B01 Scandinavian Defence (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Bxe2 5.Qxe2 Qxd5 6.Nf3 e6 7.O-O Nc6)

It is time once again for the last post of the week. This time it has a game that was played in a team match called You like jengkol, too? The match consists of 93 boards and it is played between LullabyVisca and I like beer and Chess. I played on board 32 for LullabyVisca in this match and lost both of my games to ovoll. The match has not yet been decided, but it is quite close to that point. The current score in the match is 77 - 90 in favor of I like beer and Chess.

When I saw that ovoll played 2...Nf6 instead of just taking the pawn with the queen, I thought here we go again with this annoying line of the Scandinavian Defense had I continued with 3.c4 that is. I think then my opponent would have played 3...e6 and I have so bad experiences from that line that I thought it best to just play 3.d4 and give that pawn back without trying to keep it. Ovoll did not take that pawn back to my surprise and played 3...Bg4 instead and we reached the B01 Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Variation. I have no recollection of playing this variation before, but then again I have lot of games to go through that might have this line somewhere, but I doubt it. I played 4.Be2 in order to maybe cath up in development, because I did not want to be left too far behind. I was quite okay with the way I played up to move 11.Nbd2, but there might have been some better moves before that position arised. Ovoll replied with 11...h6, which I saw as a mistake, because I can just take on h6 with the bishop. My opponent then decided to take on d2 with the knight. At that moment I experienced one of those brain malfunctions that I sometimes get and took the knight with my queen... I am not sure how much time had passed between me taking the pawn on h6 and the time I decided to make my 13th move in this game. No matter how long it had been, I had forgotten my bishop on h6 and that I could take on d2 with the bishop. That was the key moment in the game, I did try my best after this blunder, but I could not get enough counterplay for the material lost. Stay tuned for other silly losses, I have one in particular coming up sometime in the future that I finished 5 days ago that shows one other brain malfunction from me that resulted in a loss after a good game. Until Monday, my fellow chess and chess960 enthusiasts!

[Event "You like jengkol, too? - Board 32"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.02.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "ovoll"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "1829"] [BlackElo "1904"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 {Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Variation} 4. Be2 (4. f3 Bf5 5. Bb5+ Nbd7 {Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Variation, Portuguese Gambit}) 4... Bxe2 5. Qxe2 Qxd5 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O Nc6 {B01 Scandinavian Defence} 8. c3 Bd6 (8... O-O-O 9. Be3 Bd6 10. Nbd2 Qh5 11. h3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Rfe1 Nd3 14. Reb1 Rhe8 15. Nc4 Nf4 16. Nxd6+ Rxd6 17. Qc4 Nxh3+ 18. Kf1 Re4 19. Qc5 Nf4 20. Qxh5 N4xh5 21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Nd7 23. Ng5 {Laznicka,V (2480)-Krivoshey,S (2493) playchess.com INT 2005 1-0 (45)}) 9. Bg5 {N} (9. Nbd2 Qh5 (9... O-O-O 10. b4 Qh5 11. Rd1 Bf4 12. Nc4 g5 13. g3 Rhg8 14. b5 Ne7 15. Nfe5 Qh3 16. Nxf7 Ng4 17. f3 Bxg3 18. fxg4 Rg6 19. Rf1 Bf4 20. Nce5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Rg7 22. Rf3 Qh4 23. Qf2 Qh6 24. Nf7 {Schubert,W (1788) -Niedenthal,R (1828) Frankfurt 2014 1-0}) 10. Re1 O-O-O 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 h6 13. Bf4 Bxf4 14. Qxf4 Rd5 15. Re3 Rhd8 16. Rae1 g5 17. Qf6 Rf5 18. Qg7 g4 19. Ne5 Rg5 20. Qf6 Rf5 21. Qg7 Rg5 {1/2-1/2 (21) Wimmer,H (2295)-Kraft,V (2275) Kirchseeon 1989}) (9. b4 Qh5 10. Re1 O-O 11. b5 Ne7 12. c4 Nf5 13. Bb2 c5 14. bxc6 bxc6 15. Ne5 Qxe2 16. Rxe2 c5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Ba3 Rfd8 19. g4 Rd1+ 20. Kg2 Bxa3 21. gxf5 exf5 22. Rd2 Rxd2 23. Nxd2 Bb2 {Bak,A (2048) -Mulleady,P (1912) England 2015 1/2-1/2 (37)}) 9... Ne4 {Black threatens to win material: Ne4xg5} 10. Be3 O-O 11. Nbd2 h6 (11... Nxd2 12. Qxd2 a5 13. a4 {= }) 12. Bxh6 {+/=} Nxd2 (12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 Qh5 {+/=}) 13. Qxd2 $4 {there were better ways to keep up the pressure} (13. Bxd2 e5 14. Ng5 {+/-}) 13... gxh6 { +/-} 14. Qxh6 Qf5 15. Rfe1 Qh7 (15... Ne7 16. h3 {+/-}) 16. Qg5+ Qg7 17. Qh4 Ne7 18. Re4 (18. g3 Nf5 19. Qh5 Qh7 20. Qxh7+ Kxh7 {+/-}) 18... Ng6 {-+} 19. Qg5 c6 (19... f6 20. Qb5 Nf4 21. g3 {-+}) 20. Rae1 Nf4 $1 {staying in the lead} 21. Qxg7+ (21. Rxf4 Qxg5 {Combination}) 21... Kxg7 22. g3 Nd5 23. h4 Nf6 24. R4e2 Nd7 25. Ng5 Rad8 26. Kg2 b5 27. f4 Nf6 28. Kf3 c5 29. dxc5 (29. Rd1 c4 { +/-}) 29... Bxc5 {-+} 30. Rh1 $2 (30. Kg2 {-+}) 30... Rd3+ 31. Kg2 Rfd8 32. Nf3 (32. h5 Nd5 33. h6+ Kg6 {-+}) 32... Ng4 33. Ng5 (33. Rhe1 {praying for a miracle} Ne3+ 34. Kh2 {-+}) 33... Rd2 34. Rhe1 Ne3+ (34... Bf2 {and Black wins} 35. Nxe6+ fxe6 36. Rxd2 Rxd2 37. Rxe6 Kf7 {-+}) 35. Kh3 Nf5 (35... R2d3 { and Black can already relax} 36. Ne4 Bb6 37. Nf2 {-+}) 36. Ne4 (36. Rxd2 Rxd2 37. Ne4 Rd5 {-+}) 36... Rxe2 37. Rxe2 Bb6 38. Ng5 (38. Rd2 Rxd2 39. Nxd2 Ne3 { -+}) 38... Rd3 39. Rg2 (39. Ne4 {-+}) 39... Re3 40. Kh2 Bc7 (40... f6 {makes it even easier for Black} 41. Nh3 Rd3 42. Nf2 Bxf2 43. Rxf2 Rxg3 44. Re2 {-+}) 41. Nh3 (41. Rd2 Bd6 {-+} (41... Rxg3 $6 42. Rd7 Rxg5 43. hxg5 Bxf4+ 44. Kh3 { -+})) 41... Re1 (41... e5 {-+ seems even better}) 42. Rd2 (42. Rg1 {a last effort to resist the inevitable} Re2+ 43. Rg2 {-+}) 42... Ne3 43. Rd7 (43. Rd3 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Re2+ 44. Kg1 {-+}) 43... Bb6 (43... Re2+ {ends the debate} 44. Kh1 Bb6 {-+}) 44. Ng5 Ng4+ 45. Kh3 (45. Kg2 Rg1+ 46. Kf3 Nh2+ 47. Ke2 {-+}) 45... Nh6 46. Rd2 Rg1 47. Kh2 $2 (47. Nf3 Rh1+ 48. Kg2 {-+}) 47... Ng4+ {+/-} 48. Kh3 f5 49. Nxe6+ (49. Rd7+ {the only chance to get some counterplay} Kg8 50. Nf3 {-+}) 49... Kf6 50. Rd6 (50. Re2 {does not win a prize} Bf2 51. Rxf2 Nxf2+ 52. Kh2 Rb1 {-+}) 50... Ke7 (50... Ke7 51. Rxb6 axb6 {-+}) 0-1

Chess960 SP887

64 square madness that some of us call chess... Has now 1400 analysed chess games!! The 1300th game was added March 10th, so the madness keeps growing in a decent pace! Interestingly enough then the main post was called E04 Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Tarrasch Defense, to which I added one analysed game today. I have also noticed that my statistics keep getting worse over time. I remember a time when I had over 64% win rate in the games I had added to the blog, now it is only 57.64%. That being said, also the average rating of the people I play against has been steadily increasing in my correspondence games, which probably makes me lose games more frequently than in the past. Out of those 1400 games I have been able to get 807 (57.64%) wins, 149 (10.64%) draws and 444 (31.71%) losses. Those 1400 games feature 497 different opening variations and next week we shall see what the 500th opening variation will be.

This game was played at lichess.org a few days ago. I have a really bad score against 1800+ rated players at lichess and this game did not really improve those statistics. The basic time for this game was 10 minutes and 10 seconds were added to the clocks with each move. Lately when I have played these rapid chess960 games in order to get something to post on the blog, I have played really awful games and I think this one can be added to that list. I think I played well the first six moves, but then I started to make things too difficult for me... The problem started to be the e4-pawn, which I needed to defend in an awkward way. I think it would have been an easier position for me to play, had I just played 7.Nxe6+ instead of 7.Nf3, because the knight from e6 jumped annoyingly to f4 later on. Well, actually the move N1d2 was the one that started the problems for me because it allowed Nf4. Had I played 8.Qc1, I would not have needed to worry about Nf4 because my queen would have covered that square. The positions after this continued to favor my opponent until poh59 played 13...Bf5. According to Stockfish, I could have had an equal position had I played 14.Qf1. To me it looks a bit wierd move to make, but I guess it makes some sense because the knight on h3 has no good squares to go to and adding pressure to it seems like a good idea. After 17...O-O-O, I could have played 18.Nxf5 and I may have had a fighting chance in this game, but I decided to play 18.Kf1 because I did not want to allow Re8. However, after 18.Nxf5 Re8, I could play 19.Nxd6+, which would win the game for me. So, I was worried about Re8 for no good reason. Because I played Kf1, Re8 was a good move. I continued with the huge blunder Qh6, which lost the game very quickly. I have added one analysed game to these posts: D30 Queen's Gambit Declined: General, E04 Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Tarrasch Defense, D37 Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation. General and D60 Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense. I have also added one mate in two, one mate in three and three mate in four puzzles today.

E09 Closed Catalan: Main Line: 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 (1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.O-O c6 8.Nbd2)

Today I have posted my over the board games again and the game below is one of those games. This game was played almost eight years ago at Hämeenlinna. This is the last round game I played in a weekend tournament there. On the first four rounds I had gathered 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, so I was able to get to 3 points with this draw. It was a slightly positive score and due to that my rating increased from 1691 to 1704. With 3 points I was on shared fourth place in the final standings, but due to tie-break, I was on 10th place in the final list of names in group B. My opponent also finished with 3 points, but was on 7th place in the final standings. There are still a lot of games to go through before I can get to my latest over the board efforts. I will go through all the games I have the moves written down in one way or the other in this blog sooner or later, but I think it will still take a long time to get to my latest games from all the sources. That being said, I am posting more games on weekly basis than I finish, so I will eventually get there.

My opponent went a bit astray immediately after he deviated from theoretical lines. 8...Bd6 is a small mistake and it was better to play 8...b6, 8...b5 or 8...c5. I was not up to the task of maintaining my small advantage, but instead played 9.b3, so that I could fianchetto my bishop. It was better to go for 9.e4 or 9.Re1. These are only minor improvements to the moves and I only had a very small advantage until my opponent, Jarmo, blundered with 12...dxc4. This was my best chance to get a clear advantage, but of course I was completely ignorant of my chance and just went for the move that merely equalised the material. I should have played 13.Ng5 instead of the less eventful move 13.Qxc4. I was only able to gain a small advantage during the rest of the game, but even that I threw away and draw was agreed upon after 23...Bd7.

[Event "HämSK"] [Site "Saaristen koulu"] [Date "2008.06.08"] [Round "5"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Piipponen, Jarmo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E09"] [WhiteElo "1691"] [BlackElo "1684"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2008.06.07"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. O-O c6 8. Nbd2 {E09 Closed Catalan: Main Line: 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2} Bd6 (8... b5 {Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Rabinovich Variation}) (8... b6 {Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation}) 9. b3 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Bb2 Nxf3+ 12. Nxf3 dxc4 13. Qxc4 Bf5 {N} (13... Be6 14. Qc3 Qe7 15. Ng5 h6 16. Ne4 Ne8 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Rad1 Qe7 19. Qa5 Qc7 20. Qa4 Nf6 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Rd4 Kg7 23. Rfd1 Rfd8 24. e3 c5 25. R4d3 Rxd3 26. Rxd3 Rd8 27. Bf1 Rxd3 28. Bxd3 {Tuncer,U (2330)-Faisst,R Boeblingen 1998 1-0 (60)}) (13... Qe7 14. Nd4 {=}) 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Rfe1 (15. Nh4 Bg6 {+/=}) 15... Rfe8 16. Nh4 {White threatens to win material: Nh4xf5} Be6 17. Qc2 (17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qe4 Bb4 {+/=}) 17... Bb4 {=} 18. Rf1 Rad8 19. e3 Bg4 {Black threatens to win material: Bg4xd1} (19... Qc5 20. Qb1 {=}) 20. Nf5 (20. Bxf6 $5 gxf6 21. Nf5 {+/=}) 20... Qe6 {=} 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Nd4 {White threatens to win material: Nd4xe6} Qe7 23. Qc4 Bd7 1/2-1/2

C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4)

This game was played in a team match called Khamûl the Nazgûl. The match is played on 17 boards between Lord Of The Rings and Cafe Jasmin - Open 24/7. I am playing on board 3 for Lord Of The Rings. This has been a quite one-sided match because the current score in the match is 22 - 7 in favor of Lord Of The Rings. Then again we did have higher rated players on most boards, so this is pretty much the expected outcome. However, there have been some upsets too to make it more interesting. This will be quite convincing victory for us as soon as all the games are finished.

The move 3...h6 is not even considered theory in all sources, but Chess.com's opening explorer does recognise this opening variation. I remember vaguely playing that h6 move when I was still relatively new to chess, but later on I started playing 3...Bc5 and I have played it many times over the years. The move 3...h6 does stop any intrusion by a knight or a bishop, for instance, but it also feels a bit unnecessary. I think the two main moves here are 3...Bc5 and 3...Nf6, both of which I would prefer over h6. I think I have also played 3...Be7, which is probably also a better alternative than h6. Basically I am saying that I do not like that move. Because I think that my opponent's third move is a mistake, which takes a bit time off from development, I thought that I should maybe play as aggressively as possible and try to finish my development as soon as possible. Therefore I started with 4.d4. That move does two things, it opens up a diagonal for my dark-squared bishop and it also has a threat to win a pawn with dxe5 attached to it. I think that exd4 was the correct way to answer d4, but after I took back with the knight, my opponent went a bit astray in my opinion. He took on d4 the second time with the knight and after I recaptured with the queen, I had two pieces developed while my opponent did not have any. I also have the center under my control and I think these things should give me a clear advantage in the position. I was not winning just yet, but the position seemed very promising.

Nikdelhossein replied to 6.Qxd4 with 6...Nf6, which is probably a decent move in the position. I continued with O-O and then my opponent played Be7, which is understandable move because he wants to castle as soon as possible and had I just allowed him to castle, he might have been able to survive better. I played 8.e5 in order to disrupt those castling plans and kick the knight to a bad square. My opponent should have moved the knight because after 8...c5, the fate of the knight is sealed and it will be lost. This is because of the move 9.Qf4, which pins the knight to the f7-square. Had the knight moved, I would have taken on f7 with the queen ending the game immediately because of checkmate. Nikdelhossein tried the desperate 9...g5, but after 10.Qf3, I will be able to win a piece. 10...d5 does not help because of the following continuation 11.exf6 dxc4 12.fxe7. This meant that I was already in a winning position after my opponent blundered with 8...c5. I may not have played the rest of the game perfectly, but well enough to secure the win.

On a completely unrelated note, I realized today that I am at least on four different sites at my peak rating! While my games at Chess.com have not been able to produce a new peak in Daily chess since January, 2009, I am at my peak at Red Hot Pawn with a rating of 1969, at ChessRex with a rating of 1755, at GameKnot with a rating of 1810 and maybe most importantly got my FICS standard rating to 2204 on April 16th, 2016!! The last one is special because it broke my previous online rating peak that used to belong to the rating I had achieved at Queen Alice Internet Chess Club. It is now the highest rating that I have been able to get on any site. I am the first one to admit though that there is some air in that rating and that it does not really portray my true skill level. However, the way that the ratings are calculated at the Free Internet Chess Server, it has made this possible. Then again I was very close to losing my last game there and I thought many times during the game, why did I made the challenge as a rated game... Had I lost that game, I would have probably lost a few hundred points I think. Even drawing that game would have drastically dropped my rating. Now I must go back to making moves in my correspondence games and if I have some time left today, I should also prepare for an important over the board game that I play tomorrow.

[Event "Khamûl the Nazgûl - Board 3"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.02.06"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "nikdelhossein"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1835"] [BlackElo "1587"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 {Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense} (3... Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 b5 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Leonhardt Countergambit} (6... d6 7. Qb3 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack}) (6... exd4 7. O-O b5 {Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Johner Defense})) 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nxd4 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7. O-O ( 7. e5 Nh7 8. Nc3 b6 9. Qd5 Qe7 10. Qxa8 Kd8 11. Ba6 Qxe5+ 12. Be3 Ke7 13. Bxc8 Ke6 14. Bxd7+ Kd6 15. O-O-O+ Ke7 16. Qe8+ Kf6 17. Nd5+ Qxd5 18. Rxd5 Kg6 19. Bf5+ Kh5 20. Qxf7+ Kh4 21. g3# {1-0 (21) Ganz,M (1553)-Boba,K (1004) Oravska Priehrada 2016}) 7... Be7 8. e5 (8. Nc3 d6 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Bf6 12. Qd3 Re8 13. Bd2 Rxe1+ 14. Rxe1 Bxb2 15. Ba5 Bd7 16. Qb3 Be5 17. Qxb7 Qc8 18. Qxc7 Qxc7 19. Bxc7 Rc8 20. Bxd6 Bxd6 21. Bb3 Bb4 22. Re4 Bc3 {Maerkl, S-Risino,S Bremen 1992 1-0 (35)}) 8... c5 $4 $146 {terrible, but the game is lost in any case} (8... Ng8 9. Qd5 d6 10. Qxf7+ Kd7 11. Qxg7 Nf6 12. exf6 Qf8 13. Qxe7+ Qxe7 14. fxe7 Kxe7 15. Nc3 c6 16. Re1+ Kd8 17. Be6 Re8 18. Bxh6 Bxe6 19. Re2 Kd7 20. Ne4 Ke7 21. Bg5+ Kf8 22. Bh6+ Ke7 23. Bg5+ {Kolsek,J (1500) -Markocic,T (1500) Rogaska Slatina 2009 1-0 (36)}) (8... Nh7 $142 9. Nc3 O-O $16) 9. Qf4 $18 g5 (9... d5 {hardly improves anything} 10. exf6 Bxf6 11. Qe3+ Be6 12. Bb5+ Kf8 13. Qxc5+ Qe7 14. Qxe7+ Kxe7 15. Nc3 $18) 10. Qf3 O-O (10... g4 {doesn't get the cat off the tree} 11. Qe2 Ng8 12. Qxg4 $18) 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Nc3 Rb8 (12... Bg7 {does not help much} 13. h4 $1 {Decoy: h4} g4 14. Qe4 $18) 13. Nd5 Bg7 (13... Kg7 {is not much help} 14. Qg3 b5 15. Bf4 $18) 14. Bd3 (14. Re1 $142 {keeps an even firmer grip} Kh8 15. h4 $18) 14... b6 (14... d6 { there is nothing better in the position} 15. h4 $1 {an unpleasant surprise} g4 $18) 15. Qf5 Re8 16. Qh7+ (16. f4 $142 {and White wins} Bb7 17. fxg5 Bxd5 18. Qh7+ Kf8 $18) 16... Kf8 17. c3 (17. f4 $142 {and White can celebrate victory} Bb7 18. fxg5 Bxd5 $18) 17... d6 (17... Bb7 {does not improve anything} 18. Ne3 Qf6 19. Bd2 $18) 18. Bd2 (18. f4 $142 {finishes off the opponent} Be6 19. fxg5 hxg5 20. Be4 $18) 18... Be6 19. Ne3 d5 (19... f6 {cannot change what is in store for White} 20. Bb5 Bg8 21. Qd3 $18) 20. Nf5 (20. f4 $142 {and White wins} Rb7 21. fxg5 Qxg5 $18) 20... Bxf5 21. Qxf5 (21. Bxf5 {makes it even easier for White} Qf6 22. f4 g4 23. Bxg4 Ke7 $18) 21... Re5 (21... Qf6 {is no salvation} 22. Qh7 $18) 22. Qf3 (22. Qh7 $5 {seems even better} Re8 23. Bb5 Re4 $18) 22... b5 (22... d4 {doesn't improve anything} 23. Rad1 $18) 23. Rfe1 (23. Qh3 { might be the shorter path} Qb6 24. f4 g4 25. Qxg4 Re7 $18) 23... a6 (23... Qf6 {does not solve anything} 24. Qh5 Rbe8 25. Bxb5 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Bxe1 $18) 24. Rxe5 Bxe5 25. Re1 Qd6 26. g3 Re8 27. Qe2 Qf6 28. Kg2 Re7 (28... Qc6 { does not win a prize} 29. Qf3 $18) 29. Qf3 (29. Qg4 {keeps an even firmer grip} Qc6 30. f4 c4 $18) 29... Qd6 (29... Qxf3+ {is no salvation} 30. Kxf3 Re6 31. Bf5 $18) 30. Bf5 (30. h4 $142 {makes it even easier for White} Bf6 31. Rh1 Re5 $18) 30... Kg7 (30... d4 {hardly improves anything} 31. Rd1 Bf6 32. cxd4 Bxd4 33. b4 $18) 31. Qg4 (31. h4 $142 {seems even better} gxh4 32. Qg4+ Kf8 33. Bh7 $18) 31... Qf6 (31... Bf6 {is not much help} 32. Rxe7 Qxe7 33. h4 $18) 32. Bc2 (32. h4 {and White can already relax} h5 33. Qxh5 Qxf5 34. Bxg5 Kg8 $18) 32... a5 (32... d4 {doesn't improve anything} 33. f4 dxc3 34. bxc3 Qc6+ 35. Kh3 $18) 33. Qf5 (33. h4 $142 {ends the debate} Kf8 34. hxg5 $18) 33... Qxf5 34. Bxf5 Kf6 35. Bg4 Kg6 (35... Bc7 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 36. Rd1 $18) 36. Bf3 f6 37. Re2 Rd7 38. Kf1 (38. Bg4 {seems even better} Rd8 39. f4 Bd6 $18) 38... h5 (38... b4 {does not improve anything} 39. Bg4 Rd8 40. f4 $18) 39. Bg2 Kf5 (39... g4 {doesn't get the bull off the ice} 40. a3 $18) 40. f3 Bc7 {Black prepares g4} (40... d4 {cannot undo what has already been done} 41. Bh3+ g4 42. fxg4+ hxg4 43. Rf2+ Kg6 44. Bxg4 $18) 41. Bh3+ g4 42. fxg4+ hxg4 43. Rf2+ Kg6 44. Bxg4 Re7 (44... Rd8 {doesn't change anything anymore} 45. Be3 d4 46. cxd4 cxd4 47. Bf5+ Kf7 48. Bf4 $18) 45. Bf5+ Kg7 46. Bf4 (46. Re2 $142 {and White can already relax} Be5 $18) 46... Bb6 (46... Bxf4 {is not the saving move} 47. Rxf4 Kf7 48. Kf2 $18) 47. Re2 Rb7 (47... Bd8 $18 { a last effort to resist the inevitable}) 48. h4 b4 49. h5 bxc3 (49... Bd8 { cannot change destiny} 50. h6+ Kf8 51. Bd6+ Be7 52. h7 Kg7 53. Bxe7 Rb8 54. Bd6 b3 55. Re7+ Kh8 56. Bxb8 a4 57. Re8+ Kg7 58. h8=Q+ Kf7 59. Qf8#) 50. h6+ Kf8 ( 50... Kf7 {cannot change what is in store for White} 51. h7 Rb8 52. Bxb8 c2 53. Bxc2 Bc7 54. Bxc7 Kg7 55. Re7+ Kh8 56. Re8+ Kg7 57. h8=Q+ Kf7 58. Qf8#) 51. bxc3 (51. Bd6+ Kf7 52. h7 c2 53. h8=Q c1=Q+ 54. Kg2 Qg1+ 55. Kxg1 c4+ 56. Kf1 c3 57. Qf8#) 51... Bc7 (51... Bd8 {does not save the day} 52. Bd6+ Be7 53. h7 Kg7 54. Bxe7 d4 55. Bxf6+ Kxf6 56. h8=Q+ Kxf5 57. Re5+ Kg6 58. Qg8+ Rg7 59. Qe6+ Kh7 60. Rh5#) 52. Bg6 (52. h7 Rb1+ 53. Kg2 Be5 54. h8=Q+ Ke7 55. Qh7+ Ke8 56. Qd7+ Kf8 57. Bh6+ Kg8 58. Qh7#) 52... Be5 53. Bxe5 fxe5 54. Rxe5 Rb8 55. Rxd5 Rb2 (55... Ke7 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} 56. Rxc5 Ke6 57. Rxa5 Rf8+ 58. Ke2 Rh8 59. Be4 Kf6 60. h7 Kg7 61. Rg5+ Kf6 62. Rg8 Rxh7 63. Bxh7 Ke6 64. a4 Kd5 65. a5 Kc6 66. a6 Kb6 67. Rg6+ Ka5 68. a7 Kb5 69. a8=Q Kc4 70. Qc8+ Kb3 71. Rb6+ Ka2 72. Qa6#) 56. Re5 Rxa2 (56... Rb8 {doesn't do any good} 57. Re8+ $1 {the final blow} Rxe8 58. Bxe8 a4 59. g4 a3 60. g5 Kg8 61. g6 Kf8 62. g7+ Kg8 63. Kf2 c4 64. Kf3 Kh7 65. Bb5 Kg6 66. g8=Q+ Kf6 67. Qg7+ Ke6 68. Kf4 Kd5 69. Qe5#) 57. Re8# 1-0

C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 Nf6 5.Bg5 d6 6.Nc3 Be6 7.Bb3 O-O 8.O-O Nd4 9.Nxd4 Bxd4)

This week starts with a game that was played in a team match between LullabyVisca and ΙRANIAN. This 95 board match has only two games left to finish and the current score in the match is 93 - 95 in favor of ΙRANIAN. I played on board 16 for LullabyVisca and won both of my games against afshar_khan. We need to win the remaining two games in order to tie the match, however, as this match has featured some players, who have a cheater badge next to their username, our team has 5 of them and ΙRANIAN has 6, the current score should be changed on the boards where those players were. Both players on board 1 have that badge and the score was 0 - 2 in favor of ΙRANIAN, so that should be changed to 1 - 1. On board 8, the score is 1 - 1, but due to the fact that the ΙRANIAN player has that badge, it should be changed 2 - 0 in our favor. On board 10 the score is 1 - 1, but it should be changed to 0 - 2 for ΙRANIAN, because our board 10 has that badge. On board 14, the score is correct, because the player who cheated lost both games on time. On board 18 the score is 2 - 0 in our favor but should be changed the other way around, on board 20 the score is 0 - 2 in favor of ΙRANIAN, but should be changed to 2 - 0 in our favor. Then on board 30, the score is already correct due to the same fact as on board 14. On board 31, the score is 2 - 0 in our favor, but should be changed to 0 - 2, on board 42 the score is 1.5 - 0.5 in our favor, but it should be changed to 0 - 2 in favor of ΙRANIAN. On board 94, the score is 0 - 2 in favor of ΙRANIAN, but should be changed to 2 - 0 in our favor. After all the changes, the score would be 92 - 96 in favor of ΙRANIAN. In case that score in the match is changed, then we have already lost the match.

The game below did go in a logical way up to the move 9...Bxd4 in my opinion. Then my opponent played a mysterious looking move 10.Rb1. If I were to answer by playing Bxc3, then my opponent could play bxc3 and the rook would be in a good square, but the problem with that is that I was not going to play Bxc3 because that move would only help afshar_khan. I replied to 10.Rb1 with c6 in order to control the square d5, so that the knight could not safely jump there. After the first twelve moves had been played, I started to think that I have good chances in this game. The game was probably quite even at this point in time. The first mistake of the game was played by my opponent on move 16, when he played h3. I can't remember if I considered Bxh3, maybe I have considered it, but was not sure about the consequences, so I did not play it. Now it seems like an obvious move to play. It would have won a pawn because taking the bishop is not a good idea in view of 16...Bxh3 17.gxh3 Qxh3+ 18.Kg1 Nxg3 19.Nxg3 Qxg3 and I would have been up two pawns. The queen can't be taken because the pawn on f2 is pinned by the bishop on b6. It was the best chance so far to gain an advantage in the game. The game continuation leads to a more even position.

On my 19th move I was not sure about the best plan and ended up playing a bad move because of it. I should have played 19...Kh7 instead of 19...d5. Afshar_khan was not able to find the best move, so the position became even once again. Then on move 21, my opponent blundered and I am able to take advantage of that blunder, at least at first. The move 21.Bc2 has the idea of d4+ in some positions, but after 21...f5 that check is no longer there and the bishop might not be so well placed on c2. It was better to play Re1, so that I am quite forced to play a defensive move like Bc7 or f6. After 22.a3, I had a great possibility to play f4 and if d4+, then play e4 and I would have a really good position. However, the game continued to be played in my favor until I made the move 27...e4. I did play some bad moves earlier that lessened my advantage, but after 27...e4, the game was brought fully into balance. My opponent went astray immediately after 27...e4 and played 28.Nf1. After that my opponent's position deteriorated and I should have been in a winning position until I played 49...Kf6 and my opponent could have been able to hold the draw with accurate moves. However, my opponent blundered with 50.g4 and I could have had a winning position again, had I played 50...Bxa3. The move Bxa3 was something that I thought about during the game, but I did not play it because I thought that I did not get a chance to play it in favorable circumstances. I did not think far enough and accurately enough unfortunately, because that would have easily won the game had I understood that the bishop can't be taken because either the pawn will promote or I am able to win some material. Instead of the easily winning continuation I went for the move 50...Kg6 and the position is about even again had my opponent replied accurately that is. Afshar_khan blundered with 51.Nh2 and I was again given the chance to play Bxa3 with an easy win to follow, but I did not see how easily it wins and played 51...a5 that should be enough to win the game, but I was making things unnecessarily difficult for me.

Finally I thought that I had seen a way to improve my position and go for the win with 54...e2, but again I was wrong and this should only be good enough for a draw. Again on that move, I should have played Ba3. It is shameful that I could not find it to be winning even though I considered the move already some moves earlier... The final losing move came when my opponent played 60.fxg4, after that move I did not blunder my advantage away, but instead I was able to maintain it to the end.

[Event "LullabyVisca vs ?RANIAN - Board 16"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.10.27"] [Round "?"] [White "afshar_khan"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1676"] [BlackElo "1845"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "154"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 Nf6 5. Bg5 d6 6. Nc3 {Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation} Be6 7. Bb3 O-O 8. O-O Nd4 (8... h6 9. Be3 Bb6 {1/2-1/2 (9) Gardaloev,Z (2302)-Kryuk,M (2192) Raduzhny 2009}) 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 {C50 Hungarian Defence and Giuoco Pianissimo} 10. Rb1 {N} (10. Kh1 h6 11. Bh4 c6 12. f4 exf4 13. Qf3 Be5 14. Be1 Ng4 15. Bxe6 Ne3 16. Bxf7+ Rxf7 17. Rf2 Qd7 18. Rc1 Raf8 19. Bd2 d5 20. exd5 cxd5 21. Re2 d4 22. Ne4 Qb5 23. b3 b6 24. h3 { 1/2-1/2 (24) Kraemer,M-Wendler,D Sebnitz 1998}) (10. Qf3 Bg4 11. Qxg4 Nxg4 12. Bxd8 Raxd8 13. h3 Nf6 14. Rab1 c5 15. Nb5 a6 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. f3 d5 18. Rfe1 Nh5 19. Bxd5 Rd6 20. Kh2 Rg6 21. Rg1 Rd8 22. Bxb7 Rdd6 23. Bd5 Rg3 24. c3 Rdg6 {Hristodoulaki,A-Ximitidou,S Greece 2002 1-0 (45)}) 10... c6 {Consolidates b5+d5} 11. Kh1 h6 {Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bg3 Qd7 14. Ne2 Bb6 15. c3 {Prevents intrusion on d4} Nh5 16. h3 {Consolidates g4} (16. f3 f5 {=}) 16... Nxg3+ (16... Bxh3 17. d4 Be6 18. dxe5 Rae8 {+/-} (18... Nxg3+ 19. Nxg3 dxe5 20. Bxe6 Qxd1 21. Bxf7+ (21. Rbxd1 fxe6 22. f3 Rad8 {+/-}) 21... Kxf7 22. Rbxd1 {=})) 17. Nxg3 {= Black has the pair of bishops} ({Not} 17. fxg3 Bxh3 {Clearance: e6} 18. Qd2 Kg7 {+/-}) 17... Kh7 18. Nh5 (18. d4 exd4 19. cxd4 Bxb3 20. axb3 Rg8 {+/=}) 18... Kg6 (18... f5 19. Bxe6 Qxe6 20. exf5 Qxf5 21. Qe2 {=}) 19. Ng3 d5 (19... Kh7 20. d4 exd4 21. cxd4 Bxb3 22. axb3 {+/= }) 20. exd5 (20. d4 $5 f6 21. exd5 cxd5 22. dxe5 fxe5 23. Qe2 {+/-}) 20... cxd5 {=} 21. Bc2 (21. Re1 $5 {might be a viable alternative} f6 22. Qe2 {=}) 21... f5 {+/-} 22. a3 (22. Ne2 Bc7 {+/-}) 22... Rac8 (22... f4 23. d4+ e4 24. Nxe4 dxe4 25. Bxe4+ Kg7 26. f3 {-+}) 23. Qh5+ (23. f3 Bc7 {+/-}) 23... Kg7 24. Qe2 Qd6 {White has a cramped position} (24... Bc7 $5 25. d4 e4 26. f4 {-+}) 25. Rfe1 (25. Rbe1 Bc7 26. f4 gxf4 27. Nh5+ Kh8 {=/+}) 25... Bc7 {+/-} 26. Nh5+ $2 (26. Nf1 Rf7 {+/-}) 26... Kg6 $4 {hands over the advantage to the opponent} ( 26... Kh8 $5 {-+}) 27. Ng3 (27. f4 gxf4 28. Nxf4+ Kh7 {=/+}) 27... e4 {This push gains space} (27... Rcd8 28. c4 {+/-}) 28. Nf1 (28. c4 $5 Kg7 29. cxd5 {=} ) 28... Rce8 29. d4 (29. Rbd1 $5 {has some apparent merit} Qe5 30. Ba4 {+/-}) 29... Bd7 (29... a6 {+/-}) 30. Bd1 (30. c4 $5 {+/-}) 30... a6 31. Qd2 (31. c4 Kg7 32. Qc2 dxc4 33. Qxc4 Bb6 {-+}) 31... Rh8 (31... h5 32. Rc1 {-+}) 32. Ng3 $2 (32. Kg1 h5 {-+}) 32... Ref8 (32... h5 $5 {makes it even easier for Black} 33. Rc1 e3 34. Rxe3 Rxe3 35. Qxe3 {-+}) 33. Bh5+ Kg7 34. Kg1 (34. c4 dxc4 35. Qc3 Qd5 {-+}) 34... f4 (34... g4 $5 35. hxg4 fxg4 36. Rbd1 {-+}) 35. Nf1 {+/-} Bb5 36. Be2 $4 {the pressure is too much, White crumbles} (36. f3 e3 37. Qc2 { +/-}) 36... Bxe2 {-+} 37. Qxe2 (37. Rxe2 {does not improve anything} g4 38. Rc1 {-+}) 37... Qg6 (37... f3 {makes sure everything is clear} 38. gxf3 Rxf3 {-+}) 38. f3 {+/-} e3 39. Nh2 h5 40. Red1 $2 (40. Rbd1 b5 {+/-}) 40... Rf6 (40... g4 {makes it even easier for Black} 41. Kh1 gxh3 42. gxh3 {-+}) 41. Qd3 $2 (41. Ra1 Rc6 {-+}) 41... Rh6 (41... Qxd3 $5 {seems even better} 42. Rxd3 Rb6 43. Nf1 {-+}) 42. Qxg6+ (42. Qe2 b5 {+/-}) 42... Rhxg6 {-+} 43. Kf1 (43. Re1 Rb6 44. Re2 Rb3 {-+}) 43... Rb6 44. Ke2 $2 (44. b3 {-+}) 44... Rb3 45. Kd3 (45. Rdc1 { is the last straw} Rgb6 46. Rc2 Rxa3 47. Kd3 {-+}) 45... Rgb6 46. Kc2 (46. Rdc1 {doesn't improve anything} Rxb2 47. Rxb2 Rxb2 {-+}) 46... Kf7 (46... Bd6 { might be the shorter path} 47. Nf1 Bxa3 48. Nxe3 Rxb2+ 49. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 50. Kd3 fxe3 51. Re1 Rxg2 52. Rxe3 {-+}) 47. Re1 (47. Rdc1 {cannot undo what has already been done} Bd6 48. a4 Ba3 {-+}) 47... Bd6 48. Nf1 Be7 (48... Bxa3 $5 { keeps an even firmer grip} 49. Nxe3 fxe3 50. Rxe3 Rxb2+ 51. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 52. Kd3 {-+}) 49. g3 (49. Nxe3 {cannot change destiny} fxe3 50. a4 {-+}) 49... Kf6 ( 49... Bxa3 {and Black can already relax} 50. Nxe3 fxe3 51. Rxe3 Rxb2+ 52. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 53. Kd3 {-+}) 50. g4 $4 (50. h4 gxh4 51. gxf4 Bxa3 52. Nxe3 Rxb2+ 53. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 54. Kd3 Kf7 {=}) 50... Kg6 (50... Bxa3 {and Black can already relax} 51. Nxe3 Rxb2+ 52. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 53. Kd3 fxe3 54. Rxe3 Rh2 55. gxh5 Rxh3 {-+}) 51. Nh2 $4 (51. Nd2 {was necessary} exd2 52. Rxe7 {=}) 51... a5 (51... Bxa3 { and Black can celebrate victory} 52. gxh5+ Kxh5 53. Kd3 {-+}) 52. a4 (52. gxh5+ {does not save the day} Kxh5 53. Ng4 Bxa3 54. Nf6+ Kh4 {-+}) 52... Bf8 (52... Ba3 {it becomes clear that Black will call all the shots} 53. Re2 Bxb2 {-+}) 53. Nf1 Bd6 (53... h4 {might be the shorter path} 54. Nxe3 fxe3 55. Rxe3 Ba3 56. Re6+ Rxe6 57. Kxb3 Bd6 {-+}) 54. Nh2 $4 {a blunder in a bad position} (54. Nxe3 fxe3 55. Rxe3 {-+}) 54... e2 (54... Ba3 {ends the debate} 55. Re2 Bxb2 56. gxh5+ Kxh5 {-+}) 55. Rxe2 {=} Ba3 56. Re6+ Rxe6 57. Kxb3 Bd6 58. Rh1 Re2 59. Ka2 (59. gxh5+ Kxh5 60. Ng4 Kh4 {=}) 59... hxg4 (59... h4 {+/-}) 60. fxg4 $4 { releasing the pressure on the opponent} (60. Nxg4 {and White can hope to survive} Be7 61. Kb3 {=}) 60... Rf2 {-+} 61. Nf1 Kf6 (61... Kf7 62. Kb3 {-+}) 62. Kb1 (62. Kb3 b6 {-+}) 62... Ke6 (62... f3 63. Ne3 Re2 {-+}) 63. Kc1 $2 (63. Ka2 {+/-}) 63... f3 {-+} 64. Kb1 (64. Ne3 Bf4 65. Re1 {-+}) 64... Bf4 65. b3 ( 65. Ka2 {is not the saving move} Rg2 66. h4 gxh4 {-+}) 65... Re2 (65... Rg2 66. b4 f2 67. Kc2 {-+}) 66. c4 (66. h4 {doesn't change the outcome of the game} gxh4 67. g5 Bxg5 {-+}) 66... f2 67. c5 Be3 68. b4 axb4 69. a5 (69. h4 {cannot change what is in store for White} Bxd4 70. Rh3 Re1+ 71. Kc2 Rxf1 72. Rf3 Rg1 73. hxg5 f1=Q 74. Rxf1 Rxf1 75. g6 Rf2+ 76. Kd3 Bxc5 77. a5 b3 78. Kc3 b2 79. g7 Kf7 80. g5 b1=Q 81. g6+ Kxg7 82. a6 Qc2#) 69... Bxd4 70. Kc1 (70. Nd2 { a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} Rxd2 71. Kc1 Bc3 72. c6 bxc6 73. h4 b3 74. hxg5 Re2 75. Rh6+ Ke5 76. Re6+ Kxe6 77. a6 f1=Q#) 70... Bxc5 ( 70... b3 71. Ng3 Re1+ 72. Kd2 Rxh1 73. c6 b2 74. c7 Kd7 75. Nxh1 f1=Q 76. a6 Qg2+ 77. Kd3 b1=Q+ 78. Kxd4 Qge4+ 79. Kc3 Qed3#) 71. Kd1 (71. a6 {is no salvation} bxa6 72. Kd1 Ra2 73. h4 b3 74. hxg5 Ra1+ 75. Ke2 b2 76. Rh6+ Ke5 77. Rf6 Re1+ 78. Kf3 b1=Q 79. g6 Rxf1 80. Rf5+ Qxf5+ 81. gxf5 Rg1 82. Ke2 f1=Q+ 83. Kd2 Rg2+ 84. Kc3 Qf3#) 71... Ra2 72. h4 gxh4 73. Rxh4 (73. a6 {does not solve anything} bxa6 74. Rxh4 Ra1+ 75. Ke2 Re1+ 76. Kf3 Rxf1 77. Rh6+ Kf7 78. g5 Re1 79. Rf6+ Kg7 80. Kg2 b3 81. Kh2 f1=Q 82. Rxf1 Rxf1 83. g6 b2 84. Kh3 b1=Q 85. Kg2 Rg1+ 86. Kh3 Qf5+ 87. Kh4 Bf2#) 73... Ra1+ 74. Ke2 Re1+ 75. Kf3 (75. Kd3 { hardly improves anything} Rxf1 76. Rh6+ Kf7 77. Rh5 Rd1+ 78. Kc2 f1=Q 79. Rf5+ Qxf5+ 80. gxf5 Rg1 81. Kb2 Rg3 82. a6 Rg2+ 83. Kc1 bxa6 84. Kb1 b3 85. Kc1 Ba3+ 86. Kd1 b2 87. f6 b1=Q#) 75... Rxf1 76. Rh2 (76. Rh6+ {is not much help} Kf7 77. g5 b3 78. Rh2 b2 79. Rh7+ Kg6 80. Rh6+ Kxg5 81. Rh7 b1=Q 82. Rg7+ Kh5 83. Rh7+ Qxh7 84. a6 Qe4+ 85. Kg3 Rg1+ 86. Kh3 Qh4#) 76... Rg1 (76... b3 77. Rh6+ Kf7 78. g5 Rg1 79. Rf6+ Kg7 80. Ke2 b2 81. a6 b1=Q 82. Rf7+ Kxf7 83. g6+ Rxg6 84. a7 f1=Q+ 85. Kd2 Qbc1#) 77. Rxf2 Bxf2 (77... Bxf2 78. Kxf2 Rxg4 79. a6 bxa6 80. Ke1 b3 81. Kd1 Rg1+ 82. Ke2 b2 83. Kf3 b1=Q 84. Kf2 Qe1+ 85. Kf3 d4 86. Kf4 Qe3#) 0-1

A85 Dutch Defence: 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 (1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 a5)

The last post of the week has a game in which I tried to play the English again. I might have been better off, had I gone for 1.e4 instead. This game was played in a team match called "LIFE'S A TRIP ! ENJOY THE RIDE 2016! ". The match consists of 56 boards and is played between SHETOS and Chess Champ. I played on board 2 for Chess Champ and lost both of my games against promoteking. Luckily these two losses did not have a serious impact on the score because the score is at the moment 43 - 66 in favor of Chess Champ! Our other players were more capable of playing winning chess than me, so big thanks to them for securing our win in the match.

I quickly went through this game and could not see anything awful about my play, except near the end. Therefore I had to see what Stockfish thought about my moves. For about 17 moves I played decent moves, maybe some inaccuracies here and there, but the fact that after 17...g5 I played 18.Nh2 is something I am a bit ashamed of. I reacted to the aggressive pawn push with a passive move, so this is one of those things that went wrong for me in this game. Had I used a bit more time on thinking about the different possibilities, I would have discovered that I should have played 18.Nxg5! If 18...Nxg5, then 19.Bxb7 and I would have been in a much better position than after 18.Nh2. I am not even so sure why I played my knight to h2, maybe it was designed against g4. After that both players played quite well, only small mistakes were seen, until I played 32.Ba3. That was the move that started my downhill in this game that ended in my loss after the huge blunder 35.Ba3. Basically the same move first tipped the advantage clearly to my opponent and on the second time it was the final mistake that lost the game. Until Monday, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "promoteking"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A85"] [WhiteElo "1841"] [BlackElo "1874"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 {English Opening: Agincourt Defense (#3)} f5 (2... d5 3. b3 (3. g3 b6 (3... c6 {English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Kurajica Defense}) 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Nf6 6. d4 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O {Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Nimzowitsch Line}) 3... Nf6 4. Bb2 c5 5. e3 { English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Wimpy System}) 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 a5 {A85 Dutch Defence: 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3} 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O 8. g3 Ne4 (8... b6 9. Bg2 Bb7 10. b3 (10. O-O Qe7 11. b3 d6 12. Bb2 Nbd7 13. Rfe1 Ne4 14. Qc2 f4 15. Nd2 Nxf2 16. Bxb7 fxg3 17. Qc3 gxh2+ 18. Kg2 Rab8 19. Bf3 Qh4 20. Qe3 Rf6 21. Be4 Ng4 22. Bxh7+ Kh8 23. Qd3 h1=Q+ 24. Rxh1 Rf2+ {Ahlander,B (2416) -Menendez Rey,J (2210) Cappelle la Grande 2016 0-1 (31)}) 10... Qe8 11. O-O d6 12. Rd1 Nbd7 13. Ne1 Bxg2 14. Nxg2 e5 15. dxe5 Qxe5 16. Qxe5 Nxe5 17. Bb2 Rfe8 {1/2-1/2 (17) Radovanovic,D (2367) -Cabrilo,G (2471) Pozarevac 2012}) 9. Qc2 b6 {N} (9... d6 10. Bg2 a4 11. O-O Qf6 12. Be3 Nc6 13. d5 Nd8 14. Nd4 Nc5 15. Nb5 Qe7 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Rad1 Ra6 18. Nc3 Qe8 19. Nb5 Qe7 20. Nc3 Qe8 21. f4 exd5 22. cxd5 Nf7 23. e4 fxe4 24. Nxe4 {Simantsev,M (2447)-Kan,I (2196) Voronezh 2000 1-0 (57)}) 10. Bg2 Bb7 11. e3 (11. O-O Nc6 {+/=}) 11... d6 {Consolidates e5} 12. O-O Nd7 13. Rd1 (13. b3 c5 {=}) 13... Qe7 14. b3 Ndf6 15. h3 {Prevents intrusion on g4} Qf7 16. Bb2 Rac8 17. Rac1 g5 (17... c5 18. Qe2 {=}) 18. Nh2 ( 18. Nxg5 $5 Nxg5 19. Bxb7 {+/-}) 18... h5 {=} 19. Rf1 Qd7 20. b4 (20. Nf3 c5 {= }) 20... axb4 {=/+} 21. axb4 Ra8 (21... b5 22. d5 bxc4 23. dxe6 Qxe6 24. Nf3 {= } (24. Qxc4 $2 {doesn't work because of} Qxc4 25. Rxc4 Ba6 {-+})) 22. Ra1 (22. Nf3 g4 23. Nh4 Ra2 {=}) 22... Rxa1 (22... b5 $5 {is an interesting idea} 23. c5 Bd5 {=/+}) 23. Rxa1 {=} Ra8 24. Qc1 (24. Rxa8+ Bxa8 25. d5 e5 {=} (25... exd5 $2 26. f3 {+-})) 24... Kf7 (24... b5 25. Rxa8+ Bxa8 26. d5 {=}) 25. Nf3 Qc8 26. Ne1 Kg6 27. Nd3 {White intends c5} Rxa1 28. Qxa1 Qa8 29. Qxa8 Bxa8 30. c5 { This push gains space} Bd5 31. cxd6 cxd6 32. Ba3 (32. h4 g4 {=}) 32... Bc4 { =/+ Black threatens to win material: Bc4xd3} 33. Bf1 (33. Bxe4 Nxe4 34. Ne1 g4 {+/-}) 33... b5 (33... Nd2 34. Be2 Nd5 35. f3 {+/-}) 34. Bc1 Nd5 35. Ba3 $4 { cause more grief} (35. h4 {+/-}) 35... Nd2 {-+} 0-1

C36 King's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 d5 (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5)

The game below was played in a team match called Active Turn-Based Tournament Players vs The Bobby Fischer Group. There is an extra The in front of the Bobby Fischer Group, but otherwise the team names were correct in the name of the match. I played on board 15 for Active Turn-Based Tournament Players and in addition to this loss, I won my other game against Retsam100, against whom I have played 4 games at Chess.com. I have been able to get 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in those four games. The match consists of 61 boards and the current score in the match is 77 - 36 in favor of Active Turn-Based Tournament Players. We have secured the win quite clearly, but then again we were able to have higher rated players on most boards, so it is not that surprising.

Another variation of the King's Gambit and bad results stay the same, I lose more often than not. I thought I would try 3...d5 for the first time in this game instead of the more common reply from me 3...d6, which would signify the opening as C34 King's Gambit Accepted, Fischer Defense. Maybe it would have been more appropriate to play the Fischer Defense, considering our opponent in this match. Since this was my first game in this line, I was not at all certain how to best develop my pieces. I did play 4...Nc6, but it seemed during the game that it was not a good choice because the pin by the bishop later on became quite annoying. I guess I could have gone for the greedy 4...g5, but I have tried to play against the different varitions of the King's Gambit in a less greedy and more solid way, so I did not go for that. However, it may have been the best option. The move 4...Nc6 is also a decent move, but my 5th move is maybe not so good anymore. I probably should have played 5...g5 and not give that f4 pawn so easily. I am not so confident that the best square for my bishop is on g4, I may need it to go to d7 later on. During the game, the move Bg4 looked like a good move and I wanted to get myself castled as soon as possible to the queenside. After 6.c3, I should have definitely replied with 6...f6, but such a move I did not even consider because it is usually a bad idea to open the center while your king is on the center. When Retsam100 played 8.Bb5, I started to consider moves like e6, followed by Ne5 for my opponent and therefore traded my bishop to the knight. The idea that I was thinking was not going to happen anytime soon, so I may have traded off those pieces a bit too early, especially since that trade seemed to only benefit my opponent...

After 9.Qxf3, I quickly ran into trouble. The move I chose in reply was the starting point of my final downhill in this game. I did my best to hold the position and the material balance, but after 19.h3, I just could not think of any useful moves and played the horrible 19...Bxf6, which loses a pawn from d5 because my opponent took back with a pawn, which kicked my knight that defended that pawn away. Maybe I could have played 19...h5, 19...Kb8 or something and just waited what my opponent does. Those two moves probably would have kept the material balance and the possibility of me turning things around alive. I guess the reason why I played Bxf6 was that I wanted to reroute my knight from e7 via f5 to d6. The idea might have been bad, but atleast I got my knight to a better square or so I thought anyway. However, it was not worth it to get my knight there and lose that pawn in the process. Then again after 21.Qxd5, I could have played 21...Nxb4 and I might have been able to hold that position. I traded queens instead and after that the game was pretty much over, I was only able to make my position even worse by playing 23...Nd6 and allowed 24.Ne7+. I maybe should have resigned around that point, but I wanted to see a few more moves and maybe come up with some counterplay. I was not able to do so as my opponent played well and I had to accept that my resistance was futile after 36.Re5 was played.

[Event "Active Turn-Based Tournament Players vs"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.02.07"] [Round "?"] [White "Retsam100"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C36"] [WhiteElo "1778"] [BlackElo "1848"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 {C36 King's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 d5} 4. e5 (4. exd5 Nf6 5. Bb5+ c6 6. dxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 Nd5 {King's Gambit Accepted, Abbazia Defense, Main Line}) 4... Nc6 5. d4 Bg4 6. c3 (6. Bb5 Bb4+ 7. c3 Ba5 8. O-O Nge7 9. Bxf4 O-O 10. Bd3 Ng6 11. Qd2 Nxf4 12. Qxf4 Qd7 13. Ng5 g6 14. Nd2 a6 15. e6 fxe6 16. Qxg4 Ne7 17. Qxe6+ Qxe6 18. Nxe6 Rxf1+ 19. Rxf1 c6 20. Nf3 h6 { Ishpulaev,I (1464)-Podbornova,K (1443) Dimitrovgrad 2013 1-0}) 6... Qd7 {N} ( 6... g5 7. h4 Be7 8. hxg5 Bxg5 9. Qd3 h5 10. Nxg5 Qxg5 11. g3 Bf5 12. Bxf4 Qg6 13. Qd1 Bc2 14. Qc1 Qe4+ 15. Kf2 Bxb1 16. Bg2 Qc2+ 17. Qxc2 Bxc2 18. Bxd5 Nge7 19. Bf3 Ng6 20. Bg5 Kd7 21. Bxh5 {Wolfram,D-Klocker,D Austria 2001 1/2-1/2 (67) }) (6... f6 $5 {is an interesting alternative} 7. Bxf4 fxe5 8. dxe5 Bc5 {=/+}) 7. Bxf4 {=} O-O-O 8. Bb5 Bxf3 {Black forks: d1+g2} (8... f6 9. Nbd2 {=}) 9. Qxf3 {+/=} ({Instead of} 9. gxf3 f6 {=}) 9... g6 (9... Kb8 10. Bxc6 Qxc6 11. Nd2 {+/=}) 10. Bg5 (10. O-O a6 11. Ba4 Be7 {+/-}) 10... Re8 (10... f6 $5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Qxf6 Qg4 {+/-}) 11. O-O Bh6 12. Bh4 (12. Bxh6 Nxh6 13. Nd2 {+/-}) 12... Rf8 $2 (12... Nge7 13. Na3 (13. Qxf7 $4 {Taking that pawn is naive} Ref8 14. e6 Qd6 {-+}) 13... f5 14. Nc2 {+/-}) 13. Na3 (13. c4 {keeps an even firmer grip} a6 14. Bxc6 Qxc6 15. cxd5 Qb6 {+-}) 13... a6 (13... g5 14. Bxc6 Qxc6 15. Bxg5 Bxg5 16. Qf5+ Kb8 17. Qxg5 {+-}) 14. Be2 (14. Bxc6 $5 Qxc6 15. c4 Qd7 16. cxd5 Kb8 {+-}) 14... Nd8 (14... Kb8 15. b4 g5 16. Bg3 {+/-}) 15. Nc2 (15. c4 Ne6 16. Rad1 {+-} (16. cxd5 Nxd4 17. Qe4 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Qxd5 {+/-})) 15... Ne7 $4 {shortens the misery for Black} (15... Ne6 {+/-}) 16. Bf6 (16. Bxe7 { and White can already relax} Qxe7 17. Qh3+ Kb8 18. Qxh6 f6 {+-}) 16... Rhg8 ( 16... Kb8 17. Qg4 Qxg4 18. Bxg4 {+-}) 17. Nb4 (17. Bxe7 {seems even better} Qxe7 18. Qh3+ Kb8 19. Qxh6 f6 {+-}) 17... Ndc6 (17... Bg7 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Nxd5 {+-}) 18. a4 (18. Nxc6 {makes it even easier for White} Nxc6 19. Qg3 Nd8 20. Bxd8 f5 {+-}) 18... Bg7 $2 (18... Nxb4 19. cxb4 Bd2 20. b5 {+-}) 19. h3 ( 19. Bxg7 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} Rxg7 20. Nd3 Kb8 {+-}) 19... Bxf6 20. exf6 Nf5 21. Qxd5 (21. Nxd5 Kb8 22. Bc4 Rd8 {+-}) 21... Qxd5 (21... Nxb4 $5 22. Qxd7+ Kxd7 23. cxb4 Re8 {+/=}) 22. Nxd5 Rd8 23. Bc4 Nd6 $2 (23... Rge8 {+/-}) 24. Ne7+ {+-} Nxe7 25. fxe7 Rde8 26. Bxf7 Nxf7 27. Rxf7 h5 28. Re1 Kd7 29. c4 h4 (29... g5 30. c5 {+-}) 30. Kf2 g5 31. b4 (31. Kf3 {and White can already relax} Rg6 32. b4 Rb6 {+-}) 31... Rg6 (31... g4 32. Rh7 {+-}) 32. d5 (32. Kf3 { might be the shorter path} Rc6 33. c5 Re6 34. Rxe6 Kxe6 {+-}) 32... c6 (32... g4 33. a5 {+-}) 33. Kf3 Kd6 (33... cxd5 34. cxd5 Rd6 {+-}) 34. dxc6 Kxc6 35. Kg4 Kd7 36. Re5 (36. Re5 Rd6 37. Kxg5 Rg8+ 38. Kxh4 Rd4+ 39. g4 {+-}) 1-0

D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 sidelines (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.Qa4+ Nd7)

The game you are about to see was played in a team match called "A Live Wire Static Thematic". This thematic match is played on 14 boards between LIVE WIRE and The Night's Watch at Castle Black. I am playing on board 4 for The Night's Watch at Castle Black. The current score in the match is 15.5 - 9.5 in favor of LIVE WIRE. We have lost four games on time, which is too much, especially in a small team match such as this. LIVE WIRE has lost two games on time and the difference of even those two timeout losses is the matter of winning or losing this match, which is quite disappointing. This game does not have the usual reference games because the game started from Black's second move.

If I were to play this game again, I would probably play 4.Nc3 instead of 4.Qa4+. It is actually not so bad of a move, but I do not really like the way that the game continued after that. There are also other moves later on that I would not play now. The next move I would like to change is my 7th move, instead of e4 I would prefer to play Bg5. After the bishop is out of the pawn chain, I would continue with the plan e3, followed by either Be2 or Bd3, depending on what my opponent does and then castle short. I think that way of playing would have saved me from some of the trouble I faced in this game. In the game, my dark-squared bishop was not an active piece. It would have been much better posted on g5 earlier in the game. Not only was my bishop badly placed on b2, but my queen did not find a good square either and I had to move it a lot of times during the first 15 moves. Playing my queen to g4 on move 15 was asking for trouble as the queen seems to be low on squares. I had a plan of taking on g6 with my bishop after I had played 17.e5, but for some reason I was a bit afraid to do that after 17...Bb7 because after 18.Bxg6 I thought that my opponent would play Bxf3 and after I take back with the pawn, Iacopo could play Rg8. I missed a very important in-between move that would have made the line work. After 18.Bxg6 Bxf3, I could play 19.Bxf7+ and it would be an easy win after that. I know that I should look these kind of moves, but I am maybe a bit too lazy to go deep enough in the different possibilities. I may rely too much on my intuition, even though I know it is more often than not wrong and I would find much better moves if I just spent more time thinking about the moves. I think that the continuation starting with Bxg6 was my best and only chance during this game to take the full point.

My idea of Ne4 to c5 was not as good as I had thought, after 19...Bxc5, I end up with a backward pawn on d4 because I did not want to play dxc5 in view of Ndf4. I did end playing the losing move soon after that on move 21. I was too protective of my bishop and did not consider that Ne2+ in reply to my move Bc2 would be so strong. I shoud have, of course, just defended the bishop with Rfd1 and I would have been in an okay position.

[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Iacopo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D21"] [WhiteElo "1857"] [BlackElo "1859"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 2... e6 3. Nf3 dxc4 {Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation} 4. Qa4+ { White forks: c4} (4. e3 Nf6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 {Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical Defense, Rubinstein Variation}) (4. Nc3 Nf6 {Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation}) (4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ {Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Modern Sharp Variation}) 4... Nd7 {D21 Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3.Nf3 sidelines} 5. Qxc4 (5. Nc3 a6 {=}) 5... Ngf6 6. Nc3 a6 { Prevents intrusion on b5} 7. e4 {Black has a cramped position. Black's piece can't move: c8} b5 {Black threatens to win material: b5xc4} 8. Qd3 h6 { Consolidates g5} (8... Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 Bxd5 11. Be2 {=/+}) 9. a3 { Black has a cramped position} (9. e5 Ng8 {+/=}) 9... Bb7 (9... c5 10. e5 c4 11. Qc2 {=}) 10. b4 {+/= White has a very active position} Be7 {White has an active position} 11. Bb2 (11. Qc2 O-O {=}) 11... Nb6 12. Qe3 Ng4 {Black threatens to win material: Ng4xe3} (12... O-O {=}) 13. Qf4 {+/= White prepares the advance e5. White threatens to win material: Qf4xg4} Nf6 14. Bd3 {White has an active position} Nh5 {Black threatens to win material: Nh5xf4} 15. Qg4 g6 16. O-O {White has an active position} (16. Rd1 {+/-}) 16... Bc8 $2 (16... Nd7 17. g3 {+/=}) 17. e5 {White has a new backward pawn: d4. Black has a cramped position} (17. Ne5 $5 Nf6 18. Qg3 Nh5 {+-}) 17... Bb7 (17... Ng7 18. Nd2 {+/=}) 18. Ne4 {White has an active position} (18. Bxg6 fxg6 19. Qxg6+ Kd7 20. Qxh5 Qe8 {+/-}) 18... Nd5 (18... Ng7 19. Rfd1 {=}) 19. Nc5 (19. Rfe1 $5 { +/-}) 19... Bxc5 {=} 20. bxc5 {White has the pair of bishops} Ndf4 {Black threatens to win material: Nf4xd3} 21. Bc2 $4 {allows the opponent back into the game} (21. Rfd1 {= would keep White in the game}) 21... Ne2+ {+/-} 22. Kh1 Nhf4 23. h4 h5 24. Qg5 Qxg5 25. hxg5 h4 26. Rfe1 (26. Kh2 O-O-O 27. Rfd1 {-+}) 26... h3 27. g3 (27. g4 {doesn't do any good} h2 28. c6 Bxc6 29. d5 Bxd5 30. Be4 Bxe4 31. a4 Bxf3#) 27... Bxf3+ (27... h2 28. c6 Bxc6 29. d5 Bxd5 30. Be4 Bxe4 31. a4 Bxf3#) 28. Kh2 {-+} Bd5 $4 {hands over the advantage to the opponent} (28... Ng2 {and Black has prevailed} 29. Red1 Nxg3 30. Kxg3 Bxd1 {-+} ) 29. gxf4 {+/-} Nxf4 30. Bc1 (30. Re3 Rh4 {+/-}) 30... Ng2 {-+} 31. Re2 (31. Rg1 Nh4 32. Bd1 Bf3 {-+}) 31... Bf3 (31... Nh4 $5 {and Black can already relax} 32. Be4 Bxe4 33. Rxe4 Nf3+ 34. Kh1 {-+}) 32. Rd2 Nh4 33. Rd3 $2 (33. Bb2 {-+}) 33... Be4 34. Rc3 Nf3+ 35. Kh1 Bc6 (35... Bxc2 $5 {makes it even easier for Black} 36. Rxc2 O-O-O 37. Rc3 Nxd4 38. Bf4 {-+}) 36. Be3 (36. Bd1 Nxd4+ 37. Kh2 {-+}) 36... h2 (36... h2 37. d5 Bxd5 {-+}) 0-1

C25 Vienna Game: Alternatives to 2...Nf6 (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4)

This game was played in atadros's mini-tournament V at GameKnot. This high-stakes mini-tournament consists of 11 players. I am currently on 10th place with 2.5 points. My opponent in the game below, john_wr, is on 7th place with 6 points. I have three games currently in progress in this mini-tournament and 7 games have not even started yet. If I win all of those 10 games, I will be able to tie in points with the player who is currently on 2nd place, but it would mean that the player who is on 2nd place could not get a single point out of the 5 remaining games he has left. It would be very unlikely for me to win all of my remaining games due to the fact that I am one of the lowest rated players in this mini-tournament. Actually only two players are lower rated than me at the moment. A player called foogie1 (2251) is currently on 1st place with 14 points and he has three games left to finish. The only threat to foogie1's mini-tournament victory is desaparicidos (2056), who is currently on second place. Desaparicidos can actually overtake foogie1 by a half a point even if both players win all of their remaining games.

I felt that this game started to go wrong for me as early as move 3. I regretted the move 3...Bb4 almost immediately as I started to see what my opponent was up to. While the moves 4.Qg4 and 5.Qf3 were certainly annoying, I did not think that I would be in huge trouble just yet. Admittedly I was somewhat worried of the move Nd5 at a convenient moment, well convenient for my opponent that is. I think I should be okay after 6...O-O, but the moves d3 and 8.Bg5 were constantly on my mind, because getting the bishop to g5 could have caused really big problems for me. I was somewhat happy to see my opponent play 7.h3, because it did not seem as dangerous to me as 7.d3 would have been. I replied with 7...Nd4, which I thought might lead to some beneficial trades from my point of view. However, I am not so sure if Nd4 was such a good move. It does basically force my opponent to play Nxd4 and I obviously need to play exd4 in order to maintain the material balance, but the problem is that I have now doubled pawns on the d-file. The doubled d-pawns are not my biggest problem though. It is the continuation d3, Bg5 and e5. I think I should be able to defend against that but it seemed quite bad for me during the game. After 8...exd4 john_wr played Nb5, which is better than Nd5 because to Nd5 I would have replied with Nxd5, after which I should be okay. Nb5 does cause me some problems. I thought about Bc5 and c5 during the game as a possible answers, but rejected Bc5 because I thought that the bishop is needed on b4 to pin the d-pawn so that the idea d3, followed up with Bg5 would be delayed at least for the time being. C5 has a problem attached to it as well, it blocks the diagonal for my bishop on b4, so that it can't go back to e7 for defensive purposes.

I think I defended reasonably until I played 16...Nh5. The purpose of the Nh5 move was to stop my opponent from playing f4 and Bg3 ideas. Then again I am not sure if there was anything better to play. I know though that my 17th move was the move that cost me the game, without that blunder I might have had chances for a draw. After the moves Bxf6 and Qxd7 I felt that I was quite lost, but continued on even though my position was not all that promising in view of counterplay possibilities. The game went further and further down the drain for me and I had to accept the loss after 24.f6+ because I saw only easy wins for my opponent at that point.

[Event "atadros's mini-tournament V"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "?"] [White "john_wr"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C25"] [WhiteElo "1955"] [BlackElo "1775"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 {Vienna Game: Max Lange Defense} 3. Bc4 {C25 Vienna Game: Alternatives to 2...Nf6} (3. d4 f5 {Vienna Game: Philidor Countergambit}) 3... Bb4 (3... Bc5 4. Qg4 Qf6 5. Nd5 {Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Meitner-Mieses Gambit}) (3... Nf6 4. f4 Nxe4 5. Nf3 {Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Bronstein Gambit}) 4. Qg4 g6 (4... Qf6 5. Nd5 Qg6 6. Qxg6 fxg6 7. Nxc7+ Kd8 8. Nxa8 Nf6 9. a3 Bc5 10. d3 Rf8 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. fxe3 Ng4 13. Nf3 Nxe3 14. Ke2 Nxc2 15. Rac1 N2d4+ 16. Nxd4 Nxd4+ 17. Ke3 b6 18. Bd5 Nc6 19. Bxc6 {Banciu,A (1253)-Avadani,T (1377) Calimanesti 2014 1-0 (40)}) 5. Qf3 Nf6 6. Nge2 (6. Nd5 Nxd5 7. Bxd5 Qe7 8. c3 Ba5 9. a4 Bb6 10. b4 a5 11. b5 Nd8 12. d3 c6 13. Ba2 d6 14. h4 f6 15. Ne2 Be6 16. g4 Bxa2 17. Rxa2 Qe6 18. Rb2 Rb8 19. Ng3 d5 20. Bh6 Rg8 {Ulenaers,M-Lagrain,P Lommel 2002 1-0 (34)}) 6... O-O {N} ( 6... Bxc3 7. dxc3 d6 8. Bg5 Bg4 9. Qxf6 Qxf6 10. Bxf6 Rg8 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. f3 Kd7 14. O-O-O Rae8 15. g4 Kc8 16. g5 Re6 17. Ng3 Rh8 18. h4 h6 19. c4 h5 20. Ne2 a6 21. Nc3 {Canape,Y (1767)-Chamsub,J Chiangmai 2013 1-0 (46)}) 7. h3 {Secures g4} (7. a3 Ba5 {+/=}) 7... Nd4 {=} 8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Nb5 (9. Ne2 b5 10. e5 Rb8 {=}) 9... c5 (9... Nxe4 10. O-O Nxd2 11. Bxd2 Bxd2 {+/-}) 10. O-O {+/=} a6 (10... d5 $5 11. Bxd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 a6 {+/=}) 11. Nd6 Qe7 12. Nxc8 ( 12. Qf4 b5 13. e5 Nh5 {+/-}) 12... Raxc8 {+/=} 13. d3 Kg7 14. Bg5 (14. a4 Ba5 { +/=}) 14... h6 {+/= Black threatens to win material: h6xg5} 15. Bh4 Qe5 (15... b5 16. Qxf6+ Qxf6 17. Bxf6+ Kxf6 18. Bd5 {+/=}) 16. Qe2 Nh5 17. Qg4 (17. g3 Qb8 {+/=}) 17... Nf6 (17... Qc7 $5 {+/=}) 18. Bxf6+ {+/-} Qxf6 19. Qxd7 Rb8 20. f4 Rfd8 (20... Bd2 21. Kh1 {+/-}) 21. Qg4 Bd2 22. e5 (22. a4 {+/-}) 22... Qc6 $2 ( 22... Be3+ 23. Kh1 Qf5 {+/-}) 23. f5 {+-} g5 (23... Rf8 24. e6 fxe6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 26. Bxe6 Qe8 {+-}) 24. f6+ (24. f6+ Kh8 25. Bxf7 {+-}) 1-0

Chess960 SP39

This week starts with a post that contains at the moment one chess960 game, but will have another game later this week. The game below was played at lichess.org and it had 25 minutes as the basic time and there was a 10 second increment. The time controls were longer than I am used to playing chess960 on one sitting. This was because I accepted the challenge that was offered by my opponent. For some reason or the other I could not really make myself think about my moves in this or in the rematch that was played after this game for a long time. It did not really have a negative effect on the results, because I won both games, but I did not really feel that I was in the best possible shape.

This game started so badly that I was convinced that I will end up losing this game. I think the game went well for me until I played 6...Qd6. I did look at some of the knight moves from my opponent as a reply, but for some reason did not realise how annoying move 7.Nb5 actually was. I wanted to castle queenside, but I would have needed to play a6 before Qd6 because without a6 I am forced to waste a couple of moves. 7.Nb5 basically forced me to go back to d8 with the queen because all other squares are even worse. Then my opponent played 8.Bf4 and that forced me to play my knight back to a8 in order to avoid material loss. I was really annoyed at that moment of the way I had played up to that point. Actually I should be very close to losing after 8...Na8. There should not have been a way to climb back to the game, but sometimes I just get lucky. RUSSLAN2014 continued with Qd3 with the intention of castling queenside. I replied with a6 in order to drive the knight back and get my knight back into play. For some reason or the other, after my opponent had moved the knight away, I castled and not developed the knight from a8 to b6. I am actually not sure if castling short in this particular position achieves anything useful. It probably does not make much difference if the king is on g8 and the rook is on f8 or vice versa. After both sides had castled, I finally planted my knight back to b6 where it was a few moves earlier. Somehow I was able to get into a decent position after the horrible start.

By the way, I am not looking at the computer evaluations while I type this and neither did I look them when I typed about the other games that I have posted today. I feel that looking what the engine thinks restricts me too much and what I type is not so interesting as a result. I think I will keep doing posts like this in the future too. What I type before the game is based on my thoughts and what the engine thinks can be found in the replayable game. I should have adopted this way of doing things from the beginning of this blog, but back then it was not so clear to me how I want to make these posts. If I had the time, I would redo my older posts and improve them. Anyway, back to the game. RUSSLAN2014 played the mysterious looking move 12.f3 in response to the move Nb6. I have no idea why my opponent played that move, it does not seem to have any purpose on what my opponent does in the remainder of the game. It may prepare the move e4, but for some reason RUSSLAN2014 did not play it. I replied with g6, in order to get my bishop developed. After Bh6 and the trade of bishops, it seems quite clear to me that when I played O-O, it was just a waste of time because I would have ended up in a similar position had I played g6 instead of O-O. After I recaptured the bishop with Kxg7, my opponent started to push the h-pawn aggressively towards my king. Then I played Qd6 for the second time in this game, this time the queen was not to be kicked back because the b5 square was covered by the pawn on a6. RUSSLAN2014 continued with pushing the g-pawn one square forward preparing h5, I guess. Moving the g-pawn does weaken the f4-square where I planted my queen with a check as a reply. That check should not have been that dangerous, but the way RUSSLAN2014 answered it made it the beginning of the end for my opponent. RUSSLAN2014 played 17.Nd2 without realising that the queen on d3 has no squares to which it can go. I took advantage of that fact and played Nb4. After I saw that move, I knew that I was going to win this game. The rest of the game was just matter of technique. I have added one analysed game to the following posts: E24 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Saemisch Variation. Accelerated, B32 Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation, C25 Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit and B40 Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Normal. I have also added one mate in one, one mate in three and three mate in four puzzles today.

Game number two. This is my second game against RUSSLAN2014. This was a rematch offered by my opponent. Even though I only wanted to play one game with these time controls, I accepted the offer for a rematch because I thought that as the first game did not last that long, maybe this will not last that long either. At the end of the first game, my clock showed 18 minutes 53 seconds still left and RUSSLAN2014's clock showed 11 minutes 41 seconds left on the clock. At the end of this game, my clock showed 21 minutes 59 seconds, while RUSSLAN2014's clock showed 6 minutes 47 seconds. More often than not if I use less time on the moves than my opponent, then it usually has a negative effect on my results, I have noticed this especially in over the board games. This time, however, it did not matter. I opened this game with 1.g3 because in our first game I noticed that the check on h3 or h6 is really annoying in this starting position, so I thought it best to prevent it by opting to immediately open the long diagonal for my bishop. Had my opponent replied with 1...d5, I would have played 2.Bg2 and prevented Bh3 causing annoyance. RUSSLAN2014 played 1...Nc6 instead, so I thought that I can now play 2.d4 and play Bh6+ in case of g6 and trade the dark-squared bishops. RUSSLAN2014 played 2...d5, so I played the move that I had planned against it, Bg2. RUSSLAN2014 continued with g6, which I replied almost immediately with Bh6+ and traded the potentially dangerous bishop after Bg7 was played. I think the position remained quite even until my opponent played 8...Nxe5. It loses a pawn, but I am not sure how bad that loss is because the engine seems to think that RUSSLAN2014 has sufficient compensation for the pawn and that the position is dead even.

During the game I was happy to get that extra pawn and thought that it could be enough to win the game, but as the following moves showed, it was not going to be easy. That is because after 11.Qd4 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 it seemed that I will lose a pawn back. There was, of course, the funny possibility of Ne2# as well, but I luckily did spot that move and did not lose the game. The best reply to Nc4 was in my opinion O-O-O, but even in that case I will lose the e2-pawn due to c5 kicking my knight away. I thought that my best option after c5 was to play b3, in order to have the ability to play Rd2 in response to Rxe2. The knights were traded off and I had to double my pawns on the c-file. I was not that confident of my chances, but I thought that I might get that d4-pawn and maybe be up a pawn again. I might not have been able to get that pawn had my opponent played 16...Rxd2, followed by Rd8. I thought that it would have been RUSSLAN2014's best chance, but my opponent did not agree with me. After I played Bf3, RUSSLAN2014 moved the rook to e7, which I was happy to see because I could take on d4 and be up a pawn once again. Maybe Rxd2 here was a better alternative and not give the pawn for free. After I won the pawn, the game became much easier to play and after 20...Bxd5 21.cxd5 I was quite confident that I can win the game. RUSSLAN2014 resigned after 40.h4 because I will either get to promote my h-pawn or my d-pawn while my opponent has no real counterplay.

Chess960 SP251

I am not sure why I kept playing this game for so many moves. I guess I was hoping that my opponent would mess up, but it never happened. Also it was hard for me to believe that someone rated nearly 600 points less than me can be crushing me in this game so badly. I expected to see at least some horrible blunders by my opponent to justify the low rating of 1273, but those blunders never happened. You can judge for yourselves, but I think juozaskaz played much better chess960 than a player of that rating usually plays. Then again, I did play some really bad moves that were not that hard to take advantage of. I am probably happy with the three first moves that I made, but after that my decision making was far from ideal. I mean 4.Ba5 is a rather silly move to make. It is probably just a waste of time after the reply 4...b6. When it came time to consider what to play on move 6, I was not at all certain what I should do. I was rather disappointed with my decision to play that Ba5 move and now there did not seem to be that great moves to play. I ended up playing Bg2 for no other reason than have the possibility to play Bh3 maybe some day and that the bishop is slightly better placed at g2 than on h1, but most likely no real difference between the two. I should have gone for the more active looking e4 and maybe I even consider it, but for some reason rejected the idea. Already after 6.Bg2 my opponent started to be slightly favored.

On move seven it was starting to be really hard to think of anything decent to play. I played e3 because I needed to defend the d-pawn and at the time it seemed like the best way to do it, even though it makes it very hard for me to develop my knight. At this point I would have really liked to play 6.e4 instead of 6.Bg2, because it would be much easier position for me to play. I did not have a clear plan and played 8.Qf3 knowing that the queen is akwardly placed there, but could not think of anything better. At this point I did not even consider the possibility that my queen could get trapped. Only later on I discovered how low on squares my queen actually was. I was able to save my queen, but only by giving pawns, so that my queen would have squares to go to. I can't understand why I did not play 10.h4, but instead played the horrible move Bc3. After 10...Ng5 I knew that I am most likely going to lose this game. I did continue on because of my opponent's low rating. After 11...Nge6, I could have just gone for Qf3 and I should be happy at this point to get a draw by repetition, not that my opponent would go for that. I was actually thinking during the game that 11...Nce6 would be extremely annoying move to meet, so I was somewhat happy to see Nge6. I would have played 12.Qf3 had I seen what my opponent is going to do next. After 12...Be2 I was pretty certain that my queen gets trapped, at which point I would have seriously considered of resigning this game. For the rest of the game I was waiting for a mistake from my opponent that could allow me back into the game, but juozaskaz played very well and did not give me any chances to get back into the game. This game was pretty much lost after 10...Bf3, but the game lasted 41 moves, much longer than it should have, considering how much material I was down before move 41. I have added two analysed games to my post A20 English Opening: King's English Variation. General and one analysed game to these two posts: C64 Spanish Game: Classical Variation. Charousek Variation and A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense. Mikenas-Carls Variation. I have also added one mate in two, two mate in three and two mate in four puzzles today. Until Monday, my fellow chess960 and chess enthusiasts and huge thank you for all the people who have come here to view this blog!

Chess960 SP93

After I had updated three of my old posts, I realised that I did not have the chess960 game ready for this main post. Then I thought that I will play some quick games in the chess960 pool at ICC, so that I have enough time to analyse the game before this day ends. I spent a few minutes on that pool queing up for a game, but was not able to get a game fast enough, so I thought that I would give the live chess section at Chess.com a try and see if I can get a 10 minute game of chess960 played there. The game you see below was my first rapid chess960 game at Chess.com. Most likely more will come later on, but the chess960 game that I am sharing tomorrow was played at lichess.org. I think this was a good game from me, there were only a couple of moves of mine I did not like after I made them.

I started the game with e4 and I did consider that move almost too long as I noticed that there is a timer on these games that if a player does not make the first move quick enough, then the game is aborted. That timer is for both players and actually my opponent moved basically on the second that the game would have been aborted. Luckily nVaynard moved just in time so that the game did not end on move 1. The move e4 opens up a diagonal for my bishop and takes a precence in the center. My opponent replied with 1...d6, which to me looks a bit wierd and I do not really understand the reason behind this move. I continued with a normal developing move 2.Nc3, which it seems I thought about almost 17 seconds. Nowadays they show much time players use for their moves in the live chess section of the site. Well, on the newer version of the site, you can still play on the old version too if you like, but I have switched mainly to the new version. Anyway, back to the game, nVaynard played 2...f5, which may be a small mistake even though I did like it during the game. I continued with f4, though I also thought about just taking on f5 as well. I thought that it is better to open a diagonal for my other bishop than take on f5 and lose a bit of the precence in the center. My opponent took the pawn on e4 next, which was probably a good idea. After I took back with my knight, I thought that the move 4...g5 would be good for my opponent as it threatens two pawns at the same time, the one on f4 and the one on b2. I thought that I would lose a pawn here because I can't play fxg5 due to Qxb2 is too strong and annoying. I was very happy to see 4...Bd5 because there I could just play Nc3 and there were no immediate problems anymore.

Sometimes the after game analysis reveals some really silly mistakes and this game is one example of those, because it seems I just merrily played 6.Bd4 without realising that I could have just taken on a7... I guess the fact that I mostly play chess has a negative impact on my chess960 games. In chess that a7 pawn is protected this early on by a rook, so the idea that there are starting positions where that is not the case, sometimes eludes me. I have played a few chess960 games where I have been playing with the black pieces and allowed my opponent to take a free pawn on a7. I think some things are just so rooted in my mind that I can't seem to shake them off in these chess variants. For that reason I should increase the amount of chess960 games I play and train my brain to look beyond the old patterns. Okay, after seeing the mistakes I made in this game, I am not at all happy with the way I played this game. Not taking on a7 I might still accept, but not the fact that I did not see that 7.Bh5+ just wins the game... I did move the bishop on my 7th move, but passively instead of aggressively. I think I saw the Bh5+, but dismissed the idea because of g6 as a reply... I forgot that my other bishop makes that move very undesirable. I really should start to pay more attention to the board and think my options more thoroughly. I did have a few times after that where I was able to gain an advantage and lose it again until nVaynard blundered with 20...Qe8. With that move nVaynard went from an equal position to being clearly worse. I was able to handle the rest of the game with enough accuracy to take the full point. I have added one analysed game to the following posts: C44 Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit. London Defense, C45 Scotch Game: Classical Variation, D00 Queen Pawn Game: General and A36 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation. Symmetrical Variation. I have also added one mate in one, two mate in two, one mate in three and one mate in four puzzle today.

Chess960 SP182

The game below was played at lichess.org on April 10th, 2016. This is my latest win I have been able to get there and the last game that was part of my winning streak there. That streak lasted for 12 games, which is also the longest winning streak I have had there. I have now played 46 games at lichess and all of them are chess960 games. I might start to play other chess variants there too, but I do not think that it will happen any time soon. The game below had a basic time of 10 minutes and with each move 10 seconds were added to the clock. This game had a peculiar start. My move 1.d4 is still a normal looking move, but my opponent's reply 1...h5 is not. I am not sure what the point of the move is. It may later on help to develop the queen, but other than that I think it is a bad move. I replied with 2.g3 in order to open the long diagonal for my queen. Considering what my opponent played on move two, I might have been better off had I played 2.e4 instead. Lucianolop played 2...g5 and if I had played 2.e4, I could now play 3.Be3. Then again, I could have played 3.Nb3 in the game continuation and leave the e-pawn free to go to e4 next turn. That might have been better than playing 3.e3, because the pawn now restricts the scope of the bishop a bit. Lucianolop continued making moves that I would probably never play in these kind of positions, 3...g4 and 4...Bh6.

I think the way I developed my pieces is a more natural one than the way my opponent did things. That being said, I think 7.Bg2 was not a good idea from me and maybe I should have played my bishop to d3 instead. Also castling long was certainly a good option on move 7. One reason why 7.Bg2 might be bad is because it allows 7...Bf5. Had I played 7.Bd3, then 7...Bf5 would not have been an option. I think I continued a bit too much on the trade pieces line, because around move 20 I felt that I have simplified the position a bit too much to have good winning chances. The position looked quite drawish already. On lucianolop's 21st move something strange happened that reenabled my winning chances, lucianolop played 21...d5 and did not even try to take that pawn back. I was now up a pawn and it seemed to me that I can hold on to that extra pawn and make something good of that pawn. The move 21...d5 was the starting point for my opponent's downhill in this game. While the way I handled the game on the remaining moves was not ideal, I was able to play accurately enough to ensure my victory. I have added one analysed game to the following posts: C88 Spanish Game: Closed, B83 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Modern Variation #3, C50 Italian Game: Italian Variation and Chess960 SP33. I have also added one mate in one, one mate in three and three mate in four puzzles today.

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 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.O-O-O Bd6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4)

Chess960 may have been the dominating feature of these posts of mine lately, but now the center stage belongs to chess at least for today. The rest of the week and early next week these posts will contain more starting positions from chess960. The game you can view below was played in a team match called Match Name: TMCL 2016 R1 Sub-Div. A2. It is played between Chess Unlimited and LATINO on 136 boards. I played on board 21 for Chess Unlimited and in addition to this win, I lost my other game against mchang1229. The current score in the match is 106.5 - 151.5 in favor of LATINO, so even if I had also won my other game, it would not have made much of a difference to the score and the winner of the match would still be LATINO. However, it all adds up to the grim score from our point of view.

The game below featured its first mistake when my opponent played 20...gxf6. Taking with the pawn is the incorrect capture because now I can play my rook to g4 and get the g-file under my control and even in some case threaten to play Rg7 after I have kicked the knight from d5 with c4, for instance, and I would be close to winning the game. Mchang1229 blunders a second time in a row with 21...Rdf8 and after 22.Rg6 I should have the winning advantage and even during the game I was feeling confident of my chances to win after I saw that the pawn on h6 will fall. The position goes further down the drain for my opponent with his next move, but I did not play the best reply 23.Bxh6, but I instead took with my rook. My move should be good enough too, but taking with the bishop would have been better. The remainder of the game went firmly in my control and the only real possibility for me losing the game would have been on move 40, had I foolishly played my king to b5 and allowed a mate in one.

My statistics in this line are: 2 games while controlling the white pieces, 1 win (50%), 1 loss (50%).

[Event "Match Name: TMCL 2016 R1 Sub-Div. A2 -"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.01.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "mchang1229"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1853"] [BlackElo "1815"] [Annotator "Stockfish 7 64 POPCNT (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Bd6 {Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Seirawan Variation} (12... Be7 {Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Lobron System}) 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 {B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} Nf6 15. Qh4 (15. Qe2 Bc7 16. Kb1 (16. c4 Qe7 17. Kb1 O-O-O 18. Bc3 Kb8 19. Ne5 Nd7 20. Nd3 Rhe8 21. f4 Bb6 22. g4 f6 23. Rde1 Qf7 24. b3 c5 25. dxc5 Nxc5 26. Nxc5 Bxc5 27. Rd1 Qc7 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rd1 Rd6 30. Rxd6 Qxd6 {Miyasaka,J (1512)-Cai,B (1594) Porto Carras 2015 1/2-1/2 (46)}) 16... Qd5 17. c4 Qe4+ 18. Qxe4 Nxe4 19. Be3 f5 20. d5 cxd5 21. cxd5 e5 22. Rhe1 O-O 23. Nh4 Bd6 24. Ng6 Rfe8 25. f4 exf4 26. Bxf4 Rad8 27. Bxd6 Rxd6 28. Nh4 Rf6 29. Rc1 Rd8 {Andreikin,D (2720)-Riazantsev,A (2646) Moscow 2015 1-0 (34)}) 15... Qe7 {N} (15... Qc7 16. Kb1 (16. c4 O-O-O 17. Rhe1 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qa5 20. Kb1 Bb4 21. Rh1 Qa4 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bd4 Qf5+ 25. Kb2 Qd3 26. Rc1 Ne4 27. Bxg7 Qe2+ 28. Ka1 Ba3 29. Rb1 Rd1 30. Qxe4 Qxe4 { Caravaca Aguirre, A-Rodriguez Gonzalez,I Oropesa del Mar 2000 0-1 (31)}) 16... O-O-O 17. Bc1 Rd7 18. Rhe1 Qd8 19. c3 Qa5 20. g4 Bc7 21. Nd2 Qd5 22. Nb3 Qf3 23. Rg1 Rhd8 24. Rde1 Nd5 25. Nc5 Re7 26. c4 Qf6 27. g5 hxg5 28. Bxg5 Qf5+ 29. Ka1 Nb4 30. Qe4 {Luc,V-Le,N (1883) Ho Chi Minh City 2012 1/2-1/2 (62)}) (15... Qb6 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Kb1 O-O-O 18. g4 Qb5 19. Rd3 Nd5 20. Rhd1 a5 21. Rc1 Nb4 22. c4 Qa6 23. Rdc3 Qa8 24. a3 Na6 25. c5 Bc7 26. g5 Rd5 27. Rg1 Bd8 28. Ne5 hxg5 29. Bxg5 f6 30. Bxf6 {Alavanja,D-Dujic,M Sv Filip i Jakov 2008 1-0 (67)}) 16. Ne5 Bxe5 (16... c5 17. Rhe1 {+/=}) 17. dxe5 {+/=} Nd5 18. Qg3 {White threatens to win material: Qg3xg7} O-O-O 19. Rh4 (19. Qxg7 $4 {it may look tempting but White must resist capturing the pawn} Rdg8 20. Qxg8+ Rxg8 21. Bxh6 Qc5 {-+}) 19... f5 20. exf6 gxf6 (20... Nxf6 21. Re1 Rhe8 22. Bc3 {+/=}) 21. Rg4 {+/-} Rdf8 (21... e5 $5 22. Rg6 Qf7 {+/-}) 22. Rg6 {+-} f5 $2 (22... Rd8 23. Qf3 {+-}) 23. Rxh6 (23. Bxh6 {makes it even easier for White} Re8 24. Bg5 Qf7 {+-}) 23... Rxh6 (23... f4 24. Qg6 Rxh6 25. Qxh6 e5 {+-}) 24. Bxh6 Rh8 25. Bg5 (25. Qg6 {keeps an even firmer grip} Qh7 26. Qxe6+ Qd7 27. Qxd7+ Kxd7 {+-}) 25... Qf7 (25... Qg7 26. Qh4 b5 27. h6 {+-}) 26. h6 (26. Qd6 {and White can already relax} Qxh5 27. Qxe6+ Kb8 28. Qxf5 Qh7 29. Qe5+ Ka8 {+-}) 26... f4 ( 26... Qg6 27. Qh4 b5 28. f4 {+-}) 27. Qh4 (27. Qh3 {might be the shorter path} Qg8 28. Qh4 Qh7 {+-}) 27... e5 (27... Qf5 28. a3 b5 29. Re1 {+-}) 28. a3 b5 29. g3 (29. Qh3+ {seems even better} Kc7 30. Re1 {+-}) 29... b4 $4 {but even a better move would not have saved the game} (29... Qf5 {+-}) 30. axb4 Nxb4 ( 30... Qf5 {is no salvation} 31. b5 $1 {Deflection: d5} Nb4 32. Rd2 fxg3 33. Qxg3 (33. Qxb4 $2 {looks tantalising, but} g2 34. Be3 g1=Q+ 35. Rd1 Qgg6 {-+}) 33... cxb5 34. Qg2 {+-}) 31. b3 (31. Qh3+ {seems even better} Kb8 32. gxf4 exf4 {+-}) 31... a5 (31... Qf5 32. Rd2 fxg3 33. Qxg3 {+-} (33. Qxb4 $6 {is much worse} g2 34. Qc5 g1=Q+ 35. Kb2 Qgxg5 36. Qxc6+ Kb8 37. Qb5+ Kc7 38. Qc4+ Kb7 39. Qb5+ Kc8 40. Qc4+ Kb7 41. Qb5+ Kc8 42. Qc4+ Kb7 {=})) 32. Kb2 (32. Qg4+ $5 {makes it even easier for White} Kc7 33. gxf4 Nd5 {+-}) 32... a4 (32... Kb7 { cannot change what is in store for White} 33. Rd2 Nd5 34. c4 {+-}) 33. gxf4 ( 33. Qh3+ {might be the shorter path} Kc7 34. gxf4 a3+ 35. Kxa3 Nxc2+ 36. Kb2 { +-}) 33... Kb7 (33... Qf5 {otherwise it's curtains at once} 34. Rd2 exf4 35. Qxf4 Qxf4 36. Bxf4 Nd5 {+-}) 34. fxe5 Nxc2 (34... Nd5 {there is nothing else anyway} 35. bxa4 Ka8 {+-}) 35. Qc4 Qxc4 36. bxc4 Nb4 37. Ka3 c5 38. Kxa4 (38. Rd8 Nc2+ 39. Kxa4 Rxh6 40. Bxh6 Kc7 41. Bg5 Nd4 42. Rxd4 cxd4 43. e6 d3 44. c5 d2 45. Bxd2 Kd8 46. Bg5+ Ke8 47. f4 Kf8 48. Bf6 Kg8 49. f5 Kf8 50. c6 Kg8 51. c7 Kh7 52. c8=Q Kh6 53. Qh8#) 38... Nc6 {+-} 39. f4 (39. Rd7+ Kc8 40. e6 Nd4 41. Rd8+ Rxd8 42. Bxd8 Kxd8 43. h7 Ke7 44. h8=Q Kxe6 45. f4 Kf5 46. Qe5+ Kg4 47. Qg5+ Kf3 48. f5 Ne2 49. f6 Nc3+ 50. Ka3 Nb1+ 51. Kb2 Ke2 52. Kxb1 Kd3 53. Qxc5 Ke4 54. f7 Kd3 55. f8=Q Kd2 56. Qd4+ Ke2 57. Qff2#) 39... Ra8+ (39... Nd4 {does not win a prize} 40. Ka3 Kc6 41. Kb2 {+-}) 40. Kb3 Nd4+ 41. Kb2 Kc6 ( 41... Rh8 {+- a last effort to resist the inevitable}) 42. h7 Rb8+ 43. Kc1 Nb3+ 44. Kc2 Nd4+ 45. Kd2 (45. Kd3 {it becomes clear that White will call all the shots} Rb3+ 46. Ke4 {+-}) 45... Rb2+ 46. Kd3 Rh2 47. Ra1 Kb6 (47... Rxh7 { there is nothing better in the position} 48. Ke4 Rh2 49. Ra6+ Kb7 {+-}) 48. Ke4 Rxh7 49. Bf6 (49. f5 Rh5 50. Bd8+ Kb7 51. f6 {+-}) 49... Rd7 (49... Rh2 { desperation} 50. Bd8+ Kb7 {+-}) 50. Rd1 (50. f5 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} Rf7 51. Rh1 Nc6 52. Rb1+ Ka7 {+-}) 50... Kc6 (50... Kc7 {hardly improves anything} 51. f5 Rf7 52. Ra1 {+-}) 51. f5 Rh7 52. e6 Ne2 (52... Kd6 {is not much help} 53. Be5+ Kc6 54. Bxd4 cxd4 55. f6 Rh4+ 56. Ke5 Rh5+ 57. Kxd4 Rh8 58. e7 Kd7 59. Ke5+ Kc6 60. Rd8 Rh5+ 61. Ke6 Ra5 62. e8=Q+ Kc5 63. Qh5+ Kb4 64. Rb8+ Kxc4 65. Qxa5 Kd3 66. Qa3+ Kc2 67. Rb2+ Kd1 68. Qa1#) 53. Rd8 Ng3+ 54. Ke5 Rh1 55. e7 (55. e7 Re1+ 56. Kf4 Nh5+ 57. Kg5 Ng3 58. e8=Q+ Rxe8 59. Rxe8 Nh1 60. Bc3 Kd7 61. Re1 Nf2 62. f6 Nd3 63. Rd1 Kd6 64. Rxd3+ Ke6 65. Re3+ Kf7 66. Re1 Kg8 67. Kg6 Kf8 68. Re7 Kg8 69. Re8#) 1-0 [Event "Open Challenge Kartik City - Board 10"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2016.06.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "einsTeIN72"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1832"] [BlackElo "1832"] [Annotator "Stockfish 8 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Bd6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 { B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} Nf6 15. Qh4 (15. Qe2 Bc7 16. Rde1 b5 17. Kb1 Qd5 18. g4 Nxg4 19. Rhg1 Nf6 20. Rxg7 Nxh5 21. Rxf7 Kxf7 22. Ne5+ Bxe5 23. Qxh5+ Ke7 24. Rxe5 Qd6 25. a3 a5 26. f4 Kd7 27. f5 Kc7 28. Bf4 Kc8 29. fxe6 Ra7 {Aryan,C (2483)-Lokander,M (2359) Warsaw 2016 1-0 (33)}) 15... Qc7 ( 15... Nd5 16. c4 Qxh4 17. Rxh4 Nf6 18. Bc3 O-O-O 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Rxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Nd7 22. Rg4 Rg8 23. g3 Kd8 24. Ke2 Ke7 25. Ke3 c5 26. b3 b6 {1/2-1/2 (26) Unterkofler,A (1770)-Moser,G (1744) Caldaro 2016}) 16. g4 $146 (16. c4 O-O-O 17. Rhe1 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qa5 20. Kb1 Bb4 21. Rh1 Qa4 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bd4 Qf5+ 25. Kb2 Qd3 26. Rc1 Ne4 27. Bxg7 Qe2+ 28. Ka1 Ba3 29. Rb1 Rd1 30. Qxe4 Qxe4 {Caravaca Aguirre,A-Rodriguez Gonzalez,I Oropesa del Mar 2000 0-1 (31)}) (16. Kb1 O-O-O 17. Bc1 Rd7 18. Rhe1 Qd8 19. c3 Qa5 20. g4 Bc7 21. Nd2 Qd5 22. Nb3 Qf3 23. Rg1 Rhd8 24. Rde1 Nd5 25. Nc5 Re7 26. c4 Qf6 27. g5 hxg5 28. Bxg5 Qf5+ 29. Ka1 Nb4 30. Qe4 Qxe4 {Luc,V-Le,N (1883) Ho Chi Minh City 2012 1/2-1/2 (62)}) 16... Bf4 17. g5 (17. Ne5 $142 {and White has air to breath} Bxe5 18. dxe5 Qxe5 19. g5 hxg5 20. Bxg5 $11) 17... hxg5 $17 18. Nxg5 $2 (18. Bxf4 $142 Qxf4+ 19. Qxf4 gxf4 20. Rh4 $17) 18... Bxd2+ $19 19. Rxd2 (19. Kxd2 {doesn't improve anything} Rd8 20. Qg3 Rxd4+ 21. Ke3 Qxg3+ 22. fxg3 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rxh5 $19) 19... Rxh5 (19... Rxh5 20. Qxh5 Nxh5 21. Rxh5 O-O-O $19) 0-1

Chess960 SP482

Today I will share two chess960 games in this same post. Both of these games were played in a team mach called 2.) 1/2/2016. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016. It is played between MY FRIENDS, International, Moji prijatelji&Φίλοι μου and ♦♦ Respect ♦♦. The match consists of 11 boards and I played on board 2 for MY FRIENDS, International, Moji prijatelji&Φίλοι μου. I did end up winning both of these games, but the only reason I was able to do so was the fact that my opponent lost both games on time. Had the games continued, the result of these games would have been much grimmer from my point of view. The results of these two games did not have any impact on which club would be winning the match after all games have finished, because that had already been decided in our favor. The score in the match is 16 - 4 in favor of MY FRIENDS, International, Moji prijatelji&Φίλοι μου.

The game below started with both players making reasonable moves up to White's 6th move. My opponent, athistamravindran, did play the first few moves quite aggressively, which occasionally can be a good way to play against me. However, the move 6.Rc3 is no longer a good idea because the rook lift does not help my opponent in any way, actually it is just in the way of the bishop that is located at a1. I had some good replies to 6.Rc3, but I did not play any of them. Qc7 was an okay move, but not the best option. 6...Ne7 or 6...b6 were better alternatives. Athistamravindran chose to play 7.Ne3, which is a small inaccuracy. I was maybe slightly better until I went astray with 8...Be7 and the position became more even again. The advantage shifted back to me immediately as my opponent blundered with 9.h4. I do not really understand the reason why my opponent chose to play this move. Maybe the idea was to push that pawn all the way to h6 and maybe open the h-file for the attack, but at the moment that idea is easy to stop. I replied with h6 because I wanted to drive that annoying knight away and maybe castle short. I thought that castling long would be the riskier option. Athistamravindran moved the knight to h3, probably to avoid trading to one of my knights, but this is not a good decision, it was better to move the knight to e4 where it is more centralized. In the game continuation I have a clear advantage according to Stockfish in this after game analysis. The game went on in my favor until I made a huge blunder on my 16th move. For some reason I did not consider the possibility of 17.Nf2, which shows the error of my ways. It was really silly of me to go for 16...Qxh4+, but these things happen when I do not have enough time to look at positions in my correspondence games. For the rest of the game, my opponent had the winning advantage, but for some reason or the other did not move on time. I have added one analysed game to these three posts: E44 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Fischer Variation, B84 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation. Classical Variation and C11 French Defense: Classical Variation. Delayed Exchange Variation. I have also added two mate in two, two mate in three and one mate in four puzzle today.

Game number two. In this game we see a different approach to play with the white pieces than in the first game. There is nothing really wrong with this one either and actually I was able to get some advantage after a few moves had been played. Actually after 6...Qd6 I should be clearly better. For some reason my opponent wants to bring the queen early into the game, which usually does not work out that well. With either 7.Nc3 or 7.Ne3 I could have gotten more out of the position than with the passive 7.d3, but I am just trying to maintain material balance and not give my opponent pawns, even if I would get some compensation out of it. My opponent followed with two bad moves in a row, 7...Qe6 and 8...Qg4. Athistamravindran is just trying to attack with a queen and a knight and perhaps with the bishop if the long diagonal opens up. The h-rook can also join the attack if the h-file is opened up. After Qg4 I could have been in a winning position if I had played accurately, but instead I played slightly into my opponent's hands with Nxg5. After 9.Nxg5 the position is only slightly favorable to me.

The next noticeable shift in the advantage came when my opponent played 11...Nf6, after which I should be clearly better. During the game I did not really feel that my position is all that comfortable to play as I felt that I am on the defensive side of the board. Couple of inaccurate moves later the position is even again after the move 13.Bxf6. For the first time during this game my opponent starts to be on the favorable side after my move 14.Ng4. It is a rather silly move, but I could not come up with anything better, my other option was to play Qb2, but I thought that it would not be as good as Ng4, so I played that instead. I was, of course, wrong in my assumption. I did end up in a losing position after 18.Kh1, but like in our other game, my opponent did not make another move in this game and lost on time. Therefore I was very lucky to win both of these games that I could have just as well lost.

Chess960 SP391

The last post of the week features a game that was played in a team match called Total 960 vs Kopaonik. It is played on 85 boards and I am playing on board 19 for Kopaonik. The winner of the match has already been decided as the current score is 86.5 - 72.5 in favor of Total 960. The game below started with me pushing the e-pawn to e4 again prefering to take a presense in the center with a pawn instead of opening diagonals for my bishops. I could have just as well played 1.d4, I am not sure which one I prefer as both moves have their downsides. Maybe 1.g3 would have been also an option I would have gone for as my first move. My opponent replied with 1...g6 and it is somewhat annoying move because it stops me from playing b3 for awhile and getting my queen activated on the long diagonal. That being said, also 1.b3 might be something that I consider of playing in my future games in this or similar starting positions. I continued with 2.Nf3 because I want to play d4 and try to restrict the scope of the dark-squared bishop that resides in h8. My plan of playing d4 on my next move is halted by KingsBishop's reply b6, which opens the diagonal for his queen, which attacks the e4-pawn. At that moment I thought that my handling of the first moves might not have been the best. I played 3.d3 in order to protect e4 because there really is not a better way to protect that pawn, Nc3 might be answered with Bxc3 followed by queen taking on e4. On his third move KingsBishop played Bb7, which is not an ideal move, because it allows me to play 4.Bh6+ and trade the dark-squared bishops. That is true in case my opponent does not want to play 4...Ng7, which looks very bad and can't be recommended. After the trade of the bishops, the position is about even.

Maybe for the first time during this game, the position started to slightly favor me after my opponent castled on move six. Or it would have been favoring me, had I played 7.Ne5 in response to castles. I just played 7.g3 in order just to open the diagonal for the bishop. I was given the opportunity to play Ne5 again on the following turn, but again I did not see its benefits, so I played the more passive Nd2 instead. The game continued without any major mistakes up to my 25th move, which actually gives my opponent a clear advantage. I guess I was playing with too much of a risk, because KingsBishop could have played 25.Qh5+ and I would have been in bigger problems than in the game continuation. Admittedly I did not see Qh5+ possibility during the game or if I did, I did not see the danger that would have been related to it. The game started to look an awful lot like a draw to me after the trade of queens, but of course there was still some problems to be solved. I guess the king and pawn ending showed that I need to get more familiar with these kind of endings because I had chances to win this, had I played it correctly after the blunder 27...d5. I am a bit ashamed that I did not see the possibility to play 30.c4 or first play g4 and then c4 and be winning in that position. I should have even considered that move, but for some reason I did not and even was happy to get the draw after I offered it on move 31. If I were to make excuses for this sloppy ending, then I would mention that the time of day when I make moves in my correspondence games has been mostly a little bit before I go to sleep. It really is not the best time to do that but I do not see it changing all that much in the near future because other things in my life seem to take most of the day. I have added one analysed game to the following posts: B27 Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Pterodactyl, E24 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Saemisch Variation. Accelerated, D02 Queen Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation. Pseudo-Catalan and C18 French Defense: Winawer Variation. Classical Variation. I have also added one mate in one, one mate in three and three mate in four puzzles today. Until Monday, my fellow chess960 and chess enthusiasts!

Game number two. This game is my other game against KingsBishop from the team match that is currently in progress between Total 960 and Kopaonik. The score in the match at the moment I type this is 91.5 - 72.5 in favor of Total 960. KingsBishop started the game with an immediate bishop activation 1.g3 to which I would consider the following moves as decent replies, 1...g6, 1...Nf6 or the move I played in the game 1...e5. KingsBishop continued with 2.b3, which opens the diagonal for the queen to attack my pawn on e5. I defended with 2...g6, opening the diagonal for my bishop on h8. Then my opponent put more pressure to the e5-pawn by playing Bb2. I replied with 3...d6 because I think it is the best way to defend the pawn. KingsBishop could have continued the pressure towards my e-pawn by playing 4.f4, which would have been annoying move to meet as I would have been forced to play f6 and that would have made my knight on e8 a very bad piece. It would seem then that somewhere during my first three moves I have made a mistake. Maybe the mistake was to play 1...e5. KingsBishop did not go for 4.f4, but instead he played 4.Nc3, which I was happier to see because I was able to develop my pieces more freely. On his 5th move KingsBishop played a wierd looking move Ng2, but I guess the idea of playing it to e3 later on is a decent plan. I replied with 5...Bc6 and therefore moved my bishop for the second time. The idea behind the bishop maneuver was that I could then play b6 safely and get my queen involved in the game.

I think both players continued to play reasonable moves up to my move 7...b6. The reply 8.Ng4 does threaten Nh6, but as I would have likely played Bg7 anyway, KingsBishop's 8th move might be a bit waste of time. Then on move 10, he played a mysterious looking move f3, the point of which I am not sure about. In the game continuation it seems like a waste of a move. Despite the difficult start to the game, I think I was able to get to a good position and I thought that after 19.f4, I am on the better side of the board. However, I was not sure about the right plan at this point. I wanted to reroute my knight to e3 via c7 and d5 and I thought that if I can manage that I would be in a really promising position. The problem was that the knight maneuver took a lot of time. It took maybe a bit too long because I think I made game losing decisions before the knight could actually jump to e3. I think starting from 24...Qf3 I started to follow the wrong idea. The idea was to put pressure on the knight that can't move from e2. The better way to do that would have been to double rooks on the e-file. I could have also moved the queen somewhere and continued with plan of placing my knight to e3. While I think that 24...Qf3 was a bad move, it does not compare to my next move 25...Qg4, which is even worse. Placing my queen there meant that it was out of play for the rest of the game and the biggest reason I lost this game. The queen stayed pretty much trapped in the kingside without any hope of getting back into the game.