27 Feb 2015

C01 French: Exchange Variation (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 Nf6 6.O-O)

C01 French: Exchange Variation (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 Nf6 6.O-O)

Well this game should not have been a draw if you look at the position where this game ended. White should be winning but I guess this game had gone too long because my opponent offered a draw and I of course accepted since my position is really bad. I tend not to resign that easily as I don't like it all that much. Usually only after my opponent has a forced win, I resign. And I never offer a draw in a position where I think I am lost. I only offer a draw when I think the position is a dead draw or in some friendly games when my opponent needs to leave before finishing the game. The game below was played in the first round of the tournament called Maximum ! and it was only fifth game to finish for me. As I look at the cross table, I am clearly the slowest person to finish my games. There are twelve players in the group and the best tree will advance to the next round. I have added two mate in ones, two mate in twos and one mate in five puzzle. I have also added a game to these two posts: E00 Indian Game: East Indian Defense and E11 Bogo-Indian Defense: Exchange Variation.

This paragraph and the ones that follow it in this first game have been added November 24th, 2016. I think both players played reasonable moves until we reached the position after 21.Rxe6. You can see that position below. I am not sure what I was thinking at the time, but I played 21...fxe6. I assume that I wanted to get away from the symmetrical pawn structure in order to get some imbalance in the position and maybe avoid the draw. I kind of succeeded, but not in the way I would have liked. The move 21...fxe6 is just bad in many ways. It weakens the g6 square and it creates a backward pawn on e6. I usually try to play in a way where my pawn structure remains healthy, so my 21st move is a bit uncharacteristic of me.

The game continued to go rapidly downhill for me as you can see in the game continuation 22.Re1 a6 23.Qg6 Rd8. The point of playing 22...a6 was to prevent Qb5 after Re8. However, the move 23.Qg6 showed how pointless my 22nd move actually was. The best way to handle the position was to play 22...Qd7, it stops Qb5 and in case of Qg6, I could play Re8 and maybe hang on in the game. My position was really horrible after 23.Qg6, but I made things even worse with the move 23...Rd8 because it should lead to further material loss. While writer15 did not find the best move, my opponent still had a winning advantage after 24.Rxe6.

[Event "Maximum ! - Round 1"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.09.11"] [Round "?"] [White "writer15"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1635"] [BlackElo "1874"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {French Defense: Exchange Variation} exd5 4. Nf3 (4. c4 {French Defense: Exchange Variation. Monte Carlo Variation}) (4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 {French Defense: Exchange Variation. Svenonius Variation}) 4... Bg4 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O {C01 French: Exchange Variation} Be7 7. Bg5 (7. Ne5 Bxe2 8. Qxe2 O-O 9. Bg5 c6 10. Nd2 Re8 {1/2-1/2 (10) Polak,T (2440)-Velicka,P (2420) Martin 1996 }) (7. h3 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 10. Re1 Bd6 11. Bg5 Nbd7 12. Bg4 Qc7 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. Qg4 Rfe8 15. Bh6 Bf8 16. Bf4 Bd6 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. Bg5 Bd6 19. Qf5 Nb6 20. b3 Qd7 {1/2-1/2 (20) Boeck,M (1829)-Dietzel,U (1708) Berlin 2013}) 7... O-O 8. c3 h6 $146 (8... c6 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nf1 Nf8 12. Ne5 Bxe2 13. Rxe2 Ne4 14. Bxe7 Rxe7 15. Ng3 Nxg3 16. hxg3 Ng6 17. Nxg6 hxg6 {1/2-1/2 (17) Kovac,Z (2090)-Vucelic,R (1994) Subotica 2011}) 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 {Black has the pair of bishops} 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. h3 {White threatens to win material: h3xg4} Bh5 12. Nh2 Bxe2 {Black forks: d1+f1} 13. Qxe2 Re8 {Black threatens to win material: Re8xe2} 14. Qd3 Qd7 15. Ng4 Be7 16. Rfe1 (16. Ne3 Bh4 $14) 16... Bg5 (16... Bd6 17. Nf3 $11) 17. Nf3 $14 Bf4 18. Nge5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 (19. dxe5 c5 $14) 19... Qd6 20. Nf3 Re6 21. Rxe6 fxe6 {Black has a new backward pawn: e6} ( 21... Qxe6 22. Re1 Qd7 23. Qe2 $11) 22. Re1 $14 a6 $2 (22... Qd7 $142 $5 $14 { must be considered}) 23. Qg6 $16 Rd8 $4 {terrible, but what else could Black do to save the game?} (23... e5 $142 $5 24. Qxd6 cxd6 $16) 24. Rxe6 (24. g3 $142 {and White has reached his goal} Bg5 25. Rxe6 $18) 24... Qf8 25. Qg4 1/2-1/2

26 Feb 2015

A42 Modern Defence: Averbakh Variation (1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.g3 e5 7.Bg2 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.O-O Nd7 11.Qc2)

A42 Modern Defence: Averbakh Variation (1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.g3 e5 7.Bg2 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.O-O Nd7 11.Qc2)

This is the first game of mine where the ratings of both players are over 2200. This also might be the only one for quite some time unless I am able to somehow get back over 2200, since this game dropped my rating four points. It is good to get these tough opponents on regular basis, to test my skills against them. I have now played five correspondence games against players who are rated over 2400 and my score in them is zero wins, one draw and four losses. I may not be strong enough to give these players much in the way of resistance but that draw might be sign of it being possible, how ever rarely it might occur. The game below was played in the second round of the AUTO-MASTER-2088 tournament. It is a tournament that was open to only rated players between 1900 and 2300. It is rare that tripled pawns are any good but maybe this game showed that having tripled paws might not be always that bad. This loss of mine made certain that my opponent in this game, Luke2015, wins the tournament no matter what happens in the last remaining game of the tournament between the same two players who fought in this game. I did secure my place as the second in the tournament already when I drew and won against the third participant in this second round some time ago. I have added three mate in ones, one mate in three and one mate in four puzzle today.

[Event "AUTO-MASTER-2088"] [Site "http://www.queenalice.com/gam"] [Date "2014.10.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Luke2015"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A42"] [WhiteElo "2201"] [BlackElo "2483"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 (1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nd7 5. c4 e5 6. Nc3 (6. O-O Ne7 { 0-1 (52) Senthil,M (2043)-Ritviz,P (2205) Pune 2014}) 6... Ne7 7. O-O O-O 8. e4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc6 10. Nxc6 {0-1 (57) Rozic,V (2258)-Solomon,K (2461) Nova Gorica 2012}) 1... g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 {E90 King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation. Rare Defenses} O-O 6. g3 e5 7. Bg2 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. O-O Nd7 11. Qc2 {0.04/22 A42 Modern Defence: Averbakh Variation} (11. Bd2 $14 {0.62/19}) 11... a5 {0.49/18} (11... Ne5 $11 {0.04/22}) 12. Bf4 {-0.21/21} (12. Rb1 $14 {0.49/18}) (12. f4 Nb6 13. b3 a4 14. Be3 axb3 15. axb3 Rxa1 16. Rxa1 Qf6 17. Rc1 c5 18. Qf2 Re8 19. Nb5 Qd8 20. Rd1 Bg4 21. Rd3 Bd7 22. e5 dxe5 23. fxe5 Qc8 24. Nc3 Bf5 25. Be4 Bxe4 26. Nxe4 Nd7 { Schandorff,L (2563)-Hansen,C (2610) Esbjerg 2003 1/2-1/2}) (12. Be3 Rb8 13. Rad1 Ne5 14. b3 Qf6 15. f4 Nxc4 16. Bd4 Qxd4+ 17. Rxd4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Ne3 19. Qd3 c5 20. Rf3 Nxg2 21. Kxg2 Bb7 22. Ne2 Rfe8 23. Nxd4 Bxe4 24. Qd2 cxd4 25. Qxd4 Rb5 26. Kf2 Bxf3 {Senthil,M (2043)-Ritviz,P (2205) Pune 2014 0-1 (52)}) 12... Qe7 $146 {0.76/19} (12... Bb7 $11 {-0.21/21 keeps the balance.}) (12... Rb8 13. Rac1 Nc5 14. Be3 Ne6 15. Qd2 c5 16. b3 Bd7 17. f4 Nd4 18. Ne2 Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 a4 20. Rb1 Re8 21. Qc2 Qe7 22. bxa4 Ra8 23. e5 Ra7 24. Rb5 f6 25. Be4 fxe5 26. f5 gxf5 27. Bxf5 {Rozic,V (2258)-Solomon,K (2461) Nova Gorica 2012 0-1 (57) }) 13. Rad1 {0.34/21} (13. Bd2 $16 {0.76/19}) 13... Rb8 {White is slightly better.} 14. b3 {0.17/21} (14. Bd2 $14 {0.61/17 feels stronger.}) 14... Nc5 $11 15. Rfe1 Bg4 16. Rd2 {0.00/23} (16. f3 $14 {0.49/19} Bd7 17. Qc1) 16... Rfe8 { 0.49/22} (16... h5 $11 {0.00/23}) 17. f3 {-0.23/23} ({White should play} 17. Qc1 $14 {0.49/22}) 17... Bd7 18. Be3 a4 19. Bxc5 axb3 20. axb3 {[#] Be3 is the strong threat.} dxc5 21. Ne2 Red8 22. Red1 Be6 {0.52/21} (22... g5 $11 { -0.06/24}) 23. f4 {0.00/23} (23. Rxd8+ $1 $14 {0.52/21} Rxd8 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. h3) 23... Rxd2 24. Rxd2 Bg4 25. e5 {-0.99/19} (25. Rd3 $11 {0.08/26 remains equal.}) 25... f6 $1 $17 26. exf6 {-1.42/22} (26. Bxc6 $15 {-0.68/23} fxe5 27. Qe4) 26... Qe3+ ({Resist} 26... Qxf6 27. Qe4 $15) ({Don't play} 26... Bxf6 27. Qe4 $15) 27. Kf1 Bxf6 28. Rd3 {-2.39/22} (28. Qd3 $17 {-1.17/25} Qe6 29. Qe4) 28... Qe6 $19 29. Rd2 {-3.89/22} (29. Bf3 $142 {-2.46/26} Bf5 30. g4 Bxd3 31. Qxd3) 29... Bf5 30. Qa2 $2 {-7.51/21} (30. Qd1 {-3.77/26} Qe3 31. g4 Bxg4 32. Rd3) 30... Re8 {[#] And now ...Qe3 would win.} 31. Rd1 Bg4 32. Rd2 Qe3 { Black mates.} 33. Bxc6 Bh3+ 34. Bg2 Qf3+ {Accuracy: White = 9%, Black = 44%.} 0-1

25 Feb 2015

Chess960 SP71

Chess960 SP71

One might say it is about time there was another #Chess960 game featured here. The thing is that I have mainly tried to feature chess games so that I can finally know how many opening variations I have played in my time. I do not think that I have featured all the openings I have played yet but for the moment I could not find a new one that I had not covered here. The other thing is that I have not played that many Chess960 games yet. I still have not lost a single game of it, though avoiding it has become extremely hard. So far the score from fifteen games is 13 wins and two draws. I have some games in progress but I hope to increase the amount of Chess960 games in the future by a large amount. I know that the way I look at those different starting positions differs a lot from the way good players play them but so far I have done quite well without ever really looking at Chess960 games from different databases and determining what I should play. I like to keep my thinking as fresh as possible and kind of discover myself what works in what starting position. I have added games to the following posts today: B13 Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation, C96 Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Closed Defense, E24 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Saemisch Variation. Accelerated, C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Defense and C10 French Defense: Normal Variation..

Game number two. This time I guess the winds of change are blowing and I can actually post here analysed versions of my Chess960 games. This game like the one above this was played in a team match called Respect Freedom :). It is a 42 board match played between ♦♦ Respect ♦♦ and Historical Association. I played board 23 in this match for Historical Association and I managed to win both my games. The knowledge of that does not warm me that much as our opponent has secured the win because they lead the match 45,5 - 33,5 at the moment I type this. This game was added March 18th 2015.

24 Feb 2015

A22 English Opening: 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 (1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.Nd5)

A22 English Opening: 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 (1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.Nd5)

In this game I tried to play the English again in order to see if I could play it again but the way that this one went I maybe stick to other opening moves for now. Well, this was just one game but still I feel more comfortable by playing 1.e4, for example, even though it may also end up in positions that I do not really like. The game you see below was played in a team match called the WOLF. It is an ongoing match between The WOLF and ♙ Thematic Matches & Tournaments. It is played on 48 boards and I am playing board 3 for The WOLF in this match. When I looked at all the players that play or finished their games on this match, I noticed something positive about it, no one had their accounts closed during this match! Still too many timeouts though. The score in the match is 19,5 - 64,5, so the winner is clear even now and it is ♙ Thematic Matches & Tournaments. I have added three mate in twos, one mate in four and one mate in eight today.

Game number two. This really short game was played in a team match called Great Viking Warriors vs. Kopaonik. The match is played on 90 boards and I am playing on board 18 for Kopaonik. The current score in the match is 43.5 - 65.5 in favor of Kopaonik. Even if the current score looks really good for us, the match is still far from over.

[Event "the WOLF - Board 3"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.12.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Er_is_geen_hoop_meer"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "1872"] [BlackElo "1983"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 (1... e5 2. Nc3 {1/2-1/2 (10) Kjeldsen,J (2305)-Holst,A (2300) Randers 1991}) 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 {A22 English Opening: King's English Variation. Two Knights' Variation Smyslov System} 4. Nd5 {A22 English Opening: 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6} a5 (4... Nxd5 5. cxd5 O-O 6. a3 Ba5 7. d6 cxd6 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. e3 b5 10. b4 {1/2-1/2 (10) Kjeldsen,J (2305)-Holst,A (2300) Randers 1991}) 5. Bg2 O-O $146 {0.46/22} (5... c6 $11 {-0.03/20} 6. Nxb4 axb4 7. d4 e4 8. Nh3 O-O 9. Bd2 c5 10. dxc5 Nc6 11. Bf4 Qa5 12. b3 Re8 13. Bd6 Qa3 14. O-O Qb2 15. Qb1 Qxb1 16. Rfxb1 Nd4 17. Rb2 e3 18. f3 Ra5 19. Nf4 Nf5 20. Rd1 Nxd6 21. cxd6 b5 { Malyuga,V (2169)-Varezhkin,V (2196) Zelenograd 2012 1-0 (47)}) (5... d6 6. e3 O-O 7. Ne2 Re8 8. O-O Nxd5 9. cxd5 Bc5 10. b3 c6 11. Bb2 cxd5 12. Bxd5 Nd7 13. d4 Bb6 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Bg2 Qe7 16. Nc3 Nf6 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 Rb8 19. Qb5 Bc7 20. Rac1 {Soltys,J (2028)-Jirk,J (1847) Czechia 2006 1/2-1/2 (54)}) 6. Nxb4 {-0.67/22} (6. Nf3 $14 {0.46/22}) 6... axb4 $15 7. d3 d5 {-0.09/21} (7... h6 $17 {-0.87/20}) 8. Qb3 {-1.54/19} (8. cxd5 $11 {-0.09/21} Nxd5 9. Nf3) 8... dxc4 {-0.46/21} (8... Nc6 $1 $17 {-1.54/19 ...Nd4 is the strong threat.} 9. Be3 dxc4 10. dxc4 Qe7) 9. dxc4 {-1.46/19} ({White should play} 9. Qxc4 $15 { -0.46/21} Qd6 10. f4) 9... Na6 {-0.40/22} (9... Qe7 $17 {-1.46/19} 10. Bg5 Rd8) 10. Nf3 {-0.97/18} ({Better is} 10. Be3 $15 {-0.40/22}) 10... e4 $1 $17 11. Ng5 {-1.30/18} (11. Nd2 $15 {-0.57/20}) 11... h6 {-0.52/22} (11... Bg4 $17 { -1.30/18} 12. Be3 Re8) 12. Nxe4 {-1.45/19} (12. Nh3 $1 $15 {-0.52/22}) 12... Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Nc5 14. Qf3 {-1.84/21} (14. Qe3 $17 {-1.20/23} Nxe4 15. Qxe4) 14... Nxe4 $19 15. Qxe4 Bh3 {-0.14/21} (15... Re8 $17 {-1.45/17} 16. Qf4 Qd3) 16. Bd2 $2 {-2.13/20} (16. g4 $11 {-0.14/21 and White has nothing to worry.}) 16... Re8 {Black has strong compensation.} 17. Qf3 $2 {-6.37/20} (17. Qc2 { -1.84/22}) 17... Qd7 $2 {-1.89/21} (17... Qd4 {-6.37/20 Strongly threatening .. .Bg4.} 18. Qb3 Qe4) 18. Qd5 {-2.76/20} (18. Qb3 $142 {-1.89/21}) 18... Qe7 {[#] } 19. Be3 Rad8 20. Qc5 $2 {-5.95/21} (20. Qxb7 {-1.89/24 nothing else works.} Rd4 21. Rc1) 20... Qe4 21. Rg1 Bg4 $2 $40 {-1.97/24 Black wants a kill.} (21... Qc2 {-9.17/22} 22. Rc1 Qxb2) 22. Rc1 $2 {-7.46/17 [#]} (22. h3 {-1.97/24} Bxh3 23. Qxb4) 22... Rd3 $1 23. Rd1 (23. exd3 Qxd3) 23... Rxd1+ 24. Kxd1 Qb1+ { Accuracy: White = 7%, Black = 24%.} 0-1 [Event "Great Viking Warriors vs. Kopaonik - Bo"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.11.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "MrUlekleiv"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "1880"] [BlackElo "1876"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "11"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 (1... e5 2. Nc3 {1/2-1/2 (10) Kjeldsen,J (2305)-Holst,A (2300) Randers 1991} (2. g3 Nf6 {0-1 (31) Mohammad Fahad,R (2169)-Rathanvel,V (2361) Mumbai 2017})) 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 {A22 English Opening: King's English Variation. Two Knights' Variation Smyslov System} 4. Nd5 {A22 English Opening: 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6} Nxd5 5. cxd5 d6 $146 {3.09/18 [#]} (5... c6 $15 {-0.67/22 keeps the upper hand.}) (5... O-O 6. a3 Ba5 7. d6 (7. Bg2 d6 8. e3 Bf5 9. b4 Bb6 10. d3 a5 11. Bb2 Qd7 12. e4 Bg6 13. Ne2 axb4 14. axb4 Rxa1 15. Bxa1 f5 16. Bh3 Qb5 17. O-O fxe4 18. Be6+ Kh8 19. d4 Qd3 20. Nc1 Qxd1 21. Rxd1 Na6 { Mohammad Fahad,R (2169)-Rathanvel,V (2361) Mumbai 2017 0-1 (31)}) 7... cxd6 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. e3 b5 10. b4 {1/2-1/2 (10) Kjeldsen,J (2305)-Holst,A (2300) Randers 1991}) 6. Qa4+ 1-0

23 Feb 2015

B13 Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation and Panov-Botvinnik Attack (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Be2 Bg4 6.O-O e6 7.Nc3)

B13 Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation and Panov-Botvinnik Attack (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Be2 Bg4 6.O-O e6 7.Nc3)

This one of the four games that my opponent lost on time during the same day against me. The game was played in a team match called Art of Chess vs VIP ChessQueen. It is an ongoing match between Art of Chess and VIP CHESS. In this match I played board 5 for VIP CHESS. It is played on 46 boards and the current score is 57 - 31 in favor of Art of Chess which means they have already secured the win even before all games are finished. According to the analysis shown below I did not have all that much to say in this match as my opponent was the one who could have gained an advantage but did not manage to do it.

As I checked today how many games I still have in progress, I was somewhat surprised to see that my game load had decreased to 262 games from the 300 games I had in progress January 12th 2015. Well, the 300 games did not last but a few hours actually but it was nice to get it when I did. The amount of finished games is actually more than 38 games as there have been more games added to the load during this time. If the last part of 2014 I was able to increase my ratings steadily, this year has started to decline my ratings somewhat. The only site where I have been able to keep up increasing my rating has been Queen Alice Internet Chess Club but then again it might start ever so slight decrease soon. It is easier to keep the rating close to where it is there as I only have 3 games in progress there currently. There is of course also one site where I seem to stay in the same rating or close it all the time and that is GameKnot for some reason. I have added two mate in ones, one mate in four, six and nine puzzle today. Until tomorrow, my fellow chess enthusiasts.

[Event "Art of Chess vs VIP ChessQueen - Board"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.12.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "JogadorAmador"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "1874"] [BlackElo "1491"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 (2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 {0-1 (41) Zumrik,M (1362)-Franko,O (1706) Liptovsky Mikulas 2016}) 2... d5 3. exd5 {B13 Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation} cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 (4... Bg4 5. Be2 {0-1 (61) Mertens,P (1190) -Rohnke,L (1017) Willingen 2001}) 5. Be2 (5. Nc3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 {0-1 (41) Zumrik,M (1362)-Franko,O (1706) Liptovsky Mikulas 2016}) 5... Bg4 6. O-O e6 7. Nc3 {-0.77/20 B13 Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation and Panov-Botvinnik Attack} (7. h3 $14 {0.40/22} Bxf3 8. Bxf3) 7... Bb4 {0.45/21} (7... Bd6 $1 $17 {-0.77/20} 8. h3 Bh5 9. Be3 Nf6 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Nb5 Ne4 12. Qd3 Bb8 13. Nd2 Nb4 14. Qb3 Bxe2 15. Qxb4 Nxd2 16. Bxd2 Bxf1 17. Kxf1 Qb6 18. c3 a6 19. Na3 Qxb4 20. cxb4 Rc8 21. Bc3 Bd6 22. Rd1 a5 {Guk,I-Syrokhvatov,L (2270) Decin 1997 0-1}) 8. Na4 $146 {-0.43/21} (8. h3 $14 {0.45/21} Bxf3 9. Bxf3) (8. Qd3 Rc8 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Qxc3 Ne5 11. Bb5+ Nd7 12. Qd3 Bf5 13. Qe3 Bxc2 14. Qe5 Ngf6 15. Qd6 Qc7 16. Bf4 Qxd6 17. Bxd6 a6 18. Bxd7+ Nxd7 19. Rac1 Rc6 20. Bb4 f6 21. Rfe1 Kf7 22. Re2 Rhc8 {Zumrik,M (1362)-Franko,O (1706) Liptovsky Mikulas 2016 0-1 (41)}) (8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nf6 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qd2 Rfe8 13. Qg5 Qxg5 14. Nxg5 Bxe2 15. Rfe1 Bc4 16. Nf3 Re7 17. g3 Rae8 18. Rab1 b6 19. Kg2 e5 20. dxe5 Nxe5 21. Nd2 Ng6 22. Rxe7 Rxe7 {Mertens,P (1190)-Rohnke,L (1017) Willingen 2001 0-1 (61)}) 8... Nge7 {0.06/21} (8... Nf6 $15 {-0.43/21 deserves consideration.}) 9. c3 Bd6 {Black has an edge.} 10. b3 {-0.40/18} (10. h3 $11 {0.13/21} Bh5 11. Re1 ) 10... O-O 11. Bg5 {-1.00/17} (11. Re1 $11 {-0.01/21}) 11... h6 {-0.44/20} ( 11... Bf5 $17 {-1.00/17}) 12. Bd2 {-1.12/18} (12. Bc1 $15 {-0.44/20}) 12... a6 {-0.19/23} (12... Rc8 $17 {-1.12/18}) 13. Nc5 {-0.76/21} (13. Nh4 $11 {-0.19/23 } Bxe2 14. Qxe2) 13... Qc7 $17 14. h3 Bh5 {-0.34/20} (14... Bxf3 $17 {-0.87/18} 15. Bxf3 e5) 15. Nd3 {-1.30/18} (15. b4 $15 {-0.34/20}) 15... b5 {-0.01/23} ( 15... f6 $17 {-1.30/18}) 16. Qc1 {-0.97/18} (16. Nh4 $11 {-0.01/23} Bxe2 17. Qxe2) 16... b4 {-0.06/22} (16... f6 $17 {-0.97/18}) 17. Qb2 {-1.13/20} (17. Nxb4 $11 {-0.06/22 keeps the balance.} Bxf3 18. Bxf3) 17... bxc3 {-0.39/21} ( 17... a5 $17 {-1.13/20}) 18. Bxc3 $15 Rfc8 19. Rac1 {-0.83/19} (19. Rfc1 $15 { -0.39/22}) 19... Qb6 {-0.15/23} ({Black should play} 19... a5 $17 {-0.83/19}) 20. Rfd1 {-1.47/19} (20. b4 $11 {-0.15/23}) 20... Rc7 {-0.19/22} (20... Bxf3 $1 $17 {-1.47/19} 21. Bxf3 Nf5) 21. Nde5 {-0.98/18} (21. Nc5 $11 {-0.19/22 remains equal.}) 21... Rac8 {-0.42/24} (21... a5 $1 $17 {-0.98/18}) 22. g4 Bxe5 {0.00/22} ({Black should try} 22... Bg6 $1 $17 {-0.77/20}) 23. dxe5 {-0.81/19 Accuracy: White = 2%, Black = 2%. . Loss on time!?} (23. Nxe5 $11 {0.00/22} Bg6 24. Qa3) 1-0

22 Feb 2015

B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.O-O)

B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.O-O)

The game I share with you today is from a quite big team match called AoC vs R&J TM. It is played on 100 boards between Art of Chess and Romeo and Juliet. I played board 12 in this match for Romeo and Juliet and I managed to win both my games on time. Had the time not be a deciding factor in these games, the result might have been quite different. The current score in the match is 97,5 - 76,5 in favor of the home team that is in this case Art of Chess. The thing that occurs way too often in these matches is timeouts and accounts closing and this team match was no exception. Both teams had two people who had their accounts closed during the match. Art of Chess has lost more games on time out than Romeo and Juliet so far but I do hope that there are no more losses on time in this match. I have added one mate in one, two and three and two mate in six puzzles today.

[Event "AoC vs R&J TM - Board 12"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.12.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "JogadorAmador"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1872"] [BlackElo "1493"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 (2. Nc3 d5 {1-0 (15) Kuran,A (2073)-Zwanowetz,T Imst 2008}) 2... d5 3. Nc3 (3. Nd2 dxe4 {1-0 (52) Gufeld,E-Selezniev,V Moscow 1966}) 3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 {B15 Caro-Kann Defense: Tartakower Variation} 6. Nf3 (6. Bc4 Bd6 {1-0 (52) Gufeld,E-Selezniev,V Moscow 1966}) 6... Bd6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O {0.00/23 B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6} (8. c3 $14 {0.51/19}) 8... Bg4 {0.53/21} ({Black should play} 8... Na6 $11 { 0.00/23}) 9. Qd3 {-0.40/21} (9. h3 $14 {0.53/21} Bf5 (9... Bh5 10. g4 (10. Qd3 Re8 11. a4 Bc7 12. d5 cxd5 13. Bxd5 Nc6 14. Bd2 Qd6 15. Bxc6 Qxc6 16. Nd4 Qd6 17. g3 Bb6 18. c3 Be2 19. Qf5 Bxf1 20. Rxf1 Bxd4 21. cxd4 Qxd4 22. Bc3 Qxa4 23. h4 Qe4 24. Qb5 Qc6 {Bisignano,G (1837)-Simeone,G (1991) Arco 2014 0-1 (41)}) 10... Bg6 11. Nh4 Nd7 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Qf3 g5 14. Bb3 Qc7 15. Re1 Rfe8 16. Bxg5 Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 Qa5 18. Re6 fxe6 19. Bxe6+ Kf8 20. Be3 Qd8 21. Qf5 Ke7 22. Bh6 Qf8 23. Bxd7 gxh6 24. c4 {Kongsee,U (2264)-Panopio,R (2179) Ho Chi Minh City 2011 0-1 (32)}) 10. Nh4) 9... Nd7 {0.44/20} (9... Qd7 $15 {-0.40/21}) 10. h3 Bh5 {White has an edge.} 11. c3 $146 {-1.06/23 [#]} (11. Nh4 $14 {0.62/21 stays ahead.} Kh8 (11... c5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Qxg6 f5 15. Qxd6 { 1-0 (15) Kuran,A (2073)-Zwanowetz,T Imst 2008}) 12. Qf5 Bg6 13. Nxg6+ hxg6 14. Qf3 f5 15. g3 Qc7 16. h4 Nf6 17. Bg5 Nh5 18. Kg2 Rae8 19. Rae1 Qd7 20. c3 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 23. Kf1 Kg8 24. Qe2 Qd7 25. Kg2 Kf8 26. Bb3 { Gufeld,E-Selezniev,V Moscow 1966 1-0 (52)}) 11... c5 $2 {0.72/21} (11... b5 $1 $17 {-1.06/23 stays on course.} 12. Bb3 Nc5) 12. Bd2 {-0.64/19} (12. dxc5 $16 { 0.72/21} Bxc5 13. Bb3) 12... a6 {0.17/22} (12... Nb6 $15 {-0.64/19}) 13. a4 { -0.71/19} (13. Nh4 $11 {0.17/22 remains equal.}) 13... Nb6 {-0.07/22} ({ Black should try} 13... Bg6 $17 {-0.71/19} 14. Qe2 Re8) 14. Bb3 $2 {-2.13/20} ( 14. Nh4 $11 {-0.07/22}) 14... cxd4 $2 {0.59/20 [#]} (14... c4 $1 $19 {-2.13/20} 15. Bxc4 Bxf3) 15. Nxd4 {Accuracy: White = 0%, Black = 4%. . Loss on time!?} 1-0

21 Feb 2015

B79 Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack, 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Qa5 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.f3 O-O 9.Qd2 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Qa5 11.O-O-O Be6 12.Kb1 Rfc8)

B79 Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack, 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Qa5 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.f3 O-O 9.Qd2 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Qa5 11.O-O-O Be6 12.Kb1 Rfc8)

This might very well be the only game in this blog not to have a reference game included in the notation. This is because when I used my normal settings to analyse this game, the program did not commentate the first 18 moves of the game in any way. As there was already the move that lost me the game included I found it strange. There was only one reference game apparently for this game and apparently as the program uses this reference database for checking the opening, it may have mistakenly thought that it was something that can be played. I know that the way I have analysed games is not perfect but never thought that this kind of problem could exist. After trying to analyse this game twice with my normal settings, the second try was mainly intended to check if I had mistakenly put the last move to be checked by the program something other than move number one. As I got the same result as with my first try, I left the opening reference out of the analysis, so that it would not see if the moves were previously played from the reference database. After I did that I got in my opinion better analysis.

The game below was played in a tournament called 2014 September Octet I 1700-1800. This is a small eight player tournament where it is all versus all with both colors. The winner has already been decided and that was my opponent in this game, AttilaTheHorn. He won all but one game in the tournament and even that was a draw, so he was undefeated! I can get a second place finish in case I win both of my games that are still in progress. Well, I can get the second place also if I get a win and a draw from the last two games. Maybe the most important moment of the game was seen after the move 14...b5.

I did move my knight, but unfortunately to a very passive square a2. I probably thought about the move 15.Nd5 in a superficial way and thought it to be unplayable. After my 15th move it was all downhill for me, and I resigned after 19...b3.

[Event "Octet"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "AttilaTheHorn"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B79"] [WhiteElo "1871"] [BlackElo "1767"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian. Normal} 5. Nc3 d6 (5... e5 6. Ndb5 (6. Nb3 {Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation. Schlechter Variation}) 6... d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 Bg7 {Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation. Sveshnikov Variation Novosibirsk Variation} (10... f5 11. Bxb5 {Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation. Sveshnikov Variation Peresypkin's Sacrifice})) 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. f3 O-O 9. Qd2 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Qa5 {last book move} 11. O-O-O Be6 {Black threatens to win material: Be6xa2} 12. Kb1 Rfc8 {B79 Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack, 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Qa5} 13. a3 Rab8 14. g4 b5 15. Na2 (15. Nd5 $142 { and White can hope to live} Qxd2 16. Rxd2 Bxd5 17. exd5 $11) 15... Bxa2+ $17 16. Kxa2 b4 17. h4 $4 {White falls apart} (17. c4 $142 $17) 17... Nxe4 $1 $19 { the knock-out blow} 18. fxe4 Bxd4 19. Rb1 (19. Rh3 {what else?} Bxb2 $1 { Decoy: c3} 20. Rb3 Bxa3 21. Kb1 $19) 19... b3+ $1 {Discovered attack: b4, Qa5xd2. . . . . . . .} (19... b3+ 20. cxb3 Qxd2 21. Rhd1 Qxe2 22. Rxd4 Qe3 23. Rd3 Qxd3 24. b4 Qc4+ 25. Ka1 Qb3 26. e5 Rxb4 27. e6 Rc1 28. exf7+ Kxf7 29. a4 Rxa4#) 0-1

20 Feb 2015

C91 Closed Spanish Game: 7...d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.dxc6 Nxc6)

C91 Closed Spanish Game: 7...d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d4 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bc2 c5 12.dxc6 Nxc6)

This is an example of those games where I could have lost many times during the game but did not as my opponent was not able to make use of his possibilities. So, in that regard I am lucky to even have drawn this game as I never really had an advantage during the game. It is interesting to see in the notation that the reference games are quite old even though I keep my reference database updated each week. I guess not that many players have played like this in many years or have not ended up in the database. This game was played in a tournament called 2014 August Grand Seven Fourteen III. This a tournament where I can only hope for a third place finish as the two first places are too far ahead of me in points that I can't reach them anymore. I have added two mate in ones, two mate in twos and one mate in eight puzzle today. Until tomorrow, my fellow chess enthusiasts! As always, if you have any feedback to give, please leave a comment, it would be much appreciated.

[Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Thaba"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C91"] [WhiteElo "1871"] [BlackElo "1572"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 (4... Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 {1-0 (30) Euwe,M-Keres,P Netherlands 1940} (7... O-O 8. c3 {0-1 (69) Rellstab,L-Alekhine,A Salzburg 1943})) 5. Bb3 d6 6. c3 Be7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 O-O 9. d4 Bg4 {C91 Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Bogoljubow Variation} 10. d5 Na5 11. Bc2 c5 (11... c6) 12. dxc6 Nxc6 {0.48/20 C91 Closed Spanish Game: 7. ..d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d4} (12... Be6 $11 {-0.06/25}) 13. Qd3 $146 {-0.33/19} (13. h3 $14 {0.48/20} Be6 14. Nbd2) (13. Nbd2 b4 14. Ba4 (14. cxb4 Nxb4 15. Bb1 Rc8 16. Nf1 d5 17. exd5 e4 18. Bxe4 Nxe4 19. Rxe4 f5 20. Re6 f4 21. Re4 Qxd5 22. Qxd5+ Nxd5 23. Nd4 Bf6 24. Nd2 Bh5 25. N4b3 Bg6 26. Rc4 Rfe8 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Nf3 Nb4 {Rellstab,L-Alekhine,A Salzburg 1943 0-1 (69)}) 14... Rc8 15. Bxc6 bxc3 16. Bb7 cxd2 17. Bxd2 (17. Qxd2 Rb8 18. Bxa6 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nh5 20. Bc4 Bh4 21. Kh1 Qf6 22. Qe2 Bg5 23. Bxg5 Qxg5 24. Rg1 Qh6 25. a4 Nf4 26. Qd2 Qh5 27. Rg4 d5 28. Bxd5 Rb6 29. Rxf4 exf4 30. Qxf4 Rxb2 31. Qg3 Qh6 {Karastoichev,E-Daskalov,G Varna 1960 0-1 (51)}) 17... Rb8 18. Bxa6 d5 19. Be2 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Bc5 21. Rb1 dxe4 22. Be3 Bd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Bf1 Qd5 25. fxe4 Nxe4 26. Qf3 f5 27. b3 Qa8 {Euwe,M-Keres,P Netherlands 1940 1-0}) (13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Rc8 15. Nbd2 b4 16. Nf1 bxc3 17. bxc3 Qa5 18. h3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Nd4 20. cxd4 Rxc2 21. Ne3 Rxa2 22. Rxa2 Qxe1+ 23. Kh2 exd4 24. Nf5 Bd8 25. Nxd6 Bc7 26. Bg3 Rb8 27. Re2 Qc3 { Tolush,A-Schneiderman Stepanov,G Leningrad 1940 0-1 (61)}) 13... Rc8 {0.12/22} (13... Qc7 $15 {-0.33/19 is more appropriate.}) 14. h3 {-0.32/23} (14. Nbd2 $11 {0.12/22}) 14... Bh5 {0.64/20} (14... Be6 $15 {-0.32/23}) 15. Bg5 {-0.42/19} ( 15. Nh4 $14 {0.64/20}) 15... h6 {0.12/22} (15... Nd7 $15 {-0.42/19} 16. Bxe7 Qxe7) 16. Bh4 {-0.73/19} (16. Bxf6 $11 {0.12/22 remains equal.} Bxf6 17. Nbd2) 16... Qc7 {-0.15/22} ({Black should play} 16... Nd7 $1 $17 {-0.73/19} 17. Bxe7 Qxe7) 17. Nbd2 {-0.90/19} (17. a3 $11 {-0.15/22}) 17... Rfd8 {0.00/22} (17... Nb4 $1 $17 {-0.90/19} 18. cxb4 Qxc2 19. Qxc2 Rxc2 20. Bxf6 Bxf6) 18. Bg3 $2 { -1.56/17 [#]} (18. Rec1 $11 {0.00/22}) 18... d5 {-0.28/23} (18... Nb4 $1 $17 { -1.56/17} 19. cxb4 Qxc2) 19. Qe2 {-1.57/17} (19. exd5 $11 {-0.28/23 keeps the balance.} Nb4 20. cxb4 Qxc2 21. Qxc2 Rxc2 22. a3) 19... dxe4 {-0.30/21} (19... d4 $17 {-1.57/17 Strongly threatening ...dxc3.} 20. Bb3 Qa5) 20. Nxe4 $11 Nxe4 {0.75/22} (20... Nd7 $11 {-0.30/21}) 21. Bxe4 $16 f6 {1.12/19} (21... Bg5 $14 { 0.45/21}) 22. Rad1 {0.09/25} ({Better is} 22. Bf5 $16 {1.12/19}) 22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Bf7 24. Nh4 $1 {Hoping for Nf5.} Rd8 25. Rxd8+ {0.07/24} (25. Bc2 $14 { 0.59/19}) 25... Bxd8 26. Bb1 {-0.59/21} (26. a4 $11 {0.24/22}) 26... Ne7 27. Qd3 Kf8 {0.00/24} (27... g6 $1 $15 {-0.49/20}) 28. Qh7 a5 29. Qh8+ Bg8 30. Ng6+ Nxg6 31. Bxg6 Qc4 32. Bb1 $2 {-2.02/22 [#]} (32. b3 $11 {0.00/27 and White has nothing to worry.} Qd5 33. Bh7) 32... a4 {-0.87/29} (32... e4 $1 $19 {-2.02/22} 33. Bc2 a4) 33. a3 {-1.88/21} (33. Bh7 $17 {-0.87/29}) 33... Bb6 $2 {0.00/25} ( 33... e4 $1 $19 {-1.88/21 Threatens to win with ...Qd5.} 34. Bf4 Kf7) 34. Bh7 $11 Qf7 {Accuracy: White = 7%, Black = 18%.} 1/2-1/2

19 Feb 2015

C20 1.e4 e5: Unusual White second moves (1.e4 e5 2.c3 Nf6)

C20 1.e4 e5: Unusual White second moves (1.e4 e5 2.c3 Nf6)

Today I post two games in this same new opening straight away as I saw that the the two consecutive games in my database were played by the same players and as it so happens, also the same opening. The game below was played in a tournament called 2014 August Grand Seven Fourteen II. It is an ongoing tournament held at Red Hot Pawn. As majority of the games have finished only two players still have chances to win the tournament and I am one of them. I have secured at least fourth place in this 21 player tournament. Thinking times are seven days for each move and there are fourteen days in the bank to use in case you can't make a move in the seven days. In case you spend over seven days to think your move, your timebank starts depleting. Still you have seven days minimum to make your next move even if you used time from the bank. I have added two mate in threes, one mate in two, one mate in five and one mate in seven puzzle today. When I added my first puzzle today to mate in three section, I noticed that my opponent in that game had a rating of 2938! He or she is most likely the highest rated adversary that I have ever faced.

The second game was played in a tournament called 2014 August Grand Seven Fourteen III and it obviously is also held at Red Hot Pawn. The thinking times and the amount of players is the same as in the game above. The tournament also started the same day August 11th 2014. In both these tournaments you get 40 simultaneous games immediately when the tournament starts as you play with each color against everyone in the tournament. This tournament differs a bit from the other one in at least one aspect, I am no longer fighting for the win of the tournament but instead I fight for third place.

Game number three. This was played in a team match called Feb. 2015 Challenge(WL): 1701-1900 and it is played between CYBERMEN ELITE and TROY. I am playing on board 1 in this match for TROY. This is only played on three boards, so it is one of the smallest team matches I have been a part of. The current score is 1 - 3 in favor of TROY, so we have at least drawn this match already. In the two remaining games we only need a draw to win the match. This was a rather uneventful game and draw was agreed upon on move 17. The draw was offered by my opponent and I thought I should accept due to the fact that I had no real ideas on how to improve my position. Also the situation in the match was going good enough for us that draw was sensible to make at that point. If we would have needed every game to be won in order to win the match or even draw it, I would not have accepted the draw offer.

[Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Arayn"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C20"] [WhiteElo "1168"] [BlackElo "1871"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s)"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. c3 {C20 King Pawn Game: Macleod Attack} Nf6 {C20 1.e4 e5: Unusual White second moves} 3. d3 d5 4. exd5 (4. Nd2 Bc5 5. Be2 O-O 6. Ngf3 Qe7 7. O-O a5 8. b3 Rd8 9. Qc2 Nbd7 10. a3 Nf8 11. Bb2 Ng6 12. b4 axb4 13. cxb4 Bd6 14. Rfe1 Bd7 15. Bd1 dxe4 16. dxe4 c5 17. Nc4 cxb4 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 {Zach,A (2280) -Schlosser,A Bayern 1999 0-1 (47)}) 4... Qxd5 5. c4 (5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bf5 7. Qb3 O-O-O 8. d4 exd4 9. Bc4 Re8+ 10. Kf1 Qa5 11. Bxf7 Bd3+ 12. Kg1 Bc5 13. Be6+ Kb8 14. Nc4 Qa6 15. Nce5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Rxe6 17. Nxd3 Qxd3 18. Bf4 Rhe8 19. h3 Ne4 {Sebek,P (1487)-Stork,R (1764) Trebic 2017 0-1}) 5... Bb4+ {-0.66/22} (5... Qd6 $1 $17 {-1.56/19} 6. Nc3 Nc6) 6. Bd2 $146 {-1.90/19} (6. Nc3 $15 {-0.66/22} Qd6 7. Be2 (7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 O-O 9. Be2 c5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. O-O Rad8 13. h3 Bh5 14. Qb3 Rd7 15. Rad1 Rfd8 16. d4 e4 17. dxc5 Qc7 18. Rxd7 Rxd7 19. g4 exf3 20. Bxf3 Bg6 21. Re1 h6 {Stojiljkovic,Z-Majstorovic,D Serbia 2010 0-1 (53)})) 6... Qa5 $2 {0.16/20 [#]} (6... Qd6 $1 $19 {-1.90/19} 7. Nc3 Nc6) 7. b3 $2 {-2.20/18} (7. Nc3 $11 {0.16/20 and White is okay.}) 7... O-O 8. f3 $2 {-3.33/18} (8. a3 $17 {-1.46/22 was necessary.} c5 9. Nf3) 8... Bf5 9. h4 { -3.99/19} (9. Bxb4 {-2.52/23 keeps fighting.} Qxb4+ 10. Qd2) 9... h5 {-2.17/22} (9... Nc6 $142 {-3.99/19 Threatens to win with ...e4!} 10. a3 Rad8) 10. a3 Bxd2+ 11. Nxd2 {-3.88/20} (11. Qxd2 $142 {-2.43/20} Qb6 12. Nc3) 11... c5 { -2.11/21} (11... Rd8 $142 {-3.88/20} 12. Nh3 Bxd3) 12. Nh3 $19 Rd8 13. Be2 $2 { -3.33/21} (13. Nf2 {-1.82/22 only move.}) 13... Bxd3 14. Ng5 {-4.78/20} (14. Ra2 $142 {-3.00/24}) 14... Nc6 15. g4 {-8.71/19} (15. Qc1 $142 {-4.31/20} Rd7 16. b4 cxb4 17. Bxd3 Rxd3 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Rb1) 15... Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Rd7 { [#] ...Qc3 is the strong threat.} 17. O-O Qxd2 18. gxh5 Qxe2 19. Rae1 Qc2 { ( -> ...Rd2)} 20. Rf2 Qxb3 21. Rg2 Nxh5 22. Re4 Rd1+ {Black mates.} 23. Kh2 Qb1 24. Kh3 Rh1+ 25. Kg4 g6 26. Nh3 f5+ 27. Kg5 Kg7 28. Ree2 Nd8 29. Nf2 Nf7# { Accuracy: White = 9%, Black = 18%.} 0-1 [Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Arayn"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C20"] [WhiteElo "1168"] [BlackElo "1871"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. c3 {C20 King Pawn Game: Macleod Attack} Nf6 {C20 1.e4 e5: Unusual White second moves} 3. d3 d5 4. exd5 (4. Nd2 Bc5 5. Be2 O-O 6. Ngf3 Qe7 7. O-O a5 8. b3 Rd8 9. Qc2 Nbd7 10. a3 Nf8 11. Bb2 Ng6 12. b4 axb4 13. cxb4 Bd6 14. Rfe1 Bd7 15. Bd1 dxe4 16. dxe4 c5 17. Nc4 cxb4 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 {Zach,A (2280) -Schlosser,A Bayern 1999 0-1 (47)}) 4... Qxd5 5. c4 (5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bf5 7. Qb3 O-O-O 8. d4 exd4 9. Bc4 Re8+ 10. Kf1 Qa5 11. Bxf7 Bd3+ 12. Kg1 Bc5 13. Be6+ Kb8 14. Nc4 Qa6 15. Nce5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Rxe6 17. Nxd3 Qxd3 18. Bf4 Rhe8 19. h3 Ne4 {Sebek,P (1487)-Stork,R (1764) Trebic 2017 0-1}) 5... Bb4+ {-0.53/22} (5... Qd6 $17 {-1.60/18} 6. Nf3 Nc6) 6. Bd2 $146 {-1.41/18} (6. Nc3 $15 {-0.53/22} Qd6 7. Nge2 (7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 O-O 9. Be2 c5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. O-O Rad8 13. h3 Bh5 14. Qb3 Rd7 15. Rad1 Rfd8 16. d4 e4 17. dxc5 Qc7 18. Rxd7 Rxd7 19. g4 exf3 20. Bxf3 Bg6 21. Re1 h6 {Stojiljkovic,Z-Majstorovic,D Serbia 2010 0-1 (53)})) 6... Qa5 {0.00/21} (6... Qd6 $17 {-1.41/18} 7. Nf3 Nc6) 7. Bxb4 $2 {-1.99/19 [#]} (7. Nc3 $11 {0.00/21}) 7... Qxb4+ $19 8. Qd2 {Black is clearly better.} Qd6 {-0.67/21} (8... Nc6 $19 {-2.07/17} 9. Nf3 Bf5) 9. Nf3 {-1.21/20} (9. Nc3 $15 {-0.67/21}) 9... Nc6 10. a3 {-1.73/19} (10. Be2 $17 {-0.88/20 keeps fighting.}) 10... O-O {-1.30/22} (10... Bg4 $19 {-1.73/19} 11. Be2 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Nd4) 11. Nc3 {-2.10/19} (11. h3 $17 {-1.30/22 is a better defense.}) 11... a6 {-0.67/21} ({Better is} 11... Bg4 $19 {-2.10/19 Threatens to win with ...Bxf3.} 12. Be2 Nd4) 12. O-O-O {-2.16/18} (12. Rd1 $15 {-0.67/21}) 12... Bg4 13. Be2 Rab8 14. h3 {-2.80/18} (14. Kb1 $142 {-1.65/21}) 14... Be6 $2 {0.00/20} ({Black should play} 14... Bxf3 $19 {-2.80/18} 15. Bxf3 Nd4) 15. b4 $2 { -1.78/19} (15. d4 $1 $11 {0.00/20 and White is okay.}) 15... b5 {-0.71/22} ( 15... Rfd8 $19 {-1.78/19} 16. Qe3 a5) 16. c5 {-2.10/20} (16. d4 $17 {-0.71/22} exd4 17. Nxd4) 16... Qd7 $2 {0.48/21} (16... Qe7 $1 $19 {-2.10/20} 17. d4 Rbd8) 17. g4 $2 {-4.10/18} (17. d4 $1 $14 {0.48/21 is the one way to stay ahead.}) 17... a5 18. bxa5 $2 {-7.38/21} (18. d4 {-3.06/22} axb4 19. axb4 exd4 20. Nxd4 Nxb4 21. Rhg1) 18... Nxa5 {[#] ...Nb3+ is the strong threat.} 19. d4 Nb3+ 20. Kc2 Nxd2 21. Rxd2 exd4 22. Rxd4 Qc6 23. Rhd1 Qxc5 24. Kb2 b4 {Black mates.} 25. Rxb4 Rxb4+ 26. axb4 Qxb4+ 27. Kc2 Bb3+ 28. Kc1 Qxc3+ 29. Kb1 Qc2+ 30. Ka1 Qa2# {Accuracy: White = 3%, Black = 14%.} 0-1 [Event "Feb. 2015 Challenge(WL): 1701-1900 - Bo"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.02.24"] [Round "?"] [White "ichimary"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C20"] [WhiteElo "1818"] [BlackElo "1853"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 (1. c3 e5 {0-1 (75) Stanka,W (2220)-Brandstaetter,F (2115) Austria 1996}) 1... e5 2. c3 {C20 King Pawn Game: Macleod Attack} Nf6 {C20 1.e4 e5: Unusual White second moves} 3. Qc2 (3. d3 d5 {0-1 (30) Kowacz,A (1366)-Kasianczuk,K (1560) Rewal 2013}) 3... d5 (3... Bc5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 d6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. d3 Bg4 8. Qe2 Qe7 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. Qxe3 Rb8 11. b3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 O-O 13. Nd2 Rfe8 14. Qe3 a6 15. O-O d5 16. h3 c5 17. c4 d4 18. Qe1 {Kocman,A (1500)-Marn,J (1810) Kozje 2015 0-1}) 4. d3 Be7 $146 (4... Nc6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Bxf6 (6. Nd2 h6 (6... O-O 7. g3 Be6 8. Bg2 Qd7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nb3 Be7 11. h3 f5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Ne2 Kh8 14. g4 Bg6 15. Ng3 a5 16. Nd2 Bc5 17. O-O Rad8 18. a3 Qe7 19. Rae1 Qh4 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. gxf5 {Kowacz,A (1366)-Kasianczuk,K (1560) Rewal 2013 0-1}) 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Be6 9. h4 Nh5 10. Ngf3 Nxg3 11. fxg3 g4 12. Ng1 h5 13. Nb3 f5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. O-O-O Qd7 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 Qe6 19. Ne2 O-O-O 20. Nf4 Qe3+ {Schlag,F (2158)-Michalak,G (1877) Bad Bevensen 2003 1-0 (43)}) 6... Bxf6 7. Be2 Qd6 8. Nd2 Be6 9. exd5 Bxd5 10. Ne4 Qe7 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Bf3 O-O-O 13. Bxd5 Rxd5 14. Ne2 Rhd8 15. Rd1 Qg6 16. Ng3 Rxd3 17. Rxd3 Qxd3 18. Qxd3 Rxd3 19. Ke2 {Smodlaka,A (1791)-Kacunko,J (1943) Sveti Vid 2014 0-1 (75)}) (4... c6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. g3 Bc5 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O Bb6 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. Nh4 a5 11. Kh1 dxe4 12. dxe4 Nc5 13. Nc4 Bc7 14. Be3 Qd3 15. Qxd3 Nxd3 16. Rfd1 Be6 17. Nd6 Bxd6 18. Rxd3 Bc7 19. h3 {Stanka,W (2220)-Brandstaetter,F (2115) Austria 1996 0-1 (75)}) 5. Nf3 Nc6 {0.32/22} (5... Qd6 $17 {-0.78/19}) 6. Bg5 { -0.81/18} (6. b4 $14 {0.32/22 keeps the upper hand.}) 6... O-O {-0.36/20} (6... h6 $17 {-0.81/18} 7. Bxf6 Bxf6) 7. Nbd2 {-0.87/20} (7. Be2 $15 {-0.36/20}) 7... Be6 {-0.26/22} (7... a5 $17 {-0.87/20}) 8. Be2 {-0.91/20} (8. b4 $11 {-0.26/22} ) 8... Qd6 {0.12/22} (8... a5 $17 {-0.91/20}) 9. O-O {-0.41/18} (9. b4 $11 { 0.12/22}) 9... h6 {0.00/22} (9... a5 $15 {-0.41/18}) 10. Bh4 {-0.82/21} (10. Bxf6 $11 {0.00/22 remains equal.} Bxf6 11. b4) 10... dxe4 {0.35/22} ({Better is } 10... g5 $1 $17 {-0.82/21} 11. Bg3 Nh5) 11. dxe4 $14 Qc5 {0.69/19} (11... a5 $11 {0.07/24}) 12. a3 {-0.07/23} (12. Nb3 $14 {0.69/19} Qb6 13. Bg3) 12... a5 $1 $11 13. h3 {-0.51/22} (13. Ne1 $11 {0.00/25}) 13... b5 {0.34/22} (13... a4 $15 {-0.51/22}) 14. Bg3 {-0.61/21} (14. a4 $14 {0.34/22}) 14... Bd6 {0.68/21} ( {Black should play} 14... a4 $1 $15 {-0.61/21}) 15. Rfc1 $2 {-0.94/22 [#]} (15. a4 $1 $14 {0.68/21 stays ahead.}) 15... Rfb8 {0.47/23} (15... a4 $17 {-0.94/22} ) 16. b4 {0.00/23} (16. a4 $14 {0.47/23}) 16... Qb6 $2 {1.59/23} ({Black should try} 16... axb4 $11 {0.00/23} 17. axb4 Qb6) 17. Kf1 $2 {-0.52/21 Accuracy: White = 7%, Black = 7%.} (17. c4 $1 $16 {1.59/23} bxc4 18. Nxc4) 1/2-1/2

18 Feb 2015

C89 Closed Spanish Game: Marshall Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5)

C89 Closed Spanish Game: Marshall Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5)

This opening reminds me of the game when Frank James Marshall played this against José Raúl Capablanca for the first time. Marshall had prepared the opening for years but when he finally got to play it against Capablanca, he lost. That is one of the old games that I remember going through some years ago. I have actually gone through other games from these players as well but that I remember the best. Well, not the game itself but the story related to it I remember to some extent.

The game below is my second game against ACW and both were played in the Team Match Champions League Division D, round one match between DEORLS! and THE VAMPIRE. I played both of my games quite badly, I am ashamed to admit and lost quite quickly. I played board seven for DEORLS! and these two games happened to be my first two matches representing them. Luckily other members of the team have had better success in their games and the score is tied 25,5 at the moment I type this. So even though I was not able to be all that much help as a player, maybe the fact that I joined and dropped some players to lower boards helped a bit at least. When I typed about the fact that I feel more confident about my moves yesterday, I had not yet gone through some of the moves I still had to do in my correspondence games. While I went through them, I noticed yet another blunder I had done, this time taking a pawn with my knight that I thought would be safe to do. It turned out I had miscalculated again or maybe thought that my opponent would play the moves in different order. He just took my knight and then I noticed that I can't take back as more terrible thing would be coming my way. I have to stop making these bad moves now or I will see myself dropping my rating hundred or more points due to silly blunders I should not do anymore. I should know better by now. I have added two mate in twos, one mate in three, one mate in four and one mate in six puzzle today.

Game number two. The game below was played on the first round of the Ruy Lopez tournament that is being played at Chess.com. This tournament started on October 10th 2014, so the first round has lasted clearly over a year now and it will last quite a long time still. One of my first round games has not even started yet... That is because you only play one game per opponent at a time, which seems silly in view of the thinking times used in the tournament. You can use 14 days to think about your every move. Well, not all of it, because then you would timeout, but close to it. I am playing on group #1 and from the 20 games that have finished so far, I have won all of them!! Not sure if the reason for this is more due to time consumption than anything else. Not all people seem to understand that this can take a long time to finish even if they are aware of the thinking times when joining the tournament. So when the duration of the tournament gets too big for them, they quit playing in the tournament.

The best three players of each group will advance to the next round and it is already clear who are those three players in the group I am in. It will be me, adamredsox24 and djsniper800. The only games in progress in group #1 are my games against adamredsox24, well actually the second one has not even started yet because of the silliness I explained earlier. There are still 16 games left to finish in this round, so it is unclear how long it will be until the next round can start. My opponent in the game below, bzalasky, finished fourth in this group with a score of 15 points out of the possible 22 points.

[Event "Deorls vs. THE VAMPIRE: TM C.L. 2015 D"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.12.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "ACW"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "1870"] [BlackElo "1791"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 {C89 Spanish Game: Marshall Attack} 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 { C89 Closed Spanish Game: Marshall Attack} Nf4 {1.41/20} (11... c6 $11 {-0.09/23 }) 12. d4 $1 $16 Ng6 13. Re1 {0.43/24} ({Better is} 13. Rh5 $1 $18 {1.77/17}) 13... Bb7 $14 {White is slightly better.} (13... Qd7 14. Be3 Bb7 15. Nd2 Kh8 16. Qh5 Rae8 17. Nf3 c5 18. dxc5 Qc6 19. Bc2 f5 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Qxf5 Rf8 22. Qh5 Qe4 23. Bd4 Qf4 24. Re3 Rf5 25. Qh3 Kg8 26. g3 Rg5 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Nxg5 { Derjaguin,A-Morozov,B (1948) Khanty Mansiysk 2012 1-0}) 14. Be3 (14. Nd2 c5 15. Nf3 c4 16. Bc2 f5 17. Qe2 Kh8 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Qd5 20. f3 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Rae8 22. Bf4 Qf7 23. Rad1 Re6 24. b3 Qh5 25. bxc4 g5 26. Bg3 f4 27. Rd7 fxg3 28. Rxh7+ Qxh7 {Jonsson,M (2355)-Lind,J (2270) Sollentuna 1995 1/2-1/2 (51)}) 14... Kh8 {1.52/21} (14... Bd6 $14 {0.65/21}) 15. Nd2 f5 16. Nf3 $146 (16. f3 Nh4 17. a4 Qd6 18. axb5 Qg6 19. g3 Bd6 20. f4 Rae8 21. bxa6 Ba8 22. d5 Rxe3 23. Rxe3 Bc5 24. Nc4 Re8 25. Kf2 Qh6 26. Qd3 Ng6 27. Kg2 Bxe3 28. Nxe3 Nxf4+ 29. gxf4 Qb6 30. Nxf5 Qxb3 {Hermansson,E (2240)-Lind,J (2310) Linköping 1996 0-1 (38)}) 16... f4 17. Bd2 {1.12/24} (17. Bc1 $18 {1.74/20}) 17... c5 {1.99/18} ( 17... Bf6 $16 {1.12/24} 18. Bc2 c5) 18. dxc5 $2 {-1.30/21} (18. Bc2 $18 { 1.99/18}) 18... Bxc5 $17 {Hoping for ...Nh4.} 19. Ne5 $2 {-8.00/21} (19. Bc2 $17 {-0.98/23}) 19... Qg5 $2 {0.70/24} ({Black should play} 19... Qh4 $19 { -8.00/21} 20. Nf3 Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Rad8) 20. Nxg6+ $4 {-13.85/21} (20. Qg4 $14 { 0.70/24} Qxg4 21. Nxg4) 20... Qxg6 {[#]} 21. g3 fxg3 {Accuracy: White = 14%, Black = 36%.} 0-1 [Event "Ruy Lopez - Round 1"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.06.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "bzalasky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "1877"] [BlackElo "1548"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 O-O (6... b5 7. Bb3 O-O {0-1 (38) Hermansson,E (2240)-Lind,J (2310) Linköping 1996}) 7. c3 b5 8. Bb3 d5 {C89 Spanish Game: Marshall Attack} 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 {C89 Closed Spanish Game: Marshall Attack} Nf4 {1.31/21} (11... c6 $1 $11 { 0.07/23}) 12. d4 $16 Ng6 {1.64/19} (12... Ne6 $16 {1.11/22}) 13. Re1 {0.81/23} (13. Rh5 $1 $18 {1.64/19 and White stays clearly on top.}) 13... Bb7 {White is better.} (13... Qd7 14. Be3 Bb7 15. Nd2 Kh8 16. Qh5 Rae8 17. Nf3 c5 18. dxc5 Qc6 19. Bc2 f5 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Qxf5 Rf8 22. Qh5 Qe4 23. Bd4 Qf4 24. Re3 Rf5 25. Qh3 Kg8 26. g3 Rg5 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Nxg5 {Derjaguin,A-Morozov,B (1948) Khanty Mansiysk 2012 1-0}) 14. Be3 (14. Nd2 c5 15. Nf3 c4 16. Bc2 f5 17. Qe2 Kh8 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Qd5 20. f3 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Rae8 22. Bf4 Qf7 23. Rad1 Re6 24. b3 Qh5 25. bxc4 g5 26. Bg3 f4 27. Rd7 fxg3 28. Rxh7+ Qxh7 {Jonsson,M (2355) -Lind,J (2270) Sollentuna 1995 1/2-1/2 (51)}) 14... Bd6 $146 (14... Kh8 15. Nd2 f5 16. f3 Nh4 17. a4 Qd6 18. axb5 Qg6 19. g3 Bd6 20. f4 Rae8 21. bxa6 Ba8 22. d5 Rxe3 23. Rxe3 Bc5 24. Nc4 Re8 25. Kf2 Qh6 26. Qd3 Ng6 27. Kg2 Bxe3 28. Nxe3 Nxf4+ 29. gxf4 {Hermansson,E (2240)-Lind,J (2310) Linköping 1996 0-1 (38)}) 15. Qg4 Qf6 {1.99/20} (15... Qh4 $16 {0.87/22} 16. h3 Qxg4 17. hxg4 Nh4) 16. Bg5 { 0.68/25} ({White should try} 16. g3 $18 {1.99/20}) 16... Bxh2+ $2 {5.62/19 [#]} (16... h5 $1 $14 {0.68/25} 17. Bxf6 (17. Qxh5 Qf5 $11) 17... hxg4) 17. Kxh2 $18 {White is clearly winning.} Qxf2 18. Nd2 h5 19. Qg3 Qxg3+ 20. Kxg3 Rae8 21. Nf3 Kh7 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. Bxf7 {[#] Rh1 is the strong threat.} Re2 24. Rh1 { Accuracy: White = 32%, Black = 17%.} 1-0

17 Feb 2015

B41 Sicilian: Kan Variation: 5.c4 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Be2 b5)

B41 Sicilian: Kan Variation: 5.c4 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Be2 b5)

This game went first slightly worse for me on move 12 and move after that I blundered so badly that the game would have been resignable at that point. I tried to continue a bit longer but on move 20 I resigned as my position was completely hopeless. This game was played in the first round of the LA BELLE FRANCE TOURNAMENT 3. The tournament has 16 players on round one and they are divided in to groups of four. Two best players from each group will advance to the next round. I have only finished one game on round one so far, the loss you see below. Rating range in the tournament is 1751-2050 and the time control is 3 days per move. Around the time I played that horrible move, I also blundered in some other games as well and lost a couple of games under 20 moves. I played last weekend in a over the board tournament and the results there were somewhat promising that I may be able to get back to level of play that I once had. Well, talking about my rating to be exact, I think when I am able to concentrate on the games properly, I play better chess than I have ever played. My over the board rating has had some roller-coaster movement the past few years, I get it to my highest ever rating and then I plummet down a couple hundred points. This has happened a few times, usually ending with me taking a long break from chess. Since I started doing this blog, I think I have been able to improve my play quite a bit. I was able to get two wins against International Masters and one draw against a FIDE Master in 2014 and those results did gave me a confidence boost. Maybe I am doing something right when playing chess. The only problem I have is that my level of play is not all that consistent, some positions I play much better than others. I have added two mate in one, one mate in four, one mate in six and one mate in nine puzzle today.

[Event "LA BELLE FRANCE TOURNAMENT 3 - Roun"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2014.12.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "luismiguelmonreal"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B41"] [WhiteElo "1872"] [BlackElo "1812"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 {B41 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation} 5. Be2 b5 {1.10/16 B41 Sicilian: Kan Variation: 5.c4} (5... Nf6 $11 {-0.02/20 keeps the balance.}) 6. Be3 {-0.24/22} (6. O-O $16 {1.10/16}) 6... Bb7 $11 7. Bf3 {-0.08/22} ({Better is} 7. f3 $14 {0.51/17}) (7. Nd2 Nf6 {1/2-1/2 (25) Kun, I (1969)-Uzonyi,D (2060) Hungary 2012} 8. f3 Nc6 (8... Qc7 9. a4 b4 10. a5 d5 11. O-O Bd6 12. h3 O-O 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Bd3 Nh5 15. Ne2 Nd7 16. Ne4 Bh2+ 17. Kh1 Be5 18. c3 bxc3 19. N4xc3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Ne5 21. Bb6 Qc8 22. Ra4 Qc6 23. Rh4 {Darwisch,K (2026)-Althoff,R (1965) Germany 2015 1-0 (39)}) 9. a4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Bc6 11. axb5 axb5 12. c3 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Qc2 d6 15. f4 Qc7 16. e5 Nd7 17. Rxa8 Rxa8 18. Bd3 h6 19. Bh7+ Kh8 20. Ne4 dxe5 21. fxe5 Nxe5 22. Rxf7 Nxf7 { Paez Renteria,Z (2196)-Milov,V (2652) Merida 2005 0-1}) 7... Nf6 {0.37/20} ( 7... Nc6 $11 {-0.08/22}) 8. Nd2 {-0.32/20} (8. Nc3 $14 {0.37/20}) 8... Nc6 $146 {1.61/20 [#]} (8... Qc7 $15 {-0.32/20 keeps the upper hand.} 9. Rc1 Nc6 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. O-O Bd6 12. g3 Be5 13. c3 Qb7 14. Qc2 O-O 15. Bd4 Bc7 16. e5 Bxf3 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bxf6 Bg2 19. Rfe1 Bd8 20. Bxd8 Raxd8 21. Ne4 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 f5 23. Re5 Rc8 {Kun,I (1969)-Uzonyi,D (2060) Hungary 2012 1/2-1/2}) 9. O-O $2 { -0.48/19} (9. e5 $1 $18 {1.61/20}) 9... Ne5 $15 10. b3 {-1.24/19} (10. a4 $11 { -0.08/21}) 10... Nxf3+ {-0.25/21} ({Black should try} 10... Qc7 $17 {-1.24/19}) 11. Qxf3 $11 Qc7 {-0.19/21} (11... Bd6 $17 {-0.87/17}) 12. Bg5 {-1.18/18} (12. c4 $1 $11 {-0.19/21 remains equal.}) 12... Be7 {-0.61/21} (12... Qe5 $17 { -1.18/18} 13. Bxf6 gxf6) 13. Qd3 $2 {-3.52/17} ({White should play} 13. Rfe1 $15 {-0.61/21}) 13... Ng4 $1 $19 {[#]} 14. f4 {Black should prevent Bxe7.} Bxg5 15. Qg3 {-5.94/19} (15. h3 $142 {-4.01/21} Bxf4 16. hxg4) 15... Bf6 {Black is clearly winning.} 16. e5 Nxe5 $1 17. fxe5 Bxe5 18. Qg4 h5 19. Qh4 Qc5 { Accuracy: White = 16%, Black = 38%.} 0-1

16 Feb 2015

C18 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7.h4 and 7.Qg4 (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 Qa5 8.Bd2)

C18 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7.h4 and 7.Qg4 (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 Qa5 8.Bd2)

The game below is the most recently finished game of mine from GameKnot. This was played in a tournament called tedjj's mini-tournament XLIII, it is a tournament where I have played worse than in any other correspondence chess tournament. I have only one win out of five games in that tournament so far and I am currently residing in last place. The time control in the tournament is 3 days initially but you get two days added to your time after every move you make though it is limited so you can think maximum of five days each move. There are 11 players in total joining this mini-tournament and you play each player twice so both have one White and one Black against other players. I have fifteen games left to play and try to alter the course of the tournament, it will be interesting to see if I keep losing games or can I start winning some games. My rating at GameKnot is one of the lowest I have in correspondence chess sites but I do have a decent winning percentage there, though lately that has come down a bit, currently at 71% chance of me winning. It is also the only correspondence chess site where I have not played any draws in the 52 games that have ended there. I have added three mate in ones, one mate in two and one mate in seven today for you to hopefully enjoy.

[Event "tedjj's mini-tournament XLIII"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?"] [Date "2015.02.11"] [Round "?"] [White "bolshie"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "1693"] [BlackElo "1721"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 (4... Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 {1-0 (23) Tomczak,J (2443)-Kasyan,A (2318) Kemeri 2007}) 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 { C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation. Advance Variation} 7. h4 Qa5 8. Bd2 $1 { C18 French: 3.Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7.h4 and 7.Qg4} c4 {0.50/19} (8... Nbc6 $11 { -0.01/21}) 9. h5 {-0.10/23} (9. g3 $14 {0.50/19}) 9... h6 $1 $11 10. Nf3 $146 { 0.00/23} (10. g4 $14 {0.41/18 might be stronger.}) (10. Qg4 Nf5 (10... Rg8 11. Rh3 Qa4 12. Qd1 Nbc6 13. g4 Bd7 14. Rf3 Rf8 15. Bh3 O-O-O 16. Kf1 Ng8 17. g5 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Rde8 19. Ne2 Nce7 20. Ng3 f6 21. exf6 gxf6 22. Bf4 e5 23. Bxd7+ Qxd7 24. dxe5 fxe5 25. Bxe5 {Gankin,S (2272)-Ipatov,A (2092) Izhevsk 2011 1-0 (47)}) 11. Qf4 Nc6 12. Nf3 Bd7 13. g4 Nfe7 14. g5 hxg5 15. Qxg5 Nf5 16. Nh4 Nce7 17. Nxf5 Nxf5 18. Bh3 Qd8 19. Qg2 Rh7 20. Bxf5 exf5 21. h6 g6 22. Qxd5 Bc6 23. Qxd8+ Rxd8 24. Rh3 Kd7 {Holinka,H (1976)-Roho,K (1850) Willingen 2016 1-0 (40)}) (10. Rh4 Nbc6 11. Rf4 Bd7 12. Qf3 O-O-O 13. Rxf7 Nf5 14. g4 Be8 15. Rxf5 exf5 16. gxf5 Qc7 17. Ne2 Qf7 18. Nf4 Ne7 19. Bh3 Kb8 20. Ne6 Rc8 21. Ke2 Rc6 22. Nd8 Qxh5 23. Bg4 {1-0 (23) Tomczak,J (2443)-Kasyan,A (2318) Kemeri 2007}) ( 10. Rb1 Nbc6 11. Qc1 Qc7 12. Qb2 O-O 13. f4 f5 14. Nf3 b6 15. Be2 Bd7 16. Kf2 Kh7 17. Rbg1 Rg8 18. Qc1 Raf8 19. Be3 Be8 20. g3 Qb7 21. Rh2 Nd8 22. Ke1 Qd7 23. Kd2 Qa4 24. Nh4 Bf7 {Gonella,D (2103)-Riboldi,R (1905) Liscate 2011 1-0 (47)}) 10... O-O $2 {1.93/19 [#]} (10... Nd7 $11 {0.00/23 and Black stays safe. }) 11. Nh4 {0.75/21} (11. g4 $1 $18 {1.93/19 is the precise move to win.}) 11... Bd7 12. Qg4 {-0.59/22} (12. g4 $16 {0.85/19}) 12... Kh7 $2 {1.15/21} ( 12... Nf5 $15 {-0.59/22}) 13. Rh3 $2 {-0.75/26} (13. Qf4 $1 $16 {1.15/21}) 13... Na6 $2 {0.78/20} (13... Nf5 $17 {-0.75/26 stays on course.}) 14. Rg3 { -0.04/22} (14. Qf4 $1 $16 {0.78/20}) 14... Rg8 15. Rf3 {-0.49/20} (15. Qf4 $11 {-0.04/26 should be considered.}) 15... Raf8 {0.00/24} (15... Nf5 $1 $15 { -0.49/20 feels stronger.}) 16. g3 {-1.11/20} (16. Be2 $11 {0.00/24 remains equal.}) 16... Ba4 {-0.39/21} ({Better is} 16... Qa4 $1 $17 {-1.11/20} 17. Kd1 f5) 17. Kd1 Nc7 {0.00/22} (17... Qb5 $17 {-0.78/19}) 18. Be2 {-0.97/19} (18. Qf4 $11 {0.00/22 keeps the balance.}) 18... Bd7 {0.31/19} (18... Qb6 $17 { -0.97/19} 19. Kc1 Nb5) 19. Qf4 $14 f6 $2 {4.97/20} (19... Ne8 $11 {-0.10/22 and Black is okay.}) 20. exf6 $18 {White is clearly winning.} Rxf6 21. Qd6 $1 { [#] Threatens to win with Rxf6.} Rxf3 22. Nxf3 {Accuracy: White = 10%, Black = 13%.} 1-0

15 Feb 2015

C92 Closed Spanish Game: 9...Be6, Karpov and Flohr-Zaitsev Variations (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Na5 11.Bc2)

C92 Closed Spanish Game: 9...Be6, Karpov and Flohr-Zaitsev Variations (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Na5 11.Bc2)

The moves in this one might be slightly out of order but the position after Black's 9...Bb7 is from the opening that is said in the title of this post. The game below is from the first round of the tournament called 2014 August Banded Threesomes I 1700-1800 and it is held at Red Hot Pawn. People are divided in to three player groups if possible as you may figure out from the name of the tournament. Round one is still in progress in one of the groups but the group I was in has already been decided and there were two players sharing the group victory, so both advance to the next round. Both of those players are featured in the game below. Thinking times are 3 days per move and 7 days are in the bank. I have added two mate in two, one mate in four and two mate in eight puzzles today. If you have any feedback to give me, please leave a comment, would be much appreciated and don't forget to tell your friends about this blog, thank you!

[Event "Banded Threesomes"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.22"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "KellyJay"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C92"] [WhiteElo "1871"] [BlackElo "1701"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 (4... Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 {1-0 (35) Kirchmann,S-Hahn,W Darmstadt 1995}) 5. Bb3 d6 6. c3 Be7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 {C92 Spanish Game: Closed Variations. Flohr System } (9... Na5 10. Bc2 Bb7 {1-0 (35) Kirchmann,S-Hahn,W Darmstadt 1995}) 10. d4 Na5 11. Bc2 {C92 Closed Spanish Game: 9...Be6, Karpov and Flohr-Zaitsev Variations} h6 {1.07/20} (11... Re8 $14 {0.41/22}) (11... Nd7 12. Nbd2 Bf6 13. Nf1 Nc6 14. b3 Nb6 15. d5 Na7 16. Ne3 c6 17. c4 cxd5 18. cxd5 a5 19. h4 Bc8 20. a3 Bxh4 21. Qe2 Bd7 {1/2-1/2 (21) Krstic,S-Ribeiro,J (2300) Skopje 1972}) 12. Nbd2 {0.63/22} (12. b3 $16 {1.07/20}) 12... Nh7 $146 {1.81/18} (12... Re8 $14 { 0.63/22} 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Bf8 15. Nef3 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Qxd1 17. Nf6+ gxf6 18. Rxd1 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Rad8 20. Bf4 c5 21. Kf1 Nc4 22. b3 Nd6 23. Rd5 c4 24. Rad1 Re6 25. Bf5 Nxf5 26. Rxd8 cxb3 27. axb3 Kg7 {Kirchmann,S-Hahn,W Darmstadt 1995 1-0 (35)}) 13. Nf1 {0.68/21} (13. dxe5 $18 {1.81/18} dxe5 14. Nxe5) 13... exd4 {1.59/16} (13... Re8 $14 {0.68/21}) 14. Nxd4 {0.60/21} (14. cxd4 $16 { 1.59/16} Ng5 15. Nxg5 Bxg5 16. Ne3) 14... Bg5 {1.42/19} ({Black should try} 14... Re8 $14 {0.60/21}) 15. Qd3 {0.50/23} (15. a4 $16 {1.42/19}) 15... Bxc1 { 1.61/20} (15... g6 $14 {0.50/23}) 16. Raxc1 $2 $40 {0.09/21 White mounts an attack.} (16. e5 $1 $18 {1.61/20} Ng5 17. Raxc1 dxe5 18. Rxe5) 16... Nf6 { 1.29/22} (16... Re8 $1 $11 {0.09/21}) 17. e5 $2 {-1.10/24} (17. b3 $16 { 1.29/22 stays on course.}) 17... dxe5 $17 18. Rxe5 {[#] And now Qg3 would win.} Nc4 19. Ree1 {-1.56/20} (19. Re2 $142 {-0.77/24}) 19... Nxb2 {-0.60/22} (19... c5 $1 $17 {-1.56/20} 20. Nb3 Qxd3 21. Bxd3 Nxb2) 20. Qg3 $15 {aiming for Nf5.} Bc8 $2 {0.60/22} ({Better is} 20... Nh5 $1 $17 {-1.15/20} 21. Qg4 Qg5 22. Qxg5 hxg5) 21. Ne3 $1 $14 {Rb1 is the strong threat.} c5 $2 {3.25/25} (21... Qd6 $1 $11 {0.00/25}) 22. Ndf5 Bxf5 23. Nxf5 {[#]} Nh5 $2 {4.81/22} (23... g6 {2.58/26 } 24. Ne7+ (24. Nxh6+ Kh8 $16) 24... Kh8) 24. Qf3 {1.97/24} (24. Nxh6+ $142 { 4.81/22} Kh8 25. Nxf7+ $1 Rxf7 26. Qg6) 24... Qg5 $2 {5.02/21} (24... g6 { 1.97/24}) 25. Qe4 $2 {-0.64/20} ({White must play} 25. h4 $18 {5.02/21} Qf4 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Qxh5) 25... g6 $15 26. Ne3 {-1.74/19} ({White should play} 26. Ne7+ $15 {-0.55/22} Kh7 27. h4) 26... Nf4 $2 {0.09/23} (26... Rfe8 $19 { -1.74/19} 27. h4 Qd8) 27. Rb1 $2 {-2.12/24} (27. h4 $1 $11 {0.09/23 and White is okay.} Qf6 28. Ng4) 27... Rfe8 28. Qf3 Nbd3 29. Bxd3 Nxd3 30. Red1 c4 31. Ng4 {-2.52/21} (31. a4 {-1.79/25 was called for.}) 31... Kg7 $19 32. g3 $2 { -4.12/21} (32. a4 {-2.50/24 is a better defense.}) 32... h5 33. Ne3 Rad8 34. h4 Qe5 {Accuracy: White = 17%, Black = 24%.} 0-1

14 Feb 2015

C45 Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Qd3 Nf6)

C45 Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 5.Qd3 Nf6)

In this post I share with you all a game that was played in a tournament called 2014 August Grand Seven Fourteen III. The ongoing tournament is played at Red Hot Pawn and it started August 11th 2014. It is a 21 player tournament where all players play against each other two games and all of those games are played simultaneously. There are only two players left to fight for the win of the tournament but I can only fight for third place at the moment. Even the third place finish is still long way to go as my opponent in this game is currently third and he has finished all his games having scored 97 points, I have games still in progress and my maximum possible score is 99, which does require me to win all my remaining games. That may prove too difficult a task for me but we will see how it goes. My opponent's rating in the notation is very low but when we played our game, he was rated over 2000. For some reason or the other he started to lose his games on time. I have added today one puzzle to the following: mate in one, two, four, five and seventeen.

[Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "z4"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "1871"] [BlackElo "1264"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "30"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 {C45 Scotch Game: Steinitz Variation } 5. Qd3 Nf6 {C45 Scotch Game} 6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. Nd2 Bc5 {0.11/22} (7... Be6 $17 {-0.89/18}) (7... Ng4 8. Qg3 Qxg3 9. hxg3 {1-0 (45) Fleischmann,A (1971) -Patzer,J (1793) Grieskirchen 1998}) 8. Qg3 $11 {The position is equal.} Qxg3 9. hxg3 Ng4 {0.83/22} (9... a5 $11 {0.00/21 remains equal.}) 10. f3 $16 Ne3 11. Bd3 {aiming for Nb3.} Be6 ({But not} 11... Nxg2+ $6 12. Kf1 $16 (12. Ke2 Ne3 13. Nb3 Bb6 14. Bxe3 Bxe3 15. Kxe3 Bd7 16. Nc5 O-O-O 17. Nxd7 Rxd7 18. Rad1 h6 19. Be2 Rd6 20. Rd3 Rg6 21. Kf2 Rg5 22. Rhd1 f6 23. f4 Rc5 24. Bg4+ f5 25. Bxf5+ Rxf5 26. exf5 Rf8 {Gil,O (1307)-Zniszczol,W (1028) Szczyrk 2014 1-0 (50)} )) 12. Rh2 $146 {-0.42/20} (12. Ke2 $14 {0.66/20} Bb6 13. Nb1 (13. Nf1 Nc4 14. b3 Nd6 15. Bb2 O-O 16. g4 h6 17. a4 a5 18. e5 Nc8 19. g5 hxg5 20. Bh7+ Kh8 21. Nd2 g6 22. Bxg6+ Kg7 23. Bd3 Rg8 24. Ne4 Ne7 25. Nxg5 Nd5 26. Rh7+ Kf8 27. Ba3+ Ke8 {Neifeld,I-Povarnizyn,D (2067) Gornozavodsk 2009 1-0 (46)})) (12. Nb3 Bb6 13. Bxe3 Bxe3 14. Ke2 Bb6 15. c4 a6 16. Rh5 O-O-O 17. c5 Ba7 18. Rc1 h6 19. Bc4 Rhe8 20. g4 b6 21. Bxa6+ Kb8 22. cxb6 Bxb6 23. Na5 Ka7 24. Bd3 Bxa5 25. Rxa5+ Kb7 26. a3 Rd6 {Fleischmann,A (1971)-Patzer,J (1793) Grieskirchen 1998 1-0 (45) }) 12... O-O-O {[#] Threatens to win with ...Rxd3!} 13. Nf1 $2 {-3.29/18} (13. Ke2 $1 $11 {-0.13/26 and White stays safe.}) 13... Rxd3 $1 $19 14. cxd3 Nc2+ 15. Kd1 Nxa1 0-1

13 Feb 2015

C41 Philidor Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O a6)

C41 Philidor Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O a6)

This game was played in the first round of the 2014 August Banded Quartets I 1700-1800 tournament. Our group number was 1 and it was the only group from the five groups that had five players in it. Other groups had only four players. Only the winner from each group advances and I was able to be one of the winners, so I advanced to the second round. I have added one mate in one, two mate in three, one mate in seven and one mate in eight puzzles today. Until tomorrow, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

Game number two. The game below was played in the 2014 September Grand Seven Fourteen III tournament at Red Hot Pawn. I am clinging on a very small chance of winning this tournament still but at any given time I may be out of the fight for the win as the current leader only needs to get two more points to get higher amount of points that I can gather in my remaining games.

Game number three. This one was played in a team match called "LEGENDS ARE FOREVER OPEN CHALLENGE 2016". It consists of 55 boards and it is between SHETOS and Chess School. I played on board 8 for Chess School and I was able to win both of my games against Silent_Venom. The current score in the match is 34 - 68 in favor of Chess School and therefore we have secured the win in the match quite nicely. SHETOS has lost 21 games so far on time and Chess School has lost 4 games due to timeouts.

The game below is a rather silly one in that for some reason I made my life harder by not taking the free piece on a5 after 15...f5. I do not know what was I thinking at the time or if I even was thinking at all... Sometimes my brain just goes to vacation without my permission. I was able to play reasonably well, but this could have been much easier for me had I kept my eyes open.

[Event "Banded Quartets"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.16"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "gilaadm"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1876"] [BlackElo "1603"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {C41 Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation} 5. Nc3 Be7 (5... a6 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O {1/2-1/2 (29) Blazek,M (1992) -Sunal,J (1740) Slovakia 2017}) 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O a6 {C41 Philidor Defence} 8. Be3 Nc6 $146 {1.04/20} (8... Re8 $11 {0.00/20 keeps the balance.}) (8... c5 9. Nb3 (9. Nf3 Nc6 10. a3 b5 11. Nd2 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. c4 bxc4 15. Bxc4 Qe5 16. Qf3 Bd7 17. Bd5 Rac8 18. Bf4 Qxb2 19. Nc4 Qf6 20. Nb6 Nd4 21. Qe3 Nf5 22. Nxd7 Nxe3 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {Both,G (1523)-Bernhardt,W (1463) Frankfurt 2018 1-0 (64)}) 9... b5 (9... Be6 10. f4 Nc6 11. f5 Bxb3 12. axb3 Rc8 13. Qd2 Ne5 14. Rfd1 Qd7 15. Bf4 {1/2-1/2 (15) Martins,J (2355)-Limp,E (2395) Rio de Janeiro 2008}) 10. a3 Bb7 11. e5 Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. exd6 Bxd6 14. Nxc5 Bxc5 15. Bxc5 Qg5 16. Bf3 Rd8 17. Qe2 Qxc5 18. Bxe4 Nc6 19. Bxc6 Qxc6 20. c3 Re8 21. Qc2 Re6 22. Rfe1 Rae8 23. Qd2 {Dreesbach,T (1455)-Zemella,J (1636) Dortmund 2005 1/2-1/2 (45)}) (8... Bd7 9. f4 Nc6 10. Bf3 Qc8 11. h3 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Bc6 13. e5 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 dxe5 15. fxe5 Ne8 16. Rd1 Qe6 17. Nd5 c6 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qb6 Qxe5 20. Bc5 Nf6 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Qd4 Qe2 23. Rf2 {Blazek, M (1992)-Sunal,J (1740) Slovakia 2017 1/2-1/2}) 9. Nxc6 $16 bxc6 10. h3 { 0.23/22} (10. f4 $16 {1.14/20}) 10... Re8 {0.87/19} (10... Nd7 $11 {0.23/22 remains equal.}) 11. Bf3 {-0.37/23} (11. Bc4 $16 {0.87/19}) 11... Be6 {0.75/17} (11... Bb7 $15 {-0.37/23 keeps the upper hand.}) 12. e5 Nd7 {1.99/20} (12... Nd5 $1 $14 {0.52/21}) 13. exd6 {1.52/24} ({White should play} 13. Bxc6 $18 { 1.99/20} Rb8 14. b3) 13... cxd6 14. Bxc6 Qc7 $2 {4.13/18 [#]} (14... Rb8 { 1.65/22} 15. Rb1 Qc7) 15. Bxa8 $18 Rxa8 16. Qd2 Ne5 {4.50/21} (16... Rb8 { 3.20/21 keeps fighting.} 17. Bd4 Ne5) 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Rc8 19. c3 { White is clearly winning.} Rb8 20. Rab1 Rb5 21. Qa8+ Qb8 22. Qxb8+ Rxb8 23. b3 f5 24. Rfd1 Kf7 25. Rd5 Rb5 26. Rxb5 axb5 27. Rd1 h6 {8.10/20} (27... Ke6 $142 {5.19/24} 28. Kf1 g6) 28. Rd5 {Accuracy: White = 44%, Black = 18%.} 1-0 [Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "rkmmax"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1914"] [BlackElo "1512"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "151"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 (1... d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 {1/2-1/2 (17) Pablo Marin,A (2379)-Vassallo Barroche,M (2423) Barcelona 2015}) 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {C41 Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation} 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O a6 {0.93/20 C41 Philidor Defence} (7... Bd7 $11 {0.18/20 remains equal.}) 8. Bf4 { 0.00/21} (8. Re1 $16 {0.93/20} c5 9. Nb3 b5 10. Bf3 Ra7 11. Bf4 Be6 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 Bf5 14. a4 Rb7 15. axb5 Rxb5 16. Na5 Bg5 17. Nc6 Qf6 18. Bxg5 Qxg5 19. b3 g6 20. Ra4 h5 21. h4 Qf6 22. Ne7+ Kh7 23. Rf4 {Tseshkovsky,V (2595) -Giorgadze,T (2540) Vilnius 1980 1-0}) 8... Bd7 {0.74/20} (8... Re8 $11 { 0.00/21} 9. Bg3 Bf8 10. Bh4 Be7 11. Bg3 Bf8 12. Bh4 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. f4 Be7 15. Bf3 Nd7 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Qd2 Rb8 {1/2-1/2 (17) Pablo Marin,A (2379) -Vassallo Barroche,M (2423) Barcelona 2015}) 9. Bf3 $146 {0.00/22} (9. Qd3 $16 {0.74/20}) (9. Re1 Nc6 10. h3 Re8 11. Bf1 Bf8 12. Qd2 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 Bc6 14. Rad1 Qc8 15. Re3 Nh5 16. Bh2 g6 17. g4 Bg7 18. Qc4 Nf6 19. a4 Nxg4 20. hxg4 Bxc3 21. Be2 Bxb2 22. c3 Ba3 23. e5 Bc5 {Stoev,T (1723)-Valchev,S Sofia 2009 0-1}) 9... Nc6 10. Nb3 {-0.37/18} (10. Nxc6 $14 {0.40/19} Bxc6 11. Qd2) 10... Rb8 11. Nd5 {-0.54/20} (11. h3 $11 {0.00/22}) 11... Nxd5 12. exd5 Ne5 13. Be2 { -0.53/21} (13. Re1 $11 {0.00/21}) 13... Bf6 {0.07/23} (13... b5 $15 {-0.53/21}) 14. c3 $11 Ng6 {0.08/20} (14... h6 $15 {-0.50/20}) 15. Be3 {-0.92/22} (15. Bg3 $11 {0.08/20}) 15... c5 {0.55/18} (15... Bg5 $1 $17 {-0.92/22} 16. Bd2 Re8) 16. dxc6 $1 $14 Bxc6 17. Nd4 {-0.15/24} (17. Qd2 $16 {0.98/18}) 17... Bxd4 $11 18. Qxd4 {-0.08/22} (18. cxd4 $14 {0.35/21} Bd5 19. Bd3) 18... d5 $2 {1.47/21} ( 18... Nh4 $1 $11 {-0.08/22}) 19. Rad1 {0.87/21} (19. Rfe1 $142 {1.47/21}) 19... Qc7 {1.46/19} (19... Re8 $142 {0.87/21}) 20. Bf3 {0.63/22} ({White should try} 20. Rfe1 $16 {1.46/19}) 20... Rbd8 $14 21. Qc5 {0.44/21} (21. b3 $16 {1.34/20}) 21... Ne5 {[#] White must now prevent ...d4.} 22. Bxd5 $2 {-1.88/22} (22. Be2 $1 $16 {0.98/23 and life is bright.}) 22... Nd7 $4 {1.89/23} (22... b6 $1 $19 { -1.88/22} 23. Qxb6 Qxb6 24. Bxb6 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Bxd5) 23. Qd4 $2 {-0.23/24} (23. Qb4 $18 {1.89/23}) 23... Bxd5 $2 {1.52/21} (23... Nf6 $1 $11 {-0.23/24} 24. c4 (24. Bf4 Qc8 $15) 24... Nxd5 25. cxd5 Rxd5) 24. Qxd5 $16 Nf6 {1.84/21} (24... Rfe8 $16 {1.23/22} 25. Qf5 Re6) 25. Qf3 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 h6 {2.60/19} (26... Rd8 $142 {1.64/25} 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8) 27. Bxh6 $1 $18 gxh6 $2 {4.30/19} (27... Rd8 { 2.67/25}) 28. Qxf6 {Endgame KQR-KQR} Qc6 29. Rd6 Qe4 {[#]} 30. g3 Qb1+ 31. Kg2 Qxa2 {10.56/25} (31... Re8 $142 {4.62/26} 32. Qf3 Qxb2 33. Rxh6 Qe2 34. Qxb7 Qxa2) 32. b4 $2 {3.58/26} (32. Qf5 {10.56/25} Kg7 33. Qg4+ Kh7 34. Qh5) 32... Qe2 33. Rd4 {And now h3 would win.} Qe6 34. Qf4 Qc6+ 35. Qf3 Qxf3+ 36. Kxf3 { KR-KR} Rc8 {2.28/22} (36... Ra8 $142 {1.70/28} 37. c4 a5 38. bxa5 Rxa5) 37. Rd3 Rc7 38. Kg4 {1.33/27} (38. Ke4 $18 {1.85/23}) 38... Kg7 39. Kf5 {1.24/25} ({ Better is} 39. h4 $18 {1.71/24}) 39... Re7 {2.21/23} (39... b6 $16 {1.24/25}) 40. f4 Rc7 41. Ke5 {1.35/27} (41. Re3 $18 {1.77/26}) 41... f6+ $2 {3.53/21} ( 41... h5 $16 {1.35/27} 42. Ke4 Rc4+ 43. Kf5 b6) 42. Kd6 {1.63/24} (42. Ke6 $142 {3.53/21 Rd7+ is the strong threat.} Rc6+ 43. Kf5) 42... Rc4 $2 {3.52/23} ( 42... Rc6+ {1.63/24 was called for.} 43. Ke7 Kg6) 43. Kd5 Rc7 {3.57/23} (43... Rc6 {2.37/25 was necessary.} 44. c4 Kf7) 44. c4 Kf7 45. Re3 Rd7+ 46. Ke4 Re7+ { 2.21/25} (46... Kg6 $142 {1.71/25} 47. Rd3 Re7+ 48. Kf3 Rc7) 47. Kd3 Rxe3+ $2 { 12.79/21} (47... Rd7+ {2.03/25} 48. Kc3 Kg6) 48. Kxe3 {KP-KP} Ke6 49. Ke4 b6 50. f5+ Kd6 51. Kd4 h5 52. h3 $2 {3.59/26} (52. c5+ {18.33/28} bxc5+ 53. bxc5+ Kd7 54. h3) 52... Kc6 $2 {65.23/26} (52... a5 {3.59/26} 53. bxa5 bxa5) 53. g4 hxg4 54. hxg4 a5 55. bxa5 {White mates.} bxa5 {K3P-KPP} 56. Kc3 Kc5 57. Kb3 a4+ 58. Kxa4 Kxc4 59. g5 $1 fxg5 {KP-KP} 60. f6 g4 61. f7 g3 62. f8=Q Kd3 63. Qf3+ Kd4 64. Qxg3 Ke4 65. Qd6 Kf5 66. Qe7 Kf4 67. Kb4 Kf3 68. Kc3 Kf4 69. Kd4 Kf5 70. Qe5+ Kg6 71. Qf4 Kg7 72. Ke5 Kg6 73. Qf6+ Kh5 74. Qg7 Kh4 75. Kf4 Kh3 76. Qg3# {Accuracy: White = 30%, Black = 18%.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Silent_Venom"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1838"] [BlackElo "1795"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {C41 Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation} 5. Nc3 Be7 (5... a6 6. Be2 {1/2-1/2 (29) Blazek,M (1992)-Sunal,J (1740) Slovakia 2017}) 6. Be2 a6 (6... O-O 7. O-O {1/2-1/2 (45) Dreesbach,T (1455)-Zemella,J (1636) Dortmund 2005}) 7. O-O O-O {C41 Philidor Defence} 8. Be3 {0.00/21} ({White should try} 8. Bf4 $16 {0.77/18}) 8... b5 $146 {1.19/20} (8... Re8 $11 {0.00/21}) (8... c5 9. Nb3 (9. Nf3 Nc6 10. a3 b5 11. Nd2 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. c4 bxc4 15. Bxc4 Qe5 16. Qf3 Bd7 17. Bd5 Rac8 18. Bf4 Qxb2 19. Nc4 Qf6 20. Nb6 Nd4 21. Qe3 Nf5 22. Nxd7 Nxe3 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 { Both,G (1523)-Bernhardt,W (1463) Frankfurt 2018 1-0 (64)}) 9... b5 (9... Be6 10. f4 Nc6 11. f5 Bxb3 12. axb3 Rc8 13. Qd2 Ne5 14. Rfd1 Qd7 15. Bf4 {1/2-1/2 (15) Martins,J (2355)-Limp,E (2395) Rio de Janeiro 2008}) 10. a3 Bb7 11. e5 Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. exd6 Bxd6 14. Nxc5 Bxc5 15. Bxc5 Qg5 16. Bf3 Rd8 17. Qe2 Qxc5 18. Bxe4 Nc6 19. Bxc6 Qxc6 20. c3 Re8 21. Qc2 Re6 22. Rfe1 Rae8 23. Qd2 { Dreesbach,T (1455)-Zemella,J (1636) Dortmund 2005 1/2-1/2 (45)}) (8... Bd7 9. f4 Nc6 10. Bf3 Qc8 11. h3 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Bc6 13. e5 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 dxe5 15. fxe5 Ne8 16. Rd1 Qe6 17. Nd5 c6 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qb6 Qxe5 20. Bc5 Nf6 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Qd4 Qe2 23. Rf2 {Blazek,M (1992)-Sunal,J (1740) Slovakia 2017 1/2-1/2} ) 9. a3 {0.44/22} (9. Bf3 $1 $16 {1.19/20}) 9... c5 $14 10. Nf5 {White is better.} Bb7 $2 {2.60/20 [#]} (10... Bxf5 $14 {0.37/21} 11. exf5 Ra7) 11. f3 { 1.17/21} (11. e5 $18 {2.60/20} dxe5 12. Qxd8 Bxd8 13. Bxc5) 11... Nc6 {2.18/21} (11... Re8 $16 {1.17/21 keeps fighting.}) 12. Nd5 {0.85/20} (12. Qd2 $18 { 2.18/21 is more deadly.}) 12... Nxd5 $16 13. Qxd5 ({Much worse is} 13. exd5 $6 Ne5 $11) 13... Na5 $2 {2.45/18} (13... Qc7 $1 $14 {0.56/20} 14. Qd2 Ne5) 14. Nxe7+ $2 {0.93/20 [#]} (14. Qd2 $1 $18 {2.45/18 has better winning chances.}) 14... Qxe7 15. Qd2 $36 {Keeping Black busy.} f5 $2 {4.75/17} (15... Nc4 $16 { 0.94/25 is more resistant.} 16. Bxc4 bxc4) 16. Bf4 $2 {1.10/22} (16. Qxa5 $18 { 4.75/17 Hoping for Qd2.} fxe4 17. Qd2) 16... Rad8 $2 {4.29/21} (16... fxe4 $16 {1.10/22} 17. Bxd6 Rfd8) 17. Bg5 Qc7 18. Bxd8 Qxd8 19. exf5 Rxf5 20. Rad1 d5 21. b4 cxb4 22. axb4 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Nc4 24. Bxc4 bxc4 25. c3 Qg6 26. Qd4 h6 27. Rfe1 {White is clearly winning.} Rh5 {7.66/22} (27... Kh7 $142 {4.44/25} 28. Re7 Bc6) 28. Re5 Kh7 29. Rxh5 Qxh5 30. Re1 Qg5 31. Kg1 h5 32. Kf2 h4 33. Re5 { Accuracy: White = 39%, Black = 13%.} 1-0

12 Feb 2015

D45 Semi-Slav: 5.e3 (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.h3 Bd6 8.Bd3 O-O 9.O-O)

D45 Semi-Slav: 5.e3 (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.h3 Bd6 8.Bd3 O-O 9.O-O)

The only site that I know of that keeps track of the amount of moves you make is Red Hot Pawn. It is kind of nice feature actually not that the amount of moves makes all that much difference to your playing strength necessarily. I have made 8811 moves there at the moment I type this. That is only a small fraction of the moves that my opponent has done. He is one of the two very esteemed move makers at Red Hot Pawn as he and only one other player have made over one million moves on the site!! My first game against this same opponent was over ten years ago and I have at the moment a couple of games against him. The game below was played in the 2014 Grand Seven Fourteen III tournament. The tournament is played in one group of 21 players and it is a all versus all times two, so when you start the tournament you have 40 games in progress in this tournament alone. I can only fight for the third place in the tournament anymore as I have lost too many points. Well, I have theoretical chances for the second place but that would mean that I would need to win all my remaining games and the player currently second can't earn more points from the remaining games. I have added one mate in two, three mate in four and one mate in six puzzle today.

[Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Marko Krale"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "1538"] [BlackElo "1876"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. d4 (1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 {1-0 (67) Sobrinho,E (1941)-Bail,E (1672) Sao Bento do Sul 2015}) 1... Nf6 (1... d5 2. c4 (2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Nbd7 4. c4 c6 5. Nc3 {0-1 (52) Hein,M (2075)-Supplieth,P (2009) Bad Neuenahr 2014}) 2... c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 {0-1 (55) Babayan,A (2168)-Aitbayev,A (2427) Yerevan 2017}) 2. c4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 {D45 Semi-Slav Defense: Normal Variation} 6. cxd5 exd5 7. h3 (7. Bd3 Bd6 8. O-O O-O {0-1 (55) Babayan, A (2168)-Aitbayev,A (2427) Yerevan 2017}) 7... Bd6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O {-0.58/21 D45 Semi-Slav: 5.e3} (9. b3 $11 {-0.09/25 is superior.}) 9... Qe7 {0.25/22} ( 9... Re8 $1 $15 {-0.58/21} 10. Qc2) 10. Qc2 {-0.39/18} (10. Nd2 $1 $11 {0.25/22 }) 10... Re8 $15 11. Bf5 $146 {-1.43/21} (11. Nd2 $11 {-0.18/21 keeps the balance.} Nf8 (11... c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bb5 Qe5 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Bxe8 Bxh3 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7 17. gxh3 Qxf3 18. Qe2 Qxh3 19. f4 Re8 20. Qf3 Qxf3 21. Rxf3 Ne6 22. Bd2 a6 23. Ne2 Ne4 24. Bc3 Rc8 25. Rd1 Nc7 26. Nd4 {Sobrinho,E (1941)-Bail,E (1672) Sao Bento do Sul 2015 1-0 (67)}) 12. Re1 Bc7 13. Rb1 Ng6 14. b4 Nh4 15. Ba3 Qd6 16. Nf1 Bxh3 17. gxh3 Qd7 18. Nh2 Qxh3 19. f4 Rxe3 20. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Bxf4 22. Bc1 Qg3 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Ne2 Qf2 25. Rg1 Re8 26. b5 {Babayan,A (2168)-Aitbayev,A (2427) Yerevan 2017 0-1 (55)}) (11. Re1 Ne4 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nd2 Nf6 14. f3 exf3 15. Nxf3 Bg3 16. Rf1 Be6 17. Ne2 Bc7 18. e4 h6 19. Be3 Bxh3 20. gxh3 Qxe4 21. Qxe4 Rxe4 22. Kf2 Rae8 23. Nc3 Rxe3 24. Ne5 Rxh3 25. Kg2 Rh5 {Hein,M (2075)-Supplieth,P (2009) Bad Neuenahr 2014 0-1 (52)}) 11... Nb6 { -0.89/24} ({Black should try} 11... Ne4 {-1.43/21} 12. b3 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Nf6 14. Bxc8 Ne4) 12. b3 Bxf5 13. Qb2 $2 {-7.06/20 [#]} (13. Qxf5 $17 {-0.94/21} Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2) 13... Ne4 $19 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Bxd2 0-1

11 Feb 2015

E61 King's Indian: Early deviations for White, including Smyslov System (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.h3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.O-O d6 8.c4 e6 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.Qc2)

E61 King's Indian: Early deviations for White, including Smyslov System (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.h3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.O-O d6 8.c4 e6 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.Qc2)

The game you see below is another one where the move order is not normal for this line. In the usual move order White plays 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4. It happens very rarely that the computer likes my moves enough that it puts exclamation point behind one of my moves in the analysis but in this game it does do that. Exclamation point after a move indicates that the move was good if someone wondered what it means. I have also added one puzzle to the following pages: mate in ones, mate in two moves, mate in threes, mate in four moves collection and mate in 9. If you find these posts useful or have any suggestions, please leave a comment. Feedback is always appreciated, thank you all who have come to view this blog and until tomorrow, my fellow chess enthusiasts.

[Event "Open invite"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.05.23"] [Round "?"] [White "39er"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E61"] [WhiteElo "1657"] [BlackElo "1876"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 (2. Nf3 g6 {1-0 (87) Pham,L (2319)-Mikhalevski,V (2536) Berlin 2015}) 2... g6 3. Nf3 {A48 Indian Game: London System} (3. e3 Bg7 { 0-1 (50) Sirotkina,N (2188)-Lagarde,M (2616) Bled 2018}) 3... Bg7 (3... d6 4. h3 Bg7 5. e3 {1-0 (27) Golda,H (2365)-Klein,J (2085) Würzburg 1996}) 4. e3 O-O 5. h3 (5. Be2 d6 {1-0 (87) Pham,L (2319)-Mikhalevski,V (2536) Berlin 2015}) 5... b6 (5... d6 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O {0-1 (50) Sirotkina,N (2188)-Lagarde,M (2616) Bled 2018}) 6. Be2 Bb7 7. O-O d6 8. c4 e6 9. Nc3 Nbd7 (9... Qe7 10. Bh2 { 1-0 (87) Pham,L (2319)-Mikhalevski,V (2536) Berlin 2015}) 10. Qc2 $146 { E61 King's Indian: Early deviations for White, including Smyslov System} (10. Bh2 Qe7 11. Qc2 a6 (11... Rfe8 12. Rfd1 e5 13. Rac1 exd4 14. Nxd4 Nc5 15. Bf1 Nce4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Nb5 a6 18. Nd4 h5 19. Re1 Rab8 20. Rcd1 Red8 21. Be2 c5 22. Nf3 Bc6 23. Nd2 Ng5 24. Bf4 b5 25. cxb5 axb5 26. a3 {Pham,L (2319) -Mikhalevski,V (2536) Berlin 2015 1-0 (87)}) 12. e4 Nh5 13. Rfe1 c5 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. Rad1 Ne5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Bxh5 gxh5 18. f3 Kh8 19. Kh1 Rg8 20. Bg1 Bh6 21. Qf2 Bf4 22. Ne2 Rac8 23. Nxf4 exf4 24. Rd2 e5 {Sirotkina,N (2188) -Lagarde,M (2616) Bled 2018 0-1 (50)}) (10. a4 a5 11. Qc2 Nb8 12. Nb5 Na6 13. Rfd1 Nb4 14. Qb3 Nd7 15. Rac1 Qc8 16. Ne1 e5 17. Bg3 Re8 18. Bg4 f5 19. Bf3 Kh8 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. Nc2 Na6 22. Rd2 Nf6 23. Bh2 {1/2-1/2 (23) Bruno,C (1766) -Marchese,G (1962) Bad Homburg 2015}) (10. Rc1 Qe7 11. Re1 h6 12. b4 e5 13. Bh2 e4 14. Nd2 a6 15. Nb3 Ne8 16. c5 bxc5 17. bxc5 dxc5 18. Na5 cxd4 19. exd4 Qb4 20. Nxb7 Qxb7 21. Nxe4 Qxe4 22. Bf3 Qh4 23. Bxa8 Bxd4 24. Bg3 Qf6 {Golda,H (2365)-Klein,J (2085) Würzburg 1996 1-0}) 10... Re8 11. Rad1 a6 {1.21/18} ( 11... Qe7 $14 {0.59/20}) 12. e4 {0.75/22} (12. Rfe1 $142 {1.21/18}) 12... Nh5 $16 {White is better.} 13. Bh2 {0.48/22} (13. Bg5 $16 {1.37/18} Qc8 14. Rfe1) 13... Bh6 $14 14. g3 {0.44/23} ({White should play} 14. Rfe1 $16 {0.90/18}) 14... e5 15. d5 {0.00/22} (15. Rfe1 $14 {0.68/19}) 15... Bc8 {0.87/20} (15... Rc8 $11 {0.00/22 keeps the balance.}) 16. Ne1 {-0.47/20} (16. Kg2 $16 {0.87/20} ) 16... Ndf6 $1 $15 17. a4 $2 {-1.93/19 [#]} (17. Kg2 $11 {-0.25/23 and White has nothing to worry.}) 17... Bxh3 $19 18. Ng2 Ng4 19. Bxg4 {-2.44/23} (19. Rde1 $142 {-1.67/23}) 19... Bxg4 20. Rd3 {-3.27/20} (20. Rde1 {-2.15/23 keeps fighting.}) 20... f5 21. f3 fxe4 22. Nxe4 Bh3 {-1.46/23} ({Better is} 22... Bf5 $19 {-2.78/19} 23. Qe2 Nf6) 23. Re1 {-2.91/19} (23. g4 $17 {-1.46/23} Nf6 24. Qe2) 23... Rf8 {-1.24/21} (23... Bf5 $19 {-2.91/19} 24. g4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 Nf6) 24. Nf2 $2 {-3.40/19} (24. g4 $17 {-1.24/21} Nf6 25. Nf2 Bxg2 26. Kxg2) 24... Bf5 25. Ne4 Bxe4 26. fxe4 $2 {-3.92/25} (26. Rxe4 {-2.27/18 was forced.} Nf6 27. Re2) 26... Rf7 27. Qe2 Qd7 28. g4 Nf4 29. Nxf4 Bxf4 (29... exf4 $2 30. b3 $19) 30. Bxf4 Rxf4 31. Rg3 Qxa4 32. b3 Qd7 33. g5 a5 34. Qg2 a4 35. Ra1 b5 36. bxa4 bxa4 37. Raa3 Qc8 38. Kh2 Qb7 39. Ra1 Qb4 {[#] White must now prevent ... Rh4+.} 40. Qc2 a3 41. Kh3 Ra4 42. Qd3 Qxc4 {-4.48/22} (42... Qb2 $142 {-17.24/ 20 ( -> ...Rh4+!)} 43. Qd1 Rxc4) 43. Qxc4 Rxc4 44. Raxa3 Rfxe4 {Endgame KRR-KRR } 45. Ra8+ Kg7 46. Raa3 Red4 47. Rac3 h6 48. Rxc4 Rxc4 49. gxh6+ Kxh6 {KR-KR} 50. Rd3 Kg5 51. Rg3+ Kf5 52. Rd3 g5 53. Rg3 e4 {-61.80/25} (53... Rh4+ $142 { -#30/27} 54. Kg2 Rg4 55. Rxg4 Kxg4 56. Kf2 Kf4 57. Kg2 g4 58. Kg1 g3 59. Kf1 Kf3 60. Ke1 g2 61. Kd1 g1=Q+ 62. Kc2 Qb6 63. Kc3 e4 64. Kc4 Qb1 65. Kc3 Ke2 66. Kc4 Kd2 67. Kd4 Qd3#) 54. Rg2 e3 {Black mates.} 55. Re2 Re4 56. Kg3 g4 57. Kg2 Kf4 58. Rc2 e2 59. Rxc7 e1=Q 60. Rf7+ Ke3 61. Rf1 Qxf1+ $1 62. Kxf1 Kf3 63. Kg1 g3 64. Kf1 Re3 {Accuracy: White = 16%, Black = 51%.} 0-1

10 Feb 2015

B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3)

B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3)

The game below was played during the time when I started to play more and more correspondence chess. Most games I have had in progress at the same time was earlier this year when I reached 300 simultaneous games. That did last only a few hours as some games ended but still it was a amount to reach. At the moment I have only 277 games in progress so the pressure of making moves is not as bad as it was before. I do try to get to under 100 games so that I would have more time to other things as well. The game below was played at Red Hot Pawn and it still remains one of my most active places to play, at least if the amount of games in progress is any indication, I have currently 115 games in progress there. This game is also one of the last games that were not played in a tournament, now I have only tournament games in progress there. I have added one mate in one, two mate in three, one mate in five and one mate in fourteen puzzles today. There are now 714 different puzzles published and more will be coming each day.

[Event "Corr game 4.7.2014-19.8.2014"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.07.04"] [Round "?"] [White "serban1805"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1639"] [BlackElo "1853"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 {B18 Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation. Main Line} (6. Nf3 Nf6 7. h4 {1-0 (36) Nakabo,P (1581)-Angolikin,G (1643) Kampala 2018}) 6... h6 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 {B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} e6 10. Bf4 Bd6 {0.44/21} (10... Be7 $11 {0.00/21}) (10... Qa5+ 11. c3 Nbd7 12. O-O Be7 13. Rfe1 O-O 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. Rxe5 Qd8 16. Nh5 Nxh5 17. Rxh5 f5 18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Rxh6 Bf6 20. Qg3+ Bg7 21. Rxe6 Qd7 22. Rae1 Rae8 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Rxe8+ Qxe8 25. Qf4 {Kleijn,C (2427)-Levin,F (2482) Netherlands 2010 1/2-1/2 (43)}) 11. Ne5 {-0.20/18} (11. Be5 $14 {0.44/21}) (11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. O-O-O Nbd7 13. Rhe1 O-O-O 14. Kb1 Kb8 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Nf6 17. Qe5 Kc8 18. Qxd6 Rxd6 19. Ne5 Rf8 20. c4 Nd7 21. Kc2 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 f6 24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Rd2 Rf4 {Nakabo,P (1581) -Angolikin,G (1643) Kampala 2018 1-0 (36)}) 11... Qc7 {The position is equal.} (11... Bxe5 {is interesting.} 12. Bxe5 Qa5+ 13. c3 Nbd7 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. O-O O-O) 12. O-O-O $146 (12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nd7 14. O-O Nf6 15. Qe2 O-O 16. c4 Qb8 17. g4 Qd8 18. Kg2 Nh7 19. g5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 hxg5 21. hxg5 g6 22. Qg4 Kg7 23. Rh1 Rh8 24. Rad1 Qg8 25. Be3 Rd8 26. Bd4 b6 {Rombach,H-Moncur,J Hamilton 1924 1-0}) 12... Na6 {0.89/20} (12... Nbd7 $11 {0.06/22}) 13. Ne4 {0.25/23} ( 13. Rhe1 $1 $16 {0.89/20}) 13... Nxe4 $1 $11 14. Qxe4 O-O-O 15. Be3 {-0.09/21} (15. Rhe1 $14 {0.58/19}) 15... Kb8 {1.02/19} (15... Nb4 $11 {-0.09/21}) 16. Kb1 {0.09/22} (16. Nc4 $16 {1.02/19}) 16... c5 {1.32/20} (16... Nb4 $11 {0.09/22}) 17. Rd3 $2 {-3.21/20} (17. Nc4 $1 $16 {1.32/20 stays on course.}) 17... cxd4 $2 {0.00/24} (17... f5 $1 $19 {-3.21/20} 18. Qf3 cxd4) 18. Bxd4 {White wants to play Rc3.} f6 19. Ng6 Rhe8 ({Wrong is} 19... Nb4 $2 20. Rc3 $16) 20. Rc3 { -0.76/22} (20. f4 $11 {0.00/24}) 20... Qa5 $17 21. Qe3 {-0.92/19} (21. Rb3 $11 {0.00/24} b6 22. a3) 21... b6 {-0.20/23} (21... Nc7 $17 {-0.92/19} 22. Rd3 b6) 22. Rb3 $2 {-2.11/20} (22. Qe2 $11 {-0.20/23 and White is okay.}) 22... Nb4 $2 {-0.09/22} (22... e5 $1 $19 {-2.11/20} 23. Bc3 Qd5) 23. a3 $11 Nd5 {0.21/23} ( 23... Nc6 {-0.26/22 is superior.}) 24. Qe2 e5 25. Bc3 {-0.62/20} (25. Be3 $1 $14 {0.43/21}) 25... Nxc3+ {0.00/24} (25... Qa4 $15 {-0.62/20} 26. h5 Bxa3 $1) 26. Rxc3 Qd5 27. Rg1 Qf7 28. h5 Bc5 29. Rd1 Rd4 {0.70/20} ({Black should play} 29... Bxf2 $11 {-0.24/22} 30. Rf3 Rxd1+ 31. Qxd1 Bd4) 30. Rcd3 $14 Red8 { 1.36/22} (30... Qc4 $14 {0.65/24}) 31. Qf3 {0.00/26} (31. f4 $16 {1.36/22}) 31... Qe6 {0.75/26} (31... Qc4 $11 {0.00/26}) 32. b4 {-0.37/23} ({White should try} 32. Rxd4 $16 {0.75/26} Rxd4 33. Rxd4 Bxd4 34. Qe2) 32... Rxd3 33. Rxd3 Rxd3 34. Qxd3 Bxf2 35. Qd8+ Kb7 36. Nf8 Qf7 37. Nd7 {-0.96/24} (37. Qd6 $11 { 0.00/27 remains equal.}) 37... Kc6 {0.00/28} ({Of course not} 37... Qxh5 $6 38. Nc5+ bxc5 39. Qd7+ Kb8 40. Qd8+ Kb7 41. Qd7+ Kb8 42. Qd8+ Kb7 $11) (37... e4 $1 $17 {-0.96/24} 38. Qb8+ Kc6) 38. Nb8+ {-0.73/26} (38. Nf8 $11 {0.00/28 keeps the balance.}) 38... Kb7 $17 39. Nd7 {[#] Strongly threatening b5.} Qxh5 { 0.00/28} (39... e4 $1 $17 {-1.04/21 And now ...e3 would win.} 40. Qb8+ Kc6) 40. Nc5+ bxc5 (40... Bxc5 $5 41. Qd7+ $8 Kb8 $11) 41. Qd7+ Kb6 42. Qd8+ Kc6 43. b5+ $1 Kxb5 44. Qd7+ Kb6 45. Qd8+ $2 {-8.67/21} (45. Qd6+ $11 {0.00/22} Kb7 46. Qd7+ Kb6 47. Qd6+ Kb7 48. Qd7+ Kb6) 45... Kc6 $19 46. Qc8+ Kd6 {aiming for ... Qd1+.} 47. Qf8+ Ke6 {White must now prevent ...Qd1+.} 48. Qc8+ Kf7 {Threatens to win with ...Qd1+.} 49. Qd7+ Kg8 50. Qd8+ Kh7 {[#] Hoping for ...Bd4.} 51. Qd3+ Qg6 52. Qd7 e4 53. Qxa7 e3 {Black mates.} 54. Qa6 Qxg2 55. Qd3+ Qg6 56. Qe2 Qe4 57. a4 c4 58. a5 c3 {Accuracy: White = 19%, Black = 30%.} 0-1

9 Feb 2015

C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 O-O)

C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 O-O)

Here it is, ladies and gentleman, the game that raised my rating six points to get it over 2200 at Queen Alice Internet Chess Club. This game was played in invitation only private tournament called szybkielanie. It is a tournament that uses the Swiss System and has four rounds. There are fourteen players participating in this tournament. Players who participate in it are from all around the world. There are players from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Brunei, France, Spain and last but by no means least Finland of course. The game below is from the first round of the tournament between myself and Gosiulkaa. The early part of the game was not that easy for me after 11.Bg5, after that move I just tried to get out of the pin by slowly getting to a position where I can play Qd6 to free my knight. I of course missed completely my opportunity to play 20...b5 because the Queen needs to move to a square where it can't defend the d3 square, enabling me to take advantage of my opponent's clumsy rooks by playing Bd3 after the Queen has moved. Instead I just tried to play so that I can get out of the pin safely and get my Queen to d6. I was not sure how this game will end until I saw the move 27...g5, after that it was much easier to find moves than it was up to that point and the game speeded up a lot from the slow play I had played so far. I have added one more puzzle to mate in one, two, three, eighteen and nineteen puzzle pages.

[Event "szybkielanie"] [Site "http://www.queenalice.com/gam"] [Date "2014.12.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Gosiulkaa"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "1981"] [BlackElo "2195"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 ( 7... O-O 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 {1-0 (40) Kote,A-Arutyunyan,M Prague 2016}) (7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Nxe4 {1/2-1/2 (34) Kuempfel,M-Schneider,J Leipzig 2008}) 8. O-O Bxc3 {C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation. Greco Gambit Main Line} 9. bxc3 O-O {0.36/23 C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3} (9... d5 $17 {-0.80/21} 10. Qc2 O-O) 10. Qd3 $2 {-1.22/21 [#]} (10. d5 $14 {0.36/23} Na5 11. Bd3) 10... Nf6 $2 {0.73/23} (10... d5 $17 {-1.22/21 stays on course. White must now prevent ...Bf5.} 11. Bb3 Bf5) 11. Bg5 {-0.52/23} (11. Bb3 $1 $16 {0.73/23}) (11. Ba3 Re8 12. d5 Na5 13. Rfe1 Nxc4 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Qxc4 Qd8 16. Re1 d6 17. Qa4 Bd7 18. Qc2 Nxd5 19. Ng5 Qxg5 20. Bc1 Qf6 21. Bb2 Qh6 22. c4 Nb6 23. Qc3 Qg5 24. h4 Qg6 25. h5 Qg5 {Kote,A-Arutyunyan,M Prague 2016 1-0 (40) }) 11... d6 $2 {1.18/20} (11... h6 $15 {-0.52/23 stays ahead.} 12. Bh4 Na5) 12. Rab1 $146 {-0.44/23} (12. Bb3 $1 $16 {1.18/20} h6 (12... Bg4 13. Nd2 Bh5 14. Qh3 Bg6 15. Rfe1 h6 16. Bh4 Qd7 17. Qxd7 Nxd7 18. Ba4 Nb6 19. Bd1 Nd5 20. Rc1 Rfe8 21. Be2 Nf4 22. Bf1 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Kf8 24. Bb5 Re8 25. Rxe8+ Kxe8 26. g3 Nd5 27. c4 {Kuempfel,M-Schneider,J Leipzig 2008 1/2-1/2 (34)}) 13. Bh4 Na5 14. Bc2 g6 15. Qd2 Kg7 16. Rfe1 Nc4 17. Qe2 Be6 18. Bb3 d5 19. Ne5 g5 20. Bg3 Nxe5 21. Bxe5 c6 22. Bc2 Kg8 23. Qd3 Ne4 24. f3 f5 25. fxe4 fxe4 26. Qg3 h5 27. h4 { Carrero Mireles,N-Engelman,V Villa Giardino 2002 1-0 (35)}) 12... Na5 {0.11/23} (12... h6 $15 {-0.44/23} 13. Bxf6 Qxf6) 13. Bb3 {-0.96/22} (13. Bb5 $1 $11 { 0.11/23 remains equal.}) 13... Nxb3 $17 14. axb3 Bg4 {-0.30/24} (14... a5 $17 { -0.94/19}) 15. h3 $11 Bh5 {-0.09/23} (15... Bd7 $1 $17 {-0.96/19}) 16. Rbe1 Bg6 {-0.12/22} (16... h6 $17 {-0.81/20} 17. Bxf6 Qxf6) 17. Qc4 {-0.87/21} (17. Qd2 $11 {-0.12/22}) 17... c6 {0.00/22} (17... h6 $17 {-0.87/21} 18. Bxf6 Qxf6) 18. Qb4 $2 {-2.35/19 [#]} (18. Re3 $11 {0.00/22 and White has nothing to worry.}) 18... b6 $2 {-0.54/24} ({Black should try} 18... Bd3 $19 {-2.35/19} 19. Qxb7 Bxf1 20. Kxf1 Qb6 21. Qxb6 axb6 22. Bxf6 gxf6) 19. Qc4 {-1.02/20} (19. Bxf6 $15 {-0.54/24 should be considered.} Qxf6 20. Re3) 19... Rc8 {-0.27/24} (19... b5 $17 {-1.02/20} 20. Qe2 (20. Qxc6 Bd3 $17) 20... h6) 20. Re2 $2 {-3.31/20} (20. Qa6 $11 {-0.27/24 and White is okay.}) 20... d5 $2 {-0.45/22} (20... b5 $1 $19 {-3.31/20} 21. Qb4 Bd3) 21. Qa6 $15 Rc7 {0.00/22} ({Better is} 21... h6 $15 { -0.66/20} 22. Bh4 Bf5) 22. Rfe1 {-0.46/20} (22. Bf4 $11 {0.00/22}) 22... Qd6 { 0.09/21} (22... Qc8 $15 {-0.46/20} 23. Qxc8 Rfxc8) 23. Ne5 $11 {aiming for Bf4. } Bf5 {0.47/21} (23... Ne4 $11 {0.00/22} 24. Bf4 Rcc8) 24. g4 {-0.51/22} (24. Bf4 $14 {0.47/21} Qd8 25. g4) 24... Bc8 $36 {Black is pushing.} 25. Qd3 { -0.63/19} ({White should play} 25. Qa1 $11 {-0.11/21}) 25... Ne4 {-0.19/22} ( 25... c5 $15 {-0.63/19}) 26. Bh4 $2 {-2.88/19} (26. Bf4 $11 {-0.19/22 and White stays safe.}) 26... f6 $2 {-0.71/23} (26... Qh6 $1 $19 {-2.88/19 is more deadly.} 27. Bg3 f5) 27. Nf3 $2 {-4.18/20} (27. Nc4 $17 {-0.71/23 nothing else works.} Ba6 28. Qxe4 Bxc4 29. Bg3 Qxg3+ 30. fxg3 dxe4 31. bxc4) 27... g5 $19 28. Bg3 Nxg3 29. fxg3 Qxg3+ 30. Rg2 Qxh3 31. Ree2 $2 {-6.26/20} (31. Re3 { -3.84/23} Qh6 32. Re1) 31... Bxg4 32. Re3 Bxf3 33. Rxf3 Qe6 34. Rh3 Rff7 35. Re2 Qd7 36. Qf3 g4 37. Qg3 Rg7 38. Rh6 Rg6 39. Rh4 f5 40. Re5 Rc8 41. Qf4 Rf8 42. Rh5 Rgf6 43. Rg5+ Kh8 44. Rh5 a5 45. Kf2 Qf7 46. Rh4 Qg6 47. Kg3 h6 48. Rh1 Kg7 49. Re7+ R8f7 50. Re8 Re6 51. Rxe6 Qxe6 52. c4 Re7 53. Kh4 Qe4 54. Qd6 Qxh1+ {Accuracy: White = 16%, Black = 13%.} 0-1

8 Feb 2015

C22 Centre Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qd1)

C22 Centre Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qd1)

It may have taken awhile but I did find yet another opening variation that has not been covered here before. The game below is just one of the 216 correspondence games I have played at Red Hot Pawn. I have also managed to get a bit closer again to my peak rating there, now only 9 points away. Talking about peak ratings, I did manage to get a new one at Queen Alice Internet Chess Club today as my opponent had enough of the game and resigned. Now my new peak rating there is 2201!! I thought I would never see this day when one of my ratings would go so high. I will post that milestone game tomorrow after I have analysed it. I have added one mate in one, one mate in two, one mate in six and two mate in seven puzzles today.

Game number two. The game below was played in the second round of the 2014 August Banded Threesomes I 1700-1800 tournament held at Red Hot Pawn. This is my only loss on second round and if I do not lose my last game in this round, I will win my group and advance to the third round. My last game is also the last game of the round. This game was full of mistakes on both sides but I ended up messing up the ending that at one point could have been drawn and instead I lost.

[Event "Corr game 4.7.2014-31.7.2014"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.07.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Purity"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C22"] [WhiteElo "1475"] [BlackElo "1853"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 {C22 Center Game: Normal Variation} 4. Qd1 { C22 Centre Game} Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 {Hoping for ...Nxe4.} 6. Bd3 $1 (6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nxe4 8. f3 Qh4+ 9. g3 Nxg3 10. Rb1 Nxh1+ 11. Ke2 Qf2+ 12. Kd3 Ne5+ 13. Ke4 d5+ 14. Kf4 Ng6+ 15. Kg5 Qh4# {0-1 (15) Guerrero Caseres,M-Barco Cardona,J (2064) San Cristobal 2015}) 6... d5 {-0.33/19} (6... Bxc3+ $17 {-0.90/20} 7. bxc3 O-O) (6... O-O 7. Nf3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 h6 9. O-O d6 10. h3 Be6 11. Nd4 Qd7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Bf4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Rxf4 15. Re1 Raf8 16. Qe2 Qf7 17. Bf3 Ne5 18. Bxb7 Rxf2 19. Qd1 c6 20. Ba6 Qg6 21. g4 {Mollet Soldevila,E (1336)-Pujol Pina,R (1693) Igualada 2017 0-1}) 7. exd5 $15 Nxd5 {0.17/20} (7... Qxd5 $15 { -0.69/19} 8. Nf3 Bg4) 8. Qe2+ $146 {-1.04/17} (8. Nge2 $11 {0.17/20}) (8. Bd2 Nxc3 9. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Ne2 b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 Qg5 15. f3 Qe3+ 16. Kh1 Qxd4 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Qxd4 Kh8 19. Qf4 {1-0 (19) Pilipaviciute,A-Pavliukovec,N Panevezys 2012}) 8... Be6 $17 9. Bd2 {-1.52/17} ( 9. Qd2 $142 {-0.99/20}) 9... O-O {-1.10/20} (9... Nxc3 $142 {-1.52/17} 10. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qf6) 10. Nf3 {-1.92/20} (10. Qd1 $17 {-1.10/20}) 10... Nxc3 $2 { -0.10/20 [#]} (10... Re8 $1 $19 {-1.92/20 White must now prevent ...Bg4.} 11. O-O Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bg4) 11. Bxc3 {-1.31/20} (11. bxc3 $11 { -0.10/20 remains equal.} Qf6 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Qxc3 14. Ng5) 11... Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qf6 {-0.41/17} (12... Re8 $17 {-1.57/19} 13. O-O Bd5) 13. Qd2 $2 { -2.27/20} (13. O-O $15 {-0.41/17}) 13... Rfe8 $2 {-0.69/19} (13... Bd5 $19 { -2.27/20} 14. O-O-O Rad8) 14. O-O $15 Rad8 15. Rfe1 Bg4 {-0.19/21} (15... g6 $17 {-0.97/19}) 16. Ng5 {-0.81/20} (16. Rxe8+ $11 {-0.19/21 keeps the balance.} Rxe8 17. Nd4) 16... h6 17. Ne4 Qe5 18. Ng3 Qa5 19. Qf4 {-1.18/18} (19. Rxe8+ $15 {-0.37/20} Rxe8 20. Be4) 19... Be6 {-0.19/21} ({Black should play} 19... Bd7 $17 {-1.18/18} 20. Re3 Rxe3 21. Qxe3 Ne5) 20. Rab1 $11 Rb8 {0.33/20} (20... Qxc3 $11 {-0.19/21} 21. Re3 Rd4 22. Qxc7 Rb4) 21. Qe4 {[#] And now Qh7+ would win.} g6 22. Qf4 Kg7 ({Avoid the trap} 22... Qxc3 $2 23. Ne4 $18 (23. Qxh6 Bxa2 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 $11)) 23. a4 {-0.77/21} (23. h4 $11 {0.00/22}) 23... Qxc3 $17 24. Ne4 {-1.36/22} ({White should try} 24. Qxc7 $15 {-0.39/20} Bd5 25. Ne2) 24... Qe5 25. Qd2 {-1.63/18} (25. Qc1 $17 {-1.04/22}) 25... Qa5 {-1.17/20} ({ Better is} 25... Qd4 $19 {-1.63/18} 26. Re3 Bf5) 26. Nc3 {-1.91/17} (26. Qc1 $17 {-1.17/20} Bf5 27. Qa3) 26... Qc5 {-0.87/22} (26... a6 $19 {-1.91/17} 27. Ne4 Qxd2 28. Nxd2 a5) 27. h4 b6 28. Ne4 {-1.56/21} (28. h5 $142 {-0.83/22}) 28... Qh5 $2 {5.37/19} (28... Qa5 $17 {-1.56/21 keeps the pressure on.} 29. Qc3+ Qxc3 30. Nxc3 Red8) 29. Qc3+ Ne5 {5.61/20} (29... Qe5 $142 {3.57/22} 30. Qxc6 Bd5) 30. Ng3 Qxh4 {intending ...f6.} 31. Qxe5+ {Accuracy: White = 21%, Black = 20%.} 1-0 [Event "Banded Threesomes"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2015.03.07"] [Round "2"] [White "ParShooter"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C22"] [WhiteElo "1555"] [BlackElo "1889"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (5s), TV"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 {C22 Center Game: Normal Variation} 4. Qd1 { C22 Centre Game} d6 (4... Nf6 5. Bg5 d6 {1-0 (10) Rostami Chaijan,I-Asghari,A Bandar Abbas 2012}) 5. Nf3 Nf6 {0.56/18} (5... h6 $11 {-0.05/21}) 6. Bg5 { -0.27/19} (6. Nc3 $14 {0.56/18} Be7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nb4 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 c6 15. Qb3 Rc8 16. Qxb7 a5 17. c3 c5 18. Qd5 Re8 19. Rfd1 Re5 20. Qxd6 Qxd6 21. Rxd6 {Evangelista,A (1196) -Tibes,M Sao Bento do Sul 2017 1-0 (54)}) 6... Be7 $146 (6... Bg4 7. Be2 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. a3 Re8 10. O-O {1-0 (10) Rostami Chaijan,I-Asghari,A Bandar Abbas 2012}) 7. Nbd2 {-0.97/20} (7. Nc3 $11 {0.03/20}) 7... O-O {-0.10/23} (7... h6 $17 {-0.97/20} 8. Bxf6 Bxf6) 8. a3 {-1.59/18} (8. Bc4 $11 {-0.10/23}) 8... Bg4 {-0.24/21} (8... d5 $17 {-1.59/18} 9. e5 Ng4 10. Bxe7 Qxe7) 9. Be2 {-1.04/20} ( 9. Be3 $1 $11 {-0.24/21}) 9... Nd7 $2 {0.57/21} (9... d5 $17 {-1.04/20} 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7) 10. Bxe7 {-0.32/20} (10. Be3 $1 $14 {0.57/21}) 10... Qxe7 $15 11. c3 {-1.25/19} (11. O-O $11 {0.00/21}) 11... Nc5 {-0.54/21} (11... f5 $1 $17 {-1.25/19} 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 d5) 12. Nd4 {-1.37/20} (12. O-O $15 { -0.54/21}) 12... Bxe2 {-0.39/25} (12... Nxe4 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Nxe4 $15) (12... Nd3+ $1 $17 {-1.37/20} 13. Kf1 (13. Bxd3 Bxd1) 13... Nxd4 14. Bxg4 f5 15. cxd4 fxg4 16. Qb3+ Qf7 17. Qxf7+ Rxf7) 13. Qxe2 Ne5 {0.69/20} (13... d5 $1 $15 { -0.67/23}) 14. O-O $14 Rae8 {0.69/19} (14... Rfe8 $11 {0.10/23}) 15. b4 { 0.25/23} (15. f4 $14 {0.69/19} Ned7 16. Rae1) 15... Ne6 $11 16. Nf5 {0.00/23} ( 16. f4 $16 {0.94/18}) 16... Qd7 {0.63/20} (16... Qf6 $11 {0.00/23}) 17. f4 { 0.00/19} (17. g3 $14 {0.63/20}) 17... Nc6 {1.31/19} (17... Ng6 $1 $11 {0.00/19 keeps the balance.}) 18. Qg4 {0.65/21} (18. Ne3 $16 {1.31/19}) 18... Kh8 { 1.19/20} (18... f6 $14 {0.65/21}) 19. Rf3 {0.00/23} (19. Ne3 $16 {1.19/20}) 19... Ne7 $2 {2.27/19} (19... f6 $11 {0.00/23 and Black is okay.}) 20. Rg3 $2 { 0.20/22} (20. Rh3 $1 $18 {2.27/19}) 20... Rg8 {1.24/18} (20... g6 $11 {0.20/22} ) 21. Rh3 {0.00/22} (21. Ne3 $16 {1.24/18}) 21... Nxf5 {0.58/20} (21... Nf8 $11 {0.00/22}) 22. exf5 {[#] Intending Rxh7+! and mate.} (22. Qxf5 {is more complex.} h6 23. Rf1 b6 24. Qh5 f6 25. Qd5) 22... Nf8 23. Nf3 {-0.32/25} (23. Qh5 $1 $14 {0.31/23}) 23... g6 {0.27/24} (23... h6 $15 {-0.32/25}) 24. Qg5 { -0.81/23} (24. Rd1 $11 {0.27/24}) 24... gxf5 $2 {1.07/19} (24... Qxf5 $17 { -0.81/23} 25. Qxf5 gxf5) 25. Qf6+ $16 Rg7 26. Rg3 {0.41/23} (26. Nd4 $16 { 1.04/21} Qd8 27. Qxd8 (27. Qxf5 Qe7 $14) 27... Rxd8 28. Re3 (28. Nxf5 Rg6 $14)) 26... Ng6 {0.91/23} ({Better is} 26... Ne6 $14 {0.41/23}) 27. Ng5 $2 {-1.94/20} (27. Nd4 $16 {0.91/23 is forced if you want to stay better.} Qd8 28. Qxf5) 27... Qe7 $2 {0.32/21} (27... Nxf4 $19 {-1.94/20} 28. Rf3 Nxg2 $1 29. Kxg2 Re6 30. Qxf5 f6) 28. Qd4 $2 {-1.68/20} (28. Qxf5 $14 {0.32/21 is the one way to stay ahead.} f6 29. Nh3 (29. Nxh7 $2 Kxh7 30. Rf1 Qf7 $19)) 28... b6 {-0.75/24} (28... h6 $1 $19 {-1.68/20} 29. Rh3 Kg8 30. Rxh6 Nxf4 31. Qxf4 Qxg5 32. Qxg5 Rxg5) 29. c4 {-1.63/22} (29. Rf1 $17 {-0.75/24 might work better.}) 29... f6 30. Nf3 Qe3+ {-1.01/24} (30... Qf8 $19 {-1.74/21} 31. Re1 Rge7 32. Rxe7 Qxe7) 31. Qxe3 $17 Rxe3 32. Kf2 $2 {-2.59/21} (32. Nd4 $17 {-1.07/26} Re4 33. Nxf5) 32... Re4 $19 33. Re1 {If White can now play Rxe4 this consolidates a bit.} Rge7 ({Resist} 33... Rxc4 34. Re6 $19) ({Not} 33... Nxf4 34. Rxe4 fxe4 35. Nd4 $17) 34. Rxe4 fxe4 {-1.37/28 Endgame KRN-KRN} (34... Rxe4 $19 {-2.49/22} 35. Nd2 Rxf4+ 36. Rf3 Rxf3+ 37. Kxf3 c5) 35. Nd4 Re8 $2 {0.35/22} (35... Nxf4 $19 { -1.69/23} 36. Nc6 Re8 37. Nxa7 f5) 36. f5 $2 {-1.19/22} (36. Ke3 $14 {0.35/22 keeps the upper hand.}) 36... Ne5 {-0.37/23} (36... Nh4 $1 $17 {-1.19/22}) 37. Ne6 {-1.56/20} ({White should play} 37. Nb5 $1 $15 {-0.37/23}) 37... Re7 $2 { 0.61/23} ({Stronger than} 37... Nxc4 38. Rc3 $11) (37... c5 $17 {-1.56/20} 38. Rc3 Ng4+ 39. Kg3 Rg8) 38. Ke3 {0.00/25} (38. Rc3 $1 $14 {0.61/23}) 38... Nxc4+ $11 39. Kxe4 c6 $1 40. Rc3 d5+ 41. Kd4 Re8 {0.47/23} (41... Rd7 $15 {-0.34/25}) 42. a4 {-0.12/25} (42. g4 $14 {0.47/23}) 42... Nd6 {1.12/23} (42... Rg8 $11 { -0.12/25 remains equal.} 43. g3 Rg4+ 44. Nf4 Rg5) 43. g4 $16 Rc8 $2 {2.20/24} ( 43... Rg8 $1 $14 {0.68/24}) 44. h4 $2 {-0.85/25} (44. b5 $1 $18 {2.20/24} c5+ ( 44... cxb5 45. Rxc8+) 45. Kxd5) 44... Nf7 $2 {2.07/23} (44... h5 $1 $17 { -0.85/25} 45. b5 (45. gxh5 Nxf5+) 45... cxb5 46. Rxc8+ Nxc8 47. axb5 hxg4 48. Kxd5 Ne7+ 49. Ke4 g3) 45. b5 $18 c5+ 46. Kxd5 Nh6 {2.55/20} (46... h6 {1.97/24 is a better defense.} 47. Ra3 h5) 47. Rc4 $1 Kg8 48. Rf4 {1.58/27} ({White should try} 48. Kd6 $18 {2.76/21}) 48... Nf7 {2.14/23} (48... c4 $16 {1.58/27}) 49. g5 fxg5 50. hxg5 Nd8 {4.14/23} (50... c4 $142 {2.62/24} 51. Rxc4 Rxc4 52. Kxc4 h6 53. gxh6 Nxh6) 51. Nxd8 {2.23/23} (51. Kd6 $142 {4.14/23 Threatens to win with Kd7.} Nf7+ 52. Kd7) 51... Rxd8+ {KR-KR} 52. Kc4 $2 {0.09/27} (52. Ke6 $18 {2.38/22}) 52... Kg7 {1.53/22} (52... h6 $1 $11 {0.09/27}) 53. f6+ $2 { 0.00/30} (53. Re4 $16 {1.53/22 Hoping for Re7+.} Rd7 54. a5) 53... Kf7 54. a5 Rg8 $2 {1.70/23} (54... Kg6 $11 {0.09/27 and Black has nothing to worry.}) 55. axb6 $2 {0.09/26} (55. Rh4 $18 {1.70/23} Kg6 56. Rh6+ Kxg5 57. Rxh7 Kxf6 58. Rxa7) 55... axb6 $11 56. Rh4 Rxg5 {[#] ...h5 is the strong threat.} 57. Rxh7+ Kxf6 58. Rb7 Rg4+ 59. Kd5 Rd4+ 60. Kc6 Rb4 $2 {47.64/20} (60... c4 $11 {0.09/26 } 61. Kxb6 Ke6) 61. Rxb6 $18 Ke7 62. Kxc5 Rb1 63. Rb7+ Kd8 64. Rh7 {16.69/27} ( 64. Kc6 $142 {46.05/27} Rc1+ 65. Kb6) 64... Kc8 65. Kc6 Rc1+ 66. Kb6 $1 Ra1 $2 {153.04/26} (66... Rb1 $16 {1.22/27} 67. Rc7+ Kb8) 67. Rh8+ Kd7 68. Kb7 Ra2 69. b6 Ra1 70. Ra8 {White mates.} Rb1 71. Ra6 Rb2 72. Kb8 Kd8 73. b7 Kd7 74. Ra7 { Accuracy: White = 26%, Black = 19%.} 1-0