FC Chess Tournament 4

[anvi]

Ok, guys, the 4th Forum Community Chess Tournament shall begin.

Six players have signed up, and we will be having a round-robin tournament this time.  There will be five rounds, so every player will face every other player once.

I have established the following seating for the participants.

1. anvi
2. Oakvale
3. Minion of Midas
4. Senator Bore
5. A Person
6. homelycooking

According to standard round-robin rules, the pairings for the first round are as follows.

anvi (W) vs homelycooking (B)
Oakvale (W) vs. A Person (B)
Minion of Midas (W) vs. Senator Bore (B)

Players, please begin your games on GameKnot, with the White players sending challenges to the players of the Black pieces.  Please set the time controls for 2 days per move.  Please notify me by pm should you need to request a time-out at some point in the game and the other player has already agreed to it.  Once your games are underway, please post links to them on this thread, so others may follow them.

As always, good luck, gentlemen!

[anvi]

Bumping, primarily so we can get the Oakvale-Person game started and its link posted here.
Thanks.

[anvi]

While we watch the first-round games progress, I found this fun little interlude on Youtube yesterday.  It's a tribute, set to appropriate music, of the most compelling chess rivalry of modern times.  Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, players with diametrically opposed styles, personalities and even political commitments, played competitive games for thirty years.  In the five world championship tournaments they played with one another, they accumulated a final score of 21 wins for Kasparov, 19 wins for Karpov and 104 draws!  More evenly-matched champions would indeed be hard to find in the history of chess.  This collage of footage features some typical, epic stareoffs between the players at about 2:20 and good blitz-chess footage at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvcxzGnVQWI

[anvi]

As I said in the OP, my analyses of the games in this tournament will be far less extensive than in previous ones.  But I hope a few notes might still be helpful.  The foremost reason for Black's unnecessarily quick defeat here was obviously not paying enough attention to immediate threats.  But, more fundamentally, Black chose an opening series of moves that produced tardy and uncoordinated development of his pieces, which, as we've seen in previous tournaments, can be suicidal against 1. e4.

Oakvale (W) vs A Person (B)
King's Gambit Accepted

1.   e4   e5
2.   f4   exf4
3.   Nf3   Nc6

Black choses a rather unpromising line of the King's Gambit Accepted.  The whole purpose of the opening for White is to sacrifice a pawn so he can open lines to Black's King.  So, it's better for Black to develop his Kingside forces quickly, usually giving the pawn back just so that he can catch up in development.  Developing the queenside pieces first in this line almost always proves to be too slow.

4.   d4   d5
5.   exd5   Qxd5
6.   Bxf4   g6?

Black doesn't pay heed to his hanging c7-pawn, and his game unravels quickly.  Again, Black must develop his kingside forces, either by 6...Bd6 or the interesting 6...Bg4?!  

7.   Nc3?   

White lets Black off the hook, as Black can now parry and save the pawn at the same time with 7...Qa5 followed by the rapid development of his kingside.  Simply taking the free pawn he is being offered seems to be, at the moment, unproblematic enough.

                Qe6+
8.   Be2   Bg7
9.   d5   Qf5
10.   Bxc7   Nge7??

Practically anything is better, 10...Nb4 foremost among them.  There is no reason, at any rate, to simply surrender the piece just to avoid allowing White to have a passed d-pawn, since this pawn can be successfully blockaded by Black's other forces, and, eventually, perhaps won outright.

11.   dxc6   bxc6??

Obviously, 11...Nxc6 is obligatory at this point, and even though White is clearly winning, he'll still have to fight for it after the correct defense.

12.   Qd8#   
1-0

[anvi]

Yeah h-c, I was surprised you didn't sign up.  But, if you'd still like to join, one way would be for you to take the 6th seat in the tournament, and, since the first round is still in progress, you and I would play a first round game now.  The seating placement doesn't really matter, it's for organizational purposes only, since everyone plays everyone once in a round-robin tournament anyway.  Let me know if you'd like to join.

But I will only go forward with this if all the other players agree.  Guys, if homelycooking joins in, the tournament will still be only five rounds, just no one will get a bye and will have to play in every round.  I'll leave it up to you.  Does anyone have any objections to homelycooking jumping in, or would it be ok with you?

[anvi]

I'll wait for one more day.  If I don't hear any objections form the other players, I'll change the OP and plug homelycooking in the 6th seat in the tournament and send him a game challenge.  Hopefully we will be able to move the game along at a good pace if that happens, since one game in the first round is already completed.

[anvi]

Having heard no objection from the players, I am plugging homelycooking into the 6th pairing spot in our tournament (see revised OP) and sending him a game challenge for our first-round match.

[anvi]

Welcome to FC4, h-c! 

anvi vs. homelycooking

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20229454&rnd=78125

[anvi]

The game between homelycooking and me has come to a conclusion.  Thanks for the game, h-c!  A little slip-up on move 7 and a decisive one on move 11, but it was an interesting position at the beginning!  Four rounds remain--fight on, man!

anvi v. homelycooking
Sicilian Defense -- Moscow Attack

1.    e4     c5

homely plays my favorite response to 1. e4, the sharp, counter-attacking Sicilian.  Maybe he wants to find out what I play against it for future reference too!

2.   Nf3     d6
3.   Bb5+

I'm not going to give too much of my opening intentions away--and there are several good lines White can choose from against the Sicilian.  But, as the main weakness of the Sicilian Defense is that its counterplay takes time to develop, the lines I follow against it as White are designed either to jump on it early or effectively restrict its arsenal of freeing moves.  Whether the Moscow Attack takes the first route or the second depends on Black's response to this check.

3.             Nd7

This move generally leads to very sharp play that allows White a dangerous kingside attack.

4.    d4      Nf6
5.  O-O    Nxe4
6.  Re1      Nf6

Giving the pawn back immediately is the book move in this variation because attempting to hold on to it with 6...f5 ends up not working after 7. Ng5.  Try the continuation out and see for yourself! 

7.  dxc5      a6?!

This loses a pawn immediately, but I give it the notation "?!" (dubious but interesting) for a reason.  The book continuation after White's 7th is 7...dxc5 8. Bc4 e6 9. Ng5 Be7 and now White can generate a formidably tricky kingside attack and gain a pronounced initiative with either 10. Nxf6 or 10. Bxe6.  This move sidesteps these dangerous lines at the cost of a pawn and gives Black the chance, if the position is handled correctly, to unwind his forces from their presently cramped state.

8.   Bxd7+    Bxd7
9.   dxc5       e6
10.  Nc3       Qb6
11.  Bf4      O-O-O?

This move, intended to help Black complete his development, gets him in over his head immediately.  Black's next move should be either ...Rd8 or ...Bc6, which will enable him to increase pressure on the White d-pawn and make his pieces more active, and a complicated struggle lies ahead.  When down material, it's precisely increasing the complexity of such positions that can give the player who is in the deficit a fighting chance.  This move invites White's developed forces to charge into the Black position on the basis of a number of tactical threats generated by the mighty Knights ability to fork pieces in different directions.  Bishops and Knights are both worth 3 units of force in chess, and most chess books will tell you that, due to its long range, Bishops are in the abstract a little better than Knights.  But I'll take a Knight deep in the opponent's ranks over a Bishop on an open diagonal most of the time, and its bewildering power when placed effectively is why.

12.   Ne5      Bd6?

Better is the passive 12...Be8 13. Qf3 Bxd6 14. Nc4 Qb4 15. Nxd6+ Rxd6 16 Bxd6 Qxd6 which, though it leaves Black more material down, allows him to live.  Black's text move, ignoring terrifying Knight forks on c4 and e4 to follow, precipitates an unstoppable onslaught that will leave him lost.  I've suffered enough miserable loses myself playing the Sicilian to learn one of its most important lessons; if Black doesn't react quickly and accurately with this otherwise most promising defense, White can route him with shocking speed.

13.    Nc4      Qc5?
14.   Nxd6+   Kb8
15.   Nde4+   Qc7
16.   Bxc7+   Kxc7
17.   Nxf6      Bc6
18.   Qh5       gxf6
19.   Qxf7+    Rd7
20.   Qxe6    Black Resigns

1-0

[anvi]

The game between Lewis and bore has come to a conclusion, an exciting one.

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20176247&rnd=23617

My commentary follows, and then I'll put up rankings and pairings for round 2 in the next post.

Minion of Midas vs. Senator Bore
Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense

Bore meets Midas' ambitious Ruy Lopez opening with a standard line of the Berlin Defense, any number of variations of which hold out the promise of solid play for Black.  However, a slightly unsound deviation by bore on move 11 gives White the chance to gain a positional advantage.   A somewhat unusual early tradeoff of all the minor pieces, however, leads to an endgame that is decided by whose heavies get into play first.  White builds up a clearly winning position, only, as a result of some inaccurate endgame play, to let it slip multiple times before finding an optically spectacular win in the end.  I dwell on the endgame inaccuracies here only because I think it's important for players to study rudimentary endgame tactics.

1.   e4        e5
2.  Nf3      Nc6
3.  Bb5     Nf6
4.  O-O      d6
5.    d4     exd4
6.  Nxd4    Bd7
7,  Bxc6   Nxc6
8.  Nxc6    bxc6
9.   Re1     Be7
10. Nc3     O-O
11.   b3      c5

Here, bore departs from standard book continuations.  Not an error, per se, but a less than positionally sound move.  Though Black has doubled-pawns on the c-file, they are at the moment actually an asset, since they are not vulnerable and particularly since Black's c6-pawn prevents the White Queen's Knight from advancing to or controlling central territory.  Black's text move cedes control of the d5 square, and could enable White to either establish his Knight there or, if Black trades it off, to set up a light-square bind with his Queen on the same square.  The simple 11...Re8 would have enabled Black to maintain a perfectly solid and level position.

12.  Bb2    Rb8

Black begins to make unmeaningful moves, lacking a coherent plan.  The Rook on b8 exerts no pressure on White's position; Rooks work best on half-open or fully open files.  I would as Black consider, since he has another pawn on the c-file anyway, 12...c6 to reestablish control of the d5 square.  White now rightly pounces on it.

13.   Nd5     Nxd5
14.    ed

Double-edged.  This move does have the advantage of opening the e-file, which White can make decisive use of much later in the game.  But in the immediate situation, the move is anti-positional.  This pawn-recapture prevents White from exerting pressure on the d-file with his Queen, which would make the Black cluster of pawns on c5, d6 and c7 rigid and inflexible, a static weakness that could become a major long-term factor in a persistent White advantage.  14. Qxd5 would have achieved this, plus the aforementioned light-square bind. 

14.               Bf6
15.   Rb1

An oddly passive move by White that gives away what was left of his initiative.  He can keep the initiative--which essentially means the choice of what direction to steer the game toward--by initiating the trade himself with 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16 Qd2 followed by centralizing his own Rooks and piling his pieces on the open e-file more quickly than Black can get there.

15.             Bxb2
16.  Rxb2   Qf6
17.  Rb1     h6?

In a somewhat unusual position, the minor pieces have all been traded off from the board, leaving only the heavies and pawns to contest the battle.  Obviously, the player who is the quickest at activating his heavy pieces to effective squares will garner the advantage.  But, on top of that, the player who best takes care of his pawn position will be in better stead.  Black's Rook on b8 is actually now, ironically, an asset, as he can put pressure on White's pawns and liquidate his own queenside pawn weaknesses with moves like ...a5 and ...a4.  Black does not quite understand the demands of the endgame.

18.   Qd3       Qh4?

This move threatens nothing, and allows White to choose to either dominate the e-file with 19. Re4 followed by Rbe1 or infiltrate the Black queenside with his Queen in order, as above, to create threats against Black's pawns there.

19,   g3         Qg5
20.   h4         Qg4
21.   Qa6

This targets Black's brittle queenside pawns.  However, since Black has abandoned the defense of e7 with his Queen, White can send his Rook there immediately with 21. Re7, perhaps a stronger move than the text.

21.                  Ra8?

Far too passive.  Black can launch a fascinating and effective counterattacking plan with 21...f5!, targeting White's g-pwan and King!

22.   Qb7          Rfc8?

The simple 22...Qd7 is a much more solid defense.  Black is slowly backing into quicksand.

23.    Re7          Qg6
24.    Rc1          Qf6?

Black still has a chance to do what the endgame in this position demands, namely activate his heavies.  24...f5 25. Rxc7 Re8 and Black is still putting up a feisty resistance.  In fact, after the c-pawn falls on the next move, 25...Re8 or even 26...Re8 are still better choices for Black, and in the case of the latter, is his best chance to produce counter-threats and save the game.

25.   Rxc7       Rxc7?
26.   Qxc7       Qb2?

This move not only loses material, but allows White enough heavy-piece access to his position to make Black's cause a lost one.  This is the game's decisive moment, but Black, grabbing material a bit too quickly in what follows, is inattentive to White's easy winning maneuver.

27.   Re1         Qxc2
28.   Qxd6       Qxa2?

This misplaces the Queen and allows White to control the squares that will lead to a pawn promotion.  Black must get his own King off the back rank and protect his a-Rook in order to avoid all the perils of White's passed-d-pawn march.

29.   Qxc5??

White, with an immediately winning move on hand which he only gets around to on the next try, loses the thread for a moment and hands Black a marvelous chance to erect a last-minute blockade.  29....Qd2 30. Re7 Qd1+ 31. Kg2 Rd8 looks to me, at first glance, like a save!

29.                  Qxb3?
30.   Qc6

The winner!  This Queen move cuts Black's Queen off from defending, and controls the e8-square, where White can support the promotion of his d-pawn with his Rook.  Black will thus lose a Rook for White's promoted d-pawn, and the rest will be easy.

30.                    Rf8
31.   d6             Qb4
32.   Kf1            a5
33.    d7            Qb3
34.   Qc7?

Having set up a winning position, White does not not know how to win it the quickest.  Quite unfortunate.  I had been for some time now been expecting the climactic 34. Re8 and Black is utterly lost.  What can he do?  34...Qd1+ 35. Kg2 Qxd7 (nothing else prevents the pawn from queening) 36. Qxd7 g6 37. Rxf8+ Kxf8 38. Qd8+ Kg7 39. Qxa5 and it's all over but the cryin'.  White is still winning outright after the text move, as Black will lose the Rook for the promoted pawn, but Black, with his Queen now still safely on the board, can drag out the game for a long time if he wants.  Some very rudimentary endgame study, which is easy to master with the smaller number of pieces on the board that endgames feature, can save a player lots of time and headaches.

34.                   Qd3+
35.   Re2?

Instead, White still wins easily after either 35. Kg1 Rh7 36. Re8 and the Black Queen runs out of checks in a few moves, or after 35...Qb5 36. Re5 Qa4 37. d8-Q.  Black tries to force a perpetual check and doesn't quite have it, but in the process, he is able to place his Queen on a better defensive post that makes it slightly more difficult for White to win.

35.                   Qd1+
36.   Re1          Qd3+
37.   Kg2          Qd5+
38.   Kg1

At last, White finds the right square for his King.  But now, the win is a little more difficult to find if Black plays the position correctly.  It involves making the threat of queening the d-pawn through a recapture on e8 so powerful that Black either has to allow it, or give up his Rook for the pawn to prevent it.  But White has already missed this strategy many moves over., One possible variation; 38...Qa8 39. Qe5 Kh7 40. Qb5 Qb8 41. Qc6 Rd8 42. Re8 Qb1+ 43.  Kh2 Rxd7 44. Qxd7 and Black, out a Rook for a pawn, will slowly but surely die.  But can White find the plan?

38.                       f6

But Black makes it easy.  Once again, 39. Re8 wins on the spot.

39.   Qc8?!

Well, this nice-looking temporary Queen sacrifice works, but a lot more slowly if Black wants to drag out the game.  But Black puts up less than the most resistant defense, and White gets to finish it off prettily in the end.

39.                    Qf5?
40    Re8           Qb1+
41.   Kg2           Black Resigns

1-0

White will have two Queens, so Black gracefully concedes.  In any event, a pretty thrilling game.  Good fight, guys.

[anvi]

Standings

                              Round 1
1. anvi                         1
2. Oakvale                    1
3. Minion of Midas         1
4. Senator Bore             0
5. A Person                   0
6. homelycooking          0

Round 2 Pairings

Senator Bore (W) vs. homelycooking (B)
A Person (W) vs, Minion of Midas (B)
Oakvale (W) vs. anvi (B)

Once again, White players, please send challenges to the players of the Black pieces.  Set your games to the time control of 2 days per move.  Please post links to your games here once they've begun so others can follow them.

The fight continues, this and three more rounds to go!  Good luck!

[anvi]

HI, gentleman; this is your annoying tournament director asking if we can get our second-round games started and their links posted.

Senator Bore (W) vs. homelycooking (B)
A Person (W) vs, Minion of Midas (B)
Oakvale (W) vs. anvi (B)

Thanks!

[anvi]

No problem, Oakvale.  Our game is here:

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20288990

[anvi]

The second round game between Oakvale and me has come to a conclusion, most of it played in a sort of a "speed-chess" format this morning.  I provide a brief analysis below.

Oakvale (W) vs. anvi (B)
English Opening, Three Knights System

1.   c4

A good choice by Oakvale.  I'm not too familiar with the English and have not played it in tournaments as either White or Black.  I do know in general that the opening tends to revolve around whether or not White can get control of the d5 square and launch a queenside march against his opponent.  So, the variations I looked at were ones that gave me a chance to both contest the d5 square as quickly as I could and transpose into an "Indian" type formation that I'm far more comfortable with against Queen's Pawn formations.  We end up taking the Three Knights System route.  Let's see what happens.

1.            Nf6
2.   Nc3     c5
3.   Nf3     d5

I have no desire to just sit back, make waiting moves and let White slowly cement his grip on d5, the main first idea behind the English.  So, I follow a line that lets me contest it right away.  Openings are not just arbitrary sets of moves--there are concrete ideas behind all of them that lead to typical patterns of middlegame play that various players are adept at.  The player of the Black pieces, suffering from a half-move tempo deficit as a result of White's privilege of making the first move in every game, can never, in my opinion, just sit around; he has to actively develop his own plans and make them happen as quickly as possible.

4.   cxd5   Nxd5
5.     d4

5.  Bg2 is much more common, and allows White to continue fighting for domination of d5 despite Black's early efforts.  This move enables me to transpose the position into a more "Indian" type formation, with my dark-squared Bishop fianchettoed on g7, which I have much more experience playing than standard positions in the English.  I was happy to see Oakvale make this move!

5.              g6
6.   dxc5

This effort to win a pawn, in the book variations, does not work out in the long run because the unit on c5 can't be adequately defended forever.  I now can take the contest into an endgame phase where I believe my development and piece activity will be slightly better, but White is, of course, still very much in the game.  The more common move, however, 6. e4 lets me play 6...Nxc3 7. bc Bg7, transposing into something very closely resembling a Grünfeld defense, which is one of my favorites against 1. d4 as Black.  Transposition in chess happens when players originally initiate a game in one opening, but follow an alternate move order which lands them in another opening.  It's quite common for players to try to force a transposition from an opening they don't like into an opening that they do like; but their opponents don't always cooperate by letting them do this.

6.               Nxc3
7.   Qxd8+  Kxd8
8.    bxc3    Bg7
9.    Bb2

This move has been played, but is probably not as good as 9. Nd4, which allows White to place a Knight in the center of the board and contest Black's queenside development.  The Bishop on b2 is here consigned to a purely defensive role, and now, it seems to me, Black has a slight but concrete advantage.

9.                 Kc7

We're already in an endgame, so the King can become an offensive piece too, even though we're only in this case on move 9!  In the present circumstances, the Black King here helps coordinate a piece development that targets the c5-pawn, as well as vacates the back rank so that Black can develop his Rook there should the file need to be contested at some point.

10.   e4         Nd7
11.   Ng5

I think White's best bet here, since he is presently in an endgame where he trails in development, is to simply let Black recapture the pawn on c5 and complete his own development, with moves like Bc4, O-O and centralizing the Rooks.  

11.                Nxc5
12.   Nxf7?

This overlooks how dangerous it is to let Black quickly mobilize his forces, given the fact that White's position is still in an undeveloped and defensive posture.  12.  Bc4 with the aforementioned development is still better.  Of course, I do say all the time that "chess is for greedy people," and it's true.  But one qualification of that principle is that, when you grab material, you have to make sure that you have the forces in place that are necessary to justify your thievery!  Grabbing material too quickly, before one's forces are adequately positioned, can be poison.  White now gets pretty much overrun because he does not yet have enough pieces mobilized to counteract Black's own piece activity.

12.                  Rf8
13.   Ng5         Na4
14.   O-O-O     Rxf2
15.   Rd2?      

White wants to eject Black's Rook from his second rank as quickly as possible, but this overlooks the fact that his own King is presently "overworked;" it is defending two pieces that are too far away from one another for both of them to remain under protection should one be captured.  Necessary at this point is 15. Ba1, but White will still lose as much as two pawns and find himself still behind in development after something like 15...Bg4 16. Rd5 h6 17. Na3 Rxa2 18. Kb1 Ra3 and the c3 pawn cannot be saved anymore.  White's test move, however, lands him in an immediately lost position.

15.                 Rxd2
16.   Kxb2      Nxb2
17.    Kc2        Na4
18.    Bc4         h6
19.   Ne6?       Bxe6
20.   Bxe6       Nxc3
21.   a3 and White Resigns

0-1

White will soon be down in change by a piece and two pawns and there is no good reason to continue.  Oakvale made a good choice of openings and played typically well for him.  But adequate development, even in an endgame where the powerful Queens are off the board, is always important on a chessboard.

[anvi]

The second round game between Midas and Person has come to a close.  A brief analysis follows.

A Person (W) vs. Minion of Midas (B)
Scotch Game, Schmidt Variation

1.    e4      e5
2.   Nf3    Nc6
3.    d4    exd4
4.  Nxd4   Nf6
5.   Nc3   Bb4
6.   Bd2?

Black's pin of the White Knight with 5...Bb4 has left White's e4 pawn vulnerable to capture.  It is easily protected in standard lines with moves such as Bg5 or f3, sometimes preceded by Nxc6, giving Black doubled c-pawns.  This just loses a piece for nothing.

6.              Nxd4
7.  Nd5?

Having lost a piece, White still needs to protect the e-pawn.  This just allows Black to put his material lead securely in the bank.  7. e5 is best, especially since it forces Black to undevelop his f6-Knight and move it back to its home square.

7.                 Nxd5
8.  Bc4?

Inexplicable.  White can at least remain only a piece and a pawn down by forking Black's two exposed pieces.  8. c3 Nf6 9. cxb4 Nxe4 and, though he is still pretty much busted, at least he doesn't give away the store.

8.                   c6?

But Black returns the favor.  He had the chance to extend his material lead to two whole pieces with the simple 8...Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 Nb4 10. O-O (either Knight is immune from capture because both advanced horses threaten ...Nxc2+ and a royal fork!) Nbc6.

9.   cxd5        Qe7+
10.  Be2        cxd5?

The blunderfest continues.  I have noticed that Midas, in certain situations where he has clearly won positions, has the habit of not just failing to convert them easily, but even letting his opponents back in the game.  Castling and then trading the Queens off gives Black a decisive endgame advantage.  White now jumps right back into the fight.

11.    Bxb4     Qxb4
12.      c3       Qxb2
13.    cxd3      Qc3+
14.     Kf1        O-O
15.     Rc1       Qb2

15...Qa5 is more accurate, as it also attacks the pawn on a2 and prevents the White Rook from infiltrating his position on c7.

16.     Rc2       Qb4

Both moves are again slightly inaccuracies.  White could have protected his a-pawn with 16 Qd2, reserving his Rook's right to barrel down the c-file, and Black should probably get his remaining pieces in play quickly with 16...d6 instead of making more Queen moves that don't accomplish anything.

17.      h4            d6
18.     Rh3??

Hard to know what Person had in mind here, but now the game goes permanently downhill.

18.                     Bxh3
19.     gxh3         Qa3
20.      Bg4            f5
21.      Bf3          Rac8
22.     Bxd5+       Kh8
23.      Qe2?

Why not defend the h pawns?

23.                       Rxc2
24.      Qxc2        Qxh3+
25.      Bg2          Qxh4
26.       d5            Re8
27.      Qc7          Qd4?

27...b5, and now that White has boxed himself in on the c-file, 28...Qc4+ will get the Queens off the board and leave Black, again, with a simple win.

28.       Qxd6?

White doesn't take notice of the fact that Black has placed him in a potential mating net.  It can be easily sidestepped by 28. Bf3.  But his game is quite lost anyway, so perhaps it's for the best to move on to the next round.

28.                         Qd1#

0-1                 

[anvi]

Castling and then trading the Queens off gives Black a decisive endgame advantage.  

Only if white castles as well, no?
10. ... 0-0
11. Bxb4 Qxe2+ (or Nxe2)
12. Qxe2 Nxe2 (or Qxe2+)
13. Kxe2

And all I got is my king's castled and his is exposed, the material's even. I believe - I felt even as it played out - that there must have been a better way to play the situation but I don't think this is it.

It looks to me like it works either way, Lewis.  If 10. O-O 11. Bxb4 then 11...Qxb4+ 12, c3 Qxb2 13. cxd4 Re8 and now, since Black's Queen on b2 attacks the e2 square from its present position and the White Bishop is pinned, Black will on the next move be able to play ...Qxe2 and be a piece up no matter what White does.  Pins can be such convenient and beautiful things. 

[anvi]

Can I get in on the next one of these, I would've liked to have participated in this one had I known about it.

Sure jdb, stay tuned and we'll get you in next time.  Have you played a lot?

[anvi]

A two-post analysis of the fascinating second-round game between bore and homelycooking follows.  After I post it, I'll get standings and third-round pairings up so we can move on.

This game is highly valuable for instructional purposes, so I encourage those who want to become better at chess to play through it using the notes below.  It is an object lesson in three very crucial strategic respects.  It demonstrates, firstly, in the preferability of rapid minor-piece development to moving the mighty Queen around too many times in the opening.  But it also demonstrates the preferability of using the heavy pieces, Queen and Rook, at the right time when the opponent is most vulnerable.  Finally, the importance of finding the right vulnerable square in the opponent's position, and the willingness to do whatever it takes, including material sacrifice, in order to take optimal advantage of the weakness, also plays a crucial role at several points.  In short, this game is a good benchmark for how not to and how best to use minor and heavy pieces as well as how to spot weak squares.  White in this game gets himself into trouble by not observing the principles of development, and then Black blows many chances to win by not rightly exploiting a series of weak squares.  So take some time with this fascinating contest and internalize these principles, as they're very important for improving your game. 

However, there is yet another lesson from this game, more of a psychological one, that is well-worth learning, and that is the lesson of perseverance.  Perseverance is a crucial character trait in chess, whether you are at a present moment winning or losing.  Of course, if a position is hopelessly lost, one should usually gracefully concede.  But if you're down but not yet out, keep fighting!  On the other hand, if you're up, don't become complacent; keep concentrating until you actually execute the winning maneuver.  In the present game, bore, to his great credit, hangs in there long enough to dramatically turn the tables, while homelycooking, after missing a few obvious wins, appears to become dejected and stops paying careful attention to the board.  Chess is a game for fighters, and in this one, bore proved himself a fighter.

Senator Bore (W) vs. homelycooking (B)
Sicilian Defense, Smith-Morra Gambit

1,     e4           c5
2.     d4          cxd4
3.   Qxd4

This is no longer technically a gambit line, which would arise if White played the position like a number of other White gambits in 1. e4 lines, following up with 3. c3 or 3. Nf3.  The text move enables Black to equalize without difficulty by using tempo-gaining piece-developing moves attacking the White Queen.

3.                  Nc6
4.     Qd3       Nf6
5.     Nf3        e5!

I can't find this move in any opening database I have access to, but it certainly is the right one, and proves why this is such an easy line for Black to equalize in.  He takes command of the center.

6.     Be2?

Worth some consideration would seem to me 6. c4, attempting to lock down the d5-square in a Maroxcy Bind anti-Sicilian approach that would at least prevent Black from advancing his d-pawn.  But even the standard defense 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bg5 would protect White's vital e-pawn  The presence of the Bishop on the e2 square now however also enables Black to make the following annoying Knight advance.

6.                  Nb4
7.     Qd2?

A poor defense that loses material with no counterplay.  7. Qb3 Nxe4 8. O-O and now Black has his own e-pawn to worry about, since the Knight foray on move 6 left it without protection.

                    Nxe4
8.     Qd1       Bc5

Few variations could more successfully illustrate why too many Queen moves in the opening can spell big trouble for the player who makes them!

9,     O-O      Qb6

The same effect could have been accomplished with 9...Nxf2 10. Kxf2 Qb6 11. Nc3 Bxf2+ 12. Kf1, but, either way, Black is firmly in the driver's seat.

10.     g3?

The game so far, once again, is becoming a lesson in the importance of quick development.  White must get his queenside pieces into the game as quickly as possible with something like 10. Nc3.  The g-pawn advance serves no purpose.

10.                Bxf2+?

More forcing and worth more material is 10...Nxf2 11. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 12. Kg2 and now Black has, in addition to his already-won pawn, a rook and a pawn for a Knight.

11.     Kg2      d5?
12.     c3?

White misses a golden opportunity to get back in the game.  He can regain the pawn here with 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5.

12.                   Nc6

The position has unexpectedly become very dynamic and interesting.  White, who was in such trouble a few moves ago, has been given a new lease on life with Black's last two inaccuracies, and now the straightforward 13. Qxd5 or positional 13. c4 are both options.

13.     Qa4?

A mistake, as now Black can liquidate with 13...Be3! 14. Qc2 Bxc1 followed by 15...O-O and Black is again comfortably ahead.

13.                   Bd7
14.      Bb5?

Again, developing the queenside needs to get underway.

14.                   Nc5
15.      Qc2      Ne4?

The positional hand has been won, so there is no reason not to cash in the chips with 15...Qxb5 16. Rxf2 Nd3 17. Na3 Qa6

16.      Bxc6      Bxc6
17.      Rxf2       Nxf2
18.      Qxf2       d4?

Black has excellent endgame prospects with 18...Qxf2+ 19, Kxf2 and now he has two connected passed pawns in the middle of the board.  Connected passed pawns are far more mobile and thus much more dangerous than single isolated passers for the simple reason that, in their advance, they can protect one another.  In my view, the text move makes the win much harder with correct play from White, because it banks on the possibility that, instead of two connected passed pawns,  a single isolated passer can't be blockaded and perhaps ultimately won by the opponent's pieces. 

19.      cxd4       cxd4?

This is more dangerous for Black than recapturing with the Queen instead, since White, if allowed to keep his Queen, can complicate the position, restrict Black's endgame development and have more chances to blockade Black's passer with, say, 20. Qe2+ Kf8 21. Nd2 and he retains reasonable drawing chances.  However, a few missteps over the next several moves suddenly makes Black's Queen quite dangerous again.

20.        b3?         O-O-O
21.        h4?

We are effectively in an endgame with Queens on the board, but with one of his pieces, the King's Knight, pinned, White absolutely has to get his queenside forces into the game.  Hard to say what this move is about.

21.                        Rhe8

[anvi]

senator bore (W) vs. homelycooking (B) Part II

22.      Bg5

Not a good choice, but on the other hand it's hard to recommend good moves for White now, particularly given the threats Black has just created with his 21st move and the utterly undeveloped state of White's queenside forces.  We shall see, in a moment, why White's position is now so dire, but we will also learn what is the right and wrong way for Black to capitalize on it.

22.                      f6
23.      Bf4

Now, take a moment and just look at this position!  Don't calculate, don't strategize, just take a look at the board and ask yourself what is going on.  Though the nominal material difference between the players is only one pawn in Black's favor, White, it turns out, is here completely busted.  His only active piece, the dark-squared Bishop, attacks nothing.  One of his Knights is pinned and the other is undeveloped and could only possibly blockade a passed pawn.  His Queen's Rook is still stuck on its home square and is doing nothing.  His Queen is in a meagre defensive role and, if she is not careful, may get pinned next to her King by an invading Black Rook on e2.  By contrast, Black's Bishop is active and pinning one of the opponent's pieces, his centralized Rooks are defending a passed pawn and dominating an open file, and his Queen stands ready to make dangerous tactical threats against White from a6.  Furthermore, almost all of his pieces are working to restrict the scope and potential of White's pieces, and his King's Rook and passed d-pawn help to, as we say in chess, split White's forces on different sides of the board where they cannot easily coordinate with one another.  There is such power coiled up in the Black position, and such complete inactivity in the White position, that, for a chess player, looking at the board right now is like looking at a situation the moment before a hapless victim gets killed.  I am dwelling on this position, not to show off my sadism, but for a specific strategic reason that everyone learning how to play should attend to.  White's is the kind of position you can end up with if you move the Queen too often in the opening instead of developing your minor pieces.  Knowing how to handle minor pieces effectively is what makes a good chess player.  The forced win for Black now is 23. Qa6 (threatening ...Re2, pinning White's Queen against her King) 24. Qf1 Re2 25. Kg1 Bxf3 (to force White's Queen off of the first rank so that Black can invade it) 26. Qxf3 Re1+ 27. Kh2 Rxb1! (a temporary exchange sacrifice that will in two moves be converted to a material advantage) 28. Rxb1 Qxa2+ 29. Qg2 Qxb1 and now Black is up an exchange (Rook for Bishop) plus three pawns and White is toast.  This variation is six and a half moves deep, but it's not hard to calculate at all because the effects of each move and the threats they create when played are so obvious.  Black has the right idea in targeting the vulnerable e2 square, but he uses light artillery to attack it, when the big guns the Queen and Rook are carrying are what is needed.  In this respect, this game is also an object lesson in how to use and not use your heavy pieces too!

23.                   d3?

Most unfortunate.  Allowing White to trade the Queens off the board now virtually relieves all the pressure on his position.  Moreover, it allows White to firmly blockade the passer Black is relying on to win the game.  24. Qxb6 axb6 25. Nbd2 and the position has suddenly become level.  Knights are the best blockaders of passed pawns too. If a passed pawn is blockaded by a Queen or a Rook or a Bishop, for example, the passer being blocked usually also reduces the activity of these pieces by mere virtue of being in front of them or restricting the diagonals that they can effect.  But, since a Knight can jump over pieces, it can blockade a passed pawn and still influence all the other squares that it would normally influence from its blockading position.  If White plays correctly now, for all his troubles, he could still draw!  He gets the first step right, but not the second.

24.      Qxb6      axb6
25.        g4?

White does not take the passed pawn quite seriously enough, and a little imagination, with a view to removing the White pieces currently defending the advance squares of his passed pawn, from Black will give him a decisive advantage now again.  25...Rd4 26. Kg3 (not just defending the Bishop but in-pinning his King's Knight--but now too late) Bxf3 27. Kxf3 Rxf4+! (removing another defender of d2!) 28. Kxf4 Re1 (pinning the last defender of d2!) 29. a4 d2 and now White will have to sacrifice his Rook for the passer lest it become a Queen) 30. Nxd2 Rxa1 and Black is up an exchange and a pawn and will get the full point.  Notice here that White's Queen's Knight only is developed in this line on move 29 and his Queen's Rook dies on its home square on move 30--yet again a sign of bad development.  But this is not the easiest line in the world to see because it involves a temporary sacrifice of material, and being ahead nominally by only a pawn, one can perhaps understand Black's inclination not to look for it.  But sometimes positions are all about finding the right square, a square that is a fundamental soft spot in the opponent's position.  On move 23 it was e2, and on move 25 it is d2, and both opportunities required temporary material sacrifices in order to capitalize on them.  But passed pawns can be used for two purposes.  The obvious goal is to promote them to Queens or other needed pieces.  But the other way to use them is to make them so dangerous that their presence forces the opponent to sac valuable wood for them.  You can't always Queen a pawn--but sometimes the threat is more powerful than the achievement--and here, Black can win with the second approach.

25.                    Re4
26.      Kg3       Rde8?

The sac idea above still could have worked.  26...Rxf4! 27. Kxf4 Bxf3 28. Kxf3 d2 29. Nxd2 Rxd2.  However, now that Black has removed the Queen's Rook support from his passed d-pawn, it is no longer a threat to advance, and White can simply blockade it and at long last finish his development.  At this instant, again, because of Black's missteps on moves 23 and 26, White is no longer in danger of losing with correct play.

27.      Nfd2?

Right idea, but wrong Knight!  It is the Knight on b1 that needs to go to this square, as the text move could have led to a disaster.  Black could now play 27...Re1 (creating a possible mating net with his Rooks and Bishop) 28. Nf3 Rf1 29. Nd4 Rg1+ 30. Kh3 Ree1 and the Rooks will soon chase White's King into the middle of the board, from where they will win material.

27.                        Re2?
28.       Nc4?        Re8-e6??

This should have been the end of White; 28...Rg2+ 29. Kh3 Re1 and White will soon lose the whole house (30. Nc3 Rxa1 31. Ne4 Bxe4 32. Nd6+ Kd8 33. Nxe4 Re2 33. Nd2 Rxa2 and White is completely lost).  But now White regains material equality and fights his way back to an equal position.  He got some gifts in the form of mistaken moves from Black, but White has demonstrated some great perseverance here, a credit to him.

29.         Nxb6+      Kd8
30.         Nc3          Rc2?

30...Rg2+ is still better, as it keeps Black's pieces more active.  Black is still trying to find a way to capitalize on his passer, but the chances for that appear to have passed him by, and now that he is in an almost even endgame, he must ensure that his pieces retain more influence over the board than White's.

31.         Nbd5         h6?

It was time to bite the bullet here and play 31...d2, with an eventual draw as the likely result, but the variation ensuing from this choice is fairly complex, so I'll forgo it for the purposes of this already long lesson.  With Black's text move, White, with correct play, gets to activate his last remaining piece with tempo and whatever winning chances remain on the board are suddenly his!  Even with an overwhelming advantage, only a few missteps can completely turn the tables if your opponent hangs in there.  On the other hand, Black has to be very careful, because White's pieces, now that they are active and coordinated (see his connected Knights and the potential of his Rook if moved to d1) threaten both to win material and put the Black King in some distress.

32.         Rd1              b5?
33.        Rxd3             b4??

A blunder that loses on the spot.  Perhaps worth a try was 33...Bxd5 34. Nxd5 Kc8 with a view toward building some kind of fortress that White cannot penetrate.  

34.         Nxb4+      Kc8
35.          Nxc2        g5
36.          Nd4?       Black Resigns
 
White's last move was not especially accurate, but even after 36...gxf4+ 37. Kxf4 Rd6 38. Ne4 Bxe4 39. Nxe4 Ra6 White's extra piece and two connected queenside passers will win him the game easily.  Black graciously concedes.  Though he was objectively lost for about ten moves between 20 and 30, bore persevered, survived through a series of missteps by Black, and walks away with a full point.  Well-done, Senator!

[anvi]

Standings

                                  R1   R2    R3     R4     R5     Total
1. anvi                         1     1                                  2
2. Oakvale                    1     0                                  1
3. Minion of Midas         1     1                                  2
4. Senator Bore             0     1                                  1
5. A Person                   0     0                                  0
6. homelycooking          0     0                                  0

Round 3 Pairings

homelycooking (W) vs. Oakvale (B)
Minion of Midas (W) vs, anvi (B)
A Person (W) vs. Senator Bore (B)

Once again, White players, please send challenges to the players of the Black pieces.  Set your games to the time control of 2 days per move.  Please post links to your games here once they've begun so others can follow them.

3 points are still to be decided in the tournament, gentleman.  The fight begins now.  Good luck!

[anvi]

3rd round game between Midas and me can be followed here.

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20419797

[anvi]

Since I'm leaving, can someone notify me of later rounds by PM?

I can do that.  Do you want the pm-s to go through this site?  if not, please pm me a private email address where I can reach you.

[anvi]

That's a good result for Anand in game 1 of the FIDE World Chess Championship.  He transposed into a Grünfeld and then equalized easily.  By the way, I posted on my Facebook page last week the prediction that Anand would retain his title against Carlson by a final match score of 6.5-5.5, so I might as well put that prediction on the line here as well.  

International GM Daniel King always offers great analysis of world championship matches, so I will post his analysis of the games here after they happen, since we might as well watch the world championship match while we're having our own tournament.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwVcHN_ZS2c&feature=youtu.be

[anvi]

I'm afraid I can't do anything about that result, Oakvale.  Tournament directors can't do anything about flagfalls so long as the clock was working properly.  Too bad, too.  I love the Ruy Lopez opening you were into--every great chessplayer has at least a dozen great Ruy Lopez games--as either White or Black--in their histories.  I was looking forward to see what you guys would do with it.

[anvi]

Thanks, Lewis, for a very competitive game.  As I'll demonstrate below, Lewis chose a very active line against my Sicilian, and had a very promising position by move 10.  In fact, in too much of a hurry to expand in the center, I blundered and gave Midas superb chances.  I was merely lucky that he then overestimated a pawn advance and allowed me to recover.  Good game, my friend; you're playing very well in this tournament!

Minion of Midas (W) vs anvi (B)
Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation (by transposition)

1.     e4      c5
2.   Nc3     Nc6
3.   Nf3      d6
4.     d4     cxd4
5.  Nxd4     g6
6.   Bc4      Bg7
7.   Nxc6

Though this capture is sometimes played against the Dragon, it is usually not very promising.  The standard "freeing" move for Black in the Sicilian is ...d5, as it allows him to complete an otherwise slow development quickly and equalize the position.  This "freeing move" can often be played all the more easily with a Black pawn on c6 to support it.  So, theoretically, this exchange does Black an unnecessary favor so long as the second player proceeds correctly.  7. Ne2 or 7. Nb3 are more in keeping with White's plan in this line, which is to advance his kingside pawns and pieces to quickly drum up an attack against the Black monarch.  But I get so obsessed with making the freeing ...d5 break above that I overlook a good tactical opportunity for White almost right away.

7.              bxc6
8.    Qf3     e6?

8...Nf6 is far more safe, as it enables Black to castle out of danger right away and complete his development.  White pounces on the error with perfect accuracy.

9.    O-O     d5?

I here completely overlook the seriousness of White's tactical threats coming up against my own center and King in my zeal to expand in the center.  In order to hold things together, I need to figure out a way to either castle or cook up a counterattack as quickly as possible.  9...Nf6, 9...Ne7 or even 9...Be5 followed by 10...Qf6 will accomplish this goal.  The text move gets me in exceedingly hot water.  Lewis could now win a pawn and get a huge positional advantage with 10. exd5 cxd5 11. Re1! and now I cannot play 11...dxc4 because the d-pawn is pinned against my defenseless Rook (12. Qxa8)!  But even more powerful for White, it turns out, is 10. Nxd5!, where again 10...exd5 11. Bxd5, threatening mate next move, allows White to pick up my a8 Rook with his Bishop.  The only reasonable defense to either 10. exd5 or 10. Nxd5 is 10...Bb7, but in both lines, White will have won at least a pawn and retain strong pressure against my King.  Yes, folks, anvi does blunder, and when he does, it's usually a bad one.  White instead selects a move that, while still very strong and still, I think, wins the d-pawn, does enable Black to sidestep the worst threats on the board.

10.   Rd1     Nf6
11.   e5?

And here White returns the favor and overestimates the power of this advance without his Queen's Bishop yet developed to the g5 square.  It looks to me like White still wins the d-pawn here by force with the dramatic variation 11. exd5 exd5 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bxd5! cxd5 14. Nxd5 and, with a pinned King's Knight, the best Black can do is counterattack with 14...Bg4 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Qxg4 Qxb2 and White comes out of it with a pawn to the good and, even more, good endgame chances with a passed c-pawn.  The text move allows me to win a pawn myself and barely save my skin.  

11.                 Nd7
12.    Qf4?

After playing brilliantly so far, Lewis overlooks the fact that Black's 11th move not only attacked the e5 pawn, but also unpinned Black's d-pawn and thus renews the attack on the c4-Bishop.  Retreating this Bishop to e2 or b3 was obligatory at this point.  Opening and middlegame positions arising from the Dragon Sicilian are almost always very sharp and offer winning chances to both sides, and many of them are usually decided by the last player to make a misstep.  This game falls right into that pattern, and it could easily have gone either way!

12.                Bxe5
13.    Qg4?

Might as well try to get as much out of it as possible here with 13. Qf3 dxc4 14. Qxc6 Rb8 15. Qxc4 Qc7.  But either way, the White position can go nowhere but down from here, and the rest of the game requires little comment.

13.                dxd4
14.   Qxc4      Qc7
15.   Bg5?      Bxh2+
16.    Kf1       Be5
17.   Qb4?      c5
18.   Nb5?       cxb4
19.   Nxc7+   Bxc7
20.     c3       bxc3
21.   bxc3      Ba6+
22.   Kg1       Be5
23.   Rac1      Rc8
24.   Bd2       Nc5
25.    c4        Nd3
26.   Rc2      Rxc4
27.   Rxc4    Bxc4
28.    a4       Bb3
29.   Ra1?    Bxa1
30.   White Resigns

0-1

I come away with the point because of sheer luck.  Again, good game, Lewis.  Two rounds to go!