg8 24. Rg1 { To run to the defense justin time. } 24... h5 25. g3 f4 { A blunder. The same 'pinned-pawn' tactic thatmy opponent didn't see earlier now arises. } 26. Bxf4 { I see it and capture. } 26... Kf5 27. Bd2 h4 28. Ne4 { The pawn that was hindering the devolpment of myknight to d5 is not gone. The knight places himself in the center of everything. Threatening Bd6 and defending g3. } 28... Be7 29. g4+ { Driving the king back. } 29... Ke6 30. Be3 { Building an attack on c5. } 30... f5 31. Nxc5+ { Capturing c5. } 31... Bxc5 32. Bxc5 { The capture of the dark square bishop ensuring I will dominatethe a7-g1 diagonal (which proves decisive. } 32... fxg4 33. f4 { I feel this isa really good move. It prepares my counterattack in the middle. I am notworried about the passed pawn that is about to form on the right becauseof my control over the a7-g1 diagonal. } 33... g3+ 34. hxg3 hxg3+ 35. Ke1 { Black'spassed pawn is born. } 35... R8g7 { In order to defend a7 I suppose. Black hadno way to defend e5. } 36. Rxe5+ Kd7 { This is a poor place for the king. I think he should have placed the king on f6. Either way though blackhas his work cut out for him as I have 4 ( soon to be 5) passed pawns. } 37. Bxa7 { Picks up a7. } 37... Rh6 { Perhaps to come to h1. } 38. Rg5 Rxg5 39. fxg5 Re6+ 40. Kd2 g2 41. c4 { The queenside pawn rush begins. } 41... Rg6 { Blackcan't figure out where to put his rook. } 42. Be3 { My darksquare bishopdominates the board. } 42... Ke6 43. Kc3 Ke5 44. d4+ Ke4 45. d5 { d5! My planis to sacrifice bishop, pickup g2 and then begin my queenside attack. } 45... Kxe3 46. Rxg2 Bd7 47. c5 Ke4 48. c6 Bc8 49. Rd2 { Putting power behind thed5 pawn. } 49... Rd6 { I thought this move interesting as I just read the chapteron passed pawns in My System (in which the blockade is talked about.) } 50. Kc4 Kf5 51. Kc5 Rd8 52. d6 { Black's pieces are pushed back to the wall. } 52... Kxg5 53. d7 Ba6 54. c7 Rxd7 55. Rxd7 Kf4 56. Rd8 { Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "R4: is it enough?"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27th July 2012"] [Round "-"] [White "White Player"] [Black "l-d-j"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [BlackElo "1387"] [TimeControl "90 mins for 40 moves, then 30 mins extra + 30 secs extra per move from move 1 on"] [WhiteElo "1451"] { The fourth game of my tournament. After a draw, a loss and a win, I wasagain on 50% and got an opponent that had also scored 50% and was in themiddle of the tournament table (though he'd had stronger opponents). } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { My usual Petroff. At GM level pretty drawish, but atamateur level any result can come out of it. I do not play it to get adraw, I always want to win even as Black. } 3. Nc3 { The main move is 3.Nxe5,usually followed by 3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 when White has a number of choices,the most common being 5.d4, but also the recently popular 5.Nc3 is possibleand some less interesting lines (5.d3 and 5.Qe2). Here, 3.d4 is anotherpossibility and even 3.Bc4 can be played. The text is also possible, butless challenging to Black. } 3... Nc6 { This has to be the simplest of all openings:the four knights. } 4. d4 { The Scotch four knights - a line I know verywell, from both sides. This has to be the variation I have played the mostgames with. } 4... exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 { Pinning the knight and putting pressureon e4. } 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 { The usual freeing break for Black in e4openings. Also by far the most common in the position though 7...O-O isalso possible. } 8. Bd2 { !? A rare move. Far more common is 8.exd5 cxd5.This move breaks the pin but does not really challenge Black. } 8... O-O { I lookedat a pawn-winning line, namely 8...Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 dxe4 11.Qxd8+Kxd8, but my pawn structure after that is pretty awkward and I'm lackingin development, so I decided not to play it. What I didn't even see isthat 12.Bxg7 would immediately win the pawn back and after 12...Rg8 Whitehas the intermezzo 13.Bf6+ and can defend his g2 pawn afterwards, so theline wouldn't even have won a pawn after all. } 9. O-O Bxc3 { But now thatwe have castled, I can take with the rook on d8 in the line mentioned beforeso I decided the pawn win was safe now. } 10. Bxc3 Nxe4 11. Qh5 { ?! Whitewas playing passively until now, but now that he gets aggressive, it'sjust the wrong time for it. He prevents 11...Nxc3?? 12.Qxh7# and 11...Nf6??to chase the queen is also not possible because of 12.Bxf6 and there'sa mating threat on h7 again. But I have... } 11... g6 { ... This move, which doesweaken the dark squares around the king, but chases the queen and preventsthe mate. } 12. Qe5 { Another mating threat, but it's easily parried again.12.Qh6 does not accomplish anything either after 12...Nxc3 13.bxc3 andnow for example 13...Qf6 and White has to retreat to prevent losing a secondpawn. } 12... f6 13. Qf4 { Seems like the best square since on d4 it can be chasedyet again with 13...c5. (Yes, it can be chased from this square with 13...g5,but that would needlessly weaken the kingside.) } 13... Nxc3 14. bxc3 { We cansee now that Black has an advantage. He is a pawn up and has nice centralcontrol. The only factors that may be to White's advantage are the slightlyunstable position of the Black king and White's superior development, butthere are no immediate threats so Black can simply develop and try to catchup with White before White can take advantage of those advantages. } 14... Qd6 { Proposing a queens exchange and if White refuses, he has to move his queenyet again to a more passive square. } 15. Qe3 { The exchange with 15.Qxd6cxd6 would give Black a strange pawn structure of which it's not clearto me whether it's strong or weak. The computer thinks that 15.Qh4 wouldhave been slightly better, because on e3 the queen is vulnerable to attacksyet again, this time by the rooks that cannot wait to be developed ontothe open e-file. } 15... Bd7 { Developing, connecting the rooks and covering thee8 square (if I would have developed the bishop to, say, b7 and White wouldhave played 16.Rfe1, I could not have played 16...Rfe8? because White couldthen get two rooks for a queen with 17.Qxe8+! Rxe8 18.Rxe8+ Kg7). } 16. Rfe1 { The computer prefers 16.c4, probably to prevent 1 ...c4 push by meand to close the center, where Black has a pawn majority. The pawn exchangewith 16...dxc4 17.Bxc4+ does not offer Black real winning chances dueto his doubled c-pawns and the lack of a passed pawn. } 16... Rae8 { !? I did notdo a safety check before this move and was awakened by White's next move.But actually this move is not bad at all, since for the pawn White getssuperior center control and Black's queen is in an awkward position afterit has taken the pawn on a7. But if I'd have seen that my pawn would behanging, I'd have played 16...Rfe8 for sure. } 17. Qxa7 c5 { Highlightingthe bad position of the White queen, threatening to trap her with ...Ra8and/or ...Bc6. } 18. Qa3 { The computer proposes 18.Rxe8 Rxe8 (perhaps toreduce the activity of Black's major pieces) followed by 19.c4. } 18... Re7 { ?!Preparing to double on the e-file. Fritz prefers 18...Ra8 to threaten thequeen, but that moves the rook off the open e-file which I found a bitstrange (I didn't play it because I thought it wouldn't accomplish anything). } 19. Rad1 { ?! Again Fritz prefers 19.c4 to close off the center and givesthat position as equal (White has the passed pawn, Black the more activity). } 19... Rfe8 { Natural, but Fritz wants me to play 19...Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 c4 now, tochase the bishop to a passive square. } 20. Qc1 { The last chance for 20.Rxe7Qxe7 21.c4. Now Black does it. } 20... c4 21. Bf1 Re5 { Black has more center controland more space, but is it enough to win? A club member with a rating of1800 who was playing in a higher section of the tournament suggested afterthe game that I should have played 21...Bf5 here, which I had considered,but I thought White could just hold and the computer agrees. I noted duringthe game that 22.Bxc4?? is not possible, because I can simply take with22...dxc4! and the queen on d6 is immune due to the back rank mating threat. } 22. Rxe5 Qxe5 23. Qd2 { Forced to defend c3. Attacks d5 at the same time. } 23... c6 { Freeing my pieces from the defence of d5. Here 24.Bxc4 still does notwork. } 24. f3 { Maybe to tempt me into playing my next move, but it seemsmore natural to play 24.a4, to try and get the passed pawn to the 8th rank. } 24... Qe3+ { ?! Forcing a queen exchange, thinking I could win the c-pawn afterwards,but forgetting about the Bxc4 threat. } 25. Qxe3 Rxe3 26. Bxc4 { ! of course.Now 26...dxc4 leads almost immediately to a draw after 27.Rxd7 Rxc3 andthe rook ending must be an easy draw, so I decided to keep the bishopson the board. } 26... Rxc3 27. Bb3 { Everything just holds for White. } 27... Bf5 { ?!An inaccuracy by me. Better was 27...Kf8. } 28. Rd2 { ?! White returns thefavour. 28.g4! was possible because 28...Bxc2?? fails to 29.Rc1 and thebishop is lost, or an exchange after 29...Bxb3 30.Rxc3. } 28... Kf8 29. Re2 { Probablyto block my king, but it seems better to get his own king involved. } 29... d4 30. g4 d3 { ?! This leads almost immediately to a draw and probably evena slight advantage for'White. My club mate proposed 30...Bd7, to continuewith ...c5 (attacking the a4 pawn) when ...c4 trapping the bishop becomesa real threat. } 31. cxd3 { Of course not 31.gxf5?? dxe2. A rook move isno good either because then 31...dxc2 with the threat of promotion winsmaterial. } 31... Bxd3 32. Re3 { ?! 32.Re6 even wins a pawn for White, but probablyBlack has enough activity to hold the draw. But at least White could havetried it. But maybe White, having defended the whole game, was contentwith a draw. Now Black can reach the draw quite easily. } 32... Rc1+ 33. Kf2 Bc4 { The exchange of bishops leaves us with a single rook ending with fourpawns each. } 34. a4 Bxb3 35. Rxb3 Ra1 36. Rc3 { If White wanted to try something,he should have played 36.Rb4 when he has the passed pawn that is the hardestto reach for the kings because it's far from where the kings are and whichis also one step closer to promotion, but the rook would be forced to stayon the fourth rank to defend it and the pawn would not be able to advanceany further so that would be a draw as well, I guess. } 36... Rxa4 37. Rxc6 { Nowthat the passed pawns are exchanged, we're left with three pawns each onthe same wing. No one can really try anything in this position so my opponentoffered a draw, which I accepted. I think it was a quite solid game overallwith some mistakes from both sides. I held the advantage for most of thegame, but a draw always seemed to be a likely result. Hope you enjoyed,thanks for reading! } 1/2-1/2

[Event "2 Sacrificed Queens in 29 Move Game"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.05.27"] [Round "-"] [White "nenad369"] [Black "rich_sposato"] [Result "0-1"] [TimeControl "3 min + 10 sec"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 { White opens with a kingside attack. Black respondsby accepting and thus up a pawn. My common thinking here is that advancingthe e and f pawns is risky because if white makes a mistake, the king isvulnerable. If black makes a mistake, black is down a pawn or maybe a piece. } 3. Nf3 Be7 4. h4 Nf6 { Both sides prepare for further king side activity. } 5. Nc3 d6 6. d4 { White moves to control the center and attack the f4 pawn. } 6... Nh5 { Black moves to protect the f4 pawn and threaten moving to g3. } 7. Bc4 Nc6 { Black and white get more pieces ready to roll. } 8. Nd5 Bg4 9. Nxf4 { With two pieces attacking the f4 pawn and only one defending, whitemoves to restore parity. } 9... Nxf4 10. Bxf4 O-O 11. Qd3 { White moves the queenout so the king can castle. } 11... a6 12. O-O-O { Castling lines up rook withqueen, and lets the rook provide mutual protection. With white's queenand rook lined up, white can advance the center pawns and push black back.White can also push the pawns to threaten pieces in order to get materialsuperiority. } 12... Qe8 { Queen moves where it is not in the line of fire if thed6 pawn is under attack. This also lets the queen move out the white diagonalif/when the knight moves off c6. } 13. Rdf1 Rb8 { Line up rook so black canpush pawn to threaten the white bishop. } 14. a3 { White provides a safesquare for the bishop. } 14... b5 15. Ba2 Bf6 { The bishop on f6 and knight onf3 can threaten the d4 pawn - but that's not safe if white's knight isstill around to protect it. } 16. c3 { White gives the pawn some more protection. } 16... Qe7 17. h5 Rbe8 { Now black can threaten the e4 pawn. } 18. e5 { This doesnot seem wise. There are 3 white pieces protecting the e pawn, but 5 blackpieces attacking it. By exchanging several pieces on e5, black can moveits forces out into the open where they have more mobility. } 18... dxe5 { Theexchange begins. } 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Nxe5 { The exchange ends with fourcaptures and the center columns cleared of pawns. } 21. Qd4 c5 { Threatenwhite queen to get it move away. Another purpose of this move is so blackcan move the pawn a step further and block white's bishop on a2. This movehas a third purpose which will become evident later. } 22. Qd5 c4 { Bishopblocked. White could advance the b2 pawn to unblock the bishop, but thiswill do for now. } 23. Re1 { White moves another piece to attack the beleagueredknight. The knight seems in danger with 3 attackers and only 2 defenders.This is where the real fun begins as the purpose of previous moves becomesobvious. } 23... Nd3+ { Knight forks king and rook! The black queen is exposedto attack, but that doesn't matter since white's king is under attack andthe black queen is free to move! This was the true purpose of advancingthe pawn to c4 - to give the knight a perch from where it can check theking. If Kb1, then Nxe1, followed by Rxe1 Qxe1 with white down two rooks.The same happens if Kc2 or Kd2. } 24. Qxd3 { The only way for white to avoidlosing two rooks with nothing in return is to sacrifice a queen! } 24... Qxe1+ { Black doesn't accept white's sacrifice just yet. Instead black sacrificeshis own queen instead! If white moves the king to c2 now, black picks offthe other rook as a prize. If Qd2 blocks, then a series of exchanges one1 leaves black ahead with two rooks against two bishops. (Qxe1 followedby Rxe1 and Bxe1 and Kxe1 and Rd8+.) No move leads to a good outcome forwhite. } 25. Rxe1 { White accepts the queen sacrifice and appears to havematerial superiority. (Actually white does not have effective materialsuperiority since the white queen is ready to be taken and both bishopsare too far from the action to influence events.) } 25... Rxe1+ { Black followsby taking white's other rook. The king is in check again. } 26. Kc2 { Kingmoves to temporary safety. } 26... cxd3+ { Black finally accepts white's sacrificedqueen and just in time to put king in check yet again. } 27. Kxd3 { If theking moved to b3 instead, then black would counter with Bd1+, king movesto b4 followed by Re4+ which forces white to lose the dark square bishop.If the king moved to d2 to block the pawn on d3, then white would moveRd1+, Ke3 Re8+ followed soon by mate. White's best option here was probablyto avenge the queen by taking the pawn. } 27... Rd8+ { Moving the rook to d8 pushesthe king back into a corner. } 28. Kc2 { King moves to temporary safety. } 28... Bd1+ { The bishop sets the king up for a discovered check. } 29. Kc1 { Kingonly has 2 options left. One leads to checkmate in 1 move. The other leadsto checkmate in a few more moves. (Kb1 Ba4+ then Bc1 to block followedby Rd8d1 to line up the rooks for mate. White would only have a few delayingtactics after that.) } 29... Ba4# { The game ends with a discovered checkmate! } 0-1

[Event "Battery on Aisle H!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.02.25"] [Round "-"] [White "pawn222"] [Black "theancientbeast"] [Result "0-1"] { Hello, everybody! It's been awhile since my last annotation, and I haveheard that many have missed my annotations! (Not really, I just thoughtI might dream a little). Anyway, this blizt game was quite enjoyable. Aftera miscalculation, I was down two points, but a Queen and Rook on the samefile spelled defeat for my adversary. Thank you, pawn222, for this game,and thank you, reader, for reading my annotation. Enjoy! } 1. e4 { Standard. } 1... e6 { I enjoy a good French, and he plays e5, which, if followed by d5 andthen d4 is the closed variation. } 2. e5 d5 { But sadly, he captures en passant,and is left with a terrible center. } 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. d4 { Trying to stakeclaim to the center. } 4... Nf6 { Preparing to castle. } 5. Nf3 b6 { Getting readyto fianchetto, and eyeball the Kingside. } 6. Bd3 { He gets ready to Castle,as well; also to the Kingside. Huzzah! } 6... O-O 7. O-O { And now that the Kingsare safely tucked away, the battle begins. } 7... Na6 { I played this insteadof Bb7 or Nc6 in hopes that he would take, trading his strong Bishop formy useless, rim-bound Knight. } 8. Bxa6 { And he obliges! Now I will havea deadly, unopposed light-squared Bishop in the corner! } 8... Bxa6 { I hopedhe would overlook the Rook. He doesn't. Mark this move, because the Bishop'scontrol over the f1 square is very important. } 9. Re1 Ng4 { Bringing heaton the King. } 10. Bg5 Bxh2+ 11. Nxh2 Qxg5 { Here, I miscalculated. I didnot see the Queen protecting the g4 square, therefore I overlooked NxN. } 12. Nxg4 f5 { I am down by two, so I try to chase the Knight and bring outmy Rook. } 13. Ne5 Rf6 14. Nd2 { Trying to defend. } 14... Rh6 15. Ndf3 { Too little,too late. Qh5 seals the deal, leaving the White King nowhere to run. (f1is blocked by my Bishop.) } 15... Qh5 { The only move that could save him is f3/f4,but the Knight blocks the way. And here my opponent resigns, since mateis unavoidable. Thank you, once again, for reading. Please rate and comment! TAB } 0-1

[Event "Challenge from lissekszachowy"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2011.08.15"] [Round "-"] [White "lissekszachowy"] [Black "drchopper"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1549"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1314"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 { Here playing black on a ruy lopez game. } 3... Nf6 4. d3 { Well not the best continuation, but that okay. } 4... Bc5 { Threatheningf2 and ready to castle. } 5. Bg5 a6 { Developping my queen side. } 6. Bxc6 dxc6 { Exchange of the knight-bishop. White must not take the e pawn becauseit is trapped. } 7. Nxe5 { ? } 7... Qd4 { ! That's why. Threatening Qxf2#. Whitemust now lose his knight. } 8. O-O Qxe5 { Now I really have the advantage.Now threatening the bishop + b2. } 9. Bxf6 { Exchanging the pieces. Whiteis now totally unfanged and underdevelopped. The only advantage he gotright now is the pawns in the middle. Maybe to keep his bishop by returningback to c1 would have given better attack further in the game for white. } 9... gxf6 { ! By doing so, it give me a nice passage for my rook to the kingand a better position to attack. Don't forget that if I would have takenit with my queen, white would have done e4-e5, giving him better counter-attack.Anyway, my king is not threated at all and it will be better if I castleon the queen side. } 10. c3 { Protecting the b pawn and preparing d4, forkingmy queen and my bishop + it solidify the center. } 10... Bd6 { Avoiding the trapand threatening h2. } 11. g3 { I think f4 would have been better here. } 11... Rg8 { Now there's many possibilities of attack on my side! My rook is preparedso I can make Bg4 in the next moves. I'm already planning to make a x matewith my queen and my bishop on h3 and f3. } 12. d4 { I can't take the epawn because of Re1. } 12... Qe6 { Ready to execute my plan. } 13. Re1 Qh3 14. e5 { Well my defense is breaking and I will probably not able to castle butI still think I have advantage. } 14... fxe5 15. dxe5 Bc5 { I look in a bad situationbut I really think the situation of white is worst. Anyway his rook andhis knight is not developped and I would probably be able to castle beforehe does any threats to my king. From my side, I'm now ready to unleasha huge attack. The f2 pawn is now pinned and there's now many way to reachthe king. With the knight I've got in the beginning of the game, I don'treally care right now to sacrifice some of my pieces. Bxf2 or Bg4 wouldbe a nice continuation for black. } 16. Re2 { ! By doing this, not only heprotects the f pawn but he stops the threat of bg4 + it give him spaceto do Qf1 avoiding an x mate with my bishop and my queen. } 16... Rxg3+ { !! Anothersolution! 17.hxg3 Qxg3+ 18.Kf1 Bh3+ 19.Ke1 Qg1+ 20.Kd2 Rd8+ 21.Kc2 Qd1# if 18.Kh1 Qf3+ 19.Kg1 Bh3 20.Qf1 Bxf1 21. Kxf1 Qh1# if 19.Kh2 Qf4+ 20.Kg2 Qf4+ 21.Kh2Qh4+ 22.Kg1 Bh3 23.Qf1(if not Qg3+ then Qg2#) Bxf1 24.Kxf1 Qh1# Computer analysis: Blunder: +Mate(11) » 16. Re2 Rxg3+17. hxg3 Qxg3+ 18. Kh1 Qh4+ 19. Kg1 Bh3 20. Kh2 Bg4+ 21. Kg2 Qh3+ 22. Kg1Qg3+ 23. Kf1 Bh3+ 24. Ke1 Qg1+ 25. Kd2 Rd8+ 26. Kc2 Best: +4.57 » 16.Qf3 Bg4 17. Qg2 Qh5 18. Nd2 O-O-O 19. Ne4 Qxe5 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. h3 Be622. Re3 Bc4 23. b3 Bd3 } 17. Kh1 { ?? } 17... Qg2# { I'm little bit disapointedby the mate, but it was a very nice game with a lot of potential. } 0-1

[Event "A Clever Way to Trap a Queen"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.02.25"] [Round "-"] [White "mrdaddychops"] [Black "--"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1030"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1487"] 1. d4 { I open with my usual opening d4. I find the queen's gambit to bea very powerful opening with quick development and strong centre control. } 1... d5 2. c4 Nd7 3. Bf4 { The main weakness of the queen's gambit is that e3is in the mainline and it is hard for the dark squared bishop to join thegame, but since there is no real pressure on my c4 pawn I can move my bishopout early and hopefully trade it off for one of blacks minor pieces. } 3... e6 4. e3 Ne7 { To the untrained eye moving his knights like this seems likea good defensive strategy, but is in fact quite dangerous. His pawn onf7 is still very weak and trapping his king like that makes it possibleto checkmate with a bishop or knight. } 5. Nc3 f5 6. Bd3 c5 { c5?? This mayseem like a relatively harmless move, but upon further inspection if Ican get my knight to d6 that would be checkmate. } 7. Nb5 { Threateningcheckmate.. } 7... Qa5+ { .. but he was more worried about Bc7, trapping the queen. } 8. Qd2 Qb6 { With his queen gone the king has space so checkmate is no longera threat, but I can win the queen in two moves. Can you see it? } 9. Bc7 { Bc4!! It doesn't matter where he moves his queen.. } 9... Qc6 10. Nd6+ { .. becauseNd6 leaves his king nowhere to go, forcing him to capture with his queen. I almost threw my queen up to a5 as a sacrifice to get his queen off ofthe 6th rank but that would've led to check and could possibly have ruinedthe whole plan. } 10... Qxd6 11. Bxd6 a5 12. Ne2 cxd4 13. Nxd4 { When I can I liketo recapture central pawns with pieces because it makes them very powerfuland in this case helps protect my pawn on f2. } 13... Nc6 14. Nxe6 { This movewas a mistake, I should've moved c5 but i saw the fork on c7 and got alittle too excited. } 14... Bxd6 15. c5 Nxc5 16. Nxc5 Bxc5 17. a3 { PreventingBb4. } 17... O-O 18. Bb5 { Discovered attack on the d5 pawn, which would fork theking and bishop. } 18... Bd7 19. Qxd5+ Kh8 20. Qxd7 { I decided that the dark squaredbishop is relatively at the moment considering my pawn structure. } 20... Rac8 21. Qxb7 Ne5 22. Qd5 Rfe8 { Careless.. } 23. Bxe8 Rxe8 { Here I could takehis bishop, but then he could move Kd3 forking my king and queen. } 24. f4 { Making sure that I can still win material. } 24... Nd3+ { Here I see that ifI capture his knight he can fork my queen and king with his rook, but Iam confident that my two rooks and superior pawn structure will have notrouble handling his bishop. } 25. Qxd3 Rxe3+ 26. Qxe3 Bxe3 { And now itis just a matter of time.. } 27. Rd1 h5 28. g3 a4 29. Rd7 Bc1 30. Rd2 { Sacrificingmy rook to get rid of his pesky bishop. Don't want any silly forks orthreatening pawns to ruin my clear advantage. } 30... Bxd2+ 31. Kxd2 Kh7 32. Kc3 Kh6 33. b4 { Our pawns have reached a stalemate and my rook will trap theking on the other half of the board so all I need to do is walk a pawnto the end and checkmate will be inevitable. } 33... g5 34. h4 gxf4 35. gxf4 Kg6 36. b5 Kf6 37. b6 Ke6 38. Rd1 { Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "League division D3"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.01.29"] [Round "-"] [White "keithhomeyer"] [Black "tomlib"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1442"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1329"] { This is a Grob's Attack opening with which I'm fairly unfamiliar althoughmy mentor OldGus is quite fond of it. I fell into a bad sequence of movesearly but managed to escape only a pawn down with my position in poor shapebut not completely ruined. I then tried to apply the principles of chessmaking sound moves and slowly got back to even footing and then found apretty mate. } 1. g4 { Grob's Attack. } 1... d5 { According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grob%27s_Attack)1. e5 is a significantly better try and this move opens the gate to manytraps } 2. Bg2 Bxg4 { Compounding the issue by falling further into the trapbut part of me was curious to learn the dangers. } 3. c4 Be6 { Not a goodmove but white is threatening Qb3 and eventually Qa4+ along with otherdangers } 4. Qb3 { Attacking the b-pawn along with the light squared Bishopon the long diagonal should Black's d-pawn ever move which is fairly wellforced } 4... Nd7 { Trying to save my rook from the coming invasion by the Bishop } 5. cxd5 Bg4 6. Qxb7 Ngf6 { I'm trying to develop pieces here as best aspossible forgetting about the loss of the pawn } 7. d6 { This sets up a discoveredattack on the Rook at a1 } 7... Nb6 { Now I protect the Rook although at the costof another pawn. } 8. dxc7 Qc8 { I'm hoping for the Queen trade at thispoint because I at least save my Rook and hope to pick up the pawn fairlyquickly thereafter thus escaping the mess with only minor damage } 9. Qxc8+ { 9. Qc6+ Bd7 and Black is at least partially ok } 9... Rxc8 10. d3 Rxc7 { Whilethis delays my development that c-pawn must go } 11. Be3 e6 { Now I'm tryingto get my pieces out and make an active game for myself } 12. Nd2 { I'm notsure that White shouldn't try something like 12. h3 forcing Black to moveabout but there seems to be nothing wrong with this move } 12... Bb4 13. Kd1 { Givingup the right to castle rather cheaply. While the Knight is pinned Blackcannot swoop in as it is well protected. I thought 13. Ngf3 Rc2 14. 0-0Bxd2 15. Bxd2 wasn't better } 13... Nbd5 { I'd love to be rid of that dark squaredBishop and with the Queens off the board I was planning on bringing theRook directly into play without a castle } 14. Bd4 Ke7 { Trying to get myRooks lined up and, while it is early to centralize my King I felt likeI needed as many pieces in play as possible } 15. Be5 Rc6 16. Nc4 { Blockingdown the c-file } 16... Bc5 { I'm trying to be as active as possible to keep Whitefrom marshalling an attack } 17. Bg3 Nh5 { I like to avoid putting the Knightin positions like this but I thought the f4 square looked awfully choicefor my Knight and this proves to be accurate } 18. Bh4+ f6 19. f3 { 19. ...Bf5 20. e4 is disastrous for Black so I must find counterplay } 19... Nhf4 { Whata lovely square for my Knight and I started to take hope for the firsttime in this game } 20. fxg4 Nxg2 21. Bg3 Nge3+ { My Knights are workingtogether like a pair of seasoned troopers in this game } 22. Nxe3 Nxe3+ 23. Kd2 { 23. Ke1 Nc2+ forks the Rook and puts Black in the drivers seat } 23... Nxg4 { Material is even at last } 24. Nf3 { I'd like to say I planned forthe series of moving coming up long in advance but I did not notice theMate in Two until after fairly lengthy study. I was leaning towards 24.... Be3+ 25. Ke1 Rhc8 and trying to force my way in but then spotted thegame continuation. } 24... Bb4+ 25. Kd1 { The only move } 25... Ne3# { And a pretty littlemate. I was quite pleased with my play in this game because I didn't panicwhen confronted with a bad situation but slowly worked my way out of ahole and in the end my pieces worked extremely well in coordination witheach other. } 0-1

[Event "Let's play chess"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.07.29"] [Round "-"] [White "koolnkg"] [Black "matsany"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1812"] [TimeControl "2 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1769"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 { better was 6.Be2, the problem of 2.Bd3 is that whites LSBs position is misplaced becauseof e4 pawn which blocks him , that's why 6.Be2 is better because the bishopdoesn't interrupts his own pieces . } 6... e5 7. d5 a5 { black wishes to maneuverthe b8 Knight from a6 to c5 , which is great spot for the knight , whichpressure e4 pawn and blockade c5 pawn . the idea of a5 is to prevent whitefrom playing b4 after blacks Nc5 , another idea of 7.a5 is to take spacecontrol on the queen side and avoid whites attempts to advancing his pawnson the queen side b4 and c5 and makes weaknesses on blacks queen side .that's why 7. a5 avoid b4 and Nc5 blocks c5 pawn is important in my gameplane . } 8. h3 Na6 9. Be3 { i think thats white wishes to avoid this Nc5maneuvere by 9. Be3 anh 8.h3 was to avoid 9...Ng4. } 9... Nc5 10. Bc2 { thefirst step of my game plane is completed , its not a good idea for blackto exchange his DSB for my knight on c5 because of after 10.Bxc5 -dxc5.11.Nxe5?-Nxe4!.12.Nxe4-Bxe5 . and if 10.Bxc5-dxc5.11.0-0 -Ne8 .... blackblocks whites advance on the queen side and white is all so stays withhis LSB which it take a long time to get good position . } 10... Nh5 { i hade allso good option of 10...Ne8! , but i looked for more active game , withthe idea is to play f5! and start to atttack on the king side which isone of the main idea of the king indian opening when black attacks on thekingside and white on the queen side . } 11. Qd2 { the idea of 11.Qd2 isto prepare 12. 0-0-0 and not Bh6 because of , blacks DSB is not the sameDSB of the Sicilian Dragon and exchanging it wont be aproblem for me .my DSB is closed and not so effective , while white must keeps his DSBbecause of the DSB is one of whites pieces which active . } 11... b6 { black wishesto make the blacks knight (on c5) position even stronger , and incaseof 12.Bxc5-bxc5 and the B file will be opened for my rook and i will getsome good game on the queenside to . } 12. g4 { white wishes to avoid mefrom playing f5 and stop my pawn advanced on the king side and at the sametime wants to devorse my knight from the aggressive h5 squaere , howeverthis move makes some weakness on the dark squares. } 12... Nf4 { good move , whatseems that white is going to win a free pawn , is not so simple , for example: 13.Bxf4-exf4.14.Qxf4-Ba6!.10.0-0( b3??-Bxc3+!, or Bb3?? - Nd3+!! )-Bxc3+!.11.bxc3-Bxc4and blacks position is mutch better . } 13. Ne2 { better was 0-0-0 for myopinion , now white simpley loses his casteling rights and stayes on thecenter . } 13... Ng2+ 14. Kd1 Qf6 { my idea is to activate my queen as soon aspossible , because of the weak position of the white king . } 15. Nh2 h6 { good move , the idea is to avoid Bg5 in the future what can be dangerousfor me however this all so invitation trape for white 16.Bxh6-Bxh6.17.Qxh6-Qxf2with the idea of Ne3+with good wining chances , for example : 18.Rc1-Ne3+.19.Kd2-Nxc4+.20.Kd1-Nc4+.21.Kd1-Ba6.22.Rb1-Ne3+.23.Kc1-Bxe2and win a free piece and with wining position. } 16. Bxh6 Bxh6 17. Qxh6 Qxf2 18. Kd2 Nf4 { another good move , threating to win a free piece andcutts off the whites queen the diagonale for help . } 19. Rae1 Qg2 { thethreat is still on , 20...Nxe2.21.Rxe2-Qxh1 and the white pieces fall oneby one . } 20. Bd1 { all whites pieces forced to retreat to save theireon king , however my activity of pieces is too much for white cane take, and i fined a nice way to pnish off the white king . } 20... Nxe4+ 21. Ke3 { betterwas 21.Kc1-Nd3+ .22.Kb1-Nxe1 but at least the white king stays a livefor tempurarly . } 21... Qf2+ { and white resigns , he cant avoid the mate on 2moves ,22. Kxe4 (forced)-f5+.23.gxf5-gxf5# or 23...Bxf5# thank you , andi hope you liked the game , i will like to read your comments . } 0-1

[Event "THE BIG ATTACK"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "07-Apr-08"] [Round "-"] [White "artful"] [Black "yanov"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1780"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1813"] 1. e4 { ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ } 1... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 { svieshnikov variation, my favorite siciliandefense } 6. Nxc6 { theory recommands Ndb5 } 6... bxc6 7. Bd3 Be7 { Theory recommandsBb4, allowing black to push d5. } 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 d6 { d6 is weak } 10. Bc4 { white plan is to put their forces on d6 } 10... Bb7 11. Qd3 Qc7 12. Rad1 Rfd8 { is Rad8 better ? give me your opinion } 13. Qf3 Rab8 { with idea Bc8 } 14. b3 { i don't like this move i prefer Bb3 tell me about it } 14... Bc8 { goingto g4 ? } 15. h3 { no ! } 15... Bb7 { back to home } 16. Rfe1 Rf8 { protects f7 -Nf6 wants to fly } 17. Rd2 { i don't like this move too white have no plan } 17... Nxe4 { surprise ! } 18. Nxe4 d5 19. Bd3 { i was waiting for Bxf7. white arewaiting for black to take e4 and then Qxe4 to mate in h7 ! } 19... f5 { an happymove for black ! } 20. Nf6+ { check ! ;-) } 20... Bxf6 21. Bxf6 Rxf6 { i like my3 pawns ! } 22. Be2 { i prefer Bf1 } 22... e4 { ATTACK !!! } 23. Qc3 { careful ! blackmust avoid Rxd5 } 23... c5 24. b4 c4 25. Qa1 { retreat } 25... Rg6 26. Qc3 f4 27. Bh5 Rg5 28. Bg4 h5 { a doubious black move. } 29. Be6+ Kh7 30. h4 Re5 31. Bh3 Rbe8 { and then e4-e3 ! } 32. Qd4 { for a long time i analyzed Qe7, Qxa7,Qxh5 , Qxb7, e3 and black have a strong attack } 32... a6 { first preserve a7,i don't want the pawns a and b to promote ! } 33. Rdd1 { too late ! whiterooks are correctly coordinated. } 33... Qe7 { Ok i attack both h4 and b4, andpreparing e3 again } 34. Qb6 { well !! how can i get this h4 pawn ???? } 34... Rf8 { with the idea Rf7 protects my bishop } 35. a4 { here these nasty pawnsagain ! } 35... Rf7 36. b5 { i was expecting Qd4 } 36... axb5 37. axb5 { i was expectinga5. now the black can take h4 } 37... Qxh4 38. Rd2 { did not understand thismove } 38... Rg5 { there is no more defence. Kh2 ?? Rxg2 Kxg2 f3 and black mates,same for Kh1. Kf1 or Qe6 are a little stronger } 39. Kf1 e3 { f3 seemedstronger, but the black have a very big attack } 40. Rde2 { the only move. } 40... f3 { gxf ?? Qxh3 mates Rxe3 ? and the g pawn is promoted } 41. Qxe3 { whitelooses a rook and the game. } 41... fxe2+ 42. Rxe2 Bc8 43. b6 Bxh3 44. Qxh3 Qxh3 45. gxh3 Rb7 0-1

[Event "Challenge from strutta"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2009.11.13"] [Round "-"] [White "kenttm"] [Black "strutta"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1662"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1249"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 4. d4 exd4 5. Bf4 Bc5 6. Na3 a6 7. Bd5 Nce7 8. Ne5 { 8. Ne5? This was a poorly thought out move. Not only do I move the same piece twice, but all I gain from this move is trying to execute an incredibly weak attack on the king side pawn with knight and bishop. Here I should have castled to the king's side to avoid further complications which would lead to me making another mistake after 10... Qe7+! } 8... Nxd5 9. exd5 d6 10. Nd3 Qe7+ 11. Be3 { I thought 11. Be3? was a good move to sacrifice a pawn in order to castle and protect the king later in the game. Calculating that if I took 11. De2 then 12. Kxe2 and 13. Te1 followed by f4 or 14. Kf1 would leave me in a similar position to a rookade. } 11... dxe3 12. fxe3 Bxe3 13. g3 { I was thinking that I should castle queenside and after I had read about the development of the bishops, I got the idea that I could develop my bishops further. A much better choice would have been 13. h3! by blocking the runner on c8 and setting up the queen under pressure and later trapping the king on kingside which is neither pieces nor pawns to stand against an attack. I believe that 13. Sf2 would have been a great alternative as I can block the g4 runner while also tempting the opponent to make a exchange of queens. } 13... Nf6 14. Qe2 { 14. De2 is also a bad haste move to the queen's side castling, which actually does not go due to 13. Sf2. If 13. Df6 was played instead, the welcome would be true. } 14... Bg4 15. Qf1 Bg5+ 16. Kf2 Qe3+ 17. Kg2 Qe4+ 18. Kg1 O-O 19. Nf2 { 19. Nf2? Nok it is a dangerous move, but 19. Be3 would be better. Here I would probably choose 19. Te1, even though I don't think I am safe enough in the corner without any cover from bishops or rooks. Thus, I consider the sacrifice of the rook earlier in the game to be a terrible decision. Shouldn't the pawns be concerned about making sure that the queen can continue to move freely on the board? For here it is clear that the lone rook is unable to stop the two springers which are leading to the queen being able to do as she pleases. } 19... Be3 20. h3 { 20. h3 is a relatively good move as it frees up h2 for the tower I use to take Løper which sacrifices itself for å taSpringer on f2 and then goes to a bytte of queens. } 20... Bf3 21. Rh2 Nh5 22. Qc4 Bxf2+ 23. Rxf2 Qe3 24. Qd3 Qxd3 25. cxd3 Bxd5 26. Re1 Nxg3 27. Re7 { The king is in danger due to the offensive play. Even with -6 material disadvantage, the bishops are developing badly. The king is in a dangerous position, the springer is a bit too focused on a3 and the move is even worse. } 27... Rae8 28. Rxc7 { 28. Txc7? Comes as a result of an offensive play and a failed attempt from a pawn to steal an unlucky bishop which is not part of the game on the queen's side and therefore will not help in defense on the king's side. } 28... Re1+ 29. Kh2 Ne2 30. Nc2 { If I had captured the knight, I could have offered it to take the rook, but instead, I chose to sacrifice it to force Matt to resign. } 30... Rh1# 0-1

[Event "'Carlsen vs Caruana Game 2 LIVE Analysis!'"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Carlsen"] [Black "Caruana"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] { It is exactly how this title sounds. This was the second game betweenGM's Carlsen and Caruana during the World championship tournament. I foundone youtube video but was looking for one by GM Judit Polgar which I didn'tfind. But, I had even better luck by coming across this annotation, assomething like this is what I was looking forward. And, as with the previousannotation that I posted, I didn't annotate it. But, I enjoyed readingthis more as it gave me a chance to follow up on a world championship withan annotation, as opposed to, a video. This time, GM Susan Polgar annotatedthe game, so this is her analysis. And, Susan is also annotating anothergame between these players, which is still in progress. When that's finished,I'll also copy and paste that annotation. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 { Susan starts here with, 'It is smart for Carlsen to avoidthe Petroff, a Caruana specialty! I expect a long strategical battle today!The QG is VERY common in WC matches.' } 5. Bf4 O-O { I used to like to playthis line a lot. } 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. a3 Qa5 10. Rd1 { Magnushad this position after 10Rd1 several times already (against Nakamura) } 10... Rd8 { The encouraging sign is Caruana's speed of play today. He is muchfaster and seems to be more confident. 10...Be7 used to be the most popular,while lately lots of games with 10...Re8. While 10...Rd8 is not a newmove, according to my database Magnus never faced it before. That is whyhe is taking his time. The most common move here is 11. Nd2, played byPetrosian before in the 60's. If black plays 11...dxc4 then White has acomfortable position. However, if 11...d4 it can lead to interesting complicationswhere Black sacrifices a piece. So this is why Carlsen is trying to decidehow to proceed here. Carlsen usually prefers quiet position advantage thensqueeze while Caruana excels more in dynamic positions. So Carlsen mustdecide what type of game will he allow. This is all about match strategy,and sometimes Carlsen is known to play inferior moves just to shift thedynamic of the positions. } 11. Be2 Ne4 { Carlsen chose to play it safe toavoid the likely home-prep of Caruana in the complicated 11 Nd2 d4 line.The guessing game in World Championship matches is intense. Players musttry to figure out what surprises the opponents have. Sometimes, lots ofbluffing 😅 If 12. O-O Nxc3 13. bxc3 as Black cannot take the pawn on a3.If 13... Qxa3?? 14. Ra1 traps the queen or if 13...Bxa3? the Bishop getsinto trouble after the pin with 14. Ra1. } 12. O-O Nxc3 13. bxc3 h6 { Ofcourse Caruana did not fall for the elementary trap. 🤣 Hey, but this iseducational for the novice players at home 😃 ​What you are seeing is thebehind the scene thinking of these players in a World Championship match.I remember this from my own match in 1996. A lot of guessing game and myteam did a better job surprising my opponent. So when you see playerssitting and thinking in what seems to be 'normal' positions, what theyare doing is try to figure out the potential landmines of home preparation.It is not like they are day dreaming or think about dinner 😅 } 14. a4 Ne7 { Now you can see why Caruana is a worthy challenger. He is very diligentwith his training. I have known him since he was about 6 years old whenhe started playing his first tournaments at my Chess Club in NY. Lou, hisDad, has always been very supportive of his chess. And he was never afraidto ask for advice so his son can have the best path forward. } 15. Ne5 Bd6 { Just like yesterday, White is in an uncomfortable position. Carlsen needsto put the brakes and try to consolidate and hold this game. I do not likehis position at all. Caruana plays really fast today, and much more confidently. } 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. Bf3 { If 17... Nxf4 18. exf4 Bxe5 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. fxe5= Carlsen smells danger and hopes to trade pieces to head to equal endgameto salvage this game and fight another day. Caruana on the other hand shouldtry to keep up the intensity in this game and not simplify. In chess, especiallyin a World Championship match, momentum is so important. If Carlsen convertedyesterday, things could have been so different. But he let Caruana offthe hook and it may come back to bite him. } 17... Nxf4 18. exf4 Bxe5 { It is interestingthat Caruana is following the line I suggested. Black is completely fine,maybe even easier to play. But I thought he may be suited to keep thingscomplicated a little longer to burn more time off Carlsen's clock. } 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. fxe5 { They are following the exact same suggestion I made.White has 2 isolated pawns. Black has a slight development problem withthe Bishop on c8. So I evaluate this to be equal and the game should headto a peaceful draw. } 20... Qc7 { Now white needs to maintain pressure on the b7pawn and keeps the Bishop back on c8. Forget about the e5 pawn for now.So 21. Rb1 is a good option. } 21. Rb1 { Carlsen is very smart. He knew thathe was outplayed in the opening in spite of having white. So he changedthe dynamic of the game immediately, and now they are heading to a 'boring'endgame where he is certainly safer. This is why the man is the Champion!🏆 One of the big problems in chess for many players, including Grandmasters,is how to change the dynamic of the games mid-stream. Some have their mindsset on some ideas, and they refuse to change course. To be successful,one must be FLEXIBLE and OBJECTIVE. Hard to do for many! } 21... Rb8 22. Qd3 Bd7 23. a5 { I am not terribly impressed with this move. I prefer 23. Qd6. Carlsenis still OK. But I think this game, even if it ends in a draw, will givea big boost in confidence for Caruana. It also sends a message that Caruana'steam is strong and they are doing their jobs well. The question is howwill players react as the match momentum constantly shifts from game togame. This is one possibility } 23... Bc6 24. Qd6 Qxd6 25. exd6 { Bxf3 26. gxf3Kf8 27. c4 Ke8 28. c5 Kd7 29. Rc1 Rc830. Rb1 Rxc5 31. Rxb7+ Kxd6 32. Rxa7Rc7 33. Ra8 Kc634. Kf1 Kb7 35. Rg8 g6 36. Ke2 Ka6 37. Ra8+ Kb5 38. Ke3Rc3+39. Ke2 g5 40. Rh8 Kxa5 41. Rxh6 Rc2+ 42. Ke3 = But it is white whohas to play accurately to hold. When I conducted this World Championshippoll, out of the 1,200+ votes, about 71-72% picked Carlsen to beat Caruana.Do you still agree after seeing this game? } 25... Bxf3 26. gxf3 Kf8 { This is'technically' a draw. But white has to be accurate. White needs to pushc4-c5 quickly. No time to waste. Otherwise, he can be in big trouble! } 27. c4 Ke8 28. a6 b6 29. c5 Kd7 30. cxb6 axb6 31. a7 Ra8 32. Rxb6 Rxa7 33. Kg2 e5 34. Rb4 { Yesterday, Caruana held a R and P endgame with onepawn down. Now Carlsen has to do the same but in a tougher position. Notan easy task! } 34... f5 35. Rb6 Ke6 36. d7+ Kxd7 { Carlsen needs to push f4 now.This is an important pawn structure to hold. } 37. Rb5 Ke6 38. Rb6+ Kf7 39. Rb5 Kf6 40. Rb6+ Kg5 41. Rb5 Kf4 42. Rb4+ e4 43. fxe4 fxe4 { It shouldbe a draw now. } 44. h3 Ra5 45. Rb7 Rg5+ 46. Kf1 Rg6 { I realize that theNorwegian fans are probably nervous now as they see that Carlsen has 1less pawn. But be assured that Carlsen is not a World Champion on TV. Heis really good and he 'should' hold this game. } 47. Rb4 Rg5 48. Rb7 Rg6 49. Rb4 { It is nice for Caruana to agree to a draw and not push for 100moves like yesterday. The Norwegians can go back to their business now. So after 2 games, the score is 1-1. This is a strong bounce back and aboost of confidence for Caruana. Now it is the best of 10 games! } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Primavera 2010, Trebejos"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2010.09.07"] [Round "-"] [White "Guisande, Fernando"] [Black "Uria, Guillermo"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "1534"] [WhiteElo "2080"] 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. f4 { According to the database I use, there are 60 games that reach this position, of which 27% ended in draws, 33.6% resulted in wins for white and 39.4% in wins for black. Statistically, f4 is thus an inappropriate response, but it was followed by dxe5 or Af5 to produce the best effects against black. From these games, we took as an example the game played by J. Pelikian and G. Milos in the Copa Itaú, San Pablo, 2004 and that followed this sequence4... dxe5 5.fxe5 c5 6.Cf3 cxd4 7.Dxd4 Cc6 8.Ab5 Af5 9.Cc3 e6 10.Da4 Cb4 11.Axc6+ bxc6 12.Ae3 Axc2 13.b3 Dd3 14.Ad4 Ae7 15.a3 Axb3 16.Dxb3 Cc2+ 17.Rf2 Cxd4 18.Tad1 Dxf3+ 0-1 } 4... Nc6 { Movimiento fuera del libro dxe5 43%Af5 38% g6 19% IvanHoe v73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambio de puntuacióndesde: -0.29 / +0.43 Alternative variation: 4. ... dxe5 5. dxe5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7. h3 Bf5 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Ndb4 10. Qe4 e6 11. O-O Bc5+ 12.Kh1 Qd5 } 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bc4 e6 7. c3 { IvanHoe v73: Análisis reporta errores,con cambio de puntuación desde: +0.06 / -0.74 Alternative variation: 7.O-O dxe5 8. fxe5 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bb3 Qd7 12. c3 Bf5 13.Ng5 h6 14. Qf3 = } 7... h6 { IvanHoe v73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambiode puntuación desde: -0.74 / -0.05 Alternative variation: 7. ... dxe58. Bxd5 Qxd5 9. fxe5 f6 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Nbd2 O-O-O 12. Qb3 Ne7 13. O-OKb8 14. Qxd5 Nxd5 15. c4 Ne3 16. Re1 Bh6 17. Ne4 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Rhg8+ 19.Kf2 =+ } 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nb6 10. Bb3 d5 11. O-O Ne7 12. Bc2 Nf5 { The last move remained in our watches 54 minutes (myo) and 57 minutes (Guisande). This implies that I had 22 minutes of reflection (1.10+30s is the time of dispute) and my opponent 19 minutes. } 13. g4 Nh4 14. Qf2 Rc8 { IvanHoev73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambio de puntuación desde: +0.18 /+1.16 Movimiento fuera del libro Alternative variation: 14. ... g6 15.a4 a5 16. b3 h5 17. g5 Nf5 18. Bxf5 gxf5 19. Ba3 Be7 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21.Na3 Rg8 22. Nb5 O-O-O } 15. f5 exf5 { My watch indicates now 52 minutes, while I have used 25 minutes 30 seconds. My rival has used 22 minutes 30 seconds, indicating his watch 55 minutes. } 16. gxf5 c5 17. f6 { IvanHoe v73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambiode puntuación desde: +1.38 / +0.68 Alternative variation: 17. Be3 cxd418. Bxd4 Qg5+ 19. Kh1 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Rxc5 21. f6 Rc4 22. Rg1 Qf4 23. Qxf4Rxf4 24. fxg7 Rg8 25. Bh7 Rf3 26. Kh2 Rf2+ 27. Kg3 } 17... g5 18. a4 { IvanHoev73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambio de puntuación desde: +0.68 /+0.16 Alternative variation: 18. Bd1 Rc6 19. Be3 cxd4 20. cxd4 a6 21. a3Nc4 22. Nc3 Nf5 23. Bc1 Nh4 24. Bg4 Nxa3 += } 18... a5 { IvanHoe v73: Análisisreporta errores, con cambio de puntuación desde: +0.16 / +0.70 Alternativevariation: 18. ... cxd4 19. cxd4 Qd7 20. Kh2 Nf3+ 21. Qxf3 Rxc2+ 22. Kg1Qc7 23. Nc3 Qc4 24. Qd1 Rxc3 25. bxc3 Qxc3 26. Ra2 Qxh3 27. Rf3 Qg4+ 28.Rg2 Qd7 29. Rh2 Bb4 30. Rfh3 Bf8 31. Rc3 Nxa4 } 19. Bd3 { The threat of mate improves the support of the knight by the pawn, and since the black knight is now outside the range of the white horse, I incorrectly analyze the position as 20 Ab5+ Cd7 21 e6 fxe6 22 f7+Re7 after which I think Df6 and see it as a mate in 4. I become despondent, and not wanting to surrender, I change my c5 (What do I do with my black knight?) instead of cxd4 or even c4 which would have solved the situation. } 19... Nc4 { IvanHoev73: Análisis reporta errores, con cambio de puntuación desde: +0.80 /+1.37 Alternative variation: 19. ... cxd4 20. cxd4 Bb4 21. Bf4 Qd7 22.Bb5 Rc6 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Kh2 O-O 25. Bg3 Ng6 26. Rc1 h5 27. h4 g4 28.Nd2 Re8 29. Kg2 Bxd2 30. Qxd2 Nc4 } 20. b3 { Sencilla y efectiva, sóloexplicable no haberla considerado como efecto psicológico del mate quecreo inminente. } 20... Nb6 { Finalmente, mi reloj indica 48m por lo que he utilizado32m y el de mi rival indica 36m, por lo que él usó 46m } 21. Bb5+ { Pedro Lamas shows that Guisande was not mate by immediately abandoning it, but it is too late. A thorough analysis of the program reveals that it could have continued with 21. Bb5+ Nd7 22. c4 Qb6 23. cxd5 cxd4 24. Re1 Bb4 25. Bd2 Bc5 26. e6 O-O 27. Bxd7 d3 28. Re3 Rcd8 29. e7 Rxd7 30. e8=Q Rxe8 31. Rxe8+ Kh7 32. Be3 Bxe3 33. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 34. Rxe3 Rxd5 35. Nc3 } 1-0

[Event "The cast of Dad's Army play chess!!!!"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date ""] [Round "-"] [White "Cast of Dad's Army"] [Black "Chess Computer"] [Result "1-0"] { The cast of Dad's Army have been challenged to a game against Hodge'sChess Computer. (Let us see who is the first to recognise who really playedthis game!) } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 { Mainwaring:It has played the Sicilian Dragon. Hasn't it been refuted? Did Fischerjust show you how you could castle queen side, sac, sac, mate? Wilson:I would be careful if I were you sir. Mainwaring: I know what I am doing. } 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 { Walker: Can't we just bribe itto lose? Mainwaring: Shut up Walker, you can't bribe a computer. } 9... Bd7 10. h4 Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12. O-O-O Nc4 13. Bxc4 Rxc4 { Jones: Permission tospeak sir? Mainwaring: Permission granted. Jones: I would push your kingside pawns up. They don't like them up them you know. Mainwaring: Foronce I think you may be right, let's push on again. } 14. h5 Nxh5 15. g4 Nf6 { Mainwaring: This position is hopeless for black. I have so many attackingmoves, Bh6, e5, hard to know which one to chose. Wilson: Er in a lot oflines black can get the initiative by a sacrifice for rook for knight onc3. Nd-e2 is probably best. Mainwaring: Quite right Wilson, I was wonderingwho would be the first to spot that one. } 16. Nde2 Qa5 17. Bh6 Bxh6 18. Qxh6 Rfc8 { Godfrey: Do you think I could be excused please? I find chesssuch an exciting game, after an hour or two I always feel that I need.... Mainwaring: Yes Godfrey, go and be quick, we need all the brains we canget here. } 19. Rd3 R4c5 20. g5 Rxg5 21. Rd5 Rxd5 22. Nxd5 Re8 23. Nef4 Bc6 24. e5 Bxd5 25. exf6 exf6 { Pike: We are winning now. You just playthis (Plays Nh5??) Mainwaring: Stupid boy! It has replied with Re1 andit is mating us! You stupid boy, all that hard work has been lost. Whycouldn't you just keep your hands to yourself. Pike: It's not my fault.You tell him uncle Arthur, it is not my fault! Wilson: Right let's alljust calm down. There is a take-back button here see (Takes back Nh5??).Right I am sure we can find the right way to win. } 26. Qxh7+ Kf8 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Nxd5+ Qxd5 29. Re1+ { and now white has a winning position, a rookfor 2 pawns up. Now - who can tell me who really played this famous gameand when? Also - please tell me what you think of this as a way of presentinggames? } 1-0

[Event "What happens when you don't castle in the opening"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2012.11.06"] [Round "-"] [White "dsfei"] [Black "jentb737"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 { An uncommon variation of the Ruy Lopez } 4. O-O a6 5. Ba4 h6 { wastes a tempo } 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 { Bc2 instead of Bb3because of ... Na5, followed by c5 } 7... d6 8. h3 { prevents Bg4 } 8... Be6 9. d4 exd4 10. cxd4 { pawn fork is threatened } 10... Bc4 { Bd7 is safer. } 11. Re1 b4 12. b3 Bb5 13. a4 bxa3 { Thank God for en passant! } 14. Nxa3 Na7 15. e5 { It'sbeen 15 moves and Black still hasn't castled. The kingside is horriblyunder-developed. Perhaps h6 was a mouse-slip and black intended g6 followedby Bg7. } 15... d5 { To avoid opening the E-file } 16. e6 { It's MURDER time! } 16... f6 17. Nh4 Nac8 { Black is lost. } 18. Qh5+ { ... and Black resigns. } 1-0

[Event "Oxford City 4 (Abingdon School) v Didcot 2"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2016/01/11"] [Round "-"] [White "Bob Jacobs"] [Black "James Beckinsale"] [Result "1-0"] [BlackElo "120"] [TimeControl "All move in 90 mins each"] [WhiteElo "129"] 1. e4 { Here's a lucky escape against a young schoolboy who outplayed mefor most of the game. It does show the importance of hanging on in there! } 1... e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 { The Winawer variation of the French Defence, whichI've usually met with an early Qg4, leading to a wildly loose and complexgame, and mixed results ... } 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 { All standardmoves so far ... } 6... Qb6 { ! This caught me by surprise and provoked a poorresponse. Normal moves at this stage include 6...Qc7, 6...Ne7, 6...Qa5,to which I usually respond 7. Qg4. } 7. Be3 { I still wanted to play Qg4but felt that it would be safer if d4 was secured first. While 6. Qg4would have maintained defence of d4, it would only have done so if I didn'twant to take g7. Other means of over-defending d4, with Nf3 of Ne2 would,of course, have prevented Qg4. In retrospect, I think I should have played6. Qg4 regardless. } 7... Nd7 { Black defends c5 with a developing move, thoughit does block in the Bc8. } 8. f4 { ? A move borrowed from the Advance Variationthat is inappropriate here, with the Queenside already so seriously compromised. The White King will have nowhere safe to go. I was losing faith in theplanned Qg4 by now, and thinking more about bolstering the centre, with9. Nf3 to follow. } 8... Nh6 { ! Black spots the opportunity to occupy f5 andattack the misplaced, and now undefended, Be3. He may also have hopedto provoke g4, which I baulked at as being one pawn advance too far. Ithink it would have been preferable to the mess that followed, though. } 9. Nf3 Nf5 { ! This increases pressure on d4 and attacks the undefendedB. I didn't want to defend the B with my Q because that would have leftthe Ra1 undefended ... } 10. Bf2 { This retreat enables the B to cover allthe squares attacked by the N and maintains defence of d4 but has a seriousnegative consequence ... } 10... Qb2 { ! This premature-looking foray exposesthe dire weakness of White's Queenside. The Q can't defend c3 becausethe Ra1 would be left undefended. The Bf2 can no longer come to the rescueand a K move would give up hope of castling. A rook move would not preventthe loss of c3 and would also leave a3 undefended. } 11. dxc5 { ?! I feltthat this was my best hope of attaining some sort of equality, as at leastthe pawn wouldn't be a further worry after the fall of the c3 pawn. Infact, it just invited the other N to the party. Given the lack of attractivealternatives, I can't quite dismiss this as a total blunder, though. Perhaps11. Bd3 would have been best, preparing castling, but, after 11...Qxc3+Nd2 12. Ne3 would have been embarrassing. } 11... Qxc3+ 12. Nd2 Ne3 { ! Black reallymakes me squirm! } 13. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 14. Be2 { Now I'm in a complete mess: loosepawns all over the place, pieces huddled in front of my king, rooks isolatedand no prospect of safe castling. The only good news is that Black isunder-developed. } 14... Nxc5 15. Rf1 { I was determined to get some counter-playsomehow. With castling out of the question, I had to activate my rooksand defend my pawns if possible. } 15... Na4 { ! Black doesn't worry about hisdevelopment yet as he can still exploit White's cramped position with thethreat of ...Nc3, forking Q and B and thereby probably winning the B andmating. } 16. Rf3 { Fortunately, I can chase Black's Q away in the nick oftime. } 16... Qg1+ { I had not overlooked this move but had decided it was preferableto the aforementioned scenario. Now I had to decide which pawn to defendand how best to free up my cramped position. } 17. Nf1 { Now, if ...Qxg2,I can counter-attack with Qd4, having lured Black's Q off the black squares. } 17... Qc5 { Sensibly, Black retreats to a commanding square and renews the threatof ...Nc3. } 18. Qd2 { My longer range pieces are now acquiring greater scopefor activity, though not enough to reach equality yet. } 18... O-O { A pause forconventional development ... } 19. Rb1 { and another White piece expandsits horizons. } 19... a6 { Black prevents White's threatened attack on the Q. } 20. Rbb3 { This connects the rooks on the 3rd rank but also allows the Nto come forward without giving up the a-pawn or interfering with the KR'sambition of a full frontal assault on the newly castled king. } 20... d4 { Perhapsa premature advance of the pawn but it does prevent Ne3 and establish afurther claim to c3. } 21. Bd3 { Blocking the pawn and eyeing up h7. } 21... b5 { Providing a good square for his B, on the long diagonal where my R isexposed. } 22. Be4 { Again improving the position of one of my pieces whileattacking Black's R and preventing the B from immediately occupying thelong diagonal. My rooks are also reconnected. } 22... Rb8 23. Rh3 { My first threatagainst Black's K! Easily batted away, however. } 23... h6 24. Rbg3 { ! Threateningto win the newly advanced h-pawn. For the first time, my young opponentdisplayed some uncertainty. } 24... f5 { Black counter-attacks. If White capturesen passant, it looks like Black opens more lines towards White's K andBlack can defend the h-pawn by recapturing on f6. } 25. exf6 { I didn'twant to give up my B's central postion and felt that the open lines couldalso benefit me. } 25... Rxf6 26. Rg6 { Now I want to eliminate the key defenderwhile the other R is blocked off. } 26... Rxg6 27. Bxg6 { Still only one pawn downand with the semblance of an attack, I felt like I was now in with a chanceof salvaging a draw. } 27... e5 { ! but this dampened my optimism. I can't takethe pawn as my rook is attacked and now Black has powerful connected centralpawns and can develop his B to any number of good squares. } 28. Rg3 Qe7 { ! Threat exf4+! winning the R and the game. } 29. Kf2 { avoiding the check. } 29... Qf6 { increasing the pressure again. } 30. f5 { The pawn couldn't be defendedeffectively, with the B on g6 also attacked by the Q, and I felt that thecapture on f5 was less dangerous than on f4. } 30... Bxf5 31. Bxf5 Qxf5+ 32. Kg1 { Safe at last? } 32... Nc3 { ! Black centralises his N and forces White to dealwith the fork threat from e4, while also protecting e2. } 33. Rf3 { Counter-attacking. } 33... Qe4 { Ditto! } 34. Ng3 { Again, counter-attacking but also improving the defenceof e2 and offering the N the chance of more than a mere passive role. } 34... Qg6 { Now the main threat appears to be e4 followed by e3 once Black getshis R behind d4. } 35. Qf2 { Trying to set up a counter-attack down the f-file. } 35... Nd1 { Black continues to harrass White's Q and interfere with his plans. } 36. Qe2 Ne3 { and now the N has a lovely outpost close to White's K, tyingWhite to the defence of g2. } 37. Rf2 { defending c2 } 37... Rc8 { Now the c pawncan't be defended directly, so a counter-threat is required. } 38. Qf3 { Thethreat of a back-row check ties Black's R to the back row for now. } 38... Qd6 { ?! Having shown some signs of uncertainty over his last few moves, Blackpicked up his Q to move it here, then returned it to g6 and let go again. Soon after, he moved it here anyway. } 39. Qf7+ { My first check of thegame but can I make it count? } 39... Kh7 { ? Wrong square, as now K and undefendedR are both on White squares. I can threaten mate with a N move but thatthreat is easily warded off. What else can I manufacture from the threat? } 40. Nf5 { ! Threatening mate and the Q. } 40... Nxf5 { ? overlooking the ensuingfork. Would 40....Qg6 41. Qxg6+ Kxg6 42. Ne7+ have been any better? Ithink 40 ...Qf8 may be the critical move. } 41. Qxf5+ g6 42. Qxc8 { At lastI'm ahead on material with mate in one threatened. All I have to do isround up Black's central pawns and the win should be easy. } 42... Qe7 43. Qf8 Qxf8 44. Rxf8 Kg7 45. Re8 Kf6 46. Kf2 Kf5 47. Kf3 g5 48. g4+ Kf6 49. Ke4 a5 50. Rxe5 b4 51. Rxa5 { and Black resigned. I had 21 minutes left onmy clock; he had 34, reflecting the fact that I'd been under the cosh formost of the game. } 1-0

[Event "Challenge from babouli"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "27-May-08"] [Round "-"] [White "babouli"] [Black "seb23"] [Result "0-1"] [BlackElo "1385"] [TimeControl "3 days per move"] [WhiteElo "1261"] 1. e4 { Babouli's classic opening. } 1... e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 { Seb se d�cide � lefaire chier d'entr�e } 3. Nd5 { Babouli cherche � sauver son cavalier } 3... Nc6 { Seb se d�veloppe } 4. Bb5 { Babou se venge et veut clouer le cavalier noir } 4... a5 { This really useless move... I don't see any reason to advance this pawn. } 5. c3 { tu vas le bouger ton fou !!!, pense babouli } 5... Bd6 { Seb est mal, ila bloqu� son fou... } 6. Qg4 { Babou is developing and later on his habit he takes out his queen. That's excellent. } 6... g6 { oblig� pour de pas perdre sa tour } 7. d4 { babou offre la diagonale du fou } 7... Nxd4 { Seb sacrifie son cavalierpour essayer de soulager sa d�fense } 8. cxd4 c6 { A pawn attacking two opponent pieces, it risks walking. } 9. Bg5 { Babou can afford to make the exchanges and develops even better. } 9... f6 10. Nxf6+ { The knight is saved from the attack of the pawn. } 10... Nxf6 { oblig� d'�changer } 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 { Seb parvient � r�cup�rer sa pi�ce sacrifi�e } 12. Be2 { le fou estsauv� } 12... exd4 { un pion noir gratuit? } 13. O-O-O { The bold rock knowing the pawn in front of the king is no longer. } 13... O-O { A small rock is placed on the f1 pawn to increase the pressure. } 14. Nf3 Bc5 15. Bc4+ d5 16. e5 { vers l'�change des dames } 16... Bxg4 { dame blanche prise } 17. Bxd5+ { mais oblig� de sacrifier son fou pourprendre la dame noire } 17... cxd5 18. exf6 Rxf6 19. Rd3 Bxf3 20. gxf3 b5 21. Re1 Raf8 22. Re5 Rf5 23. Re6 Rxf3 24. Rxf3 Rxf3 25. Re8+ Bf8 26. Ra8 a4 27. b4 axb3 28. axb3 Rxb3 29. f4 Rc3+ 30. Kd2 Rh3 31. Rd8 Rxh2+ 32. Kd3 h5 33. Rxd5 Bg7 34. Rxb5 h4 35. Rb6 Rf2 36. Ke4 h3 37. Rxg6 h2 38. Rh6 Bxh6 { victoire écrasante de Seb } 0-1